A zero day (0) is when you do not do that which you are now doing on a repeated daily basis like say driving hundreds and hundreds of miles daily, today, tomorrow and the next day I am not. Zero day yesterday today and tomorrow. We’re all a little burnt out.
Before this arctic jeep expedition trip started I hiked up to 22 miles daily on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and took zero days on a regular basis, say once every five or six days depending on the distance between trail towns.
Four of the other drivers on this jeep expedition Mike, John, Woody, and Russ, do not know anything about zero days.
Mike wrote an expedition plan but, he failed to include rest days as part of the plan. Later I did find out about a free day in Fairbanks for jeep maintenance.
Mike’s passenger Tony flee in from Boston to join Mike on this jeep expedition. Both fit the odd couple types better than any other two people I’ve ever met.
Tony is a very picky eater,m and Mike is not. Muke ordering food at a restaurant resembles more of an interrogation of than a food order.
Let’s just call it jeep road stress. Tony finally snapped. I believe he finally had enough of Mikes snacking and jumped ship or rather jeep Cherokee some where in the vicinity of Fairbanks Alaska – “because it was either run full speed at a grizzly bear or continue riding with Mike.”
Mike a.k.a. steel pony is driving a white Jeep Cherokee with a full size toilet lid on the back of his trailer hitch mount. The rest of us thought people on the road preferred his jeep the best. It actually turned out it was his jeeps toilet seat. Two Canadian women actually lined up to use it at White horse, Alaska.
Today is my last night at a B&B in Haines Alaska before boarding the 9 AM ferry on my return trip home. I am riding the Alaska Marine Highway from Haines to Bellingham. Not a cheap option but, I’m now done with all this driving.
This morning a Harley Davidson motorcycle rider and I were the only hotels guest. He is from Ohio, has ridden his bike all over the country and is now covering the Alaska inside passage part by boat. The host, his wife and four children under the age of seven at the B&B are our caretakers since the owners are down at Skagway resupplying at a local Costco.
Such is the day to day struggles of life on the Alaska Highway.
Trawlercat
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