One week to go – THE Plan

Well we’ve sold/donated/gave away the majority of our belongings, including selling both of our vehicles, and we’ve done a two night gear shakedown and we feel we’re ready…but will we ever be completely ready?

Since we currently live in a dry cabin about 5 miles outside of town on the last night we had our car we got water & did a little grocery shop (this might qualify for the smallest Costco shop we’ve ever done) – still trying to eat up all the food in our cabin…

Hopefully we’re off in another week! Here is our tentative plan – everything is 100% subject to change depending on weather, fires, construction, our health & mental states, safety, political situations, etc.

THE Plan

We hope to depart Fairbanks, Alaska on May 20th and spend the next two years making our way down to the bottom of South America and finally ending up in Ushuaia, Argentina.

To manage a trip of this size, we’re breaking the it into phases and then into one to two week segments (with rest days) so it is more manageable! Phase One of the trip is from Fairbanks, Alaska to Prince Rupert, British Columbia – this represents a fairly remote section of riding where we will need to provision for longer periods of time and we will go approximately 2,000 miles of travel without a proper bike shop since we plan to skip Whitehorse, Yukon.

Phase One has 5 border crossings all US/Canada and some a little more formal than others – we’re excited to see the laidback border crossing into Hyder, Alaska and a little less excited about the difficult climb out of Skagway, Alaska (this parallels the famous Chilkoot Trail used by gold miners during the Klondike Rush) where we will climb 3,400 feet over 14 miles!

The following segments are part of our current Phase One plan (once again all subject to change):

• Fairbanks, Alaska to Tok, Alaska – 202 miles
• Tok to Haines Junction (Yukon, Canada) – 290 miles
• Haines Junction, YK to Haines (USA) – 145 miles
• Ferry Haines to Skagway (Alaska)
• Skagway to Watson Lake (Yukon, Canda) – 319 miles
• Watson Lake, YK to Dease Lake, BC – 156 miles
• Dease Lake, BC to Hyder, Alaska – 243 miles
• Hyder, Alaska to Prince Rupert, BC – 285 miles

Each of the above segments will include rest day(s) probably when visiting the relatively larger re-supply towns. With the remoteness of Phase One we are planning supply drops in Alaska to Tok, Haines, & Hyder primarily for dog food – oh the things we do for our cute little Jack Russell. For supplies we’ll be doing USPS General Delivery flat rate boxes (this will be a first time for us using General Delivery – fingers crossed). We’ve already mailed the one to Tok, Alaska and just got confirmation that it delivered – now hopefully the post office holds it long enough…supposedly they will hold them for 30 days (fingers crossed).

Challenges of Phase 1

Bear country – this phase is where we will most likely encounter the most bears so we’re packing bear spray/unscented soaps & practicing bear safe camping techniques. Several of the official campgrounds have food lockers we can use but when they don’t we’ll be cooking in alternate locations & hanging our food. A few of the campgrounds require the tenters to set-up inside electric fencing – this will be a new experience for us!

Remote camping – Alaska, Yukon & Northern British Columbia have long stretches with no official campgrounds nor hotels so we are prepared for remote camping in suitable locations. We anticipate the distance we’re able to cycle each day might not always lend itself to reaching the next proper campground so we’ll have to do some remote camping. The iOverlander App & Milepost have helped us locate potential campsites when there is not an official campground in the area.

Self-contained – Since Phase 1 is so remote we will need to be self-contained for cooking, repairs, & medical issues. We’ve created extensive repair & medical kits (and reassessed them numerous times!).

Maps & navigation resources – Paper maps, guidebooks, GPS – oh my! Phase One is really not that difficult navigationally because we’re pretty much taking one road but knowing the resources in the area is very helpful. The Milepost guide is invaluable for learning about the local areas and knowing where there is a gas station/grocery store. To save weight we’ve ripped out the relevant pages of The Milepost and packed/mailed them.

No phone service – much of our route in Alaska, and especially in the Yukon/Northern BC, we do not anticipate any cell service so we’ll have to plan ahead and rely on friendly motorists if an issue arises.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions we’ve received:

Q: Why?

A: Why not?! Life’s short & we want to pursue some long-term travel dreams while our bodies are young(er) and able.

Q: What’s going to happen to Katy? (our most popular question so far!)

A: She will come with us to the US-Mexico border in Arizona & then will stay with an amazing family.

Q: What about all your possessions?

A: We’ve sold/gave away almost everything – we’ve stored one rubbermaid tub of memories in our parents’ attic (thanks mom & dad!)

Q: How long will this trip take?

A: approximately 2 years

Q: How far is this trip?

A: 16,000 – 20,000 miles (depending on route and side trips)

Q: Where will you sleep?

A: a mixture of tent/hotel/AirBnBs/private homes

Q: What will you eat?

A: We’ll grocery shop & cook as well as eat at restaurants/convenient stores

Q: When will you shower?

A: When we can! A little secret, we don’t shower that often as it is. Curious? Read “Clean: The New Science of Skin” by James Hamblin.

Q: What about health insurance?

A: We’ve bought insurance on the ACA Marketplace

Q: How can you afford this?

A: Years of frugal living & diligent saving/investing (we’ve worked for it all – no handouts). Curious? Check out Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps (beginner) and ChooseFI (advanced).

Q: What are you going to do after this trip?

A: Honestly there are just too many variables (inflation, stock market, our spending, our psychological state – need of “home” & vocation, etc) so the best answer is “we’ll see”.

Q: Can I follow your journey?

A: Yes! You can sign up to receive an email when we update the blog. If you’re on Instagram you can find us @dreamplanjump

We plan to publish an update about every 2 weeks plus we’ll be posting here and there on social media when we have decent cell data/internet. Please don’t stress if you don’t hear from us…there are a lot of things that can come up – mechanical issues, landslides/fires, weather delays, marital discussions, etc. We’re living our dream!