Yukon Ho!

Northward!

April 21, 2006 on 12:18 pm | In Trip Planning | No Comments

What is this bike tour we spoke of at the end of the last post? Want a little more detail? All right. You asked for it, YOU GOT IT!Once we’ve made it to Tofino, via van, and partied it up beach-style for my sister’s wedding (the excuse we’re using to justify leaving behind all that we know in Ontario), the bike tour begins. We’ll drive from Tofino up to Port Hardy because we’ve got a driveway there to store the van in for the three months we’ll spend biking. Once we’ve ditched the van, we’ll board a 16-hour ferry over to Prince Rupert and begin the ride up to Dawson City, Yukon (about 45 days of riding) to catch the annual Dawson City Music Festival.

Since hotels and hostels can get expensive, we’ll be camping along the way, and as we’ll be jobless while we ride, one of the goals of the trip is to do it as cheaply as possible. This means overpriced campgrounds are out of the question and we’ll be relying on them only as a backup. The majority of our “sites” will be on the sides of roads, and in the backyards of people we come across on our way (this is where you come in –see our Let Us Stay! section for more details. We’re so interactive!).

For a list of all the gear we’ll be hauling in order to maintain complete and total self-sufficiency like the rough and rugged mountain folk we aspire to be, see the Gear List.

The return trip is, as yet, unplanned but I imagine it’ll just be backtracking since we’re pretty sure there’s about…oh say…one road up to the Yukon.

Amy

Westward Bound!

April 9, 2006 on 11:31 pm | In Trip Planning | No Comments

Let’s get things started by planning how we’ll reach our starting point which is over 4000km from home. I’ve divided the Westbound trek into seven driving days. It’s doable in four or five, but I don’t want to wear out the vehicle nor its occupants.

Day One: A relatively short day, we’ll aim for Chutes Provincial Park just past Sudbury (512km).

Day Two: Might as well aim high. 729km to Rainbow Falls Provincial Park (before Thunder Bay).
Day Three: 720km will take us just beyond te Ontario/Manitoba border to (the enormous) Whiteshell Provincial Park.

Day Four: 808km past Regina to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park. Gotta get across the prairies quickly.

Day Five: 557km to Little Fish Lake Provincial Park near the Alberta Badlands (N.E. of Calgary)

Day Six: 688km to Nakusp, BC where if we are lucky we will camp for free next to the natural hot springs.

Day Seven: 624km to Vancouver. Total distance covered so far: 4640km.

This brings us within striking distance of Tofino (another 220km plus a two hour ferry ride). If we leave on the 24th of May, this plan brings us to Vancouver on May 30th i nthe early evening, and hopefully leaves some time to visit friends and family before the wedding on June 3rd.

We are still trying to determine where we will officially start pedaling from. If we are lucky, we will secure a parking spot for the van close to Port Hardy. If not, we may have some extra pedaling ahead of us if we leave the van in the Victoria area.

It’s getting close, I can feel it!