2009 Alaska Motorcycle Trip

8:24 PM:  I just got a SPOT “OK/Check-In” sent at 8:05 AM in the Coldfoot Camp.   If you zoom in you will see the camp covered with snow.  There should be no show now.

I thought there might be a SPOT “OK/Check-In” or “Track” problem.  Last night the last “Track” ping that I received was made ~30 miles from Coldfoot at 10:11 PM.  I did not get a SPOT “OK/Check-In” at the Coldfoot Camp.

When I talked to JimmyV & Big Steve last night at the Coldfoot Camp, Steve said they did send a SPOT “OK/Check-In” at the Coldfoot Camp.  He was going to resend but I did not receive a final end-of-day “OK/Check-In”.

All seems good now.  JimmyV and BIg Steve on on their final push to Deadhorse!

The first big challenge is the Atigun Pass, 60 miles away.  This is the crossing of the Brooks Range and the Continental Divide and the highest pass in Alaska.  The elevation is 4,800 feet and the grade is a whopping 12-13%.  Typically the pass is perpetually in snow or rain.  The road is dirt/gravel which results in a very mucky, sloppy, mud surface.  There are Avalanche warning signs all the way up and down the other side.   This is where the Continental TKC 80 Twinduro knobby tires pay for themselves!

The north decent side is also 12-13% grade.  I thought the down side was scarier than the up side.  As they descend on the other side there are several stretches of chip-seal.  The landscape is tundra.  First rolling hills the plain flat marshy, tundra.

The last 60 miles can the most dangerous.  There have been more recorded motorcycle crashes 60 miles out of Deadhorse.  Riders get antsy and start pushing to the finish.  Kinda like a plow horse heading for the barn.  They just want to finish the ride ASAP and get surprised by the chip-seal ending and entering deep gravel/dirt/mud faster than they can handle.

SPOT “Track” is good at 8:20 AM.  They’re on the road!!

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