Sunday, 6/30/24
The was a wildfire north of Fairbanks on the road to the Arctic Circle. Rene spoke with someone who had driven it. They were escorting vehicles with a pilot truck and the flames were close to the road. We all agreed that the drive to the Arctic Circle was not a good idea. I had two reasons not to do it, I didn’t think Michelle would appreciate me returning her truck with the paint blistered and then if they closed the road when I was north of the fire I would me trapped. So we had a relaxing breakfast cooked by chef Rene.
I checked out from Chena at Noon, said my goodbyes, and headed to Pond 48, located at MM 48. I finally had a good day fishing and caught five nice Rainbow Trout, lost 2 and had a number of bumps. There was a Moose on the opposite side of the pond most of the time I was fishing, then she suddenly started swimming towards me, I had my air horn and after 4 to 5 blasts she turned and headed away from me. No picture of the moose swimming, I was a little busy, but here she is minding her business, earlier.
I spent the night just around the corner on the pond from where I was fishing, within walking distance of the vault toilet, for free, woke at 3 am with a spell of Vertigo, which cleared by noon, after a few doses of Mecyclzine (Bonnine). It had rained during the night and between the rain and Vertigo, I didn’t feel much like fishing.
Monday 7/1/24
Slow morning due to the vertigo, but finally got on the road by 1pm and made it south of Fairbanks to a roadside pullout, for another night of free camping. Not much to say about this day except I was esthetic that I was able to drive. I’ve had vertigo a few times and sometimes it has lasted a couple of days.
Roadside campsite south of Fairbanks
Tuesday, 7/2/24
After a good night’s rest and some Bonnine, just to be sure the Vertigo would not return, I headed south on Parks Highway. My plan was to stop at Denali NP for a $5 shower, but it wasn’t meant to be, the park was closed because of wildfires. After chatting with the Rangers, I continued south with no real plan. After about 15 miles I saw a young lady hitchhiking and decided it would be better if I gave her a ride rather than some serial killer :). Turns out she was a 29 year old woman from Japan traveling around Alaska by herself. I gave her a ride as far as the turn off for Telkeetna, then I turned back north a few miles to camp on the Susitna River for free.
Campsite on Susitna River
Wednesday, 7/1/24
I did some fishing here and there, no luck, but I did get to fish at a HUGE Rainbow that was porpoising close to me. It never got scared off, and I threw a bunch of different flies at it, but it was not interested. So around 3 pm, based on Michelle’s recommendation, I turned west up the road to Hatcher Pass. As typical, Michelle’s recommendation was spot on, it was another breath taking drive. I stopped for the night on the east side of the pass at a large pull off rather than continue to the top, because it was in the sun and the pass was in the clouds.
Hatcher Pass Campsite and view from campsite
Friday 7/5/24
After packing the truck up, I drove to a roadside coffee kiosk for coffee and breakfast. These coffee kiosks are pretty much everywhere in Alaska. They are about the size of a park model and are usually located in a large gravel parking lot with plenty of room to park and hang out.
I had been in touch with Michelle, and she offered to play tour guide if I was interested in seeing Whittier, which is south of Anchorage. The flat tire couples had told me about a “hippie” festival in Gritwood, which was on the way to Whittier. Michelle and I made plans to meet at her house and then hit the festival on the way to Whittier. Again, neither were on my radar. Again the scenery was awesome.
Once we were able to make it to the parking area, we walked back down the road to the festival. We hung out, checked out the vendor booths with a bunch of local artists, listened to music, had a couple of beers for a few hours and then walked back to the trucks and headed south to Whittier.
Whittier is accessed thru a $13, 2.5 mile one lane tunnel. The $13 covers a round trip. The tunnel is one way on the half hour going into Whittier and one way coming out on the hour. Everything goes through the tunnel, cars, buses and the train. Whittier is a small fishing town with a deep water port and a destination for cruise ships.
It was raining lightly when we arrived. After checking out the couple of campgrounds near town, we headed for a free boondock at the end of the road for the night. We had a late lunch at the festival, so I wasn’t hungry. The rain let up so we hung out, drank some bourbon sitting outside and enjoying the view, until the rain got a little heavy, then headed to our respective rigs for the night.
Michelle and I at the Whittier boondock.
Saturday 7/6/24
It was raining pretty steady, and first we were going to head into town for breakfast, but then Michelle changed our plans and we headed to her dad’s spare condo and she cooked a big breakfast. Her dad lives in the condo next door and he came over. The three of us hung out for quite awhile and I chatted with her dad for quite awhile, before heading out to catch the 11 am tunnel opening and heading out of town.
The view through my windshield driving in the tunnel
Stay tuned,
Safe Travels and Tight Lines
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