Alaska Post Mortem

[Rokslinger]

Alaska Post Mortem: Thoughts on our Summer Trip of a Lifetime

Our trip to Alaska/Canada: What we did right, what we did wrong, advice and observations-

For our 50th Anniversary, I offered a 3 week Alaska Cruise to my wife. She said “no”. She would love to go, but she wanted to take our RV and drive it. So, we sold our 2013 42’ triple axle Keystone Raptor TH and our 2013 Ford King Ranch diesel dually and ordered a 2016/2017 Forest River Forester built to our specs and purchased in July 2016. We used her for 5600 miles and a number of camping trips for a shakedown before we embarked on our trip on June 1st this year.

wwdr

We planned our trip for over a year, researched routes, highways, places, activities, laws, rules, customs

Drove the Taylor (Top of the World) Highway

Created an itinerary, reserved campsites.

Budgeted for fuel, food, campsites and activities.

Brought our dogs with us, they are family.

Made a bunch of great new friends from all over the U.S..

Studied the laws and planned for our border crossings.

Read and studied the Milepost and the Church’s book on the routes that we planned.

Marked our routes on maps and charted them on a spreadsheet along with the corresponding Milepost pages. We knew where we were going every step of the way.

Used a geo tracker to plot our actual trip including on our flight around and on Denali. Our trip is recorded on our account at Findme Spot for posterity and to revisit.

Took our time driving but pulled to the side at every opportunity to allow faster traffic by.

We kept each days trip to a maximum of 400 miles or 8 hours. Our average was 275 miles and 6 hours daily.

Kept the TV off the few times we had cable or satellite.

Didn’t panic when we thought we were lost.

Considered then discarded the idea of traveling with a caravan.

wwdw

Created an itinerary, reserved campsites.

Drove the Taylor (Top of the World) Highway.

Brought our dogs with us, they restricted some activities.

Did not plan enough time in Canada.

Planned too much time in Fairbanks, not enough time in Valdez, Kenai or Denali.

Did not brush up on fly fishing, have not done it since I was a boy.

Did not consider or plan for wildfires which forced itinerary changes.

advice

Notify your credit card companies of your itinerary.

The first time you see the scenery, take your time, savor it.

Keep your eyes on the road especially on the Taylor Highway

Drive the Taylor (Top of the World) Highway

Move aside for the truckers, they aren’t on your schedule and they have a job to do.

If a facility says either “Lodge” or “Resort”, it is likely neither or if it is, you can’t afford it.

Have an extra large fuel tank.

Never let your tank go below half full.

Buy and bring a nice pair of field glasses.

Eat at 49th State Brewery in Denali.

Fly with a genuine bush pilot.

Take a walk on a glacier.

Be sure to declare your firearm and ammunition at both borders.

Don’t try to bring a handgun into Canada, it is almost not possible, if you try to sneak it in, they will jail you and confiscate your rig if you are caught.

Study up on botany before you go, you will see all sorts of plant life you have never encountered before.

Don’t waste your time making your rig pretty in great detail before you go. No one will know you did after the first few days. Protect it and wash and wax when you get home.

Watch your fridge in WY, SD and MT. HEAVY winds will extinguish your propane pilot. Happened to us coming and going.

Protect your toad with a rock screen, put a bra on your toad, use frisbees to protect your toad headlights, use a tarp wedged in the doors to cover your toad windshield

Important things that we brought along: good compressor, good spare tires, great field glasses, basic tools, gps, tire monitors, Findme Spot, a good knife ( Kbar), toad brakes, cell phone and ipad.
Things that we had but didn’t need: Extra clothing, all that jerky, gas cans, water cans, shotgun, outdoor mats, extra carrying capacity on the toad (rooftop and bumper), outdoor grill and charcoal, all those snacks, CB Radio.

Things that you must have, Canadian cash, Passport, credit cards, metric conversion charts, lightweight warm clothing, bear spray (if you don’t have a .357 magnum), cell phone, good durable shoes or boots, Service branch vehicle decal for whatever branch you served in, First Aid kit, EMS, camera.

Things that we should have had but didn’t: Bikes, Hiking Boots, Lightweight portable water craft, .357 Magnum, blinders,

During the summer travel season, leave late enough to allow for some road repairs after the winter thaw.


observations:

Don’t expect to see a lot of wildlife along the road. You will see some, but hunters here spend all day in the woods and never see it.

You will get bitten by something, make sure it is something small.

Be prepared for potholes, washouts, washboards, heaves, loose rocks and gravel (protect your toad) and otherwise the most challenging driving conditions that you will ever face.

Be prepared for small hard to read signs, indecipherable signs.

Be prepared for soft shoulders, long drops to the bottom of the mountain if you go off of the side, and no guardrails.

When you slow down in a passing zone to let faster traffic by, Alaskans and Canadians don’t understand this. They get angry, honk at you and give you the finger.

Be prepared for some of the most beautiful and stunning scenery you will ever see but don’t let it distract you.

We never had a problem finding fuel or propane. It is easier finding propane in Canada and Alaska than in the lower 48.

Be kind to the border agents, they have a job to do and they don’t know you from Adam.

Whatever you can buy in the lower 48, you can buy in Alaska (except for boiled peanuts) only it is a lot more expensive.

If you take your shotgun through Canada, be prepared for an anal exam by the Canadian Border Service.

Canadians eat their fries with gravy, not catsup or ketchup.

Half the dust in the world is in the Yukon, most of it will find it’s way onto your toad and onto and into your rig. If you try to wash it off it turns to paste and sticks worse.

Sirius will work up to about Tok, and then only sporadically.

You will be virtually alone on the Alcan. You will see as much traffic all day as you will see on a lower 48 street in 20 minutes.

Drive all day between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. See nothing but spruce trees and spectacular scenery. About 180 miles out in the middle of nowhere, growing by the side of the road, see a fully decorated Christmas tree.

Look for messages spelled out in light colored rocks on the embankments.

You will get a chipped or cracked windshield or headlight.

Our Ford Triton V10 performed like a champ going up and down all the steep grades and passes in all the mountain ranges we encountered in Alaska, Canada and the western U.S. including the Continental Divide on I90 in Montana. Rarely had to touch the brakes.

In 11,600 miles in the RV and 2,000 miles in the toad from SC to Alaska and back we saw maybe a total of 6 State Troopers or Provincial Troopers.

Alaskans don’t have a place to take their junk, it isn’t junk, it is spare parts.

Most dogs in Alaska aren’t leashed, Alaskans think leashed dogs are sissies.

The only mechanical problems we experienced: A dead toad battery in Davenport, Iowa. A leaking air bag throughout most of the trip. Air in the propane line once between Sheridan and Cheyenne. A CO detector claiming low voltage when their wasn’t on a couple of occasions. A broken air vent in the bedroom. An EMS that I thought was faulty on two occasions but was proven not to be.

Cell service is generally pretty good in Alaska, not so good in Canada. Our Verizon plan allowed us 500 mb per day per device in Canada if you could find service. Verizon Mifi was almost useless there.

It is easy to get a prescription filled at the chain stores in Alaska.

Whitehorse has a great veterinary hospital.

We never grew accustomed to daylight all “night”.

Campgrounds as a rule seem to be falling into disrepair. We see very few new ones. Maybe this does not bode well for we rvers. Kudos to the operators who strive to maintain.

We left June 1 traveled for 13 weeks, drove 11,600 rv miles, 2,000 toad miles stayed at 43 campgrounds, drove for about 280 hours, transited 15 states, 3 provinces, countless rivers, numerous mountain ranges, used 1450 gallons of fuel, spent a bunch of money, made new friends and captured memories of a lifetime, took hundreds of pictures. Would I do it again? Would love to, absolutely.

If you are on Medicare, the best international health policy is GeoBlue. Reasonable and easy with many choices.

Kudos to Forest River for building one tough machine in our 2016 Forester 3011 DS. It is one tough cookie and performance was absolutely great. She did everything that we asked of her. We averaged 8.35 mpg towing 4K pounds.
Our issues were few and minor and she climbed, steered, braked and ran just as you would want and our home on wheels was very livable (except for the mattress, that’s gotta go).

Many more thoughts and experiences, but this is already so long.

[mikeysotp]

Awesome write up! I wish I could smell the air in that photo.

[Blackrock]

Good writeup on your trip. I did it last year and want to do it again soon. I pretty much experienced all you did including the anal exam at the Canadian border inbound. No weapons but it must have been the NRA sticker that riled em up. Love that photo. I bet that is at Cottonwood cg on Kluane lake.

[Rokslinger]

Right you are! Cottonwood is remote, but a GREAT RV park on Kluane Lake. One of the most beautiful places that I have ever been.

[BamaBob]

Excellent write up Dave and thank you SO much for the kind permission to reprint your experiences in our Alaska Traveler's 18 newsletter.


Our 24 RV Caravan will be taking a similar route and will greatly benefit from your 'Road notes'
Thanks again Dave!

[Rokslinger]

Thank you, Bob. If I can be of help to your group, please let me know. No point in "reinventing the wheel" as you gain your own personal experiences. Hope that all of you have at least half as good a time as we did.

[spock123]

We went this year from NC and we never made reservations except for Seward AK and shouldn't have then, the city campground in Seward was nicer. We really didn't make any plans. We had a little trouble with the truck but worked itself out, we thought we had more trouble than we actually had. We saw a lot of wildlife beside the road. We plan on going back next year. Someone lied to us about the ferry outside of Dawson City. Next year I plan to stay at Dawson City for a few days and drive the Top of the World Highway. We are not planning on taking the Cedar Creek through Chicken AK. I want to stay in Fairbanks for a week and drive the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse. There is a few more tours we plan on taking plus I plan on going fishing for halibut, great fish to eat. I plan on crossing the border May 1 and come back August 1. We had a great time but then we have a good time no matter where we go. We met a lot of nice people in Canada and Alaska. I had trouble with my extra fuel tank but that won't happen again, I plan on trading my SRW Silverado 3500 for a new dually. We are counting the days

[OldGal3]

Your first few wwdw made me laugh out loud - thanks! Great write-up. I'll most likely never get there so being able to read your experiences lets me dream.

[Rokslinger]

Thanks oldgal. We never thought we would either, but we surprised ourselves, so you never know. Even as we crossed the Canadian border, I couldn't believe we were "doing this".

[spock123]

Originally Posted by Rokslinger

Thanks oldgal. We never thought we would either, but we surprised ourselves, so you never know. Even as we crossed the Canadian border, I couldn't believe we were "doing this".

You planning on going back next year?

[Rokslinger]

Thinking about it, probably in 2019. We have seen so many interesting places that we didn't have time for, it boggles the mind. We want to visit some of them next year.

[Rokslinger]

Originally Posted by spock123

We went this year from NC and we never made reservations except for Seward AK and shouldn't have then, the city campground in Seward was nicer. We really didn't make any plans. We had a little trouble with the truck but worked itself out, we thought we had more trouble than we actually had. We saw a lot of wildlife beside the road. We plan on going back next year. Someone lied to us about the ferry outside of Dawson City. Next year I plan to stay at Dawson City for a few days and drive the Top of the World Highway. We are not planning on taking the Cedar Creek through Chicken AK. I want to stay in Fairbanks for a week and drive the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse. There is a few more tours we plan on taking plus I plan on going fishing for halibut, great fish to eat. I plan on crossing the border May 1 and come back August 1. We had a great time but then we have a good time no matter where we go. We met a lot of nice people in Canada and Alaska. I had trouble with my extra fuel tank but that won't happen again, I plan on trading my SRW Silverado 3500 for a new dually. We are counting the days

What did they tell you about the ferry? If you drive the Top of the World, you have to go through Chicken .

[spock123]

We were in Montana when we met a man that just came through there. You don't have to go through Chicken. You can leave the Alaska highway at Watson Lake and drive to Dawson City, drive the Top of the World Highway and then drive back. It's a little out of the way but what the heck. Next year is the last year we plan on going. I'm not 25 anymore and since I do all the driving, we just plan on shorter trips. Besides if it was up to DW we wouldn't ever leave the front porch

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Rokslinger

Thinking about it, probably in 2019. We have seen so many interesting places that we didn't have time for, it boggles the mind. We want to visit some of them next year.

In 2019, Pete and I are putting together a Caravan to the Canadian Maritimes & Newfoundland/Labrador

Just Say'n

[BuzzWolfAR]

Awesome, I lived outside of Fairbanks in 69-70. Haven't been back since. They were building the pipeline when I was there. Beautiful country.

[Garrette]

We want to do this in 2019. I retire next year and we start stretching our legs. Thank you for the post. Enjoyed the post. Love to see more.

[FordHauler]

Great write up.
We did that trip in 2016. Left Kentucky May 6 returned home Sept 17. Drove 17,300 miles, thru 23 states, 4 Canadian provinces.
Your description was our trip mirrored. Thanks for the memories.
We are going to try to go again next year. Some places cry out for more exploring.
We drove the "haul road" to the Arctic Circle, without the RV. It is not for the faint of heart. To quote Blackrock, the trip will "test your equipment".
It is truly the "the trip of a lifetime".
Travel safe

[Rokslinger]

Thanks! I'm sure we will be going back too, but we saw so many places we want to go back and visit. So many places, so little time.

[Rokslinger]

Originally Posted by Garrette

We want to do this in 2019. I retire next year and we start stretching our legs. Thank you for the post. Enjoyed the post. Love to see more.

Well, the point of my post is, don't be intimidated, make sure you make this exceptional journey. Plenty of folks here will help with tips and guidance.