The bike along the Alcan. It was just a muddy old dirt road the whole way back then. This is exactly how the whole road was, except for when it was under construction–then it was much worse!
Up till now it has been a pretty standard motorcycle touring trip, but this week is somewhat unique because in 1979 very few motorcycles drove the Alaska Highway. Back then riding it on a bike really was an adventure because it was a wild road. None of it was paved and when it rained it turned into a quagmire of mud and when it didn’t rain every time you ran into an on-coming car or truck it was like a Sahara dust-storm with rocks thrown at you for good measure. I’ve driven the Alcan many times and the thing that stands out about the old days is how many banked curves there were. The road was built in 1942 for military convoys to take supplies to Russia during WWII. It was a quick and dirty job built with the sole idea of getting military trucks to Fairbanks, AK fast where the supplies would be flown to Russia. It was basically the exact same road in 1979 when I rode it.
Today, the Alcan is paved almost the entire way and the worst of the banked curves and winding portions have been straightened and yet there are hundreds of motorcycles running it for the “adventure” of it. The truth is there really is no adventure to it at all. Fall is the rainy season and back then, when it rained it stopped being a dirt road and became a mud road. Today it’s not much different than any paved country road.
The bike along an Alcan lake. She’s got a lot of mud packed on her! That’s fresh snow on the mountains.
What I did run into was cold… and snow! October in the Yukon and Northern Alaska is winter, and it was just settling in as I passed through. I remember putting on every piece of clothing I had and still shivering as I drove along!! It was cold! And at the end of every day I had to stop early, set up my tent in the dark and crawl into it to finally get warm in my -10 degree down sleeping bag!
I was glad to get home! It was a cold, dirty and wild ride, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
The last half day into Anchorage was the worst of the trip. It was very cold and raining, sleeting and finally snowing on me. I’m just grateful I made it alive!
Conclusion
I gotta admit it, there were some very unpleasant and low moments on that trip–most of them having to do with cold, snow and really bad roads, but here is the bottom line, I wouldn’t trade my memories of that time for anything in the world! Weirdly, the worse my memories are, the more I treasure them! Of course there are many more incredibly wonderful memories than bad ones, and I love them just as much, but, have you ever noticed that when you get together with friends and swap stories it’s always the times of hardship that you re-tell with the most gusto and the biggest smiles! Humans are designed to thrive at their best when they are overcoming adversity and discomfort. It’s such a terrible shame that we have virtually eliminated them for our modern lives. We aren’t fully human without them.
As I look back on my life, I never regret any of the adventurous things I’ve done, but I do very much regret all the empty years without any life or adventure in them–what a waste of breathe they were. A few years after this trip I sold the bike, got married and started a career. All adventure and passion disappeared from my life and I fell into a pattern of monotony, drudgery and tedium, all in preparation of the mythical “golden years” when I could finally be happy.
Some will say, “But you took care of your family, and raised your kids. That’s most important.” And I’d agree with that except for one thing, I raised them all wrong! I raised them to be sheep and not to be wolves. My life was the worst possible example I could possibly have set for them: Be a sheep; follow the herd; obey your masters.
Instead of a childhood full of nature, fun and adventures, I left them with a childhood full of Nintendos, toys and years of be-a-sheep brainwashing. You might say, “But you could have taken them camping on your vacations.” Right, 51 weeks of being sheep-slaves and 1 week of being wolves. Pathetic. But I was too worn out and depressed from my miserable life to do even that.
That is something I would do very differently if I could go back now and start over. My life and my children’s lives would be as fully alive and awake humans, not as walking, dead-inside sheep.
Bob, I suspect you are being a bit harsh on yourself and in fact your children may have inherited a bit more of their Dad then you may realize.
Nevertheless, your point is well taken, and it is something observant people have been aware of for a long time.
Something from Seneca, the Roman philosopher/statesman who lived in the first century AD:
“It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. So it is—the life we receive is not short, but we make it so, nor do we have any lack of it, but are wasteful of it.”
BoB, U did the best under the circumstances, at that time U didn’t know anybetter, U’r are judging yourself ‘ after the fact ‘, many years later & with TODAY’s experience. We all learn as we follow our paths in life & hopefully we’ ll learn ‘ until the last moment ‘.
U have done GREAT in life & are an example to follow !!
Lucy.
Thank you Lucy, that is very kind! You’re right, we all do our best to get through life and learn and grow as we go along.
Bob
Thanks Alfred, that is a very good quote and kindof what I’ve been feeling lately, a regret for time not well used. But, I’m doing the best I can now with it, one day at a time, and that’s all any of us can do.
Bob
Bob, I always enjoy reading about your adventures and wanted to say Thank You for this website, you are an inspiration to us all. Live the Dream.
Thanks tom tom, that’s very kind of you to say!
Bob
“Humans are designed to thrive at their best when they are overcoming adversity and discomfort. It’s such a terrible shame that we have virtually eliminated them for our modern lives. We aren’t fully human without them.”
Words of wisdom. And yes, we waste plenty of our lives, especially when we’re young and unaware of how quickly time passes. Even though you say you wasted a lot of yours, you still have more memories than I would guess most people have – and making more each day.
I like the line, “Years are wasted and lost like summer wages,” – from “Summer Wages” by Canadian legend Ian Tyson.
And I forgot to add: a number of my relatives moved to Fairbanks in the late 1950s to work in the oil patch. My cousin drove the Haul Road starting when he was 18 for his first trucking job. They’ve all driven the Alcan many many times over the years and tell the same stories you do – it was once a real adventure. Today, people talk about their Alaskan adventure, but it’s nothing like it used to be, not even close. And yes, you’re lucky you didn’t freeze to death (my cousin actually found a fellow trucker frozen along the Haul Road after his truck wouldn’t start in the dead of winter).
Minus 40 to minus 70 are routine up north and at those temperatures their is zero room for error. It’s incomprehensibly cold! On my 1979 trip I doubt it got much below freeing during the day, so it was cold but I wan’t in real danger. Riding in the freezing rani then sleet then snow was pretty risky. But Anchorage wasn’t all that cold yet so it mostly wasn’t sticking, just melting when it hit the warm blacktop.
Bob
Thanks Desert Rat!
Bob
Bob, one of my early and lasting inspirations is a story in National Geographic quite some time ago about four people who rode bicycles from Fairbanks (I think; possibly Barrow) to Tierra del Fuego. The first leg of their trip was the Alaska Highway. I can still see one of the pictures of the Alcan in my mind. It shows the cyclists pushing the bicycles along a bank above the sea of mud that was the Alaska “Highway” back then, all parties covered with muck. That article at once gave me a caution about unplanned adventures and a desire to see how I’d do with them. It also helps me understand what your trip might have been like. Yuck!
My travel memories are mostly the good stuff, like seeing the Mogollon Rim for the first time. The biggest hardship that time was that I was driving and kept having to stop to stare at the scenery. The times I tell the best stories about are the others, though, like the time it rained mud on us in western New Mexico. People never thought of that back in the East.
There really are some truly adventurous people left. Last year on the way too and from Alaska we saw numerous guys riding bicycles up and down the Alcan. And as impressive as that is, we saw probably a dozen guys walking it! Most were pulling or pushing small trailers. That was very impressive!
Bob
Walking is still my favorite form of transportation. I have thought of a wagon or a two-wheel dolly to carry the gear but hadn’t realized others had done it. Walking certainly fits my spirituality, has a longer history than any other kind of journey, and requires the least equipment to purchase and maintain. (Recommended reading: Peter Jenkins’ 2-volume “A Walk Across America”)
However, I’m more likely to try the bicycle thing. It’s easier on the body and lets the rider cover enough ground daily to connect camping places. Besides, I already have a trailer for that one.
On another topic, your parenting might have been conformist when you were at home. However, since then, your life has been very different. Your kids know that and know what has made you happier. You are still a role model.
Thanks Calvin. I agree, a bicycle seems like a much better idea than walking. I have a friend who lives on his bike fulltime, but instead of riding it long distance between places he will take the train or bus. That way he doesn’t need a trailer because he always has a home base even if that changes a dew times a year. He just has the minimum camping gear. Everything he owns fits into a GI duffle bag and a day pack.
Bob
That is one way to go. Depending on circumstances I might have to do it that way. Of course, one thing many people overlook (including me until recently) is that cyclists need not hurry. Almost anyone, including me with my asthma and arthritis, can do thirty miles a day in “travel” mode. With a little foresight, that will keep a person ahead of the seasons. I am still studying this one, but if I am unable to drive in the future or unable to finance a vehicle, I believe it’s a viable option.
https://foothillbilly.wordpress.com/
Life has a way of transitioning suddenly from a smooth course to a slow hour by hour day by day trek through the muck and mire of adversity. As you have shown it is a test we can and must overcome.
Thanks Man on the run, you are very right!
Bob
Hi Bob,
I haven’t commented in a while, but I’ve been a diligent reader of your blog. Thanks for all the great stories.
I may see you during your travels later this year. I’ll be in Yellowstone late May.
Take care,
Omar
Will you be working there Omar? May in Yellowstone is usually still cold and snowy so I won’t get there until June. If you’re going to be there for awhile or are working I’ll try to look you up.
Bob
Wow, that was quite an experience! The road less traveled is not always easy. Thank you for sharing your adventure with us.
Thanks Jim.
Bob
Once again Bob, I say amen! While I was able to get my kids out hunting and camping as they grew up, I still wasted so many years following the “American Dream”. What a waste! And now I get the pleasure of wasting more time trying to get rid of all the junk I’ve accumulated.
On adversity – when I was teaching adventure leadership for a few years, I actually looked for opportunities for what I called “shared conflict”. Especially when dealing with teenagers, they were the times the groups bonded and grew as a team. There’s nothing like eating shoulder to shoulder under a tarp in the rain, or spending a night in the cold in the bottom of a canyon unexpectedly to bring people together to get through a common crisis.
Thanks Doug! Yeah, it’s the “Band of Brothers” concept from men in combat. Shared adversity is one of the most bonding experiences a person can have.
We all do the best we can in the light we have at the moment. I’m convinced the blame lies on society for leading us astray. Training each member of society to be an machine-like automaton works fine for an ant hill or bee hive, but humans should never be treated that way. It’s what our parents were taught so they taught us and we taught our children.
Fortunately for your kids, you are pretty exceptional and did everything as well as you could to make them humans instead of sheep. From the little I know you and your kids, you should feel very proud of yourself.
Bob
Thanks Bob, I agree that we can only do the best we can with what we are aware of at the time. I also agree that society, or culture, or whatever you want to refer to it as is the culprit. I think my boys have turned out pretty well in spite of my failings. They’re not perfect, but I’m pretty proud of them.
As well you should be!
Bob
Good read as usual Bob. I hope I am living like a wolf as best as I can. Tired of being a sheep, that’s for sure.
Myddy, most people who read this blog are!
Bob
Hi Bob,
No, I won’t be working in Yellowstone. I’ll be traveling around. I was hoping that by late May the snow would be gone. However, now that you mention May is still cold in Yellowstone, I may delay. I’ll keep you posted.
Take care,
Omar
Omar, it will still be cool, but exactly how cool varies every year. I was in Grand Tetons early last June and most of he valley was clear of the snow but along the mountains was till snow on the ground. I think Yellowstone is even higher so more likely to have snow. But, it’s a great time for wildlife because the valleys will be clear but the mountains snowed in so they come down. I’d just play it by ear and call headquarters before you head out and ask for the conditions. They’re glad to help.
Bob
While reading the last few posts, I keep hearing the song “North to Alaska” playing in my head
Tommy, that’s a great song, but once you’ve got it stuck in your head, it’s very hard to get rid of up. I loved Johhny Horton when I was a boy, I knew a his songs.
Bob
Great, now it’s in my head! ;=)
Thanks for sharing your early adventures, Bob! It wasn’t just the roads that were different in 1979, but the population density was much smaller (I think by one-third of today) and you probably had fewer gas stations, towns, etc. (not to mention people!). One of the reasons BLM land out west sounds so appealing to me is that it’s a chance to reconnect to my childhood which was spent mostly wandering around in nature before the east coast got so crowded and “civilized”. 🙂
You’re right about that Lightfoot! Thee were many less people back then and because it was almost winter there were even fewer in the Parks and NFs. I was mostly alone wherever I went.
Right now I am camped in a NF 30 mile north of Prescott AZ and there is no one within eyesight for many miles around. We see few cars and even fewer people. That’s one reason I love the West, those places are still plentiful.
Bob
That sounds wonderful to me, Bob! I really appreciate your site because it’s so encouraging to KNOW that it can be done. Thanks again.
I think of myself as in the HOPE business Lightfoot. My objective is to bring Hope to as many as I can and who need it.
Bob
Most of us followed the herd during our child raising years. Even those of us who went camping regularly lived a “normal” life during the week. Apparently the one thing I did right was teach our daughter it is OK to be different. I was talking about peer pressure to do sex/drugs/alcohol but she what she got was not to be a sheep in anything. As you know, she’s not following a “normal” career. I think that’s the only thing I got right as a parent and even it wasn’t what I intended. Please, know you did the best you could with what you had at the time and forgive yourself for not knowing otherwise.
Thanks Linda, I appreciate your encouragement. No doubt about it, you daughter did not grow up to be a sheep! She is a strong, independent, young woman who knows what she wants is going to make it happen. I really admire that!
Bob
I relate so well to your summary. When I express regret that I wasted my entire life, everyone says, “no, you raised your kids, and sacrificed so they could have a good life” but what kind of ” good life” could they have had when all I did was work? I hope to at least lead by example now.
Tammi, we think exactly alike! But regret for the past do us no good, we just need to learn the lesson and live today with the increased light and knowledge we have. I’m sure you are!
Bob
Bob our life stories are so similar it’s eerie. My very vivid memories are of traveling West in a VW beetle with my few possessions. So few that I was able to sleep in the car. I camped along the way and worked in Yellowstone for two months. I have vivid memories of that time 30 years ago yet there are intervening years and even decades since then where nothing stands out as particularly memorable. I hope that my last decades on earth can have more meaning and more depth.
Nancy, they already are!! And the best is yet to come! Think about all the great memories you have just from this last winter!
Bob
Bob,
Thanks for the info on Yellowstone weather. I’ll keep you posted regarding my travel plans.
Omar
I’m staying down in Jackson, WY in June which is about 60 miles south of Yellowstone, you’re always welcome to join me there.
Bob