Day 27: Kluane Lake - Haines (Chilkat State Park)

By observing the northern lights, my night was rather short and because of my neighbors' dinner invitation last night I'm still full, so I skip breakfast.

I start in the direction of Haines Junction and there I get my breakfast with a cinnamon roll and an apple pie. And there is a real espresso! And WiFi. Very nice here.

Brigitte and I decide that she buys a dufflebag because the packsack I bought after my accident as a replacement for the top case is unconvenient to pack. (Insertion: As it turns out later, the bag we had choosen would be too wide for the bike, so the choice is a smaller 60l bag from Ortlieb. Later Brigitte also gets another Ortlieb water bag)

My ride to Haines is beautiful, again a lots of mountains and glaciers. There is a nature reserve for bald eagles and today I actually saw one not flying in the distance but sitting quite close.

In Haines I first ask about the ferry connection to Skagway. The ferry should go as planned tomorrow at 11am, booking is not necessary.

So I ride to the south of the peninsula for a campground for the night, not bad, because there are some sanitary facilities. Surprisingly, there are hardly any campgrounds with drinking water supply, if at all, then you are advised to cook the water for at least 10 minutes. Brigitte and me together therefore will have to carry enough drinking water. On this campground I have to hang my food again into a tree, because there is a bear warning.

After setting myself up on the campground, I ride to Haines again for some shopping. It's not easy to find a restaurant there and so I join Ben, who is driving an old VW bully built in '69 and who got an recommendation for a restaurant. I eat the first regional salmon, very tasty, but not cheap. So I spend some of my US dollars of last year's trip for it and a dessert. Just to say. Here I'm back in Alaska already.

I leave my planning for tomorrow undetermined, depending on whether the ferry is on time and how Skagway is.