Introduction To Twenty Twenty-Three
Digging Up The Past Of Our Future...
Deborah and I met at a bicycle shop in 1993 and we have been riding together ever since. Between 1993 and 2010 our lives had fallen into the typical society rut of career, house, and drifting apart.
At our crossroads we decided we had had enough social brainwashing and in 2010, after completing a hike across the Bailey Range in the Olympic National Park, we made the decision to sell everything, downsize, retire early, and experience life before society totally destroys this planet as we know it.
The route for our situation was to finish building a foundation first and have a basecamp to return to when age turned against us. This would take us to about 2020 for an official launch. We began the long process of removing clutter and downsizing our lifestyle. Selling our house to get a 288 square foot off grid cabin on five acres and to assemble our nomadic bikelife system.
After taking care of aging parents and on the other side of a pandemic, here we are in 2023. Family responsibilities are done and we are now free to roam. Beginning sometime in April our plan is to fly to Alaska and tour a few areas such as Denali before riding back to Washington State through the Yukon and British Columbia.
A dear friend of ours is meeting us in September sometime to backpack around mount Hood and mount Jefferson for a couple weeks. This will probably be the last hike we do together unless he meets us somewhere in the world during our tour.
After the hike our plan is to fly to Australia for a year or more. We really want to spend a lot of time in Tasmania before carrying on through the rest of Australia. At one point New Zealand will be included during this time. From here we have a few ideas but no plan.
Adventure Modes
We plan to ride our fatbikes, float our packrafts, and carry our backpacks as the path before us presents itself.
Standing at the edge of the ride of our lives.
The Bicycles…
Cycling is going to be our main transportation and we really love our Salsa Mukluk fatbikes so will be riding them. Every time we have set out on our Thinbikes we have always wished we had brought our Fatbikes. They are comfortable, fun, and practical for us as our interest is wilderness and not necessarily navigating between communities. The journey, rather than destination on a checklist is of greater importance to us. Speed and daily distance is not a priority.
Deborah posing before we set out across Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park.
The Packrafts…
Rivers and lakes with be navigated with our 2017 Alpacka Packrafts. Models have changed since 2017 but when we purchased them I bought the Denali Llama which was the large size and Deborah bought the Yukon Yak which was the medium size. Both have the Cargo Fly, Removable Whitewater Deck, and bicycle tie downs.
It wasn’t until two years later that Alpacka introduced a flatter and wider front that holds a bike much better than our pointed front. Perhaps when ours need replacing the newer packraft will be a welcome upgrade.
I am afraid of water so last year we took a basic pack rafting course with Swiftwater Safety Institute. Taking a safety course is something we would recommend everyone do no matter what your skill level is.
The Backpacks…
This is a gray area for us. During our last six day backpack trip around Mount Hood in Oregon we realized that the packs we have just did not fit us anymore. Deborah’s faithful Deuter pack gave her blisters on her hips and lower back. My Hyperlite Southwest 4400 also was not fitting comfortably any more.
We decided to give the Seek Outside Unaweep 4800 a go. After loading my pack and wearing it around the house, this new pack seems promising. However, we have not used them on the trail so we will not know for sure if they will truly work.
The Basic Plan
Wander around Alaska, the Yukon, and British Columbia to Washington State.
April 2023…
It would have been nice to ride off towards the horizon from our cabin but we really want to begin our journey from Alaska. Using air miles to fly there was the practical thing to do, so we now have tickets that will get us to Fairbanks. Deborah has never been north of Willow and I have always wanted to take her to Denali.
April is a little early and snow will still be on the ground. It is a kaleidoscope month that can produce all sort of weather patterns as winter breaks up into spring. In preparation, it seems we are bringing too much stuff but the winter items we will be using for the first month or so will be mailed back and replaced with the summer items we are bringing for the rest of the year.
I would like to see my kids before touring distant shores so will be riding to Kenai before beginning our ride back to the Lower 48 sometime early June. My thought is to start on the Denali Highway and make our way to Haines. Continue along the Klondike and Cassiar Highways ending on Victoria Island where we will take the ferry to Port Angeles Washington. Our cabin is close to the Olympic Discovery Trail so either Port Angeles or Port Townsend are good entry points for us.
