They made it! Unfortunately they trailered the last 60ish miles…
3 Old Guys RODE to Alaska
On April 6 the 3 Old Guys accomplished their mission, they successfully rode to Alaska on snowmobile after departing from Grand Rapids, Minnesota on March 6 – but their journey was not complete and they set their sites on the final destination of Fairbanks. The final stretch proved grueling- and after thousands of miles of extreme riding, everyone (and everything) was getting tired. Exhaustion did not stand in the way of the 3 Old Guys and they arrived at their final destination on the evening of April 12….but not without challenge.
With only a short distance remaining, the 3 Old Guys struggled with Rob’s snowmobile yesterday (Tues) as they rode into Circle. Thinking it was some water in the gas, they also noticed the hyfax was completely wore out. By luck, another individual happened to be riding through and was headed to Circle. They towed Rob’s snowmobile by sleigh into Circle and the Guys spent the evening putting new hyfax on and stored the machines indoors overnight in preparation for today.
They intended to take the Yukon Quest trail, but with fresh snow on the highway and continued issues, it was determined that they would try to ride the road as much as possible.
Unfortunately, when they ventured out this morning, they found Rob’s machine was dead; they needed a coil, but didn’t have a spare. The decision was made to leave the snowmobile in Circle and have it hauled to town in a few days. The Guys took off from Circle on 2 sleds with 3 sleighs, and 3 Old Guys…. They were making good time until Rex’s engine locked up. With two snowmobiles down, they now had 1 snowmobile, 3 sleighs and 3 Old Guys remaining in the fight.
With only one snowmobile, the message was sent to the “home crew” requesting a trailer. The Guys made the best of it, with a few runs on the single sled they hauled their equipment about 10 miles back down the road to where they had pit-stopped earlier and enjoyed coffee. It wasn’t long before the trailer arrived and the 3 Old Guys loaded up. It wasn’t their intent to drive/trailer the last ~60(?) miles into town, but they were close enough and there is no question it was a successful run.
Despite every obstacle, obstacles that would have stopped anyone else, the 3 Old Guys successfully rode to Alaska. Man > Machine.
For a live recount of today’s trail report, view the live feed provided by “Alaska Lizzie,” Lizzie Hartman at about 20 minutes in. HUGE thanks to Lizzie Hartman for her help.
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