Cycling the Dalton Highway – Part 2: Coldfoot to Fairbanks

4 days

353 km

6348 ascent

It felt like a small miracle when we successfully managed to pack the food and our gear on our bikes in Coldfoot. Every water bottle and water bladder filled, we left the small town with heavy bikes and were back on the Dalton Highway. The distance from here to Fairbanks would only be 20 km longer than from Deadhorse to Coldfoot, but a lot more elevation gain was ahead of us. The biggest challenge, however, was the heat we didn’t have on the radar at all. The days got hotter and hotter and at some point we were cycling in temperatures of over 30°C (86°F) in the sun, drinking around five to six liters each.

Water resupply points were rare, with a lot of the creeks being dry or looking swampy and not refreshing at all. At times we filtered the water twice and added purification tablets, just to be sure. People were incredibly nice though! So many had stopped and asked us if we needed anything, happily giving us water, sometimes even candy and wishing us safe travels. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who looked out for us, thanks a lot!

Just under 100 km south of Coldfoot we crossed the Arctic Circle. The sun actually hadn’t set once since we’d departed from Deadhorse and even with a relatively good sleeping mask we didn’t sleep that well. If we weren’t that tired from cycling all day long we’d most likely sleep even worse! It would take another two to three weeks of cycling though until we noticed the days getting shorter and the need for light in the evening.

Right beside the pull out with the Arctic Circle sign is a small campsite. We’d heard there was drinking water there, so we planned to stop there for the night. Unfortunately, though, that wasn’t the case and we arrived with barely any water left. Luckily enough other campers were super nice and gave us enough water to cook, have breakfast, and get going the next day.

Yukon River Camp is another one of the few spots with (limited) amenities on the Dalton Highway. It is located just next to the bridge crossing the impressive brown Yukon River. When we got there we were greeted with open arms, a warm shower and a hot meal. They even allowed us to have our breakfast inside the restaurant the next morning so we could have some peace from the mosquitos for a while. We had to pack up our things in full rain gear and with the mosquito head net again…

Quite relieved that we hadn’t had any bear encounters on the road yet, we were even happier about all the other animals that crossed our paths. Caribou, moose, North American porcupine… I was especially happy about all the cute little Arctic ground squirrels. I could watch them all day!

After nine days of cycling we arrived at Mile 0 of the Dalton Highway – another highway cycled from the end to the beginning! We rolled onto the Elliot Highway for the last stretch towards Fairbanks and were greeted with a paved road. That day took some unexpected turns as we saw more and more signs of active wildfires in front of us. Around 48 kilometers // 30 miles out of Fairbanks a family pulled over and warned us about the wildfire ahead of us. Apparently the fire was really close to the highway at some points with thick smoke on the road. Note that we still didn’t have any reception at all for checking smoke forecasts or fire updates. We were in the middle of discussing what to do, when Pete and Jen, whom we’d met a couple of days earlier on the Arctic Circle campground, appeared next to us and asked if they should give us a ride. They were on their way back into Fairbanks and not knowing how the fires and weather would develop over the next few days, we gratefully accepted the offer.

We ended up being offered a space in their yard and spent the night in our tent at their place. We were not only thankful for the ride into Fairbanks, but also really enjoyed the reunion. I ended up spending the next day with Jen in the city, while Sebi stayed at their place to do some maintenance on our bikes. We went to the farmer’s market, saw some Sandhill cranes, and I picked up a parcel that had been delivered for me.

After some nice chats we packed our bikes and cycled a few kilometers to stay with a Warmshowers host for two nights. We had already organized that before flying to Deadhorse, not knowing we’d be in Fairbanks that early. Tom and Amanda were such great hosts, and we were lucky enough to be included in their dinner plans two nights in a row! Although not on the bike, Sebi likes to emphasize that those days can hardly be described as rest days. It’s true – we do spend a lot of time on maintenance, backing up the cameras, writing blog posts, organizing the next days on the road and grocery shopping.