Arctic Circle Motorcycle Tour

[johndoe]

At the end of June I am leaving on a month long solo motorcycle trip across Canada and up the Dempster Highway to the arctic circle, and ultimately, to Inuvik. While there are lots of great prepping ideas I've gotten from motorcycle touring sites, I figured I would throw this out there for a different perspective on my kit from the prepper's viewpoint. Any thoughts or ideas on my preps for this would be greatly appreciated. As you can imagine, even as barebones as this is it's a pretty hefty load for a bike so I am somewhat limited in what else I can bring.

THE ROUTE:
This is a general look at my very tentative route (specifics still evolving):



THE BIKE:

I'll be riding a KLR 650 dual sport motorcycle. This is it in Monument Valley last year:



It's been specifically modified and hardened for adventure touring. Aftermarket suspension, aluminum panniers, oversized brakes, stainless steel lines, crash bars, skid plates, stronger subframe bolts, barkbuster handguards and lots of other goodies aimed at making it trip worthy. This is about the load size I anticipate, along with a set of spare tires and a gas can thrown over the yellow dry bag and strapped down, at least for part of the trip.

NAVIGATION AND COMMUNICATIONS:

Garmin GPSMAP62st for primary navigation
Backup paper maps
SPOT emergency satellite beacon
Cell phone

TOOLS AND SPARES:

I have the basic bike took kit supplemented with some additional hand tools, along with a Leatherman Wave, bead braker, 12 volt air pump, backup CO2 tire inflater, spare tube(front and rear), patch kit, JB weld, zip ties, duct tape, bailing wire. I'll also be carrying a 2.5 gallon gas can for the northernmost portion of the trip, and a front and rear tire (Mefo Explorers)so I can mount fresh rubber prior to the Dempster portion.

CAMPING:

Since much of the ride is through "civilized" areas, I expect to be able to resupply food every couple days, so I won't go in depth on that. Hotels will also be available for much of the trip, especially prior to the Dempster. However, for cost savings, I hope to camp at least half of the trip. I'll be taking:

Big Agnes SL2 Seedhouse Tent
Small tarp that will double as a groundcloth
Montbell superspiral synthetic sleeping bag
Exped Symat9 sleeping pad
MSR Whisperlite Internationale stove, with MSR fuel bottle and pot
1 metal cup
1 Kleen Kanteen water bottle
Miniworks EX water filter
Camelback 100oz

CLOTHING:

Textile armored riding jacket
Textile armored riding pants
Leather/armored riding boots
Modular helmet
Winter weight gloves
Summer weight gloves
12v Heated jacket liner

2 pair, 5.11 TDU pants
1 pair, Columbia convertible nylon pants
3 synthetic t shirts
3 pairs underwear
3 pairs wool socks
1 pair keen water shoes

HEALTH:

I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP at night so I'll be bringing a CPAP, sans humidifier, a small 12v DEKA motorcycle battery, a charger plug that allows me to charge it while riding via a cig lighter aux plug.

First Aid Kit--Adventure Medical .9 kit supplemented with:
large burn gel dressing
small burn gel dressing
1 Roll Kerlix
4 4x4s
Trauma bandage
SWAT-T tourniquet
Some RX painkillers, just in case
EPIPen


MISC:

1 canister bear spray
Toiletries (deodarant, Dr Bronners soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, travel clothesline, spare contacts/fluid, spare glasses)
Netbook
Small Camera
Mosquito headnet
bug spray
Lighters/matches
Firestarters
Sewing kit
ipod

[TacAir]

Suggestions for the Alaska/haul road part of your trip.

Check to see if a tire dealer in Fairbanks has your tires in stock, even if you start with new, the haul road will wear them out.

While on the haul road PULL OVER if you see a truck approaching - they speed (well over the 'limit') and can throw rocks as big as your hand. Lethal IOW.

Get a copy of the Milepost trip log book. It is your best bet to see if a business/roadhouse/gas station/etc is even still in business. Even then, take with a grain of salt, we have been burned by bad data on 'open' businesses and we live here. If you plan on stopping - call to confirm status of the campgroud/motel.

State campgounds now charge, Federal campgrounds are run by contract. In many cases, all sites have seen reserved - even tho the Feds claim 10% are left open for drive-ups. We have been burned on this Federal contrator "scam" too many times to count. If you know you will be at a campgound on a hard date, pay for the reservation fee and know you have a space. State campgrounds are the better deal, see the Milepost for locations.

Bug dope, lots.

Bring money, Alaska is expensive - living at the airport expensive, even more so in the summer.

If you have a digital camera, get several extra storage (chips, card, etc) because you will be taking a ton of photos.

You should count on rain, and lots of it. This last summer was exceptionally wet, but once you get to the interior, not so much - tho the thunderstorms are ....interesting.

I don't think you'll be alone, this is a popular trip for locals as well as tourists.

While you are here, plan on a 'loop' to Homer, Seward, and Valdez. It will add a few days, but I believe it would be well worth your time. See note about extra camera storage... The roads are all paved, in between the potholes and constrction zones.

Enjoy your trip, tell your friends - we need the money.


PM me if you need specifics.

[johndoe]

Unfortunately, I'll be doing the arctic via the Dempster rather than the Dalton and probably skipping AK altogether. The Canadians will be the ones fleecing me out of my tourist dollars.

[WhoShotJR]

I would definitely take a foam sleeping pad as a backup in case the Exped decides it doesn't want to work.

[TacAir]

Unfortunately, I'll be doing the arctic via the Dempster rather than the Dalton and probably skipping AK altogether. The Canadians will be the ones fleecing me out of my tourist dollars.

(Facepalm)
Ya, I see that know (D'oh!)
Well, maybe next summer. Good luck, the roads in the Canadian far North are usually much better than the roads in AK.

Friend of mine took that route several years ago. All he could talk about was how good the roads were - compaired to what we have here.

Looking forward to pics - and the advice on bug dope still stands.

[johndoe]

The foam pad is probably a bit too bulky to strap on to my already overloaded bike unfortunately. If the exped dies and I can't patch it, I'll probably be able to find a store up north though. Fingers crossed on the exped's durability though.

As for AK, we may be spending some time up there next year depending on my wife's job. Fingers crossed on that too.

[Dawgboy]

Have you thought about a bear box for your food? It would really suck to be cmped out somewhere and Have a Grizzly make a lunch out of your Panniers...

[Impus]

Cash. There are plenty of places in the backwater parts of North America that don't/can't take plastic.

Look at your bike: If you lay 'er down, what might break off? A footpeg? Shift lever? If it's something critical, can you carry a spare? Or something to jury rig it with? A small vice grip goes a long way...

Sufficient personal lighting to drive by, should you lose a headlight. If you're 200 miles from the nearest partz store and a rock takes out your bike's light, you may need to use a headlamp or duct tape a maglight to the handlebars...

Spare batteries for all your electronics. If you can get everything to run off one kind of battery, you'll be able to swap out power from non-critical gear to critical gear. ie; The AA batteries in your headlamp can be used in your GPS in a pinch, then put back in the headlamp when it gets dark.

Camp towel of some sort. The microfiber towels are nice, but I've found myself using a humble shop rag as a: dewrag, facecloth, ovenmitt, snotrag, buttwipe, rising-bread-protector, keep-bees-outta-my-coffee-protector, strain-the-alge-outta-this-water-before-filtering-protector, drying rag, dust guard, nut-n-bolt keeper, ...you get the idea. Many people use a bandanna for this.

Compass. I know you'll be on a North/South road pretty much the whole trip, but it's the sort of thing you just shouldn't go without.

Sunglasses? Some folks need 'em, some don't.

Watch cap and/or balaclava. Considering where you're going, perhaps a tuque.

SAM splint. Crack an Ulna and you'll be happy you have one.

Paracord, 100'+

Titanium Spork. 'Nuff said.

[Impus]

Also, a quick google search informs me that there is an aftermarket kickstart kit for your bike. Bumpstarting a fully-loaded bike on a dirt road is no fun, this might be something to consider.

Spare final drive chain, or at least a couple of master links you can put together to make a small section of replacement chain.

[johndoe]

Have you thought about a bear box for your food? It would really suck to be cmped out somewhere and Have a Grizzly make a lunch out of your Panniers...

I've thought about it, but my hope is to either use the developed campgrounds when I can (most have bear boxes), or hang the food when possible to save the bulk. I've seen a few people have carried them up there, but it seems like most are able to do without them. Space really is the big issue with them for me.

[johndoe]

Thanks for all the ideas!

Cash. There are plenty of places in the backwater parts of North America that don't/can't take plastic.

Yep, I always have a good supply of cash with me on trips. Also helps with catching a "tow" in the back of a truck when you break down. Ask me how I know.

Look at your bike: If you lay 'er down, what might break off? A footpeg? Shift lever? If it's something critical, can you carry a spare? Or something to jury rig it with? A small vice grip goes a long way...

Between the crash and other guards it's pretty protected. Footpegs and shift levers are easy enough to improvise with a vise grip to limp to the nearest town though. Again, ask me how I know.

Sufficient personal lighting to drive by, should you lose a headlight. If you're 200 miles from the nearest partz store and a rock takes out your bike's light, you may need to use a headlamp or duct tape a maglight to the handlebars...

Good point. I try not to ride at night, but I'll probably also have a Petzl headlamp for around camp use too.

Spare batteries for all your electronics. If you can get everything to run off one kind of battery, you'll be able to swap out power from non-critical gear to critical gear. ie; The AA batteries in your headlamp can be used in your GPS in a pinch, then put back in the headlamp when it gets dark.

Yeah, I usually run rechargeables and all my stuff is either AA or AAA, so pretty interchangeable.

Camp towel of some sort. The microfiber towels are nice, but I've found myself using a humble shop rag as a: dewrag, facecloth, ovenmitt, snotrag, buttwipe, rising-bread-protector, keep-bees-outta-my-coffee-protector, strain-the-alge-outta-this-water-before-filtering-protector, drying rag, dust guard, nut-n-bolt keeper, ...you get the idea. Many people use a bandanna for this.

Another thing I forgot. I usually go with a bandana, but last trip it got so sweaty it got about worthless for drying off with. I'm thinking maybe the microfiber might be a good idea.

Compass. I know you'll be on a North/South road pretty much the whole trip, but it's the sort of thing you just shouldn't go without.

I have a small one on my lighter. You think that's sufficient?

Sunglasses? Some folks need 'em, some don't.

I actually got a new helmet that has the kind that are embedded and slide down, like a fighter pilot's helmet. I probably need to bring some for offbike use though. I'll definitely add to the list.

Watch cap and/or balaclava. Considering where you're going, perhaps a tuque.

Definitely need to pack a balaclava. Really helps for under the helmet.

SAM splint. Crack an Ulna and you'll be happy you have one.

I sort of am of two minds on these. On the one hand, they'd definitely be helpful. On the other, splints are easy enough to improvise. I may have to see what sort of space I have leftover before deciding on this.

Paracord, 100'+

Definitely need to add this.

Titanium Spork. 'Nuff said.

I can't bring myself to spend the $ for titanium. I have a cheapo plastic version.

[johndoe]

Also, a quick google search informs me that there is an aftermarket kickstart kit for your bike. Bumpstarting a fully-loaded bike on a dirt road is no fun, this might be something to consider.

Spare final drive chain, or at least a couple of master links you can put together to make a small section of replacement chain.

I've looked at them before. The problem was, if I recall, they're only a simple bolt on accessory for the mid-90s models.The newer versions require pretty substantial mods. But the upside to carrying the second battery for the CPAP is, worst case scenario, I can swap it out and use it to start the bike and then plug the other one into the charger. I swear it's the only upside to lugging that PITA thing around though.

[WhoShotJR]

Don't discount the Sham-wow, they actually make a good towel and can be had for cheap at Wal-mart around here.

[Dabster]

A kick-start on a KLR is like an extra handle on an ax.

It should be an awesome trip, I've done it by car and intend to do it by bike sometime. Just some random thoughts:
1. Is your doohickey done yet? It may not be necessary but having it done is cheap insurance.
2. It looks like you're spending a lot of time in Eastern Alberta. It might be faster but this ain't the pretty part of Canada. I would recommend going through Radium and the three Parks until you get to Jasper. The cleanest outhouses I have ever seen, nice roads and breathtaking scenery for days.
3. Laird Hot Springs: amazing & worth a stop. Good camping too.
4. You will see snow,don't forget a sweater and warm & cold gloves.
5. You will see lots of animals, sometime herds, often in thr road.

Bon voyage!

[Jeriah]

Might possible it be also you see advantage of packing SPAM for you happy fun travel time.