2up to Hyder, Alaska, To see the bears

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
We just got home from a 6,850 mile run up to Hyder , Alaska.
This isn't going to be a day by day ride report but I have lots of pictures to show you.
We stayed off 4 lanes all that we could and even rode some great off pavement roads and trails.
Like out past Hole in the Wall, WY. were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid out from the law.
We rode the Lolo pavement and a chunk of the Lolo Trail.
We rode some of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.
And Back in to Coolidge MT. ghost town, and Bannack, MT.

I'll even get Michelle on here to give you her thoughts on living off the bike for 2 weeks [camping and cooking out]
As always it will take me a few days to get up all the pictures I would like to show you.

I'll start with one from the middle of the trip just to show you we really made it.
Steve

 

limey

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
1,913
Location
Bowmanville Canada
Looking forward to the pics.
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
You may notice in that picture that I am running Mitas E07 tires.
I have been running K60 tires for the last 3 years.
K60s are good but I always knew there had to be a better all around tire coming out some day.
I think I have found my new tires.
These E07 tires feel like sport tires on twisty pavement and are great off road.
They have a rounded profile not a flat profile like the K60s.
I now have 7,000 miles on them and they still look very good. [ I'll go out and get a picture of the rear and show you]
Did we ride in rain you ask? Has any one ridden to Alaska and not ridden in rain?
Actually we had very little rain until we returned to Iowa today. [I should of asked has anyone ever rode through Iowa with out riding in rain?]
They felt like we were on dry even in a down pour.
Steve
 

Karson

Active Member
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 26, 2012
Messages
2,001
Location
IOWA
Steve - nothing really to add of value other than I'm subscribed and that I think it's great what you and the Mrs. do together.

Proud to have met you in Ouray and briefly in Ames, but hope to get to meet you at the rally in Oct if you haven't worn yourself out from riding yet this year?! :D
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
On the way out west we rode just south of the Black hills the weekend that Haul you bike to Sturgis rally was starting.
I was always looking for Adventure bikes on this trip and the first 5 GSs we seen were riding with Harleys, No dirt for them.
We ended up seeing 4 1190 KTMs and one of them was traveling with a Trike.
We seen 3 Super Teneres ,, One in Red Lodge, MT. one on the Lolo paved road, and one in Hyder, All three black 2012s
The only Adventure rider we actually got to meet was a great guy named Gary, he was from Ireland going up to Alaska and then down to the tip of Argentina. On a 660 Tenere


Highway 2 through Nebraska on the way out.





This is on our way to find Hole-in-the-Wall, WY.
were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hid from the law.
We rode over 100 miles off pavement and only seen one person, [a lady on a 4 wheeler going to move some cattle]














 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Karson said:
Steve - nothing really to add of value other than I'm subscribed and that I think it's great what you and the Mrs. do together.

Proud to have met you in Ouray and briefly in Ames, but hope to get to meet you at the rally in Oct if you haven't worn yourself out from riding yet this year?! :D
Karson and Limey Thanks.
I sure hope to be at the rally,, I need to get my act together soon It's coming up fast.
I need a vacation!
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Next up on our list of places to visit was Coolidge, MT.
When we rode back in there to a parking lot we thought that they were going to make us do some hiking.
There was big boulders placed all around to stop vehicles from going on up the trail.
We were just going to leave when I told Michelle that I would just walk up the trail a bit to see if I could see anything.
Well just past the boulders was a sign that said "no 4 wheeled vehicles, Open to motorcycles and snowmobiles "
Great! we rode up the trail about .5 miles and found Coolidge.
There must be cabins in all kinds of decay for a half mile.









 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
This is the Anaconda brick smoke stack.
The stack rests on a concrete foundation and measures 585 feet 1.5 inches (178.3 m) high. The inside diameter of the stack is 75 ft at the bottom and 60 ft at the top. The wall thickness ranges from six feet at the bottom to two feet at the top.


We had ridden close by but had never been on Lolo road so we were looking forward to that.
It was the Lolo trail that I was most interested in though.



We hadn't gone very far down the road when a mini van flipped onto it's side.
I looked in the open passenger side window and a girl was in the drivers seat crying.
I opened up the rear hatch and went in and got her out.
Her left arm was chewed up from the side window shattered glass but she will be fine.


Then it was time to find the real trail.
We stopped at the ranger info building to get a map and ask questions.
The ranger told me "Well that trail is mostly only used by atvs and trail bikes."
I thought it was a blast!
Two and a half hours of riding on it and we only seen one person and he was backpacking.











 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
The next day we crossed into Canada and headed for Castlegar to the start of the Kettle Valley rail trail.
This was a fun ride of 47 miles of trail.
We seen 2 ATVs and 5 MT. Bikers out there.



















Lots of Tunnels and Trestles but this is the tunnel I really wanted to see.
The Bulldog Tunnel. 2992 feet long.






This was almost a show stopper but we made it.




 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
So these pictures will all be in British Columbia on the way to Hyder.







Some mining area we rode up in.




When we got into Canada I gave Michelle her own camera so she could get pictures of the bears, One evening while in bed I got her camera out to see what all she had taken. { we had seen about 5 bears}
There was nothing on her camera but black fuzzy spots and empty ditches.
She was so excited every time we seen bears that she couldn't get them on film.
I had to start helping her out.





Kitwanga




Kitwancool


And the turn off to Hyder
Meziadin Junction
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Alaska at last.

Bear Glacier out side of Hyder.


We went to the Halibut Bus for food.


Past Hyder is the Salmon Glacier ,,, a must see.





They opened the road past the Salmon Glacier back into a mining area.






Then it was time for the Grizz to show up in Fish Creek.


 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Hi, this is Michelle. Steve wanted me to get on here and share my thoughts about our vacation. First off, the Tenere. The Tenere is an awesome bike, just right for our type of riding style. Before hand Steve ordered me a Seat Concepts seat. I had a Corbin which was great except the leather was slick and I was always sliding all over and off it. The Seat Concepts seat was a perfect choice and very comfortable the entire trip, even those long days. Our days weren't quite as long as I expected we would have to ride each day. We were usually camped by 6:00, in bed by 9:00, and up again at 5:00, so had a good 8 hours of sleep each night. We had purchased new air mattresses and 20 degree sleeping bags we could zip together so I could steal Steve's heat when it got cold at night. We also purchased a Moto Fizz tail bag which worked out great also. It is very easy to load when picking up camp and it was also my back rest when riding which helped tremendous. Even with the Tenere loaded the ride and suspension was extremely smooth. We had put on Mitas tires also which was a first for us. I was very impressed. No howling or road noise, and the bike felt very secure in tight corners. We did some off road riding, fully loaded, which was very fun and very scenic. This was a nice change every so often. The most scenic part of our trip had to be the canyon leading into Hyder, Alaska. The mountains were a lush green with waterfalls everywhere you looked. It was beautiful. We rented a hotel room in Hyder. This was a necessity for me as I do not sleep in a tent with grizzlies around!!! We were fortunate to see quite a bit of wild life along the roads and had very good weather, although slightly cool in the mornings. Over all this trip was excellent and I am so glad we were able to go. We put on 6850 miles in 2 weeks. I was very concerned before we left because looking at the map we had a lot of area to cover but it really didn't seem like we had to ride all that hard. We avoided interstates which helped a lot and took more scenic back roads. Would I turn around and do it tomorrow? No, but Steve probably would :)
 

Ryan G.

I ride for pie
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
47
Location
Greensboro,MD
Its interesting, my wife and I made a similar trip to Skagway from Seattle and back. Most of my pictures were similar to yours with my wife sitting on the back of the bike with great scenery in the background. If you didn't know better, you would think she never got off of the bike.
Thanks for posting the pictures.
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Before this trip we hadn't even thought of this but the riding was going so easy that after Hyder we turned North on the Cassiar Highway and went all the way to the Yukon Territory and came down the Alaska Highway.
On the way north around a corner we came up on a wolf. He was huge but took off fast so no pictures of him.
It was still a low cloud cover so Michelle didn't get to see the best of the Cassiar but it is still beautiful.









It's a long way to go to get a picture.
 

eemsreno

Well-Known Member
Founding Member
2011 Site Supporter
2012 Site Supporter
2013 Site Supporter
2014 Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Messages
3,227
Location
On your way to everywhere, , Iowa
Before this trip Michelle would have never agreed to camp in the Yukon remote Provincial Park , she must have gotten used to the bears.











Muncho Lake


Liard Hot Springs is awesome! Michelle loved it.


Michelle took this picture and redeemed herself on all them missed bear pictures, This is one of my favorite pictures .


This is Gary on his America tour. 660 Tenere
http://garyridestheamericas.co.uk/


Alaska Highway


Well it's unfortunate that I have to report this
But if you are expecting a remote Alaska Highway Adventure of a life time ,,Your too late!
The last 200 miles [south end] of the Alaska highway is being paved into a 100 foot wide super slab and just packed with semis and pickups.
The oil companies are having a big hay day , finding oil and gas right along the Alaska highway. One big traffic jam!

A remote adventure is always the first thing sacrificed for so called progress.

 
Top