Jun
20
2009
by Mr Cubes
Marion Creek – Arctic Circle (66.3 miles)
Total Miles 323.5
Waking up in a tent and listening to the rain outside has always been one of my favourite things. Leaving a tent to cycle in the rain on mud roads with a bike weighing about 50kg now ranks as one of my least favourite things. I spent two hours cleaning all the mud off the bike as it was really slowing me down. Fairly pointless as within a few yards of being back on the road it was totally caked up again. Coldfoot was only five miles from the campsite so it was a case of getting there, having masses of food at the 'All you can eat buffet' I noticed when we stopped on the way north and deciding what to do next.
Took me about an hour to complete those five miles. The rain had stopped, but it was too late for the 'road' which now resembled a chocolate milkshake. Not a great surface for cycling. Nor for pushing a heavy bike, which is what I was doing. What's worse is that when I got to Coldfoot, there was no sign of a buffet. Instead I was told to take a table (the place was completely empty) and the waitress would bring me a menu. Well frankly it was just nice to have someone else cooking for me. I order a patty melt, which I had never heard of before - basically a burger with onions and Swiss cheese on rye bread. Came with a mountain of fries which was a real bonus. Was starting to feel a bit 'normal' when I was brought back to earth by another customer, Roy, who had come in and asked if I was okay...as I looked shell shocked. Four days of hard work without a shower will do that to you Roy! I asked about camping at the site and was told it was free to camp there, but if I wanted a shower - and this was said in a way that suggested it would be the best investment I could ever make - it would cost $10. I thought about it for a little while and decided in the long run it would be better to go on to the next campground, at Arctic Circle, just over 60 miles away. Roy assured me that straight out of Coldfoot the road was pavement (not to be confused with English pavement - basically it wasn't mud!).
And he was right - felt so good to be back on a proper cycling surface. The sun even came out too! Roy passed me about an hour later and took my photo as I cycled past, an action shot! The cycling for the next 30 miles were really easy, mostly flat, in good conditions and on decent road. Happy days! But then the hills started. And the rain started. And the pavement ended. There was no longer any flat parts, in fact there wouldn't be for a few hundred miles, it was all up or downhill. Some of that I liked, some of it I didn't. At one point, Joe the driver passed me again and gave a big wave. Had another load of excited tourists in the back. Sitting in the minibus already seemed like a long time ago.
After this the day was quiet, just me against the hills. I amused myself with the signs posted out here in the middle of nowhere. One of them, for 'Bowhunting Only' struck me as being rather strict and there was a view point called Gobblers Knob which made me glad to realise it isn't just in England where we name places in the most ridiculous manner possible. The last ten miles of the day were very tough going - I was fairly sapped of energy, low on water and getting annoyed with the constant hills.
When I finally got to 66'33 latitude it was another mile or two east and uphill to the campsite. Again, no grass on offer. But thousands of mosquitoes. I made up dinner, crawled into the tent and realised that at midnight it would be the start of the longest day. And I would be on the point on the planet where the sun won't set. Which is a fat lot of good when the fog has returned and you can't tell if it's morning, noon or night anyway. I decided not to stay up for it and soundly fell asleep.