 |
 Heading north again, and east to Fort Nelson |
 The WRX has been a constant, solid performer. Great Cooper tires too |
 Lots o' trouble getting an Internet hook. Geez, man, lighten up |
 Yes we are. From all over the world. I think we're the only source for scores |
   
|
| DAY 5: The Longest Day | |||||
| Motorcycle guy
to rally worker: "Hey, can you tell me: did I get into that checkpoint early or late?" "Early." "Oh. Cool!" |
(7:34 am) Crimony.
We're heading north out of Skagway on a TSD and it's like we're driving
inside a ping-pong ball. The clouds lie heavy in the White Pass and we
can barely see twenty feet ahead of the car. We're supposed to find signs
and other landmarks - no bleeping way. R.Dale's fighting to maintain our
40 mph target speed. And the checkpoints just loom suddenly out of the
soup, allowing zero reaction time. I
think today is the longest day - two TSD sections and over 700 miles to
traverse. I pity the rallyists who paused about 20:00:00 too long in the
brewpub of the Golden North Hotel - I myself got out of there just in
time. (Before the Car 8 guys launched into"ole-ole-ole" yet
again) |
 You see the road ahead? Me neither. |
Skagway is
a weird town, a town founded on the incomprehensible misery of tens of
thousands of desperate people stampeding toward the Klondike gold rush.
The people who beat the system then were the ones who figured out how
to "mine the miners," and seeing the cruise ships stacked up
in the harbor, I guess the tradition continues.(later)
Maybe that's a bit harsh.As
a tourist adventure, the Alcan is a weird gig. You never stay long enough
to get the measure of any place you visit. You see the charged landscape
slide by at freeway speed. The constant principle is motion - if not right
now, then soon. For some people that would be the trip from hell. But
these are people who like to be moving, and I am one of them now. |
||
 |
 |
 Purpose
of our trip? "Car rally." That got a raised eyebrow. Nothing
whatever to declare. |
 |
 |
|
 |
|||||