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Denali Hwy - Gulkana

July 8, 2009
After a delicious “Alaskan breakfast” (pancakes, eggs, and bacon) we got straight down to business.
The ascent to MacLaren Pass began immediately after the MacLaren River. This is the second-highest pass in Alaska. After the first 10 km, we had already climbed 400 meters.
The sun was extremely bright again today. Shortly before the pass we met a cyclist from Germany, Holger from Düsseldorf. After a brief chat, we realized that Holger and Ortlieb were flying from Anchorage to Frankfurt on the same plane. Alaska may be four times the size of Germany, but it's still somehow small.
Shortly after the pass, we spotted two young bull moose. They were already on their way away from us, but I was able to imitate the call of a cow moose so well that the two of them came within 30 meters of us again. The two had probably only recently been rejected by their mother. This is common with moose.

We met a nice couple from Germany with a camper van at a lake. Cheers, and thanks for the delicious cold Alaska beer.
At 5 p.m. the gravel was over, and the highway was paved again. A strange feeling after a good 200 km of gravel.
At Tangle Lake, we had a little ice cream and full water bottles. We pitched our tents near a lake at around 9:30 pm. Billions of flies and mosquitoes motivated us to set up the tents in record time. In the tent, the mosquitoes sounded like a rain shower. Unbelievable.
Next problem: the water bottles were almost empty again due to the thirst after the many ascents. Only emergency stock left to make coffee in the morning.
At this time of day, there are no more motorhomes on the highway that you could stop and ask for water. So we waited until the morning.
A thunderstorm passed us by and spared us for the day. We covered 44 km and 550 meters of altitude today.

At least we could now see something of the mountains.

Ortwin is happy that he can finally see some magnificent landscape!

The tripod and the ball head work perfectly, even though they were attached to the outside of the trike without any protection! That's what I call good quality!

I had hoped that the smoke would clear, but unfortunately it didn't…

I know the Denali Hwy from previous trips, but it's a real shame for Ortwin....

Endless slopes, but that's exactly how I love it ...

Things keep going up, but I'm slowly getting used to it ...

I find it very difficult to breathe with all this smoke, but I still feel fit as a fiddle, all the excess body fat is gone…

Holger from Dusseldorf

Arrived at Mc Laren Pass, the second-highest pass to be reached by road in Alaska!

Ortwin didn't want to believe it, but my lure call worked, the moose came towards us again…

Absolutely magnificent scenery.

The slope surface is constantly changing !

Again and again we cross crystal-clear rivers.

After the long gravel road, the real road feels great...

July 9, 2009
Shortly after we left the tents, we were greeted again by masses of mosquitoes and small flies! It was almost unbearable...
I still have a cold and find it hard to breathe, especially the smoke from the fires and the insects don't help my mood either!
The whole day was a steep climb. Once we reached the highway to Glennallen, we ate a hamburger with chips and had an ice-cold drink in a lodge, what a relief….
After the lodge, the first few kilometers were downhill. But the first climbs were not long in coming. Not exactly fun with all the mosquitoes on the back of our necks…

At Meiers Lake, some people were sitting in front of a cabin and waved to us. We turned around and drove back to the cabin because the lodge at the lake was closed. I wanted to ask the people where we could camp. Someone greeted us in German, it was Tina, her husband Harwel and daughter Anna. As it turned out, they are the new owners of the lodge.
It's great that they are now reopening the lodge after it was closed for two years. Tina is from Germany and has been living in Alaska for 10 years now with Harwel, who is from Alaska.
Jim & Elly, the owners of the cabin, gave us coffee to drink and Ortwin got to eat his first piece of caribou meat, which he obviously enjoyed! “Crazy Bill”, Bill Novotney, was also present; he is from Eagle River.
It was a great evening with very nice people. Around 22:00 we drove to the lodge and Tina & Harvel showed us where we could set up camp.
The insects were terrible today, setting up the tents was a horror! We drove 56 km today.

The lodge at the end of the Denali Hwy, the cold beer tasted good.

Elly, Grazy Bill, Jim, Harwel, Anna, Tina and me

Tina & Harwel in front of their lodge at Meiers Lake

July 10, 2009
The night was wonderfully quiet. It's becoming a little darker at night now, I saw for the first time in a long time the moon again.
We went to the lodge in the morning and Tina & Harwel invited us for coffee. Anna, Crazy Bill, Jim & Elly were also there again.
We saw a bull moose in the lake. We spent a few hours talking about the lodge. Tina & Harwel are in the process of sprucing everything up again. The lodge has been empty for 2 years, so it will take some time to get it back in order!
The surroundings are really great, the lake with mountains in the background, lots of game and a small church. Tina & Harwel will certainly make a good living when the lodge reopens.
We said goodbye to everyone and wanted to pay for the overnight stay, but Tina & Marwel didn't take any money from us, we were their guests, thank you very much!!!

We set off towards Glennallen around midday. Thank goodness it wasn't as hot today as it had been over the last few days, and the insects were a little more restrained. The smoke from the fires wasn't as strong either.
A camper van stopped next to us and a man handed each of us an energy bar, super nice, thank you very much!
The road was a constant up and down, but the climbs weren't that steep. The landscape was great, lots of small lakes but unfortunately no animals.
Shortly before Gulkana we met Jim & Elly again, they had just come back from fishing and were on their way back to Meiers Lake.
We stopped at a gas station at the highway junction to Tok and actually wanted to have a coffee, but the women there closed the store in front of us, very nice…
At around 20:00 we drove to Gulkana. When we arrived, we were greeted by the priest's wife. A little later, the priest joined us. He brought us drinking water and his wife brought us a tin of smoked salmon, thank you very much!
We drove about a kilometer further and pitched our tents by the Gulkana River.
A thunderstorm was approaching. We were able to pitch our tents just in time before it started to rain.
We ate the smoked salmon with crackers, the salmon was so good.
Furthermore, we cycled 70.9 km today in 5:11 hours of pure cycling time.

We continue on an endless road in the direction of Glennallen.

Fire weed along the road again and again.

Most lakes are covered all over with water lilies!

The advantage of riding a recumbent trike, is the low seating position, you don't miss anything!

Our camp by the Gulkana River.

Weiter mit: Gulkana - Wasilla

Only those who risk going too far, will discover how far they can go!

Expedition in the USA, Alaska & Canada, Scandinavia with folding boat, motorboat, catamaran, motorcycle, off-road vehicle, bicycle ...