BigDog/Dingweed: Winging It To Alaska

Is that a retractable guard or wires used to keep brush off the shield like I've seen on expedition rigs? Either way, its cool even if I don't really understand the utility of either...

Great report as always. Big dog because of you I bought a husky 610 how do you think that bike would do on a Alaska trip?? Also because of you I really got into small bike touring and have never looked back. There is a big difference between exploring and traveling. Exploring is were the smaller bikes shine.

PHP:

Vinnie---there is something very special for you in the upcoming installment----better wash that popcorn down with someting cold

It would be superb------you cold take any nasty stuff with ease---and it's superb wide ratio transmission would really shine.
Excellent choice

BigDog

The DVD plays around the clock in the shop, stop and listen, stop and watch, and sometimes just stop and get lost in the trip. Also, just finished checking out BigDogAdventures.com and looked up and just spent over and hour going thru the pictures there.

Great Adventure my friend, can't wait for more.

Today we'd ride about 270 miles from the border of the Yukon down to the little town of Telegraph creek in British
Columbia ---80 milesdown a dead end dirt road. Taking route 37 south most of the way.

We didn't hang around here very long.





We pulled over and checked out the vehicle in case some one was still in it.
What a bummer----that sure ruined their vacation--there is a trailer on the back with a 4-wheeler on it.








We turned West toward the Pacific ocean towards Telegraph creek and I was greeted with my favorite type of road.
My absolute favorite-----damp dirt. Not gravel-------dirt.
Which can be impassable if wet.






This road was just awesome----I was never happier on any road on this trip then this one.
From here, I imagined this road would just drop us all the way to the ocean.





We crossed so many little one lane bridges with wooden bottoms on the way.













Scott had said he wanted to fish on Telegraph creek but I had heard from another guys ride down here (Crooked Creek on AdvRider) that you can't.
So much for that.





At one point on this ride I felt as if I were dropping down into Copper Canyon Mexico----it was as spectacular as that and
thats saying a lot. That is a very samll Indian village you are seeing down below and is on the reservation.





I have never seen a grade sign that steep before---the switchbacks going down were really steep and you
had to watch your speed or risk sliding over the edge.











Man this was magnificent.
Today----we had the best time and rode slowly going West looking at each view.
But sometimes the damp dirt was nice to wick it up a bit.






After 80 miles of bliss---we come into the town of Telegraph Creek--which is not on the reservation.






This guy had everything you could possible need.





Telegraph Creek is a small community located off Highway 37 in Northern British Columbia at the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph
Creek.[1] The only permanent settlement on the Stikine River, it is home to approximately 350 members of the Tahltan First Nation, as well as
another 50 non-native residents. The town offers basic services, including Anglican and Catholic churches, two general stores, a post office,
a clinic with several nurses on-call around the clock, two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers, and a k-12 school. Steep river banks
and rocky gorges form the terraced nature of the geography.

The community includes Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6, Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6A, and Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve
No. 11[2][3][4] which are under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation of Telegraph Creek. Stikine Indian Reserve No. 7, which
is one mile west (downstream) and on the opposite side of the Stikine River, is under the governance of the Iskut First Nation
of the settlement of Iskut, which is on the river of the same name. The two bands together comprise the Tahltan Nation.





OK---this is Travis.
I couldn't believe my eyes as to what I saw as I was poking around town.
A vintage Yamaha 1974 DT250A 2-stroke---it was low miles and cherry.
And Travis cruised around on it in the area all the time.
Travis was doing some carpenter work and when he saw he googling his bike he came down and
we had a long chat---he also runs the little grocery store and restaurant next door--with who I thought was his wife ???
This same bike is the 3rd bike I ever owned and I terrorized the neighborhood and town on that thing---when
it was running anyway.





This is the neat little store and restaurant-----I wish we had been hungry.





I finally broke down and had some apple pie and ice cream.




They asked me to sign their guest book and I did.







1951---the year I was born---evidently the river went all the way to the ocean ????









I didn't see this on the way in------and I asked where they got their electricity from.
There are big diesal generators in those semi-trailers.
I saw this setup in several other little towns.




There is gas food and lodging at Telegraph creek---I was quoted $85 for a cabin.
I wished we had stayed---there was a lot of daylight left and we rode the 80 miles back out---and that ride
was as good as the ride in of course--and we stayed in a motel at Deese Lake---Dumb, Dumb---super Dumb.

I believe that would be a 1974 Yamaha DT250A. Too Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big Dog, superb report, Vinnie, I knew you would have to give the details on that absolutely cherry Yammie DT250.

We headed South on Rt. 37 again from Deese Lake and I spied a little bridge over a neat small canyon.





A neat little dirt road ensued----and the road was not well traveled---it was one of those roads after riding on
a while that you get to thinking it won't go thru.
I've read stories of people going down deactivated roads up here and they might dead end
at a bridge over a river----except the bridge is gone.
So now we are just winging it--and we'll see where this road goes.

We had to back track a bit because we were running low on fuel and I talked some people in a motorhome who
were have a picnic beside the road out of some gas.

We would have made it---but we didn't know if the road went thru or not.




That little road opened up a bit and it was nice and we were so glad to get off the pavement.
I so much like this winging it.





We ended up at this little lake and there was nobody out here.





A really neat campsite---the only one on the lake.




Scott had been wanting to fish and this was the perfect opportunity.






I was a little nervous stepping on to that deck at the end----it wasn't fastened to well and I imagined
us stepping on it and floating out in the lake-----and be up the lake with no paddle.






I found out Scott is one of those fisherman who don't catch a fish in 3 minutes---he's done fishin'.
You can only have one hook on your lure--and it can't have a barb on it.
He hooked one but it got away.



There were lots of bears all around this lake.





This road took us around another remote lake and we approached an town on the Indian
reservation and I spotted a waypoint on my gps I plotted down years ago while looking at the area on google earth.
I found what I thought was a suspension bridge-----sure enough it was still there---thanks google earth.
I find a lot of stuff you'd never know about doing this.






It was one lane wide and you had to yield to oncoming traffic.
We ran into a guy we had met a couple weeks ago at the bridge who lived here.
He said this was about the 3rd bridge built here. It was a beautiful canyon and they built the bridge
on a narrow portion of the canyon.









We ended up in Smithers again at Eye Candy Custom Cycles and Sam let us change our oil out in
the parking lot. I love this guy.

I don't think I would have picked "Little" fish lake for my fishin spot..
Sorry..
Neat spot though.. What was up with the ladder in the campsite? Treehouse camping..

Scott's a hunter and he said that ladder was to access hanging your kill for the day-----bear or whatever ????

Mark

We made our way South out of Smithers in a downpour and didn't take many pictures in the rain.

All the rivers were still raging




It was soggy all right--not a bad day by all means---but we ran in and out of lot's of rain.






At the end of the day we had to dry out our stuff in Quesnal.
Well-----I guess this picture tells the story.
Me and Scott both were wearing Sidi Adventure Rain boots.
And after a couple years and 22,000 miles of rain, dirt and mud they are no longer rain boots.

Today we wanted to take another dirt road out by the Gang Ranch.
It had rained all day yesterday and all night--and we knew we couldn't get out there as it would be way too muddy.
But we headed towards it anyway and found another road (Dog Creek Road) that would take us too the suspension
bridge near Gang Ranch. We wandered thru a couple Indian reservations.





We couldn't believer our eyes---it hadn't rain hardly at all out here as we headed down the canyon toward the Fraser River.





Man this is great riding. We were estactic again.
















I watch the show gunsmoke a lot---old black and white western series----but this stagecoach
just seemed smaller than I had imagined. I could just see Miss Kitty gettin' out of this thing.

"Hey Mat
Hey Miss Kitty
How bout you buy me some breakfast down at Del Monico's"





We rode right passed the old suspension bridge again and proceeded to try and get thru
the dirt road that was washed out for us about 3 weeks ago.




It was still closed---but as before we rode on to check it out and see if this time we could get thru.





This is what it looked like our first time thru.





And this time---this is the same spot----of course we made it thru.
There were some harder spots coming up the mountain and a guy said we'd never make it---but we did.





There are many ranches out here. And there are lots of other dirt roads out here.
I want to go here again and explore more of these---and since I was there I found about a ferry out here
that lead you down another old dirt road.









So as we exit Pavilion Mountain Rd---we pass the sign we passed 3 weeks ago and saw that what I had
wrote on the sign was still there.
We Can Go Anywhere----well ...........almost anywhere.










I guess they didn't want you riding on this bridge-----but I stared at it---throttle and clutch hand twitchin badly.











More trucks running into concrete walls---better watch out !!!!




I got some really good video of these guys---the hard drive camcorder I was carrying zooms in very well.
We watched them feeding in the grass then they slowly disapeared into the woods.





We ended up in Lillooet----I really like this town.

We rode from Quesnel down through Williams Lake, Dog Creek, Poison Lake Road out to Kelly Lake Road July 8-11. Absolutely fabulous trip, thanks for the great report and pics.

Between Dog Creek and Gang Ranch.


Parts of the road were still quite muddy.


Spectacular road though. Poison Lake Road.

Love it!

You lucky dogs living in Quesnal.

Oh how I'd like to live in that area----I am much more interested in BC than Alaska for future rides.
I felt like there are a hundred times more options for dirt roads.

BigDog

Mark,....As I read this RR, I'm still blown away with the WR250 and it's "Little Billy Goat" ability.....Especially after seeing this shot.......
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.

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Looking at this Pic, Scott has got to be a Big Guy for the little 250 Yammy.......How tall is Scott and round about what's his weight........Just curious......No offense Scott.
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Scott,...it's a shame you didn't pack a fake Grizzly Bear suit....with your size you could have pulled off a "Scare Tactic" scene Mark would have never forgotten.
.

Scott's not much of a typer----so I don't guess he's ever going to make a post on here. He's told me how tall he is and I forget.

But I'm 200 lbs.---and 5'11" and looking at that picture of us at the arctic circle----yeh---he's a big guy---never complains about the little 250--------he'd rather ride that thing than anything on the planet----even if money were no object.



Mark

I've ridden with Dave Martindale twice with his Back Roads Adventures Tours http://www.backroadsadventures.ca/ and BC is stunningly beautiful. Although I like how you guys do it. Just "wing it".

The '74 DT250 brought back floods of memories of one of my all time favorite bikes. A friend had bought a '71 DT1 and I rode it and was sold. Bought a '72 DT2 the next day. DT1 being piston / port and DT2 being reed valved. Also was the first bike I entered in Motocross races back in '72. What times.
Lovin' the report, Keep er coming.