Sport-Touring the Dalton Highway?

[Backcountryboy]

Great job on the videos. Have watched the first four and just gotta stop and get some sleep before its time to get up. Your videos are addictive! Great job with the combination of video and still shots and your comments are perfect.

[cvcaelen]

I enjoyed watching the video's.
Man, you sure got your share of rain

[Gnik Nus]

Rick,

Epic.

Watched the first video and was hooked. Just finished the last of 7 videos in one sitting. I just could not turn away from your adventure. I plan on a very similar trip this summer to Deadhorse and hope to thrown in the Dempster Highway for good measure.

Your editing was perfect, natural sounds/silence and music in the right places, mix of video and stills kept my interest and you added just the right amount of naration. You did a great job. Props to you and the mighty Concours. Thanks for taking us along on your trip.

Woody

[Rollin']

Great videos and trip report!!!

I did the ride to Prudhoe Bay in mid-June and it's hard to explain to people what the ever changing conditions were like.
Now I can show them your videos!

.

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by scooterGdawg

i watched all the videos covering the dalton, and plan to watch the rest, Can u point me to the section in your video that everyone calls roller coasters hill?

thank you for sharing...

I wish I could.
I heard about Roller Coaster Hill a lot on IceRoad Truckers, but I didn't mark it on the map, and I don't remember seeing a sign for it.
It may be the hill in the still photo in the intro....

But there were some other landmarks with signs.....

[WhicheverAnyWayCan]

Good video and thanks for sharing! You are not that far from me so good to know another Carolinian made a trip up there. Speaking of that, what riding gear did you wore? How did it handle both hot and cool/cold weather? Still trying to find a good textile jacket/pant that can do well in both weather at budget price.

[scooterGdawg]

Originally Posted by rick3foxes

I wish I could.
I heard about Roller Coaster Hill a lot on IceRoad Truckers, but I didn't mark it on the map, and I don't remember seeing a sign for it.
It may be the hill in the still photo in the intro....

But there were some other landmarks with signs.....

i was just curious, i can't imagine it's as bad as they make
it out to be on tv.... looks like a straight drop on tv....

[Valker]

This is my all time favorite RR!

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by scooterGdawg

i was just curious, i can't imagine it's as bad as they make
it out to be on tv.... looks like a straight drop on tv....

Good point....
I had seen photos of the extreme grades on some of those hills as well, and I actually wondered if I would be able to climb them if it was muddy.
It turns out that telephoto lens manipulation can make a mountain out of a hill.
I went up & down Rollercoster Hill and BeaverSlide without even knowing it.

I had to go over Atigun Pass in the mud both times due to the Calcium Chloride truck/grader work.
That's a 12% grade, and it was definitely noticeable, but there was never a question whether I would be able to get up it even with my street tires.

The most challenging parts were the deep mud and deep gravel sections which happened to be on near-level grades.
And that deep mud "terror" I went through on the way up was 50mph smooth packed dirt when I came back 2 days later.

I get a chuckle every time someone says that the Dalton is a piece of cake -- a quick run-up and run-back -- after doing it once.
It's all about the weather and the construction. Could be a dream or a nightmare.

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by WhicheverAnyWayCan

Good video and thanks for sharing! You are not that far from me so good to know another Carolinian made a trip up there. Speaking of that, what riding gear did you wore? How did it handle both hot and cool/cold weather? Still trying to find a good textile jacket/pant that can do well in both weather at budget price.

Here's an overview:

Joe Rocket Meteor jacket - black/gray
5 years old
Water resistant
Lots of vents and an insulated liner

First Gear riding pants
can't think of the model...
5 years old
Almost water-resistant
textile w/ armor and an insulated liner.

Tourmaster Sentinel Rain jacket & pants - yellow/black
Water-resistant
Also used as an extra layer when it got too cold.

Tourmaster Solution boots
Almost waterproof.
Comfortable - only footwear for a month

Chino boot rain covers
waterproof until they rip apart
Great for mud - my boots stayed clean

Held Steve gloves down to 50 degrees F

Thick insulated no-name winter gloves for colder

Scorpion EXO-900 Transformer
Convertable modular with flip-down sun visor
Full face in cold/rain
Open 3/4 in the hot weather

Aerostich 3-finger glove covers
Waterproof for the rain
Windproof for the cold

Duofold Polar long underwear
to make up for not having true winter outer gear.

REI merino wool socks

CAMP7 mummy bag
30 years old
Company no longer in business

Eureka tent
18 years old
Son's old Boy Scout tent found in the closet
Water resistant in a few places
Now replaced by new REI Half Dome 2+

Kelty Noah's Tarp 12 X 12

Exped Synmat 7 sleeping pad
Insulated
2.8 inches think
Built in pump

Empty 20-oz. Gatorade bottle
Always kept in tent


BTW:
I just purchased a new jacket this week for hot weather :
Olympia Airglide 3 mesh
Hi-Viz Yellow
Waterproof zip-out liner
Insulated zip-out liner

I decided to wear it to work today to test out the "waterproofness".
It was raining and 46 Degrees F when I left home.
I got to work warm and dry except for my crotch - not a fault of the jacket.
I think with the liners in, it may be as warm as my other jacket!

I almost bought this jacket for $289 in Sept for my birthday gift, but held off.
Now it's on closeout at RevZilla & Motorcycle Superstore for $159.

[scooterGdawg]

you have given me a new outlook on reaching deadhorse. for many years i have wanted to go up there, not for the ride or to say i rode the dalton, but to jump in the arctic ocean. I had a KLR and sold it, decided that the miles to get to the dalton would be too painful for me. since then I have been putting all my efforts into my ST1300 to make the haul, but had settled on just making it to the arctic circle.....

i am re-examining that thought....

thank u for sharing

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by scooterGdawg

you have given me a new outlook on reaching deadhorse. for many years i have wanted to go up there, not for the ride or to say i rode the dalton, but to jump in the arctic ocean. I had a KLR and sold it, decided that the miles to get to the dalton would be too painful for me. since then I have been putting all my efforts into my ST1300 to make the haul, but had settled on just making it to the arctic circle.....

i am re-examining that thought....

thank u for sharing

I hope you're able to go for it!
I too was concerned about my ability to make it all the way to the end, and never told anybody that I was "Going to Deadhorse".
I said I was "going to Alaska and then as far as I could go".
I've talked with others who only went as far as the Circle and came back.

But for me, the toughest ordeal of the trip was in the first 50 miles of the Dalton.
After that I felt I was ready for anything, and it never did get any worse than that.

[Alcan Rider]

Originally Posted by scooterGdawg

i watched all the videos covering the dalton, and plan to watch the rest, Can u point me to the section in your video that everyone calls roller coasters hill?

thank you for sharing...

Still waiting for an opportunity to sit and watch all 7 without interruption, but doing a quick perusal indicates that roller coaster isn't in the videos. If it were (at least on the northbound leg) it would be in the first 1:10 of #3, as it is only about 15 miles north of Hot Spot and before the beginning of pavement, which is at Mile 90.

What I've seen is great, and anxious to view it all together. Regardless how many times I've seen it all myself, it is still enjoyable to see it through another rider's eyes. Great work.

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by WhicheverAnyWayCan

Good video and thanks for sharing! You are not that far from me so good to know another Carolinian made a trip up there. Speaking of that, what riding gear did you wore? How did it handle both hot and cool/cold weather? Still trying to find a good textile jacket/pant that can do well in both weather at budget price.

I just noticed your profile notes on the left and saw "deaf biker".

My wife is an ASL interpreter and coordinates interpreters for students at Wake Tech in Raleigh.

[rick3foxes]

Originally Posted by Alcan Rider

Still waiting for an opportunity to sit and watch all 7 without interruption, but doing a quick perusal indicates that roller coaster isn't in the videos. If it were (at least on the northbound leg) it would be in the first 1:10 of #3, as it is only about 15 miles north of Hot Spot and before the beginning of pavement, which is at Mile 90.

What I've seen is great, and anxious to view it all together. Regardless how many times I've seen it all myself, it is still enjoyable to see it through another rider's eyes. Great work.

Thanks, Alcan Rider!
I appreciate all the info you shared with me in my preparations for this trip.
Of course, it was your photos of the Dalton that helped plant the seed in the first place!!!

I had to pass a lot of areas in rainy/cloudy weather, and I'd love to have enough time to see the entire road in good light and clear skies. Until that happens, I'll just keep going through your reports.
I think I passed close to you on my way down to Valdez.
I'm glad Dan suggested that side trip - the scenery was mind-blowing!