Yukon Ho!

[Left Field]

I've been wanting to do a trip north for a few years. This was the year, after a couple months of planning, taking 4 weeks to cover around 7500 miles. We traveled with some friends in a 4WD Ford Transit set up as a camper. The trip plan was to leave WA state, pass through British Columbia, into Yukon Territory and continue into Alaska, then back through YT and north through NW Territory to the Arctic Ocean.

We left mid-May and got back mid-June, with a mix of camping and hotels - a shower and a nice bed once in a while isn't all bad. The weather was by all counts excellent - only a couple days with precipitation, with plenty of sunny days and decent temperatures. And a bonus of early season travel: no bugs!

Leaving western WA, packed up with tents and sleeping bags in the rooftop carrier and 20g of 100 octane race fuel in the rooftop crate. We'll get to that later

First few days were mostly about putting on miles. British Columbia was thick with forest fire smoke so lodging was in hotels. North of Prince George we stopped at the small town of Chetwynd - some pretty amazing carvings:

A short drive beyond Chetwynd is the beginning of the Alaska Highway in Dawson Creek, BC.

At the visitor center in Dawson Creek we were informed that the road continuing on to Fort Nelson (our destination for the night) was closed due to fire. Following up a couple hours later we were told that it was upgraded to 'proceed with caution, watch for fire crews and no guarantees'. We decided to continue and if there were any issues we'd turn back and spend the night in Dawson Creek.
We called ahead to ensure a hotel was available, found out the town had been without power for a couple days. But as we were to find out repeatedly on our trip, if you are flexible, the folks who live and work there know how to get things done. The hotel owner said as long as we were ok with no hot water and no lights, we were welcome to stay. She wouldn't be able to be at the hotel when we were to arrive, but there will be a key hidden by room 107, and please leave $80 CAD on the dresser. The smoke was at times so thick it was difficult to drive. Was thankful the Jeep's cabin air filter worked great and to have place to sleep that night out of the smoke.

As we got N of Fort Nelson the smoke cleared. In spite of the smoke, still lots of wildlife. By the time we left BC we'd seen moose, over 20 black bears, bison, bighorn sheep and many smaller animals.

Liard Hot Springs provided a welcome break. If we pass through on a future trip it will be an overnight camp stay. It is a BC campground, inexpensive to stay, with excellent facilities and clear spring water.

Another couple hours got us into Watson Lake, home of the Signpost Forest. And an excellent visitor center nearby. Plan on bringing a sign and also spending an hour wondering through it. There were several pieces of historical AK highway construction equipment and many impressive and creative signs from all over the world.

The next day got us to Whitehorse, YT. The Yukon Transportation Museum had been a destination point for us but was unfortunately closed the day we were there. But there were some pretty impressive vehicles. This was a vehicle used during the cold war as part of a 'land train'. A string of similar 'freight cars' was attached, with each axle electrically driven from a generator in the lead vehicle (below). The vehicle had multiple crews with sleeping quarters so it could travel 24 hours a day. Much of its use was to build and supply missile detection radar sites in the far north.

The next morning we continued toward the AK border, with plans to stay in Tok. The roads in this section occasionally had some pretty serious frost heaves and pothole that looked like they could wreck wheels and suspension. In spite of the nice early season weather, many of the lakes were still frozen, but the wildlife was out in force, with moose, elk, a porcupine and grizzly bears spotted along this section. First leg of the journey completed!

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[Bulletbill]

Awesome write up. I’d love to do something like this. Sounds like a great adventure and look forward to hearing more!

 

[bugnuker]

This is a bucket list item for me! Really amazing stuff!

 

[Left Field]

Alaska did not disappoint. Friends had recommended a visit to Valdez, located on Prince William sound and the southern terminus of the Alaska pipeline. It is an out-n-back trip from Glenallen and very scenic. The road goes over Thompson pass with glacier views and the rugged background of the Chugach mountains.

Descending into Valdez, the weather became more Pacific NW Coastal - more temperate, cloudy and cool. Valdez is a major destination for cruise ships but as we were early in the season we had the town mostly to ourselves.

The town has a nice visitor center, several hotels and a number of small waterfront restaurants geared toward the cruise ship customers. Valdez is an excellent place to sign up for a boat tour of Prince William Sound. There are a number of small private operators or a larger one, Stan Stephens Tours. We had signed up a few days early as they are often booked far in advance during the main season.

The tour was on a large catamaran and was nothing short of excellent. The captain and crew made you feel like you were their personal guests. Rather than just a cookie cutter tour, the captain adjusted our trip to the conditions and reports of sea-life and wildlife sightings. For us that included parking to allow a feeding pod of humpback whales to work their past and around us, dolphins pursuing us to frolic in our bow wake, and a raft of sea otters taking turns dining and relaxing. Bring binoculars and a good camera.

We approached the face of the Columbia glacier, slowly working our way through the broken off glacier ice in the bay. The ancient air bubbles trapped in the floating ice chunks sounded like rice crispies as the ice melted and they burst.

The captain narrated the entire trip, providing information about the 1964 earthquake, the pipeline, the Exxon spill, the gold rush and early human history. He invited anyone who was interested to join him on the bridge; on the return leg I did that and enjoyed a one-on-one chat with him about the tour operation and many details of the area's history and wildlife.

Leaving Valdez, we returned over Thompson Pass, and headed W on the Glenn Highway towards Palmer and up to explore the Independence Mine near Hatcher Pass. It was still snowbound; that was good and bad. Good was we could explore freely with no crowds. Bad was portions of it were difficult to access.

We had hoped to go over Hatcher Pass on the way to Talkeetna but it was still snowed in.
Talkeetna is a cool little village that probably sees more than its fair share of cruise ship tour buses. Great to walk around, plenty of small eating and beverage establishments. Live music at some.

The town hasn't lost its identity and no problem finding the local dining favorites such as the 62 Degrees Restaurant. Talkeeta also hosts several air tour services, one of which we used for a flying tour of Denali.

The flight tour took us around the south and east sides of the park and included a landing on Ruth Glacier. One surprise was noticing a dot in the distance - a luxury home - homesteaded prior to establishment of the national park. Zoom in just below the wingtip and you can see the Sheldon Chalet - renting for a mere $25,000 / night.

Our land visit to Denali was short as the road into the park was closed mid-way due to washout damage. We got in a stop at the visitor center and a hike. The park runs some of the last remaining 'freight' dog teams, much different than the more modern 'built for speed' Ididerod dog teams. The freight dogs are used for park maintenance and also as a means of preserving the Alaska dog team tradition.

Just up the road we stopped at 49th State Brewery near Healy. Probably the best meal we had on the whole trip, and a fine assortment of beverages too. Took advantage of that and re-stocked the fridge ?

The 'Into the Wild' bus used in the movie is also located at the restaurant, and if you've read the book or watched the movie, it was a bit unsettling.

Fairbanks is a cool town to visit, easy to spend a few days or even a week if you want to explore the vicinity. Some highlights would be:
- The University of Alaska Museum of the North - easy to spend half a day
- Pioneer Park - historical heritage and activities
- Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum - a world class museum of pre WWII cars, all running
- The Crepe House - be prepared to stand in line for some excellent crepe meals

Just outside Fairbanks is a pipeline view point - the engineering and build effort is amazing, even 50 years later. Much of the pipeline is built on permafrost. The radiators on each support piling passively use ammonia as a refrigerant to keep the ground frozen and avoid settling.

Further up the road we spotted another abandoned vehicle from the cold war era. Bunks in back and an 6' wide bench seat in front for the driving crew.

Found a nice hike nearby - Angel Rocks on the Steese Hwy. About a 3.5 mile loop - beautiful AK weather and views:

The border crossing into Canada on the Top of the World Highway opened late this year, so we had a couple extra days. Decided on a trip out to Central and Circle. A 150 mile round trip out-n-back. On the way we spotted a huge steel structure through the trees and pulled off to take a look. It was a behemoth of a dredge, abandoned but accessible.

The dredge was nothing short of a marvel of size and complexity. You can get an idea of the scale by noting the size of the access stair in the lower foreground. We walked the main deck, noticing a full machine shop, complete with welding equipment, drill press, grinder and raw steel storage.

Further on towards Central, we crossed a small pass - still lots of snow

f

We booked a room in Central and pretty much met everyone in town - great people. The bar, restaurant, hotel and gas station is one business. Across the street was an museum, it was really well done. Admission was .... $1. Should of been $10.

Further up the road is Circle, named that because it was originally believed to be right on the Arctic Circle. Turns out close, but not quite, but the name stuck.

The ice had just gone out on the Yukon River, and due to the high river when it froze there was a lot of ice and when it began to move this year it was very destructive. We arrived to find the town in mayhem, with people hauling out possessions out of their displaced homes. No outside assistance seen anywhere - these are some very resilient and self-sufficient people.

We ended up running into a team of Alaska Dept. of Wildlife biologists, attempting to get on the river for a two week survey of peregrine falcons. The riverfront was mud and debris and with no cell phone coverage and the nearest help hours away in Fairbanks they were on the verge of giving up. They had a heavily loaded aluminum boat and a 4wd F350 to launch it, but the muddy bank meant high consequences for a failure.
Got to put the Jeep to use, first finding a (more) solid path down to the river, then winching the stuck F350 back out after a successful launch. The team concluded that a Jeep should be on their short list of vehicle options

As they were loading I noticed their state issued 'loaded for bear' 12g shotgun. Being a wildlife biologist in Alaska is not for everyone.
Looking across the river, what appears to be boulders is actually residual ice - some of it 8-10' thick.

The next day we continued our travels and returned to Tok, enjoyed a nice meal at Fast Eddies and restocked on groceries.

We still had some time to kill before the Canada border opened but began heading in that direction, first stop was the metropolis of Chicken, AK, which is apparently booming. They were proud to announce that the population has increased by over 50% since the 2010 census and is now 12 people. We had a nice meal at the cafe (menu was cheeseburgers, which were quite good). The saloon was open but as it was early we decided to pass. The pantie cannon? Wasn't sure I wanted to know too much about it....

Chicken has a music festival every summer called of course - Chickenstock. Unfortunately we were early but it sounded like a great time. There is also a fully intact dredge that you can get a tour of - really interesting to see how they worked and learn about the economics, crews and operating conditions.

A 65 mile gravel spur (Tayor Highway) runs N to the town of Eagle. The road was fine for a Jeep, but due to soft mud would have been impassible to most 2wd vehicles. One way took about 2-1/2 hours. Maintenance crews were working the problem areas as we passed through.
We booked overnight lodging in town (Riverfront House), right next to the airfield and just above the river. Our host was Marlys, who was a wealth of information and made us a wonderful breakfast.
The town hosts a nice walking tour, as it was early season we were the only customers that day. The town features a disproportionately large history, launching the career of Billy Mitchell, considered by many to be the father of the USAF; and as a unplanned emergency resupply point for Roald Amundson on his quest to navigate the NW passage.
A view from our BNB looking at the town well (starting point of the walking tour) and the Wickersham courthouse (now a museum). Fort Egbert is on the edge of town and is where Billy Mitchell was stationed; it is included as part of the walking tour.

Second leg of the journey completed - next to Top of the World Highway and on to Dawson City, Yukon Territory.

 

[brennaman]

What fun, you said you are going to the Arctic ocean in NW territories. Possibly Tuktoyaktuk?

 

[shane h.]

The first thing on my retirement bucket list is a nice leisurely drive from DFW to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay), Alaska, spending time to cover pretty much everywhere you are going either along the way there or back. Thank you for sharing!

 

[Left Field]

What fun, you said you are going to the Arctic ocean in NW territories. Possibly Tuktoyaktuk?

Tuktoyaktuk is the final destination, then a leisurely return home picking a different route as much as possible.
LF

 

[Left Field]

The first thing on my retirement bucket list is a nice leisurely drive from DFW to Deadhorse (Prudhoe Bay), Alaska, spending time to cover pretty much everywhere you are going either along the way there or back. Thank you for sharing!

You will be in good company, we met people from not only all over the US, but all over the world - including a UK guy that had bicycled from Tierra del Fuego. It is an amazingly unspoiled place and even coming from Texas, the geographical size and diversity is overwhelming.

We were torn between destinations of Tuktoyaktuk and Deadhorse/Prudhoe - both have pro's and con's. Here was part of our decision points - but ultimately the decision was that we need to do both

Prudhoe
Dalton - more traveled, more services
Brooks Range & wildlife
Must take a charter bus through private land to get the the Arctic Ocean

Tuktoyaktuk
Dempster - less traveled, more risk of road condition issues
Relatively recent access (road to Tuk just opened in 2017)
You can drive to and camp right on the Arctic Ocean

So the goal now is for a second trip - this one up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse. If I could somehow manage a winter trip, many of the ice roads originate off the Dalton too - venturing through some backcountry that one normally can't access would be a kick in the pants. -60F, well maybe not as much. ?

LF

 

[brennaman]

You will be in good company, we met people from not only all over the US, but all over the world - including a UK guy that had bicycled from Tierra del Fuego. It is an amazingly unspoiled place and even coming from Texas, the geographical size and diversity is overwhelming.

We were torn between destinations of Tuktoyaktuk and Deadhorse/Prudhoe - both have pro's and con's. Here was part of our decision points - but ultimately the decision was that we need to do both

Prudhoe
Dalton - more traveled, more services
Brooks Range & wildlife
Must take a charter bus through private land to get the the Arctic Ocean

Tuktoyaktuk
Dempster - less traveled, more risk of road condition issues
Relatively recent access (road to Tuk just opened in 2017)
You can drive to and camp right on the Arctic Ocean

So the goal now is for a second trip - this one up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse. If I could somehow manage a winter trip, many of the ice roads originate off the Dalton too - venturing through some backcountry that one normally can't access would be a kick in the pants. -60F, well maybe not as much. ?

LF

I took a bike trip at separate trips, and I would definitely go with Tuk. More locals to meet along the way. Prudhoe you have Coldfoot and truckers, that's about it. The people along the way are super friendly, I really enjoyed the ride from Dawson up to Tuk.

 

[Left Field]

Dawson City and Tuktoyuktuk

After returning to the Jack Wade Junction from Eagle, we continued East toward the Yukon Territory border. It was opening day, June 1st this year and we arrived early afternoon. The US and Canadian border crossing shares a single building. The Canadian border agent was friendly and efficient. They had about 18 vehicles cross the border since opening in the morning. Much of the Top of the World highway is gravel, but it is wide and was very well maintained.

Approaching Dawson City the road descends down to the Yukon River, where a vehicle ferry provides access across the river into town. It is free and runs continuously during operating hours.

Dawson city is a fun town, we spent a couple days there. The population is around 2000 and there are full amenities - hotels, gas, restaurants, tourist activities.

The whole town is built on permafrost so streets are mostly unpaved and the buildings are on cribbing (often hidden behind skirting) to allow re-leveling as needed. The town has a nice visitor center and several walking tours originate there. We did a town tour and tour of the Keno Riverboat that serviced the city prior to road access.

We stayed at the Bunkhouse - economical seasonal lodging. The building was new, the rooms were simple and clean. Our room had two single beds and a small desk. Shared (clean) bathrooms a short distance down from our room. We dined one evening at the Drunken Goat, then headed to the Sourdough saloon for beverages.

There was a line for the 'Sour Toe Cocktail'. They had someone swallow the toe recently on a dare and now impose a hefty 'swallow the toe' surcharge if the toe disappears. Apparently toes aren't that easy to come by. ?

The visitor center informed us that the Peel River ferry landings had been severely damaged by the ice breakup and that it might be up to another 8 days before they could be back in service. We decided to proceed up the Dempster anyway, just to get as far as we could and maybe see what the river conditions looked like.

Dawson City was our last access to premium fuel for the next 1200 miles, 87 only all the way up to Tuk and back. The plan was to mix the 20 gallons of 100 octane race fuel we were carrying with regular gas at a 3:1 ratio, resulting in around 90.7 octane.

The Dempster was in good to excellent condition, with the best conditions once we were in NW Territory. The broken window happened prior to this trip.

The road is heavily treated with calcium chloride - a mixed blessing. It keeps the road surface smooth and hard and minimizes the dust. But it is very corrosive - I'll be keeping an eye on those infamous JL hinges....

On the way north we made took a short visit to the Tombstone Interpretive Center then shortly later crossed the Arctic Circle. Sunshine 24/7 the rest of the way North.

We arrived at the Peel River crossing in the evening. The ferry is a cable design, and the repair crew was working to get a new cable across the river and to re-anchor it on each shore. The ferry landing points had been destroyed also; a bulldozer was pushing fill down the river bank to create a new landing.

We had met a number of other travelers along the way and took a suggestion to camp for a couple days and see if there was any chance the ferry would get running. About 10 miles back from the river, out of the valley, we were able to get cell service and camped on the side of the road.

Sometime in the middle of the night(?) I woke up and took a picture of the midnight sun. This is about as low as it ever got.

An Alaskan friend had suggested bringing eye shades for sleeping, I was glad to have them. We used our spare time for hiking and exploring. Kept the bear spray handy as we'd seen a grizzly along the road while driving earlier in the day.

On the third morning we decided to go down and check on the ferry progress. The cable had been strung but no one was working. We learned later that due to the long days the work hours shift later to take advantage of the warmest part of the day. This turned out to be one of the most interesting and rewarding days of our trip, and with no credit to our planning abilities.

We met one of the few locals that lived on the south side of the river, Gordon. He was cheerful and helpful, but as it turned out, there was more to his situation than we knew. He was cutting brush when we met him, and as it unfolded it turned out his house and all his possessions were damaged or destroyed when the ice went out - he was high on the bank in an area that had been considered safe for generations - but not this year.

The group of Dempster travelers that we had gotten to know along the way formed a work party and we spent the next 12 hours helping him collect his scattered and mud buried belongings, moved his hunt tent from the road back to a hill along the river, got his boat back on its trailer. Through it all, his biggest concern was that he didn't want to impose upon us. Smile and positive attitude the whole time.

Got to put the Jeep to work - a few short clips shot by a fellow traveler:






Around 9PM we started a bon fire to relax following the long day. A little before 10 PM we noticed the ferry crew loading their trucks on the ferry on the other side. We packed up and sure enough when they got to our side they waved us to load up.

Around 1 AM we arrived in Inuvik and decided to catch a hotel for the night. It didn't seem like night...

Leaving Inuvik, the next morning, the road was closed, so we did a hike south of town, then returned in the afternoon and waited.

With the road out of Inuvik opening at around 6pm, we arrived at Tuk at 8:30 to partly sunny weahter and 64F. Sea ice still covered the ocean to the horizon.

We set up camp with our fellow travelers looking at the north pole.

After several days of not expecting to actually make it to Tuk, a 'safe arrival' beverage was in order ?

Met a few of the locals who were happy to share information. They said they ice usually is gone by mid-late June and then the whales arrive. They time their annual hunt accordingly.

Much of the local life still revolves around sustenance hunting, fishing and some reindeer herding. With the arrival of road access in 2017 thing are changing quickly. Snowmobiles and ATVs have replaced dog teams and greatly expanded the range of access. Starlink has made internet access more affordable and faster - for better or worse.

Polar bears? Sometimes they are seen while traveling on the sea ice during the winter, hunting seals. In town? Not very often; maybe one wanders through but rarely. That made it easier to sleep.

Third leg complete - tomorrow a long drive on gravel road back to Dawson City.

 

[brennaman]

Trip of a lifetime. What great memories. thanks for sharing.

 

[wibornz]

Great pics and love the story. I will be following this thread along. We have planed this same adventure twice....


We have tried to drive to Alaska in 2022 and 2023, both times family needs pulled us back home.

In 2022, we were 350 miles north of the Canadian/Washington boarder and our son called and said that he was home from depolyment and that he had about three weeks, before he was gone for another year. We turned around as it had been over a year since we had seen him and he is often in dangers way.

This year our other son required som surgery, that caused us to cancel our Alaska trip. We are now scheduled for 2024. My wife's parents were recently involved in a car accident that is causing them long term health issues. Her parents are in their low eighties and will most likely end up living with us sooner than later. We have our fingers crossed that it will not impact us until after 2024. My wife is currently running them to medical appointments three to four times a week and their ability to drive is going away. Not gone yet, but they are close to.

 

[Beau Nugget]

“After several days of not expecting to actually make it to Tuk, a 'safe arrival' beverage was in order ?“

I would think so. Great trip!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Punknhed]

incredible adventure......
some day i hope to visit alaska. My dad was a truck driver, and hauled heavy machinery up there when the pipeline was being built. some of his pictures are pretty cool.

 

[Dale's Jeep]

Lol I thought this was a dirty movie review. That trip would be a dream. Alaska is on my bucket list.

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