I had my Goldwing loaded and ready to go on Friday, the day before I was to leave, so that I could make a fast getaway in the morning. All there was left was the waiting. I had been looking forward to this trip for a long time and now it was finally here. No more rush hour traffic; no more nasty customers; just the open road and the smell of fresh air.
I pulled out of Abbotsford right on schedule, a few minutes after seven , Saturday July 19th 1997. It looked like a great day for riding as the sun was up and not a cloud in the sky. Lets hope it keeps up. As I wound my way through the Fraser canyon the cool air got warmer and by the time I hit Cash Creek it was downright hot.
I fueled up, got a drink and was back on the road in no time. I had a long way to go so I figured I would keep a steady pace. The original plan was that I would camp someplace past Prince George the first night and carry on to Fort Nelson the next day, arriving sometime in the evening. As it turned out the traffic was good and I arrived in Prince George much to early to quit and decided to press on.
Going through the Pine Pass it got a little cloudy and even rained a bit so I decided to press on even further. I fueled up in Chetwynd and headed toward Hudson Hope and finally decided to camp the night at Moberly Lake Provincial campground. It was eight o'clock, I had been on the road for about 13 hours and logged over a thousand kilometers, and I was pretty tired so after a walk down at the lake I called it a day.
You may have noticed that there are not many pictures up to this point. At the pace I was going the first day there was no time to take pictures.
I rose bright and early the next morning, broke camp and was on my way by 5:30 am only to get to the entrance of the park and find the gate closed & locked. The sign at the entrance said "GATE CLOSED AT 11:00 PM AND OPENED AT 7:00". An hour and a half to wait! There was a two foot strip between the gate post and the ditch so I figured I would sneak past the gate. Not as easy as it looked. I managed to get just past the gate and fearing I would drop the bike into the ditch, I leaned it too far inward. Down it went on it's side. Trying to pick it up was useless so I had to shut it off and go and find some help. Another couple was up and waiting just down the road so with his help we got the wing back up I hopped on and headed off. Just down the road and out of sight I stopped and checked the bike: no damage done. I decided not to let this bother me and to enjoy the scenery instead. In the early morning mist I saw I started to see so many deer that I wondered if I might run into one. They were so nice to see, especially the doe's with the fawns. After crossing the Peace River at Hudson Hope the road climbed the valley gently and near the summit was a rest stop where I sat back enjoyed the view and listened to the silence.
Along the way from Fort St. John to Fort Nelson there are many signs telling you to watch out for moose on the highway. I didn't see any. After a while when I saw the signs, I yelled out"SHOW ME THE MOOSE" after the movie Jerry McGuire.
I arrived at Chris's place just before lunch. We filled the afternoon by flying out to a gas well site in a helicopter and then trying to fix Chris's sick, sick computer.
Monday morning was beautifully bright and sunny as we flew out to the remote Tetsa Lake high in the mountains. What a gorgeous sight as we came up upon this deep blue gem, high in the treeless mountains and proceeded to land on the gravel patch where the river flowed into the lake. I believe I won the first, biggest and most fish contest but as we didn't keep track of all the lake trout we caught , I don't know. It was a trip of a lifetime and many times during the day Chris would say " I wonder what the poor people are doing right now?" It was such a unique experience that unfortunately most people will never get to see something like this in person.
And then the rain came. We sat around until noon on Tuesday and then with no sign of letting up, so we loaded up our Goldwings and headed off down the Alaskan Highway. For the rest of the week we were plagued with lousy weather.
It rained on us for most of the day but by late afternoon it quit. We decided to stop and make camp by the Macdonald River. It was quiet, peaceful, and the rain held off for the rest of the day.
The next day we traveled on to the Liard Hotsprings where we camped the night. The hotsprings area has been improved with benches and change rooms but pools themselves have been left in a natural state with ferns and greenery growing right up to the waters edge. This hot water is a welcome relaxant for the weary traveler and it is free to any and all who pass by. After cooking a hearty dinner we went to bed just as it started to rain.
The next day we headed up to the Yukon border and to Watson lake. While there, we visited the world famous "SIGNPOST FOREST". There are literally thousands of signs from all over the world posted up here. Of course we had to leave our mark for all to see. We headed back south and camped for the night just inside the B.C.border.
The next day we rode hard all day to make it back to Fort Nelson. The first leg of my journey was almost over.
I headed out Saturday morning on my way to meet Jim in Prince George. Even though it was a beautiful morning I felt a little down. I would miss Chris, Marlene, Dorothy, Scott, Trisha, and Michelle. It was good to see them again .
From Fort St John until Chetwynd I went through one of the worst rainstorms I have ever been in. Blinded by the steady downpour I was only able to go between 50 to 75 km/h. By the time I reached the pass it slowed down and on the other side the sun came out. I reached the motel before Jim so I ran a hot bath and soaked, waiting for him to show up.