Alaska-Canada Adventure Ride
Day 16 - Chena Hot Springs, Alaska to Denali NP, end of Denali Highway, Alaska (372 miles)
With the rain still coming down in the morning, our plan was to head south past Fairbanks on the George Parks highway (3), explore the first 20 miles of Denali National Park open to vehicle traffic
without a permit, then continue on to Cantwell, and finally take the dirt Denali Highway (8) toward Paxson, and see how far we would get. The previous day, we had parted ways with Jon and Vicki that were now a day back at Chena Hot Springs, with
them possibly taking a different return plan via the ferry at Skagway all the way to Bellingham.
On the ride back into Fairbanks while following Tucker I got quite a scare when a moose that looked about 10' tall crossed the road just ahead of him. The thing looked the size of a small dinosaur. I have seen moose before earlier on the Dempster and in Yellowstone the previous year, but apparently not this large or moving this fast. It gave me a new level respect for this formidable looking beast.
One benefit of the rain over the last couple of days is that many of the forest fires that had been plaguing much of Alaska and northwest Canada were finally dissipating. As a result, between the storm fronts the skies were getting clearer, and magnificent scenery was coming into view.
The ride through the first 20 miles of Denali National Park was quite scenic, but the traffic was somewhat of a turn-off given the type of open riding we had become accustomed to for most of the trip. After hitting the ranger staffed checkpoint that only allows vehicles with permits, we turned around, took a few more snapshots, and then decided to head out of the park and keep going.
East of Cantwell we headed east on the renowned Denali Highway. It is quite an impressive road, yet mostly unspoiled due to it being mostly dirt and with no services, keeping most of the tourist traffic away. Given the recent rains, at first I was a bit worried about the potential for mud. But other than a few patches near the beginning on the west side, there was nothing too hazardous, and it seemed to dry quickly. Of the different adventure motorcycle segments of this trip, the Denali Highway is one of my favorites and should be considered a must-do for any such trip to Alaska.
We ended up riding most of the Denali Highway that day before finding a place to camp along a secluded lake at the end of some unmarked dirt road. This type of camping is my favorite and can not be replicated if staying in a motel. Not a soul around and feeling like you are in a true wilderness, while surrounded by beautiful scenery.
Images (click to select the larger view at bottom)
All content and images are property of Stephen Fischer Photography, copyright 2019 - 2020. Last updated: 1/10/2020