This morning arrived with low clouds and fog. Rain came and went during the night continually soaking the dirt road, pushing our goal of riding the Dempster further and further away. As we loaded up and shoved off we noticed how dry the road was at our location so we decided to turn around and ride it as far as we could until it was unsafe to go further. At least we could experience a little of the highway and get a taste of what would come in the future years.
For the next 45 miles it was a great hard packed road weaving up toward the Tombstone Mountain range. As we passed the visitor center it immediately started getting wet. We continued on for another 5 miles until we had to make a very important decision. We were reaching the point of no return...we had enough fuel to take us to Eagle Plains, but we were also reaching the point where we could not return to the bottom if things got real messy and we could not press on.
One important thing I learned while becoming a pilot is that once you make a decision, stick with it and don't keep on changing your mind or it will end up biting you in the rear. As much as we wanted to finish the Dempster, there were far too many more important things waiting for us at home. We took a picture and turned around...
Back we went, cautiously weaving our way around big brown potholes and thick muck until we passed the visitor center and the road became dry.
thick soupy mud got thicker and thicker
We passed the two KTM riders and stopped to talk. They were going to go as far as they safely could also and asked how far that was. They also said that they called up to Eagle Plains and were told that it was impassible up there.
Glad we made the right decision we headed on to Ross River where we would camp.
Rain came and went throughout the day. It was not very cold although we did have our heated grips on. We stopped for gas and a snack just after 2
This bird was cleaning up the chips Keith dropped. It walked right under my bike.
We managed to squeeze right in-between these two big rain storms.
Then the sun came out. If you look carefully you can see a rainbow...
We both were a little tired from riding until midnight the other day, so we stopped and had supper along the road. We were driving on the Taylor Highway and had not passed one car the whole time. We decided it was safe to cook right by the road
The next car that came by out in the middle of nowhere Canada was a cop! He stopped and asked us if we needed help. We chatted a bit and he was surprised that I was eating on the highway. I told him that was how we did it in North Carolina! Lol. He said be safe and drove away. Only a few cars passed us the rest of the time and we had the whole road to ourselves. The last 40 miles were dirt and as we neared Ross River we found a path by the lake that had our names written all over it.
We set up and mapped the next few days out. I tried to get my GPS to sync to my Bluetooth helmet, but for some reason it wouldn't take it. Bummer
Keith went to bed and I am sitting around the fire sipping hot chocolate. I can hear ducks quacking, and a few other nocturnal noises. The fire is crackling and the sun is actually setting. It's 11:31 but it's not as light as it was a thousand miles further north. This brings the reality that my trip is coming to an end and soon the night will be dark and the day will be hot and sunny. As for the moment.....I am taking in all this peace!
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