I have arrived to the start of the Alaska Highway, aka the Alaska-Canadian Highway and ALCAN. Finished in 1942, it was originally 1,700 miles to Delta Junction, Alaska, but over the years has been shortened (straightened) to the 1,387 miles it stands at today. I rode a couple of the northern sections from Watson Lake to Whitehorse and Haines Junction to Delta Junction last summer. Heading out this morning it will all be new for me. I’m especially looking forward to visiting Muncho Lake and Liard Hot Springs. Lots of good campgrounds along the highway so plan to be camping for the next several days.
Yes, this is the same Laird Hot Springs near where the Australian and American couple were murdered a couple of weeks ago (and another murder in Lake Dease on the Cassiar Hwy has also been linked to the same suspects). Murders and killings are disturbing on their own but even more disturbing (to me) when random travelers are targeted. The couple’s van had apparently broken down along the highway. For many people traveling to certain places alone can be a scary prospect. Mostly this perspective comes from situations like these recent murders that can give an area a bad name. Highway 16 (Highway of Tears running east from Prince George to Prince Rupert) also has this reputation as dozens of young women have disappeared along the route over the past couple of decades. Canada generally has a fairly cemented reputation of being a (mostly) safe place to visit and travel through so will most likely overcome this current bad PR. Many countries, however, have a hard time overcoming singular events that get sensationalized and then develop an unfair reputation for being unsafe. Without hearing about the good things – and only the bad things, unwarranted calls to avoid these countries can develop. And that’s too bad.
From what I understand via news reports, the suspects are still on the run somewhere in Manitoba. Hopefully the authorities will capture them before they can hurt anyone else. These events don’t really scare me or cause me to change my approach to travel. Traveling solo already keeps my radar auto set at threat level yellow so I’m usually always making safety and security a priority. Chances are I will also be riding down the Cassiar through Dease Lake on the way back south in a couple of weeks. I camped at Dease Lake last summer on the grass at the local community college (met the superintendent at dinner and he gave us permission to camp at the school). The way I see it, the scene of the crime is the safest place as it relates to avoiding the two suspects – they probably won’t be returning and trying to hide out there.
The ride from Kamloops to Williams Lake on Friday was mostly uneventful. I was dodging rain showers much of the day and managed to stay relatively dry only getting the occasional sprinkle now and then. It was nice to have new tires. The dirt construction zones felt much less sketchy with the more aggressive (and new) tread. I found my same campsite in Williams Lake from last year and enjoyed a nice cool evening by the lake. I’m still not sure if the spot is on private land or not but have gotten away with camping there for free twice now. Probably will be camping only in established campgrounds moving forward – not due to murdering teenagers but due to bears. Busy campgrounds usually are noisy enough to keep the bears out in the bush. I have my precautions with me…airhorn, bear spray and a kevlar food bag to hang/secure food. I keep the first two in my tank bag during the day for easy access while riding. So far the last bears I’ve seen were a couple of small black bears in North Carolina along the Parkway. I’ve only seen a few deer since getting into Canada. Based on last years’ dozens of bear and moose sightings, this wildlife drought is probably going to change soon.
I took a long(ish) hike Saturday morning so got a fairly late start. By the time I reached Prince George it was raining pretty steadily. I had planned to just grab a cup of coffee and push on past Prince George (not a very nice or interesting town) but, due the the rain, I wimped out and got a room at a sketchy motel. The kind of motel that even though my motorcycle is parked two feet outside my door, I de-rig everything off it and keep it in the room. Too many crack heads roaming around the area (and probably staying in the room next door from the looks). I did walk into downtown to grab some dinner and found an Italian place with a wood fired pizza oven. Margarita with wild mushrooms please! It was actually the best pizza I have had in quite a while with perfectly charred crust from the wood fired oven. Sunday morning I packed up and left super early – before all the crackheads woke up! It’s good that I got the early start because I spent over two hours at a Tim Horton’s stop between PG and Dawson Creek. Partly due to the massive line of people waiting to be served and partly due to getting into conversations with the motorcyclist who had also stopped for a break. I haven’t met any long distance travelers yet, mostly just local riders on a day or weekend ride. They are almost always interested in my trip so conversations tend to stretch out.
Not sure where I will end up tonight. It’s not getting dark until almost 10pm at this point so I can ride later into the evening. So far this morning not a cloud in the sky and 60 degrees so looks to be another great day to ride!