Still not a backrest Jayne at the Gorge I got your biker babe right here, ya'll Me at McKenzie Pass



Planning now: 16-17 days from Oregon to Alaska and back
4000 miles, last week of August/first 10 days of September 
 
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   We're planning a motorcycle trip to Alaska from Portland, Oregon, and we have only 16 or 17 days to do it. And we are NOT iron butt riders: I loathe the idea of riding mindlessly day after day, just to get in as many miles / kilometers in a day as possible. I can't imagine a worse way of traveling.

We are all about the journey: enjoying the ride, stopping to see something, taking photos, meeting people... and about safety. So, with such short time, we can't ride much in Alaska - can't even make it all the way to Anchorage.

I had thought we could go just to Juneau and back, but it turns out you cannot drive to Juneau; you have to take ferries to get there. So I looked for a route that would let us get to Alaska - any part of Alaska, allow us to camp or otherwise stay in Alaska for a day or two, and then return - without having to ride 500 miles a day.

So this is the route we're considering, from Forest Grove to Skagway, Alaska, and back, but we would welcome ideas from anyone who has ridden or driven from Washington state to Alaska (or vice versa): 


You can also play with this interactive map of the proposed route.

This route requires us to ride, on average, 286 miles a day, for 14 days. Which makes me go "ugh", but it seems the only way in such a short time - and still have one or two "safety" days (for mechanical problems, for instance). We can shave some of that daily mile requirement off if we do more than 300 miles a day for our first two days out, and our last two days on the way back. 

This route takes us north from Oregon through Washington state, by interstate (not shown on the map above), just to get as far as we can on day one. Then, we head up to Prince George, Canada, and take the Yellowhead Highway, then the Cassiar Highway, to Watson Lake. Then it's West on the Alaska Highway. We'll go to Skagway, Alaska, on the way to or from Whitehorse. And that will be our only time in Alaska. That will also be the midway point.

We'll come back South either via the Robert Campbell Highway or back down the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, and then continue South on the Alaska Highway, through Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek. We had over into Alberta, through Grande Prairie and down through Grande Cache, then into Jasper National Park through the East Entrance - we've been before, but through the West Entrance. And then down through Banff and Kootenay National Parks, which we've done before, and then over the border in Idaho at East Port.

And by then, we'll go the absolute quickest route back to Portland, Oregon because, no doubt, we'll be pressed for time.
 

   
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Here are some of my favorite blogs that have helped me a LOT in planning:
Have you done any of this route via motorcycle or car? Have you gone a different route through these regions? Have you camped in the areas through which we'll be traveling? Do you have a blog about your experience? We would LOVE to hear from you! 

Have you done the inside passage explorer tour, which takes you from Ketchikan to Sitka to Juneau and back? Again, would love to hear from you.

Disclaimer
Any activity incurs risk. The author assumes no responsibility for the use of information contained within this document.

 
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