Day 14

The weather is really nice today. 70 degrees, sunny, and no bugs! We've spent the day drinking a lot of coffee and relaxing.

The Tok campground is a guy place. From my tent this morning I watch a guy walk past the tent with no shirt on, scratching himself on the way to the outhouse. Next to us is a loud discussion of whether to use 3.9 quarts of oil in an oil change, or whether 4 full quarts is better. Someone makes a joke of going eagle hunting today starting some raucous laughter.

There are cabins and even an old ambulance to sleep in. This cabin has old airplane parts in the yard - a bent prop, a few cylinders, and the cowling off an airplane in the yard.

 

 

 

There is a kitchen lean-to attached to a two-hole outhouse. The outhouse is not a place for someone shy to get his business done, especially if someone is using the kitchen facilities because the boards in the wall have generous ventilation and visibility.

 

 

There is a sauna with a great big barrel stove. Even though the stove gets so hot you can hardly get close enough to get water on the rocks, it doesn't get real warm because there is no insulation. But it sure feels good.

There is a shop complete with spare used tires, oil, compressor, tools, a motorcycle jack, shop rags, etc. Users of the camp have donated a lot of stuff over the years. There is even a digital torque wrench that hasn't even been used yet.

We talk with a lot of other bikers and they all have stories of their trips, where they came from and where they're going. KTM guys usually start by comparing notes on gas consumption, with the lowest mileages wearing the badges of honor. BMW guys complain of the dealers and warranty work rejections. The KLR's sound like the old Beetles chirping away when they drive by. The Buell guy talks about wheel-bearing issues. Lots of anecdotal stories of everything you can imagine.

We meet Olivier, a French guy who is riding to Argentina. He's taken a year off from work to do the trip. He came from the east coast of Canada and has ridden his BMWs all over Europe, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, etc. He already met Federico and rode with him for a few days. We tell him about the Takhini Hotsprings west of Whitehorse, and now his goal is to get there today.

Its amazing how everyone knows what is going on in other parts of Alaska. Even though the state is huge, there is this lightning fast grapevine network that exists among the adventure bike riders here.

Some guys from Minnesota just arrived here. One of them has a cabin on the Crow River just a few miles from the home we owned in Delano.

 

We spent the day tinkering with the motorcycles. Adjusted and oiled chains, cleaned windshields and air filters. Risto had the dirtiest filter because his intake is behind the front tire. This is how much dust he picked up on the Dalton highway.





 

 

Motorcycles pull in at all hours. The camp owner greets them all by telling them about the kitchen, free wood, shop and sauna.

We've decided to ride the Top-of-the-World highway to Dawson City tomorrow, and if the weather is nice, to continue to Inuvik via the Demster Highway this weekend. We've heard that the road is pretty good except for a 60-70km section between the ferries.