After 4 days of traveling, I’m finally back in Portland for the next week or so.  Lots of gear sorting, laundry, planning, and friends, frankly I’m excited to slow down a bit, but I’m also in the process of changing things up.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I found a renewed dedication to living simply while in Alaska.  I realized the best way to combine international travel with the simplicity I love might just be to ride a bike instead of a bus or a train while traveling abroad.  So I’m changing things up.

I left Alaska at 1am on Monday morning, and arrived in Portland at 730am.  After breakfast with one of my favorite people and collecting some stuff, I test-rode a Trek 520 touring bike at noon, and a Surly Long Haul Trucker at 300pm.  I sorted through a few more things, ate dinner with another good friend who has (perhaps unwisely) opened her house to me as a landing pad, and fell asleep hard.

Practice random acts of bike fun.

At 630am Tuesday morning I picked up a stranger I met on Craigslist and drove to Seattle.  At noon I test rode a Ti-Cycles Steliacoom Cyclocross Touring bike, and then headed north to Anacortes, WA.  The guy in Anacortes was originally planning to meet me in Seattle, but had to back out with the promise that he’d make it worth my while to drive to Anacortes.  I got to Anacortes at 2pm and bought the bike he was offering, with an unbelievable pile of extra gear along with it.  He made good on his promise, and I made off like a bandit.  Looking around my now very messy car, I realized I had exactly the right gear to make an important trip.

I went to San Juan Island for the first time in May last year, and it seemed that I had stumbled upon a mecca for bike touring.  Taking your car on the ferry is not cheap, and the islands are wonderfully small- so getting around by bike makes quite a lot of sense.  Alas, on that trip, we were not set up for bike touring, and could not participate in the random fun.  The feeling in my gut told me this was an opportunity not to be missed.  The ferry to San Juan leaves from Anacortes, and at 3pm Tuesday afternoon I realized I had just enough food in the car, just enough gear, and just enough time to pack up and make the 445pm ferry.  Spontaneous adventure ensued.  I didn’t have a tent.  I didn’t have stove fuel.  I didn’t have a sleeping pad.  I didn’t have a campsite reservation.  And then I realized I could do without all of those things.

At least for me, ferries usually mean adventure.

First stop, Roche Harbor, at the north end of the island.

I had a gorgeous touring to the north and then west sides of the island, and a perfect night sleeping under the stars.  I felt like a kid on Christmas with nothing on my back rolling quickly around the beautiful scenery.  I got up at 520am on Wednesday morning, biked back to the ferry terminal, got a coffee, and got on the 8am ferry.  Was back at my car at 10am, ran a few errands in Seattle at noon, and was back in Portland at 4.  Not a bad few days, and a good reminder that “You Must Buy the Latest Outdoor Gear or You Will Die.”

This is why they put in bike pullouts, and the things you miss when you're in a car.

San Juan County park- I slept right here to watch the entire sunset.

It was indeed a very good morning.

Maybe its something about extremes, but Gates of the Arctic is the northern-most National Park in the US, and protects a vast expanse of the Brooks Range, the northern-most major mountain range in the world. I’ve wanted to get there since I first came to Alaska in 2007 and after one trip, it’s safe to say I’ll be back shortly. I was fortunate to use this opportunity to introduce my good friend Mackenzie from Valdez, AK to the fine art of backpacking. Mack is tough as nails, and stands out mostly to me for her willingness to jump into adversity and make the best of it. This trip was no exception, and we had a very good time.

There are no roads into Gates of the Arctic National Park. Just getting there is no small adventure- we drove 6 hours north from Fairbanks on the Dalton highway, sharing the partially paved road with massive industrial vehicles, Honda endurance motorbikes, and distinctly timid tourists. After checking in at the Arctic Interagency visitors center we left the car outside of an active mine walked west towards the park border. We didn’t get there the first night- it’s aways back in there, and we got our first fill of Alaska finest mosquitos, bushwhacking, and general bogginess. It being summer, we had continuous daylight, and didn’t really notice leaving the car at 10pm and making camp at 2am.

Crossing the Yukon River on our way north!

Ridgetop camps are awesome.

We spent 2 days moving up the Glacier River valley, then climbed a broad ridge to the northeast gaining 1,200′. There are no trails in Gates of the Arctic National Park, so while our mileage was low, our effort was not. After Denali and a short turnaround in Palmer, I felt no need to push for mileage as Mack and I got used to working together to sort out navigation, river crossings, and camping arrangements. Once on the ridge, we continued northeast towards Jesse Peak, then south along 10 miles of gorgeous ridgeline, staying more than 2,000′ above the river bed to the west. It was spectacular. Trails in the highcountry were furnished by the local Dall Sheep population, whom we were privileged to observe on several occasions. We walked when we wanted, we played cards when we wanted- we journaled and talked and listened to music off one iPod and one set of earbuds. Compared to the moutaineering and technical climbing I’ve focused on this year, it was a glorious vacation at the top of the world. Enjoy the photos…

Double rainbows are awesome.

Ridgetops are the fastest way to get around back here.

Post-trip, pre-shower, after dropping the bear cans.

This afternoon I’m headed to gates of the arctic national park. I’ll be back July 26th!