Alive and tramping on my own!

After my disappointing visit to the Canadian border I swiftly hitched a ride from the last stop of the Glacier shuttle and hopped on the Amtrak to Seattle. A few days there and I managed to find a cheap flight to AK via the infamous Craigslist. I love CL! I arrived in Anchorage Tuesday night and was picked up by a good samaritan who offered me her spare room for the night. In the morning she took me to REI and then to the 42nd and Spenard hostel.

I took the bus downtown and met a girl named Julie on the way. We had coffee and then parted ways to explore downtown Anchorage. We met up later for dinner and checked out the World famous bar "Chilkoot Charlie's". We decided to rent a car the next day to explore the area further. We drove south along the Seward Highway to Beluga Point. We saw a pod of whales in the distance and plenty of other wildlife. We explored a bit more and then had dinner in Anchorage again and went for a walk along the Coastal Trail where we encountered a moose and a calf along the way. We also ran across a local couple walking there dog. They were very kind and were trying to convince me to move to AK. It wouldn't take much convincing for me to do so. This place is amazing!

In the mean time I managed to find a ride, once again via Craigslist, to Fairbanks. A group of triathletes were taking a motorhome up for the Sourdough 1/2 Ironman Triathlon. I gave them some advice on training and they gave me a ride for $50 which included meals. The train from Anchorage to Fairbanks is $112 so I thought it to be a great deal.

The group dropped me at the GoNorth Hostel on the West side of Fairbanks. The Hostel was unique and had numerous cabins scattered about with 5-6 beds in each. It even had a Tipi in the middle of camp for an added touch. Hitched a ride to the laundromat and made it downtown a couple hours ago. I am patiently awaiting the arrival of the Big Blue crew and can't wait to get on with the rest of our trip.

Adventure Bound,
Jeremy
P.S. Pics to follow