Alaska-Yukon Road Trip From New England

buckland

buckland

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Jumping from the Trip Planning page to this is a milestone... The trip begins in a few weeks. I am trying to get all the ducks in a row but at the start those outliers will be abandoned! I hope to post whenever possible as well as on a blog (my first attempt) http://alaskan-yukon-roadtrip.blogspot.com
In the photo the camper has a canoe on it.... we are going boatless this trip so to keep it less complicated.
One good sign though is the new truck has started to talk to me... indeed.... wants to be called 'Max" ...and so it goes. Will report in eventually.
 
Nice start to your blog. We hauled our canoe on the 2011 Denali trip and all I got for it was an added BC ferry charge.
It looked good up there but didn't use it.Where we had planned to stay and use it the road,Cassiar was closed below Deese Lake several places due to slides across the road.
I am anxious to start viewing your posts of the trip.
Enjoy.
Frank
 
Can't wait to follow your report. Hoping to make the trip myself in a couple years. Need to start my list now. Thanks for the info. Love this site.
 
We found these two books VERY helpful...

The MILEPOST (our main go to book)
https://www.themilepost.com

and

Alaskan Camping by Mike & Terri Church
http://www.rollinghomes.com/authors.htm

In 2015, we did 52 nights in our '08 ATC Cougar. The round trip from Kalamazoo, MI was 11,555 miles.

Here in Michigan (and probably the entire USA), our local micro-breweries also have food.

In Whitefish, Yukon, at Yukon Brewing, it is just a beer store, only buy beer, a big disappointment to us. Maybe all of CA is that way??

Mike
 
Have a great trip! I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures. The little 2.8 sounds like it was a good choice. I remember when you were debating if it was the right call.
 
Thanks for all the encouragement. Today I hooked up the Brophy steps ...wow that was a help as the camper sits up higher than on the old Tacoma....and I am getting a bit older. Also attached the Max Trax mats to the back wall... out of the way. The only thing to do (I have all the plastic cargo boxes ready in the garage) is to fix the Whale water pump ... third one and still leaks at the top... so I ordered a rebuild kit...that's it....I am done. I can say that the preparation and planning has been good, lots learned and confidence built. The support from folks from this site can take most of the credit as they sure were helpful. Now the hard part..... waiting a couple weeks for departure.
 
flinchlock said:
We found these two books VERY helpful...

The MILEPOST (our main go to book)
https://www.themilepost.com

and

Alaskan Camping by Mike & Terri Church
http://www.rollinghomes.com/authors.htm

In 2015, we did 52 nights in our '08 ATC Cougar. The round trip from Kalamazoo, MI was 11,555 miles.

Here in Michigan (and probably the entire USA), our local micro-breweries also have food.

In Whitefish, Yukon, at Yukon Brewing, it is just a beer store, only buy beer, a big disappointment to us. Maybe all of CA is that way??

Mike
Click to expand...
Mike thanks for the links and from the sound of it I am following you in your footsteps. I estimated around 12,000+ miles too.
 
Point the truck north west and head out
Weather has been real good in the north.
I am in whitehorse tonight at the wolf creek campground. There is always some road construction going on.
Between watson lake and whitrhorse only one section where we had to follow a pilot car.
On construction sections turn off your yukon air conditioning.
Have a great drive
Robbie
 
All my sailboat cruising friends agree. There will always be something trying to keep you tied to the dock. At some point you just kick the dock lines off and go. The water pump in my 28ft sailboat is 1985 original still works though I probably just jinxed my self. Hit the road Buck...
 
Thanks Michael, Ya This time tomorrow I will be on the road... bummer the weather starts off with heavy rain but so it goes. Won't be the last for sure. Here is something that may seem small, and it is, but sometimes its the small things that do the trick. I found over the last year that after awhile I was not comfortable, kept trying to find the right position to sit and steer... having been a stick shift driver for 45 years and now my first automatic...old muscle memory. It was my left arm... the window sill was too high and the 'arm rest too low.
So I made a hard foam mold to fit the door handle and voila .... it makes a huge difference in comfort....who would have thought. I guess they will think it quaint in a few years when self driving cars are the norm.
In my youth I wandered South America...just a big map in the backpack...no cell phone ..heck no phones at all...no internet directions. One felt out in the world on your own. Hope to get a bit of that back in the Yukon.
Maybe we'll cross paths out there somewhere...safe travels.
 

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buckland said:
Thanks Michael, Ya This time tomorrow I will be on the road... bummer the weather starts off with heavy rain but so it goes. Won't be the last for sure. Here is something that may seem small, and it is, but sometimes its the small things that do the trick. I found over the last year that after awhile I was not comfortable, kept trying to find the right position to sit and steer... having been a stick shift driver for 45 years and now my first automatic...old muscle memory. It was my left arm... the window sill was too high and the 'arm rest too low.
So I made a hard foam mold to fit the door handle and voila .... it makes a huge difference in comfort....who would have thought. I guess they will think it quaint in a few years when self driving cars are the norm.
In my youth I wandered South America...just a big map in the backpack...no cell phone ..heck no phones at all...no internet directions. One felt out in the world on your own. Hope to get a bit of that back in the Yukon.
Maybe we'll cross paths out there somewhere...safe travels.
Click to expand...
Yes Rob the time to "kick the tires,pull out the chocks" and head west is drawing close.
Have a great trip It will be fun to revisit our trip last year through yours.
Safe travels.
Frank

PS have a yummie pastry at Two Sisters in Homer for us.
 
Thanks JD and Frank! I hit the road before 6AM this morning and the list of cities driven through is long but Buffalo and Cleveland are no longer on the "want to visit" list. I got my wish and did have a good mileage day of 660 miles in 12 hours. I type this is scenic Ohio I-90 Service plaza that has 12 parking spots for RV's to park for the night. Ear plugs and Eye covers a must for sleep. (after a beer).
I guess the best way to describe it is as penance before salvation....But I am psyched and safe after doing slab top battle. Truck did great but Pennsylvania needs to quit everything else and fix their roads... yikes. A friend sent the following photo... best describes this morning. My answer was: "Where's my helmet!?"
 

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