Yukon Spring – a motorcycle and aurora day

Posted On April 11, 2023

Spring hasn’t actually arrived yet – even the 14-day forecast calls for temperatures to remain well below seasonal norms. Given our above-normal snow load, the slow melt is very good news for all the people who have been flooded or threatened by floods the past two years. But yesterday I needed to pretend it was Spring, so took the motorcycle for a 162-km (100-mile) outing 🙂

I pulled the bike out of its winter home and installed the battery a couple of days ago. Yesterday I just needed to put some fresh gas in and wash off the winter’s dust. The temperature was 3°C/37°F and stayed there for most of the day.

Just before 2:00 p.m., I started with a “test” run out to the Yukon River bridge, to make sure that both the bike and I were up to a longer outing. The bike ran great and I felt really good 🙂 I bought this V-Star 1100 Classic for my 60th birthday, and put a lot of miles on it initially but it has gotten little use since we bought the motorhome and pretty much none since my injury almost 4 years ago. It now has 33,500 km on the odometer.

Note that the kickstand on the photo above is on a piece of plywood I carry in my saddlebags for when the ground isn’t firm. That gravel looks solid but was in fact wet and squishy as the frost comes out of it. Always Be Prepared! 🙂

Because Yukoners are known to be particularly creative, most people call this the “blue bridge.” 🙂

My first stop was at the Carcross Desert, where I went for a short walk. There was a fairly strong wind that was bitterly cold, though. Okay, that’s a rather funny comment when I’m out creating a 90-km/h wind on purpose 🙂

A high view of the rest area at the desert. This can get quite busy in the summer, as the desert is a lovely place to walk.

I made a loop around Carcross. With Skagway forecasting a very good cruise year, this is the calm before the storm.

This view from the railway bridge hasn’t changed much in the past century. Only the building in the distance in the centre has been added since then.

The historic BYN (British Yukon Navigation) warehouse was completely rebuilt some 20 years ago but was only used for a few years as a craft market after that.

My initial plan/hope was to ride to the Bove Island viewpoint, and that was my next and final destination. That’s White Mountain, a huge block of mostly limestone, ahead.

The Bove Island viewpoint can be seen ahead on the left.

The view across Bove Island and down Tagish Lake. Carcross is to the left, Skagway to the right.

A couple of channels of the Nares River cut across the flats that will become a vast grassy meadow when it warms up, and then in July when the water levels rise it’s Nares Lake. Nares Mountain towers over it.

I got home just after 4 p.m., as the temperature was dropping to the freezing point. Despite the temperature, I stayed warm during the 2-hour ride. There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing.

I had expected that would be the end of this blog post, but I stepped outside when I got up at midnight (2½ hours ago) and an aurora display was just starting. I got my gear together just in case, and the timing was perfect!

I started to think about getting dressed and going for a drive, but 20 minutes after it started, it quit just as suddenly as it had begun. I got 4 photos I’m happy with, though – I love the reds.

The weather forecast is calling for sunshine all the way from Whitehorse to Skagway today, so I hope to make that drive with the Tracker today. So I need to get back to bed now 🙂