Alaska Trip Reort

[simimike]

A long time dream of mine has been to drive to the Arctic Circle. After discussing it my wife she said "just do it!" So I did it. I left the happy valley on June 15th and headed north. My fist stop was in Woodland Ca. Why does the ring a bell? The drive Thu Oregon and Washington on I5 was pretty uneventful. Things got more interesting once I got north of Kamloops BC.

The Canadian Rockies were Spectacular. And the wildlife was just busting out of the forest. Most of the animals were to fast for me to stop, grab my camera and shoot. The drive though BC and the Yukon took six days. But it was six days beautiful scenery.

I arrived in Fairbanks, got a motel room and prepared for the drive to the Arctic Circle some 200 miles north

 

[Barko1]

The Canadian Rockies are great! How was the haul road?

 

[simimike]

After a restful night in a Fairbanks motel I showered, shaved and headed for the Dalton Hwy and the Arctic Circle. The road started off a nice four lane highway but quickly turned to gravel and mud. The truck drivers must be paid by the load and not by the hour, I gave them a wide birth so they could get to they're destinations.
Over all the gravel road was in pretty good shape. after awhile I was speeding along like a pro. Upwards of 50 MPH in some sections. Look for me on next seasons " Iceroad Truckers". Not. After about 4 hours of driving I made it to the Arctic Circle. snap a few photos and back south to Fairbanks. I made better time headed south now that I'm a seasoned veteran of the Haul Road.

When I got back to Fairbanks I decided to clean the truck at a spray and wash. $40 later she was ready for more adventures. Below are pictures of the truck at the Arctic Circle turn off, complete with 50 pounds of Alaska's finest mud. The second photo is of the Dalton Hwy and the pipeline.

 

[simimike]

The haul road was wet and muddy

mike

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

Hey, Mike, thanks for the long awaited report and photos! Keep 'em coming.

 

[SunMan]

Sounds like an epic trip Mike. Me thinks you've got more than two pics to show us though!

 

[simimike]

After recovering from my dash to the Arctic Circle I decided to head to Seward and a tour of Kenai Fjords NP. A long drive from Fairbanks brought me to the tourist town of Seward. Being on the road for so long I had lost track of the date. When I arrived in town it was a mob scene, for the 4th of July Holiday. There was not a camp site, motel room or wide spot on the road to be had for miles around. So I stopped at the Safeway and bought some provisions and headed back north to some campgrounds I saw on the way down.

Three days at the camp site and a BBQ, and it's on to Seward. Once in Seward I rented an over priced motel room and made reservations for the next day on a boat tour of Kenai Fjords NP. The boat tour was a little pricey ($170) but well worth it. On the tour I saw Humpback whales, Porpoises, Killer Whales and more birds than I can name. The highlight of the cruse was the glacier. Wow! Just incredible.

 

[simimike]

There are more pics. See north to the Circle and South to Seward.

mike

 

[simimike]

Upon returning from the boat tour I decided to start heading home. Here are some thoughts and figures. Alaska is BIG! It took me days to go from one end to another. If you go be sure to allow a lot of time. It is also very wild. I stopped in Wrangle St Elias NP for a nite. Travelling about 11 miles off the highway and I was in a true wilderness. A little scary.

these photos are from Wrangle. Some Mountain Goats in BC and the boarder crossing on US395 in Washington.

Buy the time I left Alaska and started heading south I was missing home. So I pointed the truck south and kept driving. With the midnight sun I put in some 12 hour days. It's easy to loose track of time when the sun is up at 10PM.

Now some figures: The truck burned 553 gallons of diesel, got 16.6 MPG. The total miles travelled was 9202 with over 183 hours spent in the cab of the truck. Fuel, food, lodging and miscellaneous expenses came to over $5,000. Fuel was $2042. Average price of fuel was $3.69 per gal.

Over all it was a wonderful experiance and I would do it again. If you haven't gone to Alaska you should. Just be ready for some high prices.

 

[ski3pin]

Mike, thanks for the report and inspiration for future trips! Got any more photos?

 

[simimike]

Mike, thanks for the report and inspiration for future trips! Got any more photos?

More pictures are in the reports titled North to the Circle and South to Seward

mike

 

[DirtyDog]

More pictures are in the reports titled North to the Circle and South to Seward

mike


I merged them all in this one thread.

 

[DirtyDog]

Looks like a great trip Mike! Did you have any trouble with bears while you were camping? How about the skeeters?

 

[simimike]

While bears are every where, I didn't feel they were a threat. There seemed to be plenty of natural food for them to eat plus I probably didn't smell to appetizing. Mosquitoes were not as bad as I thought they would be. Very few bites and the ones that got into the camper were quickly dispatched buy me flaying about the camper with a flyswatter. Even in the northen tundra the mosquitoes were not bad.