Day 4: Marion Creek Campground to Galbraith Lake

June 25, 2025

While preparing for the Dalton, I knew yesterday would be a huge test with relentless climbs, but today would be a second crux day with the intimidating Antigun Pass climb and entering the Brooks Range, the northernmost mountain range in the world. With rain overnight, we woke to it clearing up and the sun out again. We continued riding up the valley, treated to beautiful pavement for 20 miles. But we were lulled into complacency and I felt like were Christian and Hopeful who fell asleep in a beautiful meadow and were captured by Giant Despair - the road turned back to gravel and we couldn’t find a good path through. The next 150 miles over a day and a half felt like the worst gravel of the trip. It was just so hard on the body and the mind and the bikes. We were so worried about more break downs. The end seemed so much farther away and we started to despair. But we got up the two major climbs and over Antigun Pass. The climbs were long, but not every section was steep. The mosquitoes had dissipated and we kept moving forward. The Brooks are daunting but beautiful and I kept thinking that this was so special to experience with Jude.

Jude waited for me on the top of the final climb at the Pass and then I hooked up the bungees and we descended over 1,500 feet in two miles in the rain. We stopped for some much needed food several miles down after the rain had cleared and had a decent rest. As we packed up, clouds rolled in from the south and the north of us and we braced ourselves as a thunderstorm broke over us and rain, wind and hail threatened to break us, but with no where to turn for shelter, we just pushed on. As lightning was striking all around us, Jude shouted up to me, “Is this safe?” I shouted back, “There’s no place that’s safe here!” So we just kept pushing hard, bouncing all over the road, splashing mud at each other and praying we wouldn’t have to stop and let hypothermia set in. We usually stop at least every 15 miles for a minute or two to eat a quick bar or to shake the legs out, but we hammered for over two hours and 25 miles all the way to Galbraith Lake. We eventually out pedaled the thunderstorm and left it farther up the valley. Unfortunately, the campsite was five miles off the Dalton, but it was a relatively flat, smooth gravel road and we were grateful for a water source, tent site and bathroom. Mercifully, the sun came out as we pedaled into camp and we had a beautiful view back up the valley at the Brooks. We sorted gear and pitched our tent quickly as we cold soaked dinner which we ate by a raging creek accompanied by the ever present mosquitoes. We were amazed and grateful that we made it through another day. Our plan is to make it to Deadhorse tomorrow, but we know there are no guarantees out here. We were in bed by 11pm and set our alarms for 3am. 140 miles left and headwinds are expected which are Jude’s Achilles heel.

A couple took our picture up on Antigun Pass and texted it to Jude.

You can see the green bungees and how closely we were tethered together.

After a 25 mile hard push in the rain. We didn’t bother wiping our feet off before sticking them in our bags. Last campsite!

One of the many streams we filtered water from.

The first few miles out of Coldfoot were paved.

Today's ride: 100 miles (161 km)
Total: 370 miles (595 km)

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