August 2, 2006 – Day 23 – 348 Miles Beaver Creek, BC – Haines, AK
Beaver Creek, BC – Haines, AK
Prior to the Tok Cut-off yesterday, the worst stretch of road on the trip had been a section at Destruction Bay. Knowing this lay before me I decided to stop in Burwash Junction for a cup of coffee before continuing. It was quite an experience.
There were three people sitting at an adjacent table in the restauant,two men and a woman. They appeared to be talking conversationally and I didn’t note anything they said. After one of the men and the lady stood up and left I nodded to the remaining man and just, conversationally, asked him if he lived around the area year-round. He said no, that he’d gotten lucky and inherited some money from his mother and he and his wife spent about four months of the year in southern B.C.
Curious about the condition of the highway during the winter, I asked him if the road was smoother with the snow-pack than it was in the summer. He informed me he’d driven a tow-truck in the area for over thirty years and that the road became very icy and not snow-packed. He then moved over to my table and began telling me his life story; or, better stated, today’s version of his life story. According to Joel P, that was his name, he was born in Canada of American parents therefore holding dual citizenship. Over the course of the next thirty minutes he made the following claims:
1. That everyone who lived out so far were hiding from something (probably true).
2. He ran away from home at 14 and became a petty thief until he lucked into working for a man who had a gold mine in the area and who showed trust in him despite his record with the law (probably not).
3. He joined the U.S. Army and worked in the motor pool (probably true).
4. He later worked in the motor pool for the CIA and “knew” a lot the average person couldn’t know (probably not).
5. He was certifiabily crazy; twelve psychologists/psychiatrists having declared him so, and eligible,because of all he knew, for disability benefits from the U.S. govt (probably both true and false).
6. He served time at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, the primary U.S. Army military prison (your guess is as good as mine).
7. He was “sprung” by an evangelist (I think he was just "sprung").
There was more but I just can’t remember all of it. Just one of those encounters along the Alaskan Highway.
Haines Junction, Yukon Territory
At Haines Junction I took the Haines highway (Hwy 3). This is an absolutely gorgeous ride, but, once again, it’s rainy and cold. I was bemoaning the fact that the cooler weather had affected the game population because I hadn’t seen any since my trip to Fairbanks on Saturday. Almost at that moment, I picked up movement to my right just off the road and, can you believe it, there stood a full-grown grizzly. I’m sure it was grizzly, the large humpback was very visible. He just sort of casually looked at me as I passed by within 30 yards.
Haines Highway
More Haines Highway
Look closely and you can see the storms chasing me out of the Yukon. Boy, was this a cold ride!
Pulled into Haines about 6:00 pm and made reservations for the Juneau ferry tomorrow, connecting on Friday to the Prince Rupert ferry. I’m seriously considering getting off at Prince Rupert and going back on the bike instead of going down to Victoria. Only time will tell.
View from my room at a cruise ship in the Haines Harbor.
Prior to the Tok Cut-off yesterday, the worst stretch of road on the trip had been a section at Destruction Bay. Knowing this lay before me I decided to stop in Burwash Junction for a cup of coffee before continuing. It was quite an experience.
There were three people sitting at an adjacent table in the restauant,two men and a woman. They appeared to be talking conversationally and I didn’t note anything they said. After one of the men and the lady stood up and left I nodded to the remaining man and just, conversationally, asked him if he lived around the area year-round. He said no, that he’d gotten lucky and inherited some money from his mother and he and his wife spent about four months of the year in southern B.C.
Curious about the condition of the highway during the winter, I asked him if the road was smoother with the snow-pack than it was in the summer. He informed me he’d driven a tow-truck in the area for over thirty years and that the road became very icy and not snow-packed. He then moved over to my table and began telling me his life story; or, better stated, today’s version of his life story. According to Joel P, that was his name, he was born in Canada of American parents therefore holding dual citizenship. Over the course of the next thirty minutes he made the following claims:
1. That everyone who lived out so far were hiding from something (probably true).
2. He ran away from home at 14 and became a petty thief until he lucked into working for a man who had a gold mine in the area and who showed trust in him despite his record with the law (probably not).
3. He joined the U.S. Army and worked in the motor pool (probably true).
4. He later worked in the motor pool for the CIA and “knew” a lot the average person couldn’t know (probably not).
5. He was certifiabily crazy; twelve psychologists/psychiatrists having declared him so, and eligible,because of all he knew, for disability benefits from the U.S. govt (probably both true and false).
6. He served time at Ft. Leavenworth, KS, the primary U.S. Army military prison (your guess is as good as mine).
7. He was “sprung” by an evangelist (I think he was just "sprung").
There was more but I just can’t remember all of it. Just one of those encounters along the Alaskan Highway.
Haines Junction, Yukon Territory
At Haines Junction I took the Haines highway (Hwy 3). This is an absolutely gorgeous ride, but, once again, it’s rainy and cold. I was bemoaning the fact that the cooler weather had affected the game population because I hadn’t seen any since my trip to Fairbanks on Saturday. Almost at that moment, I picked up movement to my right just off the road and, can you believe it, there stood a full-grown grizzly. I’m sure it was grizzly, the large humpback was very visible. He just sort of casually looked at me as I passed by within 30 yards.
Haines Highway
More Haines Highway
Look closely and you can see the storms chasing me out of the Yukon. Boy, was this a cold ride!
Pulled into Haines about 6:00 pm and made reservations for the Juneau ferry tomorrow, connecting on Friday to the Prince Rupert ferry. I’m seriously considering getting off at Prince Rupert and going back on the bike instead of going down to Victoria. Only time will tell.
View from my room at a cruise ship in the Haines Harbor.
posted by Minuend | 5:10 PM
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