Jun
29
2009
by Mr Cubes
Moon Lake to Tok (18.4 miles)
Total Miles: 752.1
Today's planned journey was the short ride to Tok, but even that would be difficult with a puncture which is what I was greeted with when I woke up. Always suspicious of punctures that appear overnight I started to look around for the squirrel from the previous night as my initial suspect. I changed the inner tube which seemed to be losing air from a scuffed up area; checked the tyre for glass or anything else that might have caused it but it looked fine - just a little worn around the sides.
Back on the road and the journey to Tok takes less than 90 minutes on good roads with magnificent scenery the whole way. This meant I could have an extended rest for the remainder of the day and as Tok looked like quite a busy little town I decided to spend another day resting there too. I checked into the Golden Bear campground and set up the tent and then set to work on cleaning up the bike. That is when I noticed that the back tyre isn't just scuffed around the side wall, it was shredded! The new inner tube was poking through some quite large openings and explains why the other one suffered so much. Time for the spare! It at least means I now had a weight and space saving - even at the cost of having no spare tyre. The Dalton really is a tough road and I'm grateful I decided to bring the spare after all.
The next two days are spent walking around Tok which is very much a tourist town - they know that everyone travelling between Alaska and Canada passes through it so there are a lot of campgrounds, motels and souvenir shops. A couple of bars too, so I spent some time in those getting to know the locals, the highlight of which was Tony; a big bearded bear of a man with a cracking personality and a story for every occasion. Did keep thinking I was Australian though. He knows California really well so we agreed to meet later with my maps for him to show me all the 'must see' locations. After this I was invited to dinner with him and Jackie, his wife, at 'Fast Eddy's' - the best restaurant in town! They told me I wasn't to look at the price, I could have anything I liked. Well after a week of noodles that was a Godsend so I went for their surf and turf which came with a visit to the salad bar and a mountain of fries. Naturally. They also ordered a plate of breaded mushrooms which would have fed a small army and various other side dishes. Tony kept wandering off to talk to other diners - even if he didn't know them. A very likeable guy.
Whilst we are talking they suggest that instead of staying on the Alaska Highway to Whitehorse, I take a detour through Chicken and Dawson City on the Top of the World Highway - assuring me that although it would be tough...it would be well worth it. I'd already heard about Chicken being a great place so this seemed like a worthwhile diversion. We got carry out boxes for all the food that wasn't eaten - which was still a lot and they gave me a lift back to the campsite. I'm still uneasy about accepting such kindness from complete strangers, but I reckon I could get used to it.
It had been a great couple of days meeting some really nice people, relaxing the body and mind and setting myself a new route. Time to see why they call it the Top of the World Highway...