Today I rode the Yellowhead Highway (Hwy 16) towards the famous Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37). I was pretty much rained on throughout the entire day. The worst came right when I left Prince George – it just opened up tropical style. My wet streak is still alive – been rained on at least once every day on the bike so far. All part of the adventure!
When the skies did open up the snow-capped mountain views were really nice. I also passed by several lakes beautiful and rivers – the Bulkley River was raging as it came into the narrow canyon just before Moricetown. Tonight I opted for a hotel in a small town a few clicks before the Hwy 37 junction. I was soaking wet with more rain on the way so didn’t feel like camping. I’m also sleeping in a bed tomorrow night as I have booked a room in Stewart – which is right on the Southern Alaska border. Hwy 37A into Stewart boast views of several glaciers – some that come very close to the highway. I don’t plan to cross the border into Hyder – just do the out and back to Stewart and then continue to Cassiar on the 37.
Yesterday I did some bike maintenance – I attempted to seal up the oil leak w/ the Seal-All and cleaned out the air filter. My gas mileage has been crap so I tried cleaning the filter and airing up the tires a bit. Didn’t change a thing as today I still averaged only 16k per liter or 37.5 mpg. Should be getting we getting around 21/50 + or – a few points. The next culprit in line is most likely the carborator – much more difficult for me to deal with. It doesn’t seem to be running rich but the fuel consumption is saying yes. I’ll mess around a bit with the air/fuel screw and idle tomorrow after warming it up. This current range will mean buying a fuel can for the gap between Coldfoot and Deadhorse in Alaska – something I had hoped to avoid by adding the 25L/6.6 gal. tank before I left. Hopefully I can get the range up a bit before getting to Fairbanks.
Looking forward to the ride tomorrow – the reviews on 37 and 37A are pretty much calling for stupid good scenery. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!
Little waterfall near the river…
