Valdez to Tiekel River Lodge!

Day 23--Saturday, August 10, 2002, 50.01 miles

We left Valdez at 10 after packing (even packed the rest of the spaghetti/sauce from last night and the salad greens) and attempting to waterproof ourselves. Jess wore a shower cap over her helmet and plastic produce bags over her shoes. She closed the bags with electrical tape at her ankles. We both covered our computers with Saran Wrap. (Someone ought to invent/market a little shower cap for bicycle computers—something transparent so that you could still read the stats.) I wrapped my shoes with Saran Wrap, secured with electrical tape.

Well the weather she still be nasty— foggy, rainy, and cold (43F at 7 a.m.). The forecast is for more of the same all week. Maybe this is payback for the gorgeous weather we've had so far.

I've just had my usual PFR breakfast (an English muffin with marmalade) and am now starting this report while waiting for Jess to get up and at 'em. When Jess did get up and organized, off we went into the rain, cold, and wind. (The morning news said that the wind would gust to 25 mph through Thompson Pass.) We wanted to get through the pass before the wind got too fierce.

Only 14 miles out, Jess got a front flat—caused by a piece of glass. We spent a lot of time patching her tire and then installing a new tube that seemed almost too large and wanted to lodge between the tire and the rim. When finished, we rewarded ourselves with a couple of Red Vines. They are our treat on this trip, whereas Laffy Taffy was on the coast trip.

Shortly after fixing the flat, we came to Keystone Canyon, which is cut by the glacial Lowe River. From the canyon walls tumble Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls, among many other less impressive waterfalls. We stopped here, took some pics, and sneaked in a little "lunch" (cream cheese on little party rye squares) during a lull in the rain. A bald eagle soared above Horsetail Falls. Once again, everything is awe inspiring and beautiful beyond all singing of it.

Then it was on and UP and over Thompson Pass, which is only 3,610 feet, but we started at sea level so felt every inch. (Yes, Danny Boy Contini, we did it, and in the rain with a stiff headwind and fog near the top, too. And to think that you doubted we could.) At the top, we felt proud but tired (understatement).

The Lowe River and others south of Thompson Pass flow south while the Tiekel River and others north of the Pass flow north.

The grade wasn't as steep as I'd expected, but it sure seemed to go up forever. I was very glad to see the top, even though it was in fog. I pedaled most of the climb in granny gear at a mere 3.9 to 4.7 mph, depending on the wind. There was no shoulder but two northbound lanes and very little northbound traffic, which was good. Most of the time I could wobble about in the whole right lane. Jess: "It was a hell of a challenge, more so because of the wind and weather than the climb itself. I was cold the whole way up."

It was cold, very foggy, and the rain she was raining, so we were pleased (understatement again) when a few miles later, a couple of young boys stopped and gave us a lift 10 miles further north. They were from Valdez and were out joy riding. They looked at us like we were daft and repeatedly asked how we saw such an endeavor as "fun." The driver reminded both of us of Jon Mussett.

When they dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, once again we were faced with absolutely nothing between Point A and Point B. Our goal was to get to the Tiekel River Lodge they'd told us about, which wasn't too hard because we had a sweet stretch of downhill, but the weather made even that challenging.

The "Lodge," however is typical Alaskan overstatement. About two miles out from it we came to an official blue state sign that had the symbols on it for lodging, fuel, food, and camping. Made us believe we were approaching a small town and civilization. Not so. Just a run down restaurant/grocery/gift shop, one gas pump circa 1960, three small dark green cabins, a shower house, and some mowed areas in the trees with spool "tables." Looked like Eden to us.

Jess thought we should camp and save money, but I opted for one of the little cabins. I was cold, tired, wet, hungry, and irritable. A little creature comfort was needed. We were both testy from hunger and discomfort.

I took the first shower, and while I was doing that, Jess cleaned off and covered our bikes and then squatted on the doorstep to our little cabin and heated up the spaghetti. A hot shower and hot food revitalized us. Our tiredness showed, however, when we got into a laughing jag. Laughed so hard . . . at absolutely nothing . . . that our sides hurt and tears streamed down our cheeks.

Tomorrow we're going to try to make it to Glenallen.

Left:  A sleepy Jess heating water for breakfast before our Tiekel “Lodge” cabin. The old rusty stove was part of the “décor.” We simply used it as a table for our camp stove.

Originally this blog was a website kept by Scott Campbell. Here is Scott's website note: "Just for fun, here's what the ride looks like from Valdez to Fairbanks. Susan and Jess have one more 'hill' to conquer!"