Tom's trip from Sault St. Marie to Toke, Ak, SITREP#14 (sixteen)‏

www.michcanska.com

This is where Tom is now approximately

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Chase2(G2SV3)

Sent:
Wed 3/03/10 4:47 AM

To All(with my stream of consciousness):

Tonight we trailered to Fort Nelson, BC with the weather in the low 50's - one of the warmest winter days in recent time.

The riders will do a 6 hour snowmobile tour in the local area with a guide over the remaining snow that is protected from the sun. Then we load and press on to Muncho Lake. There is not enough snow for riding to that location either so we will do the same as here in Ft Nelson.

I will be next in Watson Lake and the following day in Whitehorse where I will get a plane early - probably on the 5th. There is no way to get there any earlier because Whitehorse has the only airport in the region and there are no "taxi's". The riders will continue to Tok for a ceremony. Nontheless, the luster is gone in that the riders did not ride all the way to Alaska as planned nor will they enter any historical record book. This is a real bummer.

The terrain is much like we saw in Alaska. The forests are all around us with little farming. The trees are scroungy and small. There is a rennaissance in the oil industry here with massive drilling for natural gas and oil. Hence, there are hugh oil industry trucks constantly on the road suggesting the industrial base and financial health of the Province. Locals expect even more prosperity in the region makeing this probably the richest Province in Canada.

We are in the foothills of the Canadian (Northern) "Rockys" and large snow covered mountains loom in the distance. They are magnificant and remind me much of the St Elias Range in the Kenai Pin that Phil took on the "fameous ride to McCarthy. This part of BC is so much more different from the eastern part.

The riders are quite dejected and distressed that the mission will not go as planned.

One event that I noticed yesterday was to watch the formation of 6 riders (the last bunch to give up the ride) was to note them "swarming" for trail openings.When the riders would come to a blockage on the trail, they would swarm i.e., do figure 8's each in different directions to find an opening. When the opening was found by one, the rest would quickly intuit the opening and follow the first one through the "hole" - almost like mental telephathy.

The race is quickly coming to end and I look forward to getting home - to hug Barb and the "animals".