Making New Friends on the Denali Highway

post by Corrine

Want to have a social weekend? Go solo bikepacking on the Denali Highway!

When I planned my recent trip, I hadn’t planned to meet new friends and touch base with an old friend, but that’s what happened. Traveling by bike can provide opportunities in a way that you can’t get in a motor vehicle. You travel more slowly. You don’t have metal and glass cutting you off from the natural world. And you are sharing an activity with other cyclists that makes for an immediate connection. 

And I still got some solo time on my bike, which is a great way to let my mind relax and wander. The weather, too, was phenomenal – with no haze or smoke – which made for incredible views. The weekend was perfect. Well, except for the no-see-ums, little biting gnats. I could have done without their company, but they were fairly easy to deal with.

Bike-Busy Denali Highway

This trip was spur-of-the-moment. Eric and I had just returned from a week in the Yukon but when I checked the forecast – which I do constantly – the weekend weather looked phenomenal for Interior Alaska. How could I stay home? Yes, I was tired and there were chores to do, but I also needed to keep training for my upcoming Arkansas High Country bikepacking race. Training should take precedence over mundane home chores, right? Eric had some volunteering commitments and chores he wanted to do, so he stayed home.

But where to go? I had done the bikepacking routes close to home. I wanted something different but couldn’t come up with a viable route. So, I decided on a reliable standard trip: the Denali Highway. I hadn’t biked there in a couple of years and with clear skies the views would be amazing.

The Denali Highway is always a good choice for bikepacking

I got out of town around lunchtime on Friday with a goal of driving to Brushkana Creek Campground, about 30 miles in on the Denali Highway. After a night there, I would bike out the highway, camp, then bike back on Sunday and drive home.

Brushkana Creek

While driving on the Denali Highway, I passed several bikers and stopped to talk to some of them. They were part of group doing a three-day supported ride across the highway with Alaska Cycling Adventures. They had a sag wagon so didn’t have to carry much on their bikes. I also passed a fully loaded female bikepacker. 

After I set up my tent at Brushkana, the female bikepacker, Darlene, showed up. She was stopping to visit the volunteer campground hosts, whom she had met the day before while camping in Cantwell. A 30-something year old from San Diego, Darlene was doing a 1000-mile bike ride around Alaska. She had applied for the “Lael Rides Alaska” 2021 Femme-Trans-Women’s Scholarship. She didn’t win the scholarship but decided to come up this year and do her ride anyway. She had just finished a cold, rainy week in Denali National Park and was glad for nicer weather. 

Darlene with the campground hosts at Brushkana Creek Campground.  They all had interesting stories to share

I had a great time talking with her. Since I wasn’t on a schedule, I rode with her for a few miles to hear more of her story. We hit it off and shared a love of biking and going on adventures. She was excited to hear about my bikepack race experiences as it’s something she has considered. She kept calling me a “bad ass.” I just laughed. Maybe I should call myself the Bad-Assed Old Lady Biker! 

Darlene continues on her adventure

After six miles, I reluctantly headed back. Darlene was hoping to go another 30 miles to Alpine Creek Lodge or possibly 60 miles to McLaren River Lodge. After a week of camping in the rain, she wanted to stay inside. It seemed unlikely that we would see each other again, but I planned to leave on my bike early the next morning so I told her maybe I could catch her. She was carrying a lot more gear and moving slower than me. We exchanged information to keep in touch and then it was time to say good-by. 

After dinner, I hiked a little way out the Brushkana Creek Trail, a rough 4-wheeler trail that climbs up on a little plateau for good views of the Alaska Range. I hiked further than I had planned as my wanderlust was strong. But I finally turned around and headed back to the campground, finally getting to bed after 10:30 PM.

I ended up doing a 5-mile round trip hike down to the creek and an abandoned old cabin

Looking for Darlene

I started biking by 8 a.m. the next morning, bundled up. The night had been chilly (maybe down to 40F), but the day warmed quickly with the sun, and I was soon down to my shorts and jersey. I thought I might be able to catch Darlene. She had gotten on a late schedule. I guessed she didn’t get to Alpine Creek Lodge until after 10 PM and would have stopped there. Maybe she slept in and got a late start?

I passed the lodge at about 11 AM and briefly thought about seeing if Darlene was still there. But I guessed she had already started biking. Plus, the lodge has a long, steep driveway. Did I want to bike that just to find she was already gone? Instead, I kept riding, doing math in my head. I tried to figure out my average speed vs her possible average speed and based on different times that she might have left the lodge, how long it might take me to catch her (assuming she had even stayed there). Doing these story problems made the time pass quickly. All my calculations came out the same: there was no way I would catch her. Such is life.

Only a few vehicles drove by, so dust was minimal, and the riding was great. A few miles from McClaren River Lodge a young woman in an old Subaru going the other way yelled something to me. I yelled back and turned around to see what she had said. She stopped and said she was just telling me I was doing a great job going uphill. We talked for a bit. Constance had spent the last couple of nights at the McClaren River Lodge, exploring, packrafting, and having a great time. I asked if she had seen a solo female biker. She hadn’t, she had only seen a couple of bikers who were not carrying any gear.

Hmm, could Darlene still be behind me? I told Constance that if she saw Darlene, tell her I would see her that evening. I had already decided that I would camp near the road somewhere around McClaren Summit. I decided to keep my eye out for her. Then, since I was so close to McClaren River Lodge and I was hungry, I booked it there to get an afternoon meal of burger and fries. 

In the lodge, I saw the bikers that Constance had mentioned. They were a couple from Anchorage, exploring for the weekend. They had camped along the highway and were doing an out-and-back ride to the lodge for lunch. I mentioned Darlene, and they said they had seen her at the Alpine Creek Lodge that morning when they stopped for a snack. That had been before I passed the lodge. Dang! I should have stopped! The couple stayed at the lodge much longer than they expected while talking to her. We all agreed that she was an amazing woman doing a great trip. After eating, they were headed back to their vehicle, so would see her again. I told them to tell her that I would be waiting to see her along the road that evening. 

I ate lunch at the lodge and tried to pay for a meal for Darlene in advance with my credit card, but the lodge couldn’t make that happen. Oh well. After my late lunch, I biked the six-mile uphill grunt to the top of McClaren Summit. That was hard with a stomach stuffed full of burger and fries, so I stopped often for photos. I quickly realized the no-see-ums were atrocious! As long as I kept moving, I was fine. Good motivation!

After I topped out at the summit, I kept riding back and forth looking for the perfect place to camp. I really didn’t want to camp at a pullout right on the edge of the road. Several 4-wheeler trails take off from the road, but they lead into brush and more bugs. As I waffled, biking back and forth, I lost out on some okay sites to truck campers. Finally, I decided to drag my bike uphill from the road to a semi-flat spot on the tundra. There was a slight breeze there (which might keep down the bugs) and an awesome view of the lakes and the mountains. It looked like a great spot to set up camp. And I could keep an eye out for Darlene.

Not a bad campsite!

Just as I got the tent set up, I saw a biker coming from the east, so I yelled hello. He looked surprised to see a person with a bike on the tundra above the road. As I walked back down to the road we quickly realized we knew each other. Ryan is a friend from Fairbanks. He had also decided to get out of town and do a ride on the Denali Highway. He started at Paxson and was riding the 35 miles to McClaren River Lodge where he had booked a room. His ride had pretty much been uphill the whole time. He was hot and sweaty and annoyed with the gnats, so he didn’t stop long. I told him it was just a quick downhill to the lodge. I told him to look for Darlene and let her know I was up on the summit camping.

I had a snack but then I wasn’t sure what to do. It was only 6 PM, too early for bedtime but too buggy to relax in one place, so I decided to bike back towards the lodge looking for Darlene. I soon came upon a couple of the Alaska Cycling Adventures riders. They were teenagers and, although glad not to have loaded bikes, they were interested in hearing about being self-supported. They said they wanted to try it someday. They didn’t stop long as they were hungry, and dinner was being prepared for them just a few miles up the road. 

Teenagers that were part of the supported ride across the Denali Highway

I continued and just as I got to the McClaren Summit sign (which is BELOW the summit), I finally saw Darlene spinning slowly up the climb. Yay! Finally! I had started to worry that I wouldn’t see her again. 

Almost to the top of McClaren Summit and still smiling!

I biked with her a few miles and she told me how it seemed like everybody had stopped and told her I was looking for her. The lodge told her I had tried to buy her dinner. She said she felt like a celebrity! We had a great time chatting and biking together for another 15 minutes, but she had to book it to Meier’s Lake on the Richardson Highway, where she was spending the night – still 40 (mostly downhill) miles away. I needed to turn around, too. My legs were tired after 80 miles of riding. We were both happy to have seen each other again and promised to keep in touch. It is so special to meet like-minded people and spend time together. 

Another Day – More People, More Connections

I had a quiet night and got up early the next morning. The no-see-ums were out already and instead of enjoying their company while making oatmeal, I biked downhill for breakfast at the McClaren River Lodge. Tough choice! Just as I finished eating, Ryan showed up for breakfast. I lingered a bit longer than I should have talking to him. I had a long day ahead of me – I had to bike 65 more miles before my four-hour drive home – but I was willing to put it off for a while. 

Ryan joins me for breakfast at the McClaren Lodge

But finally, I said goodbye to Ryan. I got back on my bike, put in my earbuds, and listened to music to help me up the hills. My legs felt better than I expected, and it was still sunny and warm with beautiful views. The miles went by quickly.

A couple of hours later I turned off on a side spur for yet another expansive view of the Alaska Range. There was a car parked there, an old Subaru I remembered from the day before. “Constance!” I called out, startling her as she got out from her car. She had slept there the night before. We laughed about seeing each other again. I was able to tell her I had connected with Darlene the night before and then we enjoyed the view and took photos of each other. Another great human connection. 

Constance, another free spirit I met along the way.  She takes photos with her plastic dinosaurs in beautiful locations

A little later, as I biked up one of the last hills of my ride, I saw a bikepacker at the top. He was stopped, waiting for his wife. I ended up talking to Tim and his wife Cassie for close to an hour. Cassie had finished treatment for breast cancer the year before. They were on a three-month adventure, biking from Deadhorse back to their home in Missoula. 

Tim and Cassie, from Missoula, who are biking from Deadhorse back home to Montana

As we talked, we kept making connections. While in Fairbanks, they had stayed with friends of mine. And they had met Darlene while biking in Denali. (And after I got home and was telling Eric this story, he realized that this same couple had emailed him, in his role as Fairbanks Cycle Club president, about the logistics of cycling the Dalton Highway.) It’s a small world, at least when it comes to bikepacking. 

I gave them some intel on their route going forward and I got their Instagram info so I can follow their adventure as they make their way home. And they are going to send us some ideas for bikepacking routes around Missoula that Eric and I could do if we are in the area visiting our daughter, who lives in Missoula.

Being Social While Biking Solo

Finally, I had just a few more miles until reaching my car and making the long drive home. I thought about my weekend. I did a solo bikepacking trip, but I wasn’t alone. I had many interactions with interesting and fun people. I love being outdoors in spectacular settings. I love spending time alone. But I also love meeting other people with whom I share a passion. I spent only about an hour with every person I met this weekend, but I felt like I made a connection with each one. Human connection is what makes life interesting and worthwhile. And bikepacking is a great way to do that.