Driving The ALCAN

The trip from Ohio to the Kenai Peninsula is about 4000 miles one way. We had one week in September to drive it.

For the most part I can honestly say the entire journey went smoothly with no surprises (but we did hit some bumps in the road - no pun intended). The most stressful part was crossing the border and dealing with customs. Second was estimating fuel stops in remote stretches of northern Canada and Alaska.

• Ohio: Boring as usual.
• Indiana: Boring.
• Illinois: Very boring.
• Wisconsin: Mildly pleasant to boring.
• Minnesota: It was getting dark and we did not see much of it.
• North Dakota: Flattest place I have ever been. You can almost see the curvature of the earth!
• Manitoba: Pretty flat, different money, fuel now priced in cents per liter.
• Saskatchewan: Big chunk of the Great Plains.
• Alberta: Also a big chunk of the Great Plains but with mountains in the west.
• British Columbia: Combo of hilly plains, mountains, and wilderness. Start of the ALCAN.
• Yukon Territory: Desolate. No man's land. Nice mountains. Rough roads.
• Alaska: God's Country. Kinda like Yukon but bigger, taller, icier, and more populated.

The Alaska-Canada Highway starts in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The end is 1400 miles in Delta Junction, Alaska. This stretch of road is the most desolate and isolated stretch I had ever been on (some parts of Utah come in a close second).  And despite the name it is just a two lane road. Due to the constant maintenance needed from harsh winter and frost heaves, it is not even paved in some stretches.

List of animals we saw on the ALCAN:

• Elk
• Porcupine
• Black Bear
• Dall Sheep
• Mountain Goat
• Bison (actually an entire herd right in the road...)

Since we arrived in Tok, AK on schedule and had two days to spare, we made a little spontaneous trip further north and drove to the Arctic Circle, about 200 miles north of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway. Not too often a little SUV from Ohio drives across an entire continent to the Arctic!

We then scrambled to get down to Kenai so my friend could fly back.

Let me just say that there is no reason to have tremendous fear about driving the ALCAN. It just takes some planning. Driving at night in the warmer months is not recommended because there are too many animals in the road. Manage your time, fuel stops, and fatigue wisely. Bring snacks because there are no food stops for long stretches. Bring tools and some spare parts (thermostat, fuel pump, relays, solenoids, serpentine belt, etc). Top off your fuel tank every chance you get, the next pump 100 to 200 miles down the road may be out of service or shut down for the season.

It is worth the drive. I wish we would have had more time to enjoy it. One could spend months exploring areas near the highway and beyond.

Alaska 2014 - Part 2

Most probably figured there would be another sequel to my experiences up north. To make a long story short, an interesting variety of situations and circumstances allowed the following to come together for Alaska 2014 - Part 2:

1. A place to stay for the winter
2. A job at a local airport
3. A different vehicle to survive the 4000 mile journey
4. A good friend to share that journey with
5. A certain level of insanity to actually do it

So what is one to do? Pack up some gear and drive north to Alaska before arctic winter strikes.