We end where we started. In the great outdoors with high ceilings and landscapes that are so magnificent that we have to pinch ourselves to be absolutely sure that it is reality.
Alaska has always been high on our list of places we would like to visit. We, like so many others, are drawn to the raw landscapes and undeveloped nature. The dream of expeditions moving in untouched land can actually be realized here. The dream of being in the wilderness. It is interesting to look at a map of how much untamed nature and few roads there are in Alaska. So a car is not always sufficient if you want to go on an adventure.
We met two hunters who had hired a small plane to transport them to the Alaskan mountain range. Here they were dropped off on a piece of tundra that was only slightly less bumpy than the rest of the landscape. It was good enough. It was the landing site and completely normal. Five days later they would be picked up again by the pilot. They found a place to set up camp and then they would trudge up and down the mountains to find a ram that was old enough to be shot. You can tell by the horns going all the way around and forming a full circle when viewed from the side. Nathan and Luke were lucky. They had applied for one of the very few permits issued each year to shoot sheep in the Alaskan mountain range. They were selected, went on an adventure and got a ram for the winter's supplies.
We have spent some time in Alaska during the open moose and caribou hunting season. Hunting is great, and along the smaller roads, hunters park their campers, ATVs, and on the rivers, they use flat-bottomed swamp boats or rubber dinghies. We have seen how much work actually goes into getting a caribou or moose. Hunters often spend weeks, or even months, finding an animal to shoot, and it takes days to process the meat to put in the freezer. A moose easily provides meat for several families, and it is definitely the most organic meat you can get. It is not as cheap meat as you might think. The time and equipment it takes to take down such a large animal does not come for free, but the hunters we have met take pride in providing good meat for their family and friends.
On our way to Denali National Park, we camped in a dry riverbed just before the small town of Healy. We set the alarm for 1 a.m. because we really wanted to see the Northern Lights. It wasn’t the first time we had set the alarm, and we were afraid we had missed our chance. The weather forecast predicted gray weather, but this area was the best place to see the Northern Lights. The weather turned and the clouds disappeared. Kenneth looked out the tent door when the alarm went off. He jerked his head back and stuck his head out. “There are the Northern Lights!” he said. We quickly put on all our clothes and went out into the dark, starry night with the Northern Lights moving across the sky. First as a long rainbow, then as pulses across the sky, breaking up in different places and then coming back again. “Wake up everybody – the Northern lights are dancing” shouted a guy from another camp who was also chasing the Northern Lights. And it was so true. It really looked like the Northern Lights were dancing across the sky and putting on a show for us. It was a great experience and another reminder of how amazing nature and the universe are. We are just small people. A very small part of something very big.
People are nice in Alaska, but there is definitely a different culture than we have seen in the other states we have visited in the USA. You are used to fending for yourself, and dealing with the elements. Getting ready for winter, where the shortest days have less than four hours of daylight. It requires you to be hardy. Some have also moved to Alaska because they want to take care of themselves. To be free from other people, laws and systems. And then there are all those who are super nice and welcome us to Alaska. And who love to be in and use the amazing nature.
We were sitting on the side of the road on a small forest road when Jo and Greg stopped the car to check what kind of species we were and what we were doing. We were preparing dinner, and we had set up the tent on a small side road in the forest. They were looking at us. “There are a lot of bears. A lot of grizzly bears because of the river.". We said we would be careful. After all, we had seen 51 bears so far. They asked if we had a gun. We didn't, but we had bear spray. Greg looked at us skeptically, and Jo whispered something to him. "It's better if you come home with us and sleep.", said Greg. We said “Yes please” in chorus! It’s the best thing to be invited to locals’ homes, see their homes and get a glimpse into their lives.
Jo and Greg lived just around the corner in a beautiful tree house that Greg had built himself. It was really nice. We enjoyed Jo's delicious homemade Chai tea while listening to the fire crackling in the wood stove. Greg had served in the Air Force and had fallen in love with this place during a flyover, after which he moved here. He made his living as a fishing and hunting guide for many years, but now he makes beautiful jewelry with his wife. Greg still hunts grizzly bears as a service to the Indians, as the Indians believe that they are spiritually connected to the bears and therefore cannot shoot them themselves. There are so many bears in the area that they need to regulate the population, otherwise it will affect the elk and caribou herds that they shoot to get meat for the freezer.
Jo is from Florida, and when she turned 50, she decided to follow her dream of moving to Alaska. She moved to Anchorage, but it wasn't the Alaska she had dreamed of. On a blueberry trip, she met Greg, and after a while she asked him if she would move in with him. He lived alone in the big house. She did, and now they are married and have lived together for the past 15 years. It was hard to leave the next day. Another amazing experience to keep in your heart. Certainly better than a rainy night in a tent.
In Denali National Park we met Donna, Tom, Sarah and Russ, who were also on their bikes. We were happy to see other cyclists and we stopped to talk to them. Russ pulled apples out of his bag to give them to us. Russ and Sarah had been on bike tours in Korea, Ireland and in two weeks they would be on a tour in Portugal, so he knew that fresh fruit is the best thing cyclists can get. Even from their own garden. He also said that we were very welcome to stay with them in Wasilla, which is on the way to Anchorage. We had originally planned to spend our last night on the road in a tent, but on the other hand it was very symbolic of our trip that it would be with strangers who were so kind and thoughtful to open their home to us. So we took them at their word.
Tom and Donna own a fantastic piece of land in the city, but which overlooks a piece of forest, so when you look out of the large panoramic windows in the living room you see the forests, the mountains, their orchard and kitchen garden with the most delicious vegetables. On the other side of the garage, Sarah and Russ live in an extension. They have lived like this for four years. It came about by chance when Russ was going to an interview at the hospital where Tom works. Tom and Donna offered that Russ and Sarah could live with them during that period. They clicked, and Russ and Sarah ended up moving in. It was really inspiring how they enjoyed each other's company, did things together and helped each other. It's a dream to live with your friends, so that you don't have to book your calendar three weeks in advance, but can just stick your head in and see if anyone wants to play.
We were only supposed to be there for one night, but it was so nice that we ended up staying an extra day. Tom and Russ had planned a hike up to Frontier Peak, which is a mountain peak just outside of town. They asked if we wanted to join. We met up with Josh, who is one of their friends, and then we were ready. The first two kilometers were a forest path. We joined in. From there it was straight through the forest without any paths. We had tried that before too. From there it went very steeply up through thick grass, scrub and through a stream. “It's Alaska hiking” Russ shouted as he effortlessly led the way through the wilderness.
We reached the tree line and we admired the fantastic view over the valley. Wow it was beautiful. Then it went up steeply with the reward that the view became more and more beautiful. We could now see a large glacier, where Josh said that they fat biked in the winter, and the same on the frozen lakes. Russ pointed out the different places, they walked with skins under their skis up the mountain and skied down.
We saw bighorn sheep on a mountainside, and we were lucky to see mountain goats on two different ridges. We've been looking and looking for them, but we hadn't seen them yet, but there they were. Far away, but just as it should be. It's so impressive how they can move everywhere on the mountainside. We called Josh, Tom and Russ the three mountain goats, because they were so fast and moved so easily in the terrain. Especially in the last part up to the mountaintop, which was loose rocks.
The two small white dots are mountain goats.
We reached the top! 360 degree view of mountain peaks with white peaks. We could even see Denali Mountain, which is the highest mountain in North America. The mountain that we had not seen in Denali National Park because it was cloudy. Now we could see it high above the other mountains. We had a view of the Alaska Range, glaciers and a lot of other mountain peaks that we did not know the names of. It was so beautiful. At the top there is a plastic tube with a note where you write your name as proof that you made it the 2000 meters up the mountain.
Back home in Wasilla, a feast awaited us with elk, salmon, halibut, which is a very delicious white fish, delicious salad and vegetables from the garden, homemade bread and homemade dessert with berries from the garden and homemade ice cream. Both families had contributed different things to the meal. It was so good that Kenneth asked Donna if she and Tom were married, because otherwise he would run away with her. Everything was from their own garden, fish they had caught themselves or bread baked from local flour. Even the elk was local – or locally hit. It works in the way that if a elk is hit by a car, the authorities call the people who have written down on a list, and then they can come and pick up the animal. Russ and Sarah had been called at 3 am on a cold winter night and then it was just a matter of getting started. Luckily, Tom and Donna know how to handle the meat, so they had all helped each other. That's about 300 moose are affected each year, so it's really good that the meat doesn't go to waste, but is used.
Tom, Donna, Russ and Sarah showed us great hospitality and kindness that we will take home with us. They even helped us change some bearings on a front wheel and get bike boxes for the trip home. By the time we left, four strangers we met in Denali National Park had become friends.
We have now arrived in Anchorage. The last stop on the journey. 15 countries, 639 days and 30,500 kilometers of adventure ends here. Fortunately, memories last forever. And we remind ourselves that life is a long adventure. So even though it is sad on the one hand to pack the bikes into cardboard boxes and leave our everyday lives on the bikes, we are also looking forward to all the new things that are coming and, above all, to seeing friends and family again!
It's crazy to think that we did it. We pursued a dream. We cycled from Argentina to Alaska. We worked for it, and prioritized that it would come true. Now it's reality. On the one hand, it feels like we started yesterday and on the other hand, it feels like we've never done anything else. We've seen so much. Experienced and learned so much. Encountered so many different cultures and ways of life, history and stories, geography and nature. We've met so many sweet, inspiring and amazing people who have made a huge impression on us and whom we will never forget. A kindness and hospitality towards two strange crazy people on bicycles. It's absolutely unique how people have opened their homes, shared their food and helped us in all sorts of conceivable and unimaginable ways. It's been the greatest experience of them all, and we're looking forward to giving back.
We will soon be landing in Denmark. We look forward to seeing you all again!
Happiness is only real when shared…