6. AK, BC & YT — Chicken, Alaska

My ride from the border was mostly downhill on a curvy road. There was recent maintenance, but there was ample evidence it’s often deeply rutted. There are trees that shade and keep it damp. so that’s not surprising. Although it is called the Taylor Highway in Alaska, it may have been what Bob Broughton referred to as “…bad road.”

I only went to Walker Fork Campground, 30 miles away, because the day before was a hard ride. It also fit in with the distance to the next stop halfway between there and Tok (pronounced Toke).

The campground hosts were helpful and interesting. They were from Anchorage, but they came up there for the short camping season each year, and then went to Arizona/New Mexico/Texas “when the white stuff starts to fly.” They knew where Happy Trails is too.

This campground is in the historic Fortymile Mining District. Gold mining started here before the Klondike gold rush. I saw an old dredge on the side of the road here. It was about one-fourth the size of the one on Klondike Creek. There is still active mining in  Chicken, the only “town” in the 185 mile stretch between Dawson City and Tok.

It rained quite a bit shortly after I got my tent up (in a hurry), and then drizzled on and off for the rest to the day. A strong shower in the evening ended the rain. The rain kept me “indoors” much of the afternoon, and gave me time to organize my gear, look at my maps, plan my stops and review logistics for the next couple of days. It was nice to take a break in my cozy tent for a change.

My destination for the day was West Fork Campground. I got to Chicken about noon. Chicken is the remnant of the Fortymile gold mining activity. The population is 7, which swells to 17 in the summer. Small world thing: Our Vancouver friends know the Mayor of Chicken. He comes to Scottsdale, AZ in the winter and works a small gold claim in Chicken in the summer.

Chicken is an unlikely name for a town. There were many ptarmigan (a member of the grouse family) in that area. The founders wanted to name the town after them. There were competing ideas about how to spell ptarmigan though, and they didn’t want to embarrass themselves by getting it wrong. One of them said a grouse was sort of a chicken so why not name it Chicken? They all agreed. (There’s also a Joe, Montana, which I’ve also cycled to but that involved a name change.)

Downtown Chicken consisted of three old buildings — restaurant, bar, and curio shop. (A fourth one that detracts from the charm of the place was added later.) I had soup and a sandwich at the restaurant and bought a book and some power bars in the curio shop. Tisha: The Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness is about life in Chicken in the old days. I read it on the rest of my tour. Et was good entertainment.

I expected to have an easy ride to West Fork Campground, but it was a long pull uphill out of Chicken on a hot day. I drank all my water by the time I got there. The campground was hot and dry too. I went down to the river to get water as soon as I got there. After a cool drink, I set up my Tent in a choice campsite. Then I fixed lots to eat, including pasta and salmon (must have been from a can). I could have gotten a job there as campground host too. They offered $22 per day, with ten days on and four off.

I camped close to a little pond with eight or more ducks on it. If I remember, they were mallards. They started a ruckus after a while for no reason that I could discern. Maybe they were fighting over a girlfriend.

The next morning I thought I heard the ducks going at it again. But I didn’t see the ducks. So I went back to finish breakfast, and as I was eating I heard a Moose snort at me. I looked across the pond and there he was. I could barely make him out. He was standing behind some bushes looking back at me. Just curious I guess.

I didn’t fill my water containers when I left for Tok. I filled them at Logging Cabin Creek. It was six miles up the road, and there was quite a grade leaving the campground. No point in hauling water uphill. I took enough at the creek to make it to Tok. I wouldn’t have needed that much, though. Water was available off and on most of the way.

By the time I reached the halfway point in my ride a thunderstorm had formed behind me. It was moving my way. The road was on a ridge and the lightning worried me. I rode ten or fifteen miles as hard as I could as it chased me. It finally gave up faded away. I did get wet, but that was OK, as it was a hot day.

It was 60 miles from the campground to Tok. I was glad to stop. I was getting a cramp in the calf of one leg, and I wouldn’t have been able to go on much further. I spotted a sign for the Tok Salmon Bake that offered free camping if you ate dinner there. How could I go wrong? I soon had my tent pitched, took a free shower and was ready for some Salmon.

[photos (in reverse order from the direction of my ride)]