Alaskan Adventure - 8 days to Prudhoe Bay
July 26th to Aug. 2nd, 2008
Prudhoe Bay is one of the crown jewels of adventure, especially when looked at from a two-wheeled perspective. But, one of the challenges about a trip to Prudhoe Bay is the distances involved. They are staggering.
As an example, it's 11,000-miles to ride from Miami to Prudhoe bay and back. Think about it: 500-miles per day, 22-days in a row just to make the round trip. At a pace like that you don't have time to stop and smell the roses, anywhere.
Prudhoe Bay Sunrise
RawHyde Adventures led an "expedition" from Los Angeles to Prudhoe bay last year, and by the time we returned to LA we had clocked just over 10,000-miles on our odometers. We had been gone for a month with only two days of "downtime" along the way. We decided that in order to continue to showcase this remarkable part of our country we needed a different approach.
Our trip this year will be only 8-days in length, yet you will have a chance to get a glimpse of all the "good stuff" that Alaska has to offer.
RawHyde Adventure's 2008 Alaskan Adventure is in partnership with Alaska Rider Tours, and our friend Phil Freeman. Phil and I have collaborated on a special "RawHyde Style" trip from their home base in Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay and back with some special "off road" adventures designed just for us.
Our Adventure will begin on arrival in Anchorage with a welcoming "Salmon Bake" at the AK riders headquarters where our riders will be assigned their motorcycles.
We will be riding Kawasaki KLR 650's for this journey. I know that many of our clients are BMW riders, but the KLR is a perfect choice for this type of trip because of the fact that it rains a lot in Alaska, and the road to Prudhoe is mostly dirt. The aspect of the road that is particularly interesting is that it is treated with potassium chloride, which is a "salt" that helps hold down the dust during the dry season. BUT - when it rains the road becomes extremely greasy, thus riding a light weight bike like the KLR makes the ride more enjoyable when conditions are wet.
Here is the itinerary for the "Alaskan Adventure:"Day 1 - July 26th - Fly to Anchorage and "Welcome Dinner"
Day 2 - July 27th - Anchorage to Fairbanks
Day 3 - July 28th - Fairbanks to Coldfoot
Day 4 - July 29th - Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay
Day 5 - July 30th - Prudhoe Bay to Cold Foot
Day 6 - July 31st - ColdFoot to Fairbanks
Day 7 - August 1st - Fairbanks to Passionate House
Day 8 - August 2nd - Denali Highway back to Anchorage
Day 9 - August 3rd - Return to civilization with the knowledge that you will absolutely and positively have to return to Alaska again in the future.
Complete Itinerary and Schedule:
DAY 1 -
Fly to Anchorage Alaska and Welcome Dinner
DAY 2 -
Anchorage to Fairbanks:
The ride to Fairbanks is an easy one today; we'll get acclimated to the whole "Alaskan experience" and we'll get used to our single-cylindered steeds as we motor through Denali National Park. Denali is home to Mt. Mckinley, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere, and the staggering beauty of the area will make this a ride to remember. If we are lucky, we'll get a glimpse of the top of McKinley as we ride by, but at over 20,000-feet high, the summit is typically buried in the clouds.
DAY 3 -
Fairbanks to Coldfoot:
Here is where it starts to get remote. It's exactly 498 miles to Deadhorse from Fairbanks. It's paved for the first 70-miles or so, but then the infamous Dalton Highway begins. It's a gravel road most of the way, and it's going to be tough on both our bodies and our bikes. Rental agencies don't allow their customers to take the rental cars on the Dalton Highway, so why are we doing it? I guess it's just that "need" to see whats at the end of the road. We can't make it all the way to Prudhoe bay in a day, so we will spend the night at "Cold foot" The hotel in Coldfoot is "special" - it's a hodgepodge of connected mobile homes left over from the construction of the Alaskan pipeline, and it's the only place to stay. The rooms are clean and food is good, so what more can you ask for in the middle of nowhere?
DAY 4 -
Coldfoot to Prudhoe Bay:
Today's ride is epic. It's why we came. The Brooks Range and the pass over it are nothing less than spectacular. It's 250-miles, more or less, to Deadhorse, and the scenery is just awesome. When we get to Deadhorse we are going to find that there really is not a lot to do. However, there is one special "medal" that the hardiest of us might earn. That is to become a "polar bear", which means that you may choose to go swimming in the artic ocean, which can be a balmy 40-degrees or so in the middle of August. The way to do it is to book a trip to the sea with one of the certified tour companies in the area.
Because of the sensitivity that the state of Alaska has for the Trans Alaska Pipline, tourists are not allowed near the water in Prudhoe Bay unless they are accompanied by an authorized tour guide. So we will book a guide service and go out and dip our toes in the waters of the Beaufort Sea. And maybe one of our merry band will entertain us with the "scream" that almost always accompanies a dip into 40-degree water.
DAY 5 -
Prudhoe Bay back to Coldfoot:
The only problem with the Dalton Highway is that there is "one way up" and "the same way back," so back we go. The good news is that we get to ride through the Brooks Range again, and the views going south are just as good as they were going north.
DAY 6 -
Coldfoot to Fairbanks:
We will bypass our home of three nights ago and continue south of Fairbanks a bit to a wonderful and rustic Alaskan mining camp. We'll have a chance to get a glimpse into rough and tumble lives of Alaskans in the 1800's.
DAY 7 -
Fairbanks to Passionate House:
Today we hit the "Denali Highway" and the road toward Anchorage. Our trip is almost over, but one jewel remains. Passionate House is our home for the night, situated in the middle of the Denali Highway. The Denali Highway used to be the main access road from Anchorage to Denali National Park. Now it's nearly abandoned; it's all dirt and it's a spectacular ride. Passionate House is a motorcycle friendly B&B that has some great dirt trails just outside it's back door, just begging for us to go explore. The ride from Fairbanks to Passionate House is pretty short, leaving lots of time to explore when we arrive.
DAY 8 -
Passionate House to Anchorage:
Alas, all good things must come to an end, today's ride takes us back to Anchorage, but even though we are headed for home, we are still on a motorcycle, and the scenery from Passionate House back to Anchorage is stunning. We'll be in Anchorage by early afternoon, where we'll return our bikes and still have plenty of time for a little souvenir shopping before our "Farewell Dinner"
