Leg 7

6/3/14
Norm's Ride
Muncho Lake, BC (just short of Liard Hot Springs) to Teslin, YT

We got a late start in Muncho Lake.  Even though it was still raining, we decided to leave.  Not so sure that that was a good call, but later we found out that Ft. Nelson got 4" of snow after we left, so I guess that it was a good call after all.  Cliff and Roberta are still there.

We rode in rain most of the day and ran into road construction in one stretch. Jeff was leading.  We passed the flagman's stop sign, but there was no flagman, but we could see John and Mike far ahead.  We thought we had gotten lucky and made the last part of the pace truck convoy before they stopped traffic.  No such luck.  Jeff picked the wrong lane and we hit the freshly grated dirt making the bikes wiggle and wobble.  I hate that feeling.  But wait, there's more.  The looming picture of the approaching road grader confirmed the fact that we were in the wrong lane.  We quickly tried to maneuver out of its way without falling down.  Not an easy task, but after taking a few deep breaths and regaining my composure, I was fine. 

 

The town of Watson Lake was next.  "Gateway to the Yukon" , originally known as Fish Lake, Watson Lake was renamed for Frank Watson, who settled here in 1898.  He was born in Tahoe City, California and came north looking for gold.  Watson Lake was an important location during construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942.  Today it is known for its Signpost Forest.  This was an especially important stop for me.  I had brought along some extra smaller stickers of the ones I had made up of Norm's Memorial Ride.  I wanted to leave a part of him here, so I wandered around the Forest trying to decide where to place one of them.  I found two.  I placed one on a sign from New Brunswick, and another on a sign from Colorado.  Norm had some great times in each place.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful until we were approaching Teslin, YT, for our evening layover.  Just before you enter the downtown area you have to cross the Nisutlin Bay Bridge.  It's not just any bridge, it's the longest water span on the Alaska Highway.  It's divided into 7 large sections.  Each section has metal grated decking which is really squirrely when riding over it and becomes very slippery when wet.  Thank goodness the rain had stopped.

Nisutlin Bay Bridge

Taken from To Alaska by Land Rover.

Generous permission granted by J Steinborn.