Friday  July 12        Cycling Day 8

     Engineer Creek (Y) to Tombstone Mountain (Y)

Distance:  (Km)122

Time: 7:11

Average Speed: (Km/ hr) 17.02

Ascent:  (m). 1116

Heart Rate: (beats / min). 107@

Cumulative Distance:   (km). 821

Cumulative Ascent :  (m). 7799

Punctures so far : 0

Another good night’s sleep ; very cold in the morning but thankfully no wind.

Today was going to be a challenging ride to get us through the Ogilvie Mountains and get near to the end of the gravelly Dempster Highway.

After yesterday’s bear episode, Walker (72, Vancouver) and I arranged to cycle together for mutual protection. On previous days we have regularly leap-frogged each other as our paces are comparable. It worked out beneficial for both of us over the full 122 km.As everyone left immediately after breakfast many cyclists were bunched over those early kms. Just 5 km out we spotted some of them halted up ahead - they had spotted another grizzly on the road. Much shouting and one cyclist, Jim, ( who had bear spray) proceeded a bit further. Eventually the bear wandered of into the trees on the left. No further sightings of bears although both of us kept on the alert.

It was a cool to cold day and the sun never succeeded in burning off the haze on the mountains. Pity, as the photos don’t do justice to the beautiful landscape - large towering craggy peaks, sides totally of scree and a few trees dotted right up to the top.A headwind blew up for the last two climbs, but being near to our destination eased the pain.

Road surface was a mixed bag and yet again as we crossed the line onto the part maintained by the Klondike Highway Maintenance Section, there was a marked deterioration for a while. Same as yesterday. Overall the surface on the Dempster has been a lot easier to handle than Mongolia and the Pamir Highway. That was something else !Lunch was at 70 km so Walker and I decided to have a sandwich at the 35 km Mark just as we were entering a scenic valley. A lot of following riders pulled in with us for the same reason

At this section of the ride we were climbing and weaving around mountains still following up the course of the Blackstone River as it flowed against us.

Around lunch time we were on pretty flat uplands, meandering waterways, ponds and very very few trees. All these rivers feed into the Blackstone, which feeds into the Ogilvie, which feeds into the Peel which feeds into the mighty Mackenzie and empties into the Arctic Ocean above. Things would change before the end of the day. Along this section we were cycling at 1000 m ASL , the highest we’ve been on this trip so far.

Along these uplands here, vast herds of caribou make their way when migrating for food. The Porcupine herd is the largest numbering 100,000. Other herds are much smaller. During the Klondike Goldrush (1897) caribou were hunted here to feed the thousands panning for gold just two days dog-sled drive from here.....no Dempster then.Then at 100 km we crossed over the continental divide. Once over that all rivers are feeding ito the Yukon and then into the Pacific.

The road led us into Tombstone National Park that will stretch almost to Dawson City. Along here I spotted  the first sample of human habitation since Fort McPherson seven days ago.Two stiff climbs in the last 10 km and then  a 3km steep descent on the gravel right into Tombstone Mountain Campground - a welcome sight after a long day. We had plenty of climbing and our highest point near the end of the day was at 1331 m ASL. 

That 3 km descent is the start of our descent to Dawson City tomorrow  and the end of the Dempster Highway. We’ll be back on the grid again and able to communicate with folks.Tombstone Mountain Campground is a busy spot and we didn’t have the run of all the sights. So I don’t have a whole site to myself as on previous nights.

Storm clouds ca,e over shortly after I had erected the tent and as I’m writing this (8pm) it’s raining steadily and all cyclists confined to tents.But no wind. Hope it all clears off before breaking camp tomorrow morning with breakfast at 7:30.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.