the High North
For the first time after 15 years of motorcycle travel, which have taken our wheels to almost every corner of Europe, we decided to take the leap into a new continent. We have always been passionate about the High North. Our trips to Scandinavia and Iceland and the two journeys in Scotland had strengthened our conviction that those were the landscapes we wanted to continue travelling through. And since we were not keen on leaving - for now - the northern hemisphere, the choice of Canada and Alaska came naturally.
The first hurdle to overcome when organising a trip at such a distance was certainly vehicle management. The choice between shipping our motorcycle or renting one on site took a lot of time to manage. Although we found an excellent alternative for the first option, in the end we opted for a rental. Henceforth, we gave up our intention to always and only travel with our motorcycle (after all, we've been loyal GS riders for ever!) in favour of an on-site rental, far more manageable and safer. And there were no doubts about choosing a BMW R1250 GS, to feel like we were riding our own bike, and for the reliability it has always provided.
All that was left for us to do was to book our flights to Vancouver, apply for ETA and ESTA permits for Canada and the USA, and work out our itinerary. Concerning the last point, my propensity to try to see as much as possible, regardless of the distances involved, won once again over Armanda's more detailed approach. We therefore planned an itinerary that would allow us to see (or simply pass through) as much of both Countries as possible. What follows is a brief account of our adventure.
Vancouver and Rocky Mountains
We set off from Vancouver, headed to the Rocky Mountains and their famous nature reserves, which we reached after a couple of break stops. Their choice was almost obligatory, due to the scarcity of main arterial roads, and the immense distances to cover to reach the first destinations we were interested in. Travelling east along Trans-Canada 1, we passed through the Glacier & Yoho National Park and entered Alberta, reaching the beautiful Lake Louise.
We immediately realised that the parks deserved a more thorough visit than simply crossing them along the main road, but there it was. Major attractions often require long stretches on foot that are not compatible with our clothing and, above all, with our travel time.
Lake Louise was an exception, due to the possibility of parking the motorcycles a few hundred metres from the shore.
Kilometre after kilometre, we entered the heart of our itinerary. From Banff - a super-touristy town that is the starting point to cross the legendary Canadian Rocky Mountains - onward. We had read about the famous Icefields Parkway[A1] (No. 93) over and over again, and despite that we were not prepared for the amazement it offered, right from the first curves. And not only for the views either. Shortly after the toll gate (which was the only toll road we travelled on in the entire 21 days), we were attracted by a couple of cars stopped at the roadside, admiring something in the dense bush. We got close enough to spot the first of the many wild animals we would encounter over the next few days: a wonderful brown bear intent on hoarding shrubs.
[A1]Segnaliamo la presenza di un refuso nel file di partenza: è 'Icefields' non 'Icefileds'.
Dawson Creek
The rest of the day brought with it the only real inconvenience of the trip. Weeks before our departure from Italy, we had by chance discovered the presence of huge fires in the Jasper town and nature reserve area. Google Maps still did not develop any direct route between Banff and Jasper, the end point of route 93.
After stopping at the beautiful Bow Lake, we took Route 11 towards Nordegg with the aim of reaching Hinton, our planned overnight stop. The quickest connection between these two towns was through another well-known road: the Forestry Trunk Road No. 40, unpaved for much of the route. The information gathered on the spot was not entirely convincing: the road was seemingly in bad conditions, with a possible block about halfway through due to the fires.
We therefore opted for safety, which however resulted in a detour that brought the balance of the day to almost 700 km travelled!
Over the next few days, things got serious. Upon reaching Dawson Creek, the start of the legendary Alaska Highway No. 97, we continued our journey northbound, re-entering British Columbia and setting wheels in the boundless Jukon. The stops were scheduled based on the size of the towns where we would sleep in, and, consequently, on the availability of accommodations and restaurants. We spent the night at Fort Nelson where, still on Route 97, we were lucky enough to encounter a couple of herds of huge bison. That stop-over was followed by Watson Lake with its forest of plaques and road signs, and finally Whitehorse. The capital of the Yukon welcomed us after hours of heavy rain, which made us appreciate even the poor quality of the motel we were staying in.
The Great North was getting closer
The Great North was getting closer and closer. From Whitehorse, we pointed the GS beak in the direction of Dawson City, with its gold rush history we read about countless of times. A few tens of kilometres before the city, we found a junction between two thrilling roads: the Klondike Highway on which we were travelling, and the legendary Dempster Highway, which we had excluded from our itinerary from the beginning. Reaching and getting back from Eagle Plains would have been too long, and certainly too demanding even for Armanda's infinite patience.
We immediately elected Dawson City, where the Yukon and Klondike rivers meet, one of the most characteristic towns encountered on the first part of our trip. We couldn't have been happier: we slept in a beautiful historic hotel with adjoining restaurant, and, above all, our minds were set on what was coming the next day: the Top of the World Highway and Alaska!
Wonderful sunshine and perfect visibility accompanied us all the way, from the quick crossing of the Yukon River to all the wonderful kilometres of this dirt road that, having crossed the US border, changes its name to Taylor Highway.
A stop in Chicken, a quaint mining village with local bars and shops, was another highlight of the day. The last stretch of the day gave us yet another emotion: a pair of huge moose on the side of the road completed a truly unforgettable experience. We were in the centre of Alaska, running through mountains and wonderful views towards Denali Park.
With the ever-popular hindsight, a more detailed exploration would certainly have made sense, however it would have required a longer stopover and the use of local public transportation.
All the more so considering that the next stop, Anchorage, the capital city, did not provide any particular excitement, leading us to cancel the second night initially planned. Too far away and with too far to go to think about going back north... maybe next time!
The return journey
The departure from Anchorage virtually marked the beginning of the return journey. The planned route met the outward route in Tok, to continue in the direction of the Canadian border, which we reached and crossed at Beaver Creek.
We headed south for a second stop in Whitehorse, this time passing through Carcross, to admire its bridge and beautiful old buildings. From Whitehorse to Watson Lake, we went back on the same stretch of the Alaska Highway, and then abandoned it in favour of what would be the penultimate of the fabled Canadian roads we have been fortunate enough to travel on: the Stewart-Cassiar Highway No. 37.
We drove along it until it joined the Alberta Highway No. 16, which took us back to British Columbia.
We approached Vancouver through what would unfortunately be the last of the great and famous roads of this immense Country. Highway 99 led us to the end of our journey, passing through the Olympic town of Whistler and taking on the name Sea-to-Sky Highway in its final stretch.
Once back in Vancouver, we stopped at the small oceanfront town of Steveston to make the last night of an incredible trip less bitter. We also treated ourselves to a fish dinner to make up for twenty days of eggs, burgers and fries, perhaps the only negative memory among the thousands of positives we will take with us. We spent our departure day packing up and handing in our trusty steed, which, as we amply imagined, led us all 9,300 km with its wonderful elasticity and mighty sound.
When we started to imagine this journey, we sought inspiration and information on several fronts. We looked into the experiences of several bikers, either by contacting them directly or by reading about their adventures in the books they published (thank you Francesco, and thank you Ciocio!). In the hope that we too can be useful to other travellers who decide to travel the same roads, we close this brief travel account with a few observations and, why not, some advice.
This is a journey in the deepest sense of the word. Distances are important, and unless you can extend the travelling period, you should plan your daily stretches carefully. This task is made easier by the fact that as you go up in latitude, the attractions worthy of a dedicated stop decrease radically. The real, and perhaps only, attraction is what the views and the roads you drive along offer, kilometre after kilometre. Endless forests, mountains as far as the eye can see, lakes and rivers of sometimes impossible colours. All this on a variety of roads that makes it the perfect destination for a motorcycle trip, despite the lengthy distances travelled every day, and the sometimes inclement weather.
To see, or at least cross, all that the vast territory of Canada and Alaska have to offer, would require considerably more time than we had available. We passed through beautiful parks that would have deserved a few days of exploration on their own. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, we also did not tackle some really wild roads, because of the time required to travel even partially on them.
However, this is the time off our work allows, and we try to make the best use of them to explore, on two wheels, as much of this immense world as possible. And as mentioned, this trip was our first challenge outside Europe. So we are ready to dream about the next destinations and with so much still to explore, it becomes difficult to even imagine them. But that is also part of the wonderful experience of motorcycle travel.
