Having sold the F650, when another trip to the far north came up in 2005, I scouted around for a suitable ride. I found a clean, low mile '97 KLR in GA and set about prepping it for the trip. A handful of the usual KLR upgrades, tires, chain, and we were pretty much ready to go.

We ended up with four KLRs. Our target was Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories with a return by way of the Cassier Highway and Hyder, AK. Strangely, it all went according to plan with the highlight being the 150 mile round trip between Dease Lake and Telegraph Creek in BC. That's a dirt road full of wildlife having a half dozen 20+ degree hills as it winds around a spectacular box canyon.

Two years later Neil F., David A. and I set out to attain the Iron Butt Assoc. Gold Master Traveler Award. This entailed visiting a bunch of National Parks, including those in CA, AK, ME and FL. For the western swing I again loaded up the KLR. On this trip we encountered five days of cold rain while riding south the length of the Alaska Highway, but the KLR performed flawlessly. Before I even got home I called a financially challenged friend who wanted a KLR and offered it at a bargain price, with the proviso it was up to him to wash it.

Thus ends my KLR era. Though at the 2014 Winter Rally I saw a new, shiny black 2013 model...

 
From 2005: Unloading the bikes in Kalispell, MT, best road sign ever (AL and BC), entering the Yukon Territory, downtown Hyder, AK.

From the IBA tour in 2007: Lunch stop in Talkeetna, AK, collecting park stamps in AK and OR.