The tourist crowds recently arrived on the gigantic cruises was already dominating the “Far West” downtown streets of Skagway. Along with Florian and Sandra, two Swiss cyclists that I had met at the local hostel, we went towards the ferry terminal. Next to the floating masses of the cruises, out ferry looked like a walnut shell…

The sun was hitting hard and the heat was a bit unusual. With a two hour delay we finally boarded and immediately we went to the sector that would be our shelter for the next days: the solarium. The reclining chairs were rapidly claimed and in a few minutes they were al taken. Even though we could’ve spent a small fortune on cabins for the trip, the passengers of reduced budgets as ourselves could easily use that place as our permanent location.

The covered area was full of quartz candles that kept the place at a comfortable temperature. The bathrooms were immaculate and they also had showers!!! A total luxury. And if one wanted more privacy, you could set up the tent on the uncovered deck, but it was too much… In my case, it wasn’t worth it for just a night.

The ferry was packed with people speaking German. For a moment I thought that I was in Europe instead of Alaska! I even got together again, with Jorg and Heike, a couple of that origin that I had met in the curious dessert of Carcross a few days back.

The sailing went for a few hors through mountains and fiords of incomparable beauty.  The sun was painting the landscapes with green and blue hues that reinforced the contrast between the sharp mountains and the sea.

But as they say, good things end fast and towards Juneau the clouds closed in over us and a grey blanket covered everything. The rain wasn’t far behind hand in hand with the cold and it forced us to retreat under the incandescent roof.

For me it would be 36 h of navigation to Petersburg, a small fishing town where I decided to make a stopover to see more closely the communities least affected by the mass tourism. Those 36 h were long, eternal, always in the middle of the mist and the constant drizzle, with not much to do.

The trio became a quartet when Marie-Bell, a woman of unique spirit and vitality, joined us. Among the four of us we were spending the hours that went slowly.

The stop-over at Juneau and Sitka didn’t let us get away form the ship’s atmosphere. Both towns were far away from the ferry terminal and we didn’t have enough time to make a visit. Little by little the tediousness got to me. A was already doubting that my decision to see this area was the correct one. Did I continue with my plan to stop in Petersburg for a day or continued directly to Prince Rupert to start pedaling as soon as possible? The inactivity was affecting me badly and I was getting annoyed!

On the afternoon of July 20th we got closer to Petersburg.
At the same time, it stopped raining and the clouds started to lift, revealing the, until now, hidden mountains. Dozens of fishing boats dotted the waters. Was this a good omen?

Maira was trapped on the wrong side of the ferry, in the middle of a maze of tightly parked vehicles. The only option to get out of it was to carry it with Florian on top of the cars and RVs and be able to get off the boat before it continued its trip.  I said goodbye to my sailing buddies and went to the local hostel, the most economical option to stay around there.

The owner of the place, Ryn, received me with unique energy and vivacity!! The first thing she did was to reproach me because I was “cheating” by taking the ferry and not pedaling. I told her that it wasn’t interested in going and coming back on the same roads with the bike so heavy. Her eyes brightened up, she smiled and said: “there is a new ferry system and you can ride and link at least 2 islands with it!” Without a pause, she took me to her computer and map in hand; we started to study the timetables in order to coordinate the trip sections. Everything was a bit tight but it worked for me. Why not trying? It was the incentive that I need it.

The plan was taking shape and it was something like this: I would spend a day resting and exploring the little town. Early on Sunday I would cross from Petersburg to the southern point of Mitkof island, where the brand new ferry system would take me to Wrangell. Half an hour later I would continue to the Prince of Wales Island, with Coffman Cove as final destination.  On Monday, I would pedal 140 km from one side of the island to the other to Hollis, where I could catch the ferry early in the morning to Ketchikan. Two hours later, the same ship that put me in Petersburg would take me to my final destination in Prince Rupert. Incredible, isn’t it? And everything came from the fast mind of Ryn. A total idol!!!

To celebrate the new itinerary, we went for a stroll in harbor that is practically half the size of the town!! An incredible number of fishing boats left no doubt to the economical resources of this little Norway in the middle of Alaska. That is because of the origins of its founder and the huge settlement of people from that country too.

While we were walking the fog came from the waters and as a ghost it covered everything on the intricate piers illuminated by orange lights… The wind was calm and only the soft movement of the boats with the tide was heard.

In a place where rain boots are the official kind of shoe, I would’ve expected the worse with respect to the weather. In this area, it can rain more than 250 cm per year!! It’s not in vain that it’s called the rain forest. Due to one of the greatest mysteries in life, I was escaping the storms. The day of out tour I even had sunshine and the morning of Sun 22nd, when I embarked on my trip, the rain was still absent.

The 40 km to the ferry terminal went on a paved road which at the end turned into a dirt and loose rock path, in them middle of reconstruction. Little by little the forest got closer to the road. The most interesting thing was the maze of interpretative trails that someone could do every once in a while. I took advantage to get into these areas with the bike and see the richness of the terrain upclose.

I got to the ferry just in time because, without me knowing it, that day the time schedule was running fast by half an hour. While I bought my ticket and under the astonished look of the ferry employees, I devoured half of the chocolates that they had a s a courtesy for the passengers. Of course, a cyclist is a category on its own…isn’t it?

It was a 5 h trip. When we arrived to Coffman Cove the rain forest was making honors of its name and badly! A waterfall was coming down from the dark sky and I didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon. This, and what I hadn’t seen until then, was the norm…

I was in a little town of 200, without services according to my pocket and in the middle of a storm. What to do!! I waited until it slowed down a bit and I went to a picnic area where I could find some cover. I was a bit exposed to the passerby’s, if not in the middle of the road. I was already looking to settle under the bleachers of a nearby baseball field, when one guy I met on the Ferry, Ron, appeared on his truck. With no  discussion he gave me a lift and took me to his son’s house nearby, also called Ron. Behind the modest trailer where he lived with his wife Rebecca and his sons Felton and Devon, there was an impressive structure that in a no so distant future will be his new home.  He’s been working on the construction of their future “home, sweet, home” for a few years and it was really impressive with its three stories. The offered me to stay at the construction site, which for me it was like a luxury loft!! Of course, I said yes!!

After a warm and comforting shower, I sat to watch the people going and coming in the rain as if the sun was shining. They didn’t even have special clothing for the rain. You could see it was their natural habitat. Meanwhile I was trying to get ready for what it would be waiting for me in the morning. It was going to be wet!!

But my dose of good luck didn’t stop there. When I woke up in the morning I notice that something was missing: The drops hitting the roof. It wasn’t raining!!! Great!!

After an energetic breakfast with eggs, sausages and the traditional bacon with Ron and his family, I got back on the bike. As the main road was under construction, I had to take an alternative secondary road.

As soon as I started, I found myself totally alone, in the morning hours, riding on a narrow and zigzagging dirt road that was practically engulfed by the forest walls that surrounded it. It was impossible to see through the asphyxiating vegetation. You could breathe the moisture. You could feel the darkness within. The silence reigned all over…  

It took me little to remember my dear friends, the bears, which according to the locals, they abound on this island. Just the black kind… what a relief!!! Pse, with the natural paranoia of
loneliness in remote places and with these “pets” around me, it didn’t take me too much time to get the pepper spray at hand and I hung my “anti-bear” bell on my handlebar. The effort was in vain. The terrain was so smooth that the bell was barely emitting any sounds for lack of vibrations. The option of screaming made me feel much more ridiculous. Singing was out of the question or they would attack me just to shut me up. It was then that I remembered my secret weapon: my emergency whistle. It’s one of those orange ones that come with lifejackets and are very noisy with little pulmonary effort. So, I started riding while whistling every time I got to a narrow curve or the forest was too close to me. Every shadow or dark shape was a potential black bear stalking me and ready to jump. It mush have worked beautifully, because I saw no bears at all!!

On the other hand, I passed deer and in large quantities. The first one made me stop suddenly, take my camera, shoot a few pictures and then I kept going. The second encounter was similar; the third one was just dull. After a few kilometers, they were just part of the landscape and I just kept going while thinking: “another deer, ufff”. The funny part was to see how they would jump out of the way when they considered that I was too close for their physical integrity. Used to cars passing by, they looked at me like if I was an object out of a science fiction movie and they would not stay on their places for too long before retreating to the safety of the forest.


Those were the most interesting and intense 40 km within the Tongass National Forest. I still had another 100 km on paved roads and through areas where the human activities had cleared a great part of the native forests. Nevertheless, the presence of the forests was still omnipresent, framed by the imposing mountain ridges that colored the landscape, no matter where one would look at.

Around 6 pm, I arrived to Klawok, which along with the neighboring town of Craig, concentrated the commercial activity of the island. They were the only places with supermarkets. Taking advantage of my passing through, I bought a nice coffee and some chocolates to celebrate my recent passing of the 3000 km. We kept adding with Maira!

I still had 35 km to Hollis. The sun was going down and at the same time, a hellish humidity started to dominate the atmosphere. The clouds looked like they were rising from the nearby fiords and were slowly ascending on the green slopes of the mountains.  A cold mist covered my gear and made me shiver for a while as I was descending towards my destination of the day.

Hollis ended up to be just a school, a library and three houses lost in the surroundings. Without too much trouble, I settled under the awnings of the school’s basketball field and ended the day sharing a few moments with some biology students that were doing a research summer internship.

When I went back to my “dorm”, the darkness was total and the sky was full of stars.  I went to sleep around midnight, almost! The only “heavy metal” guitar player of the region (in a community of 20 souls) was playing his loud music following the track of an even louder video clip. And he didn’t stop until 2 am!! Aghhhhh!!!

After waking up early to catch the ferry to Ketchikan at 7 am, I didn’t have any option than sleeping during the 5 h trip I had ahead of me. The 2 h stop-over gave me the opportunity to see rapidly that touristy place, entry door for the great cruises to the Alaskan southeast.

The contrast with what I had been observing until that moment was brutal. The floating steel masses were anchored in the middle of the town, intertwining themselves with the local structures. Dozens of planes were taking off from the waters taking tourists anxious to see the fiords form the sky. They were like a plague of noisy mosquitoes going up and down between the ships at all time.

The hordes of tourists bathed in expensive perfumes abounded.  It was a continuous parade of the latest fashion with the ever-present and no so latest fashion plastic bag to protect them from the rain. The ladies strolled on the streets covered with expensive makeovers. Souvenir bags were hanging from the arms of the occasional visitors. The streets were full of activity like an agitated anthill. The density of cameras was also astounding. Most of the time, they looked at me as if I was from a different planet. I think that my expression reflected back the same feeling. After a short tour around the area, I run away. That was definitively not my cup of tea….

When I got to the ferry, I saw again the Germans from Carcross. The crew hadn’t changed from my previous leg of the trip and it felt like seeing old friends. While I was putting Maira in storage, I saw another bicycle that had the Motorola logo everywhere. Instants later, when I was settling down in the solarium, a guy came over to where I was, with a big smile on his face. He definitively was the owner of the bike in question because the Motorola logo was all over his clothes too. It was a great surprise to me when he talked in Spanish!!

He turned out to be Oscar Cañón, a Colombian that is biking from Alaska to Colombia!!! Two Latin-Americans, in a similar enterprise and finding each other in these latitudes? Too much coincidence, wasn’t it? Especially when one considers that most of the cyclists that are on the road with long winded projects are Europeans or Americans. Our encounter was definitively one in a million!!!

Also, only a year ago, Oscar toured South America biking in an incredible way. Almost without gear and with a ridicule small budget, he rode 36 thousand kilometers from his native town in Colombia, Facatativa, and returning to his land after 24 months of riding and with thousands of anecdotes and stories. He was a clear demonstration that will can surpass any barrier. He’s admirable, impressive and deserving of all my respect.

Of course, we spent all day (with mate in the middle) talking and comparing notes. We were going to the same place: the National Parks of the Rockies. The “Sudaca” team was born and we would ride together the next 1100 km.

Until the next update!!

Good trails,

Damián

Acknowledgements…

To Florian Pliss, Sandra Becker and Marie-Belle Treat, for the good company during those long hours on the ferry from Skagway to Petersburg.

To Ryn Schneider, for the good vibes and for that dose of insanity that took me to see up-close the beauty of the islands of southeast Alaska.

To Ron Rusher Sr., Ron Rusher Jr., Rebecca, Felton and Devon, their hospitality was my salvation in the middle of a storm in Coffman Cove. Thanks!!!

To Peter Levy and Janine Ruegg, for the great conversation and letting me use the kitchen in Hollis.

To Oscar Cañón, Latin-American brother and cyclist by heart, for all the experiences that we shared together while on the road.

Some Statistics:

Days on the road: 51

Days biking: 33

Kilometers done: 3037 km (1120 on gravel)

Hours on the bike: 192h04m (8d00h04m)

Average speed: 15,82 km/h

Maximum speed: 70 km/h, descending towards Skagway (18-07-2007)

Meters climbed: 26.717 m

Maximum altitude: 1352 msnm, Top of the World Hwy (22-06-2007)

Precipitation while on the bike: none!!

Tourits sighted on the cruises area : thousands !!!