Poker Creek is as far north as most riders will ever cross an international border by road, and it has the feel of a place at the end of the world. The tiny US customs post sits on a bare ridge on the Top of the World Highway, a road that follows the crest of the hills between Dawson City in the Yukon and Chicken in Alaska, with views that stretch for a hundred kilometres across a sea of rolling, treeless mountains. Here the boreal forest thins out into tundra, and the light in summer is long and golden.
The border is open only in summer, usually from mid-May until mid-September, and hours are limited, so check before you go. Alaska time is an hour behind Yukon time, so you gain an hour as you cross. Carry your passport and make sure your documents are in order, because the officers are friendly but thorough. On the Canadian side the road is mostly sealed, and on the Alaskan side it turns to gravel for much of the way to Chicken, which has fuel and a famous cafe in the summer.
The village of Chicken got its name, according to the story, because the miners who settled it could not agree on the spelling of ptarmigan, so they picked something they could spell. Dawson City, on the Yukon side, is a Klondike gold rush town of wooden boardwalks and false-fronted buildings, and a free ferry takes vehicles across the Yukon River to the start of the highway.
Riding conditions are rugged. Expect gravel, loose stones and sudden weather changes, and be prepared for wind, cold and the possibility of snow even in summer. Fuel is scarce, so fill up in Dawson City and again at Chicken, and carry spare if your range is short. Distances are long and mobile coverage is poor. In return you get solitude, vast views and the sense of having ridden along the roof of the continent.