Jul
10
2009
by Mr Cubes
Tatchun Creek to Twin Lakes (47.1 miles)
Total Miles: 1,202.0
I awoke to the sound of wind and rain at 3:45am and as there was still 24 hours of daylight here it felt like I was lying in my tent on an English summer's day. Things had been tough of late - to recap; I was constantly out of water with nowhere to buy any and my filter took more energy to use than the resultant dribbles merited; I had no fuel for my MSR 'Pocket Rocket' stove (gas cylinder type) and although there was some petrol left in my fuel bottle for the MSR 'Dragonfly', that wasn't working either - I presumed because there needed to be a certain amount of fuel; mosquitoes were permanently attached to my body like hospital drips in reverse and generally I was feeling pretty tired from the hills and roadworks that had been a daily occurrence for the past three weeks. Still, it's better than being in the office I said as I set about trying to filter some water from the creek...
It was now almost impossibly hard to push any water through the thing, so in desperation I took it apart and realised that the ceramic element was covered in slime from previous usage. Using the included scouring pad (which I hadn't previously noticed) I cleaned it up and was delighted to realise how easy it was to filter fresh water once again. Ahh, if only I had read the manual before departure! Sure helps to keep your equipment clean and now with plenty of water on board I set off up the hill in good spirits. They didn't last long as the hill was a killer which is not a good thing first up in the morning when you haven't done 
any stretching. After two miles I was at the Five Finger Rapids rest area which was a good excuse for a breather and a photo opportunity. A big Texan gentleman came over and started talking about how crazy I was to be out here on a bike and it made him sweat just thinking about trying to sit on one. From what I could see this was probably true as he was sweating plenty already. After chatting for some time he then asked if I was from France which, despite many incorrect guesses so far on this trip, has to be the oddest. Does my mockney Essex accent really have a Gallic twist to it or did he just assume that everyone who rides a bike must be from France?
Puzzled but humoured by this meeting I set back off on my way and the rest of the day was significantly easier. On the way into Carmacks I noticed a huge lorry (18 wheeler) had pulled over in a lay-by and the driver was waiting by his cab. Wondering what it was that a long distance driver could want from a cyclist I slowed down to pull up and was met by the wide smile and firm handshake of Roy who I had met the previous weekend in Dawson City. Wayne came down from the cab shortly after and we chatted for awhile before they were off again on their way. It's weird being in the middle of a huge continent where you know literally only a few people and then randomly bumping into them again sometime later. Down in Carmacks 
I finally got to fill up my fuel bottle from the gas station there (yes, it uses regular unleaded petrol) and gave the confused looking cashier my payment of $0.45. Wouldn't normally be worth a mention but this was the first time I have ever used a petrol pump! They don't teach you things like that at school... Getting all excited at the possibilities for dinner I stocked up from their supermarket shelves and was ready to put the last couple of tough days behind me. I also bought some delicious white chocolate and nut cookies which became part of a lunch break I took overlooking one of many beautiful lakes that follow the road all the way to Whitehorse.
The site at Twin Lakes is a mix of good and bad. It's all gravel and sits right at the roadside, but offers by far the best views I've yet had and there were few bugs about. Already camping there were two more German cyclists, Nils and Carolin, who are also heading to Argentina, so we get chatting about how are journeys have been so far and our plans for the rest of it. They had been going at a much slower pace than me and had taken ten weeks to get there whereas I'd only been going three! They seemed in much happier spirits though and were even baking their own bread over an open fire some nights and being a lot more in touch with nature than I was. Made me realise I could do with slowing down and maybe enjoying myself a little more...
In the meantime I tried to get my now fuelled up stove working, but STILL nothing happened. Seemed to be losing pressure somewhere so that the petrol wasn't being forced into the burner unit. Annoyed (it had cost over £100), I reckoned I could get it looked at it Whitehorse and made do with an open fire again. If anything it makes dinner taste better anyway - just takes a little longer!
There was also an ex-pat English woman at the site so I was able to have a conversation where I was actually understood for once before we all retired off to our respective tents for sleep. Until the family from hell turned up and spent two hours putting up their tent, laughing and slamming car doors. I told myself to relax and listen to the waves on the shore...sleep followed.