Alaska/BC Trip

[jpelliciotta]

Good riding to all, My wife and I just booked passage on the Columbia, of the Alaska State Marine Hiway. We will be traveling North, from Washington State, in August and getting off the boat in Skagway. We'll go North for a bit then South. I'm Looking for advice on things to see and things to avoid. Things to pack and things to leave behind.

:bikes

John P

[DougGrosjean]

You might find my account of a very similar trip (west coast, ferry up Inside Passage, BC, YT, NWT...) interesting and possibly helpful. There's a list of tools, books, references....

http://www.ibmwr.org/pastevnt/grosjeanalaska/alaska.html

[tor1150r]

Good riding to all, My wife and I just booked passage on the Columbia, of the Alaska State Marine Hiway. We will be traveling North, from Washington State, in August and getting off the boat in Skagway. We'll go North for a bit then South. I'm Looking for advice on things to see and things to avoid. Things to pack and things to leave behind.

:bikes

John P

Once in Skagway - and provided you have the time, take the South Klondike Hwy (Hwy2) north to Whitehorse. This stretch is easily done in 1/2 day and the road/scenery was some of the best we saw during our 3-month trip last summer.

I don't know how much time you have, but if you do get to Yukon, it's well worth spending a few of days there. The ride to Dawson City is excellent. You can do a loop into Chicken Alaska and come back down via the Alcan along Kluane Nat'l park, then back down to Haines or Skagway again. We did this riding 2-up on an 1150R. It was challenging at times, but certainly do-able.

I have a packing list on my site (motorcycle-overland.com), which includes camping gear.

Enjoy!!

[yukonairhead2]

Greetings from Whitehorse Yukon, as the previous writer mentioned it is a quick trip to Whitehorse (1.5 - 2 hours) from Skagway. How far north do you want to go or are you palning on heading straight back down the Alaska Highway? Pack warm gear as August is fall here not summer as it is in the south. As you go down the Alaska highway be sure to stop at Liard Hotsprings it is a treat, there is a hotel across the road from the hotsprings or you can camp at the Hot Springs - if you read the Haul Road story in the last BMWMOA ON you will recall his story about wild animals - it is the north and there are grizzles and other critters that you need to be aware of. I would welcome you if you are in Whitehorse but I am going to be in lower BC during August. - The Alaska Highway is a great road, the bush is usually cut back quite far from the road so you can see moose or deer and bison from a distance; however, they do like feeding by the side of the road. Fuel stops are plenty - you will probably find some construction but it is usually well marked. If you have specific questions about this area send me a note. Have a great trip!!

Mike - Yukonairhead
'81 R100RS