Thursday June 19. Beaver Creek British Columbia to Haines Alaska.    Six degrees Celsius with a steady wind and moderate rain equals a cold and wet motorcycle ride. Did I think the entire ride was going to be paradise on two wheels? You have to expect some hardship, right?

I borrow a hairdryer from one of the motel guest and dry my gloves and boots. Since the bike is wet, I take the opportunity to do a little bug removal. I borrow a rag and remove layers of smeared critters. The hotel has neither television or radio, so I ask the maid for the weather forecast. It's encouraging. She tells me the rain will pass in a few hours - sooner if I am riding east. Hearing this I decide to have breakfast and wait until the storm passes. By ten o'clock the rain is down to a drizzle. Things are looking better.

Better did not last long. The LT riders I spoke with yesterday were right. As much as I could not believe that the road could be worse today than yesterday, it is worse. The unrelenting rain of last night has turned mud soup into mud stew. It is thicker, deeper and more dangerous. Waiting at the construction stops, the mud is up to the toe of my boot. It is almost comical to watch fellow motorcyclist sliding toward me in what looks like full-lock power slides as they try to keep forward momentum. The good news is that if they got as far as they have coming toward me, I figure I can surely ride the route that they came from. The one hundred and sixty miles of gravel, mud and sloop is the worst riding I have ever done on a street bike. I now understand how the LT rider had a drop.

Finally, the construction ends. The rain stops and the sky is clearing. I ride into Kluane Lake. The area is beautiful. The clouds drape the mountain tops and the lake is sensational. [pic] [pic]  Located in the St. Elias Mountains, the park contains some of Canada’s highest mountains (including Mt. Logan, the nation’s highest peak) and the world’s largest array of glaciers and ice fields outside of the polar regions. The highway runs along the base of the mountains and offers the best riding any motorcyclist would desire. After two days of poor riding conditions, this is paradise! Up to Chilket Pass to 3493 feet.  The clouds are everywhere, sometimes right down to the road. There is no traffic. Every time I round a bend in the road there is another mountain and another incredible view. 

I reach Haines Junction and leave the Alaskan Highway for the Haines Highway. The Haines Highway is one hundred and fifty-five miles of sheer motorcycling pleasure.  It is one of the most dramatic rides in the entire trip, with high peaks, glaciers, rivers and lakes lining the entire route. This ride is on the east side of the mountains that I rode when I drove into Valdez. [pic]  I cross the border into Alaska. This is my sixth border crossing on this trip. The ride into Haines is exceptional.

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