To Alaska anyone?

[suemulberry]

Anyone heading north to Alaska this summer/fall? Like to caravan together?
I am retired, married but travel alone to see America and like to take photos.  My vehicle is a passenger car so I don't have too much boon docking capacity.

 

[mpruet]

I'm planning on making the trip later this summer.

My wife and I made the Alaska trip a couple of years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  But there is so much to see and do in Alaska and on the route to there, that I'm planning on making the trip again.  My wife is having to take care of her aged parents, so she is not able to make the trip again. 

Have you done much thinking of what you want to see/do while en route?  I'm planning on heading out from my home base in Texas in early July.  I have a vacation condo in southern Colorado and I want to be there for the fourth of July.  After the fourth, I plan on heading to the Canadian border and will spend a week in Banff/Jasper.  From there, I'm planning on heading west out of Jasper and will take the Cassiar north.  There are several side places that I want to see off of the Cassiar, mainly Prince Rupart, Stewart, and Haynes.  The Cassiar tends to have more wild life, but is also more desolate.  Also since a lot of the service stations on the Cassiar will shut down in September, I want to take it earlier in the season. 

Before reaching Whitehorse, I'm planning on a side trip down to Skagway.  Whitehorse is nice, but it is mainly a place to stock up.  There is a Walmart and a rather large Canadian Tire there.  From Whitehorse, I'm planning on heading north to Dawson City.  After a few days in Dawson, I'm planning on taking the "Top of the World" road over to Chicken or Tok.  All in all, I suspect that I won't arrive in Alaska until August.

One of my main goals on this trip is to see the Aurora.  On our last trip, we had to leave early because my in-laws had some serious health issues.  We started heading  back in early August and that is too early to see the Aurora.  My guess is that I won't be able to see the Aurora until late August or early September.  That means that I'll need to plan on returning on the Alaska Highway because there are more services on the Alaska Highway than the Cassiar.  Also once the fireweed turns white, you're only a couple of weeks from heavy snows.

The only disadvantages of going up the Cassiar and down the Alcan is that you don't get to take a dip in Ilard hot springs until on the way back and you reach the famous mile zero sign in Dawson Creek at the end of the trip instead of the beginning.

 

[mpruet]

Oh yes - The temperature in Dawson City is hovering around 32 Fahrenheit. Today's high is 40.6 degrees.  That's roughly 30 degrees warmer that a month ago.  So it shouldn't be too long before the breakup of the Yukon river ice.

 

[suemulberry]

Thank you for your reply. I have not done much thinking or planning yet. I am still in the stage of evaluating the feasibility of the different ways of going to Alaska. The main goals for this trip for me are to see the fall scenery, and into the wild in a safe manner, so to speak. So one thing I surely will do is to spend some time in Denali NP and camp in Wonder Lake.

My husband and I currently live near San Francisco. He does not like travel. I have been visiting the western NPs by myself in the past few years. If I were to drive to Alaska, I’d probably leave around late June and stop by Yellowstone those parks first. If I figured it is too much of a task for me to drive ( I have never even changed a tire before), then I’ll go to Yellowstone in late May, comeback home and fly to Alaska in late August. But I know I’d be a little disappointed if I should take that easy way out.

Your plan of visiting all those places when passing through Canada sounds great, great info.

 

[mpruet]

If I figured it is too much of a task for me to drive ( I have never even changed a tire before), then I’ll go to Yellowstone in late May, comeback home and fly to Alaska in late August.   But I know I’d be a little disappointed if I should take that easy way out.

Most of the folks who have made the drive swear that the best part of the Alaska road trip is in Canada.  ;-)

You might want to view some YouTube videos made by folks doing the trip.  I'd recommend "Gone with the Wynns" and "Pau Hana Travels".

 

[Stargazer]

^^^
Yes, I drove the Alcan and agree that the drive through Canada was the best part.

 

[user 15857]

The recommended trip planner is The Milepost 2018, Alaska travel planner .

 

[dawnann7]

I won't be able to drive it this year but I have driven from Calgary to Dawson City in the Yukon. It was one of the most incredible trips I have ever done. The scenery is stunning and there is a LOT of wildlife once you get past Fort Nelson - bison, caribou, bears, you name it. I most definitely recommend it. One day I plan to go again and then some, taking the Dempster Highway all the way north to the Arctic Circle.

 

[user 13531]

Have you considered an Alaskan RV Tour? You can even rent RVs for the trip.

Here’s a link to an Alaskan RV tour company.

This link maybe hazardous to limited data plans don’t follow it...

http://www.alaskarvtrips.com/caravan-tours.html

 

[mpruet]

The recommended trip planner is The Milepost 2018, Alaska travel planner .

Here is the online version.  You can get some ideas on what you can see on the road.

https://www.themilepost.com/

 

[cortttt]

I plan on going this spring (it's not 2019). Hope your trips went well and if you have any suggestions please let me know . I will get the milepost.

 

[maki2]

Alaska is very beautiful, you will enjoy it. I lived there for 7 years during the 1970s in the Anchorage area but we were out camping often during the summer and fall roaming places that were one or two weeks worth of vacation time travel. Even if you do fly in to Anchorage and rent a car and tent camp or rent an RV you will have a grand time of it as there is much to be seen in the way of the wild just a short distance out of town. There are also of course various types of simple, rustic, cabin rentals in more remote types of locations as well as near the parks.

 

[cortttt]

Thanks for the encouragement Maki2. I will probably be entering Canada through Glacier and going up that way in May. Haven't really started planning the trip yet. Looking forward to that. Will get the 2019 edition of Milepost in a couple of weeks when it comes out.

My only real concern are the two dogs and bears!

 

[Living Nomadic Dreams]

I am planning on making my way up there by the mid to end of July. I am currently at the Slabs, once the weather starts to warm up I will be making my way north and eventually to Alaska. Anyone else planning on going this year?

 

[Homeless in Canada]

I went to Skagway with my dad. Gas and everything was expensive but if you stock up in the bigger towns like Prince George and Whitehorse it's not nearly as bad. Good idea to bring plenty of food and a few gas cans since it's not unusual to drive 2-3 hours and not pass any towns and when you find a place it's literally just a gas pump / general store / post office with rude unfriendly people who just want to gouge you $30 for a shitty campsite.

Also there's a lot of problems with Indians blocking roads and bridges on crown land. If you're going to camp on public land it might be a good idea to check in with the RCMP or visit the local Indian chief to see how they feel about it. A lot of them are friendly but some that are not and will threaten to damage your vehicle or shoot your dog and the cops have been letting them get away with this bullshit because it's hard to get witnesses and the government cares more about Indians and their grievances than hunters and folks camping on public land.

Also watch yourself on the logging roads most of them are one lane and the logging trucks haul ass and use VHF radios to avoid accidents. Usually the frequencies are posted and there's maps you can download telling you what frequencies are used in what areas. You can order a cheap one off Amazon and a magnetic base antenna for the roof of your vehicle. It's a pretty neat toy and handy if you're out of cell range and need to call for help.

I'd like to do it again in an RV but it's not an easy trip. Make sure you have plenty of tools, spare parts and a good roadside service. Also you're in bear country and there's mosquitos and there's literally nothing up there. Whatever you need to keep your vehicle running bring it with you. If you break down and need a head gasket or a starter expect to wait at least a week to have that part delivered.

 

[maki2]

Thanks for the encouragement Maki2. I will probably be entering Canada through Glacier and going up that way in May.  Haven't really started planning the trip yet. Looking forward to that. Will get the 2019 edition of Milepost in a couple of weeks when it comes out.

My only real concern are the two dogs and bears!

You will be in Grizzly country in the wild. Keep your dogs on a leash if you are concerned about bears in any particular location you get out of the vehicle at. If you don't take that precaution to keep them safe and they do get into trouble don't even think about trying to interfere. Save yourself as you might only have a few seconds to do so. If you acted foolish and called the dogs and they ran towards you the bear will follow them. Your calling the dogs might also draw the bears attention away from the dogs to yourself. If the bear goes after a family member save yourself because you very likely will also be killed if you try to rescue them.

One the most famous of the bear attacks in Alaska was in 1995 when a grizzly killed a 77 year old woman and her son on the trails in a state park near Anchorage. It was covered nationally and articles are still being written in newspapers and magazines about that attack.  Her son lost his life when he went to try to save his mother. A grandson was along but his uncle told him to get up a tree and not come down until someone came for him. That saved the grandson's life.  They were my close family members.

You are very unlikely to have a problem with bears but anyone going into bear country needs to educate themselves in the safety procedures. Very much the same way you prepare your family for things such as what to do if your house catches on fire. Or if you live where there are tornadoes what to do for that situation. You will find lots of internet articles and videos from various credible sources such as State and Federal Wildlife departments that tell you how to reduce incidences and how to react if there is one. Just like doing a fire drill be prepared and do some practice scenario drills. You need a calm head in emergencies, that is what the drills help with.

 

[Homeless in Canada]

Alaska is nice and has some great scenery but BC and the Yukon were the best part of the trip for me. I've done it driving through Jasper and also up the coast from Vancouver. Up the coast was my favorite.

There's a couple different ferries you can take to Vancouver Island which is also spectacular and when you get to the northern end of the island there's a day long ferry ride takes you all the way up to Prince Rupert. It's not cheap but it's basically like taking a little Alaskan cruise that passes through some pretty amazing scenery. Then take the land route back.

 

[cortttt]

You will be in Grizzly country in the wild. Keep your dogs on a leash if you are concerned about bears in any particular location you get out of the vehicle at. If you don't take that precaution to keep them safe and they do get into trouble don't even think about trying to interfere. Save yourself as you might only have a few seconds to do so. If you acted foolish and called the dogs and they ran towards you the bear will follow them. Your calling the dogs might also draw the bears attention away from the dogs to yourself. If the bear goes after a family member save yourself because you very likely will also be killed if you try to rescue them.

One the most famous of the bear attacks in Alaska was in 1995 when a grizzly killed a 77 year old woman and her son on the trails in a state park near Anchorage. It was covered nationally and articles are still being written in newspapers and magazines about that attack.  Her son lost his life when he went to try to save his mother. A grandson was along but his uncle told him to get up a tree and not come down until someone came for him. That saved the grandson's life.  They were my close family members.

You are very unlikely to have a problem with bears but anyone going into bear country needs to educate themselves in the safety procedures. Very much the same way you prepare your family for things such as what to do if your house catches on fire. Or if you live where there are tornadoes what to do for that situation. You will find lots of internet articles and videos from various credible sources such as State and Federal Wildlife departments that tell you how to reduce incidences and how to react if there is one. Just like doing a fire drill be prepared and do some practice scenario drills. You need a calm head in emergencies, that is what the drills help with.

Sorry to hear about your loss Maki! My gosh...

Thanks for your advice. I need to do some more training on my dogs.

I was wondering about getting a small electric bear fence to put around the camp at night (since I don't like to sleep in the vehicle). I heard they work really well but haven't tried them out. They can be a pain to put up though. 

I think I would only use them in some areas. 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...=aps&field-keywords=bear+shock+electric+fence

 

[maki2]

http://www.ndow.org/uploadedFiles/n...ear_Logic/NDOW-Electric-Fence-Guide-Bears.pdf
This looks to be a well written article on electric fencing for bears. It will give you the standards of what to look for in the way of fencing if you want to make a purchase. The section on electric net fencing is the one you will need to read for your situation.

The voltage required to keep out bears is high, much higher than dog fencing. Do take note that it says the fencing has to be 3 to 5 feet away from the structure you are trying to protect ( so the bears can reach you) which I suppose means your tent. That will mean creating a diagram so you know how much of the fencing to purchase.

So to make it easy I have prepared a diagram for you that is based on their minimum standard of 3 feet away from a tent with an 8' by 8' base area. That is large enough to sleep two people, of course you may have a smaller tent but it is a good starting point. The result is 58 feet of 4 foot tall electric net fencing for this setup. That is a lot of fencing and a lot of weight and will require quite a lot of space to store. It will take quite a bit of time to set up and take down and you will have to do a voltage check on it each and every time you set it up to make sure it is functioning correctly. You need to be prepared to do the grounding in several ways. Also it takes a lot of physical area to set up which will limit where you are able to set up a camp. Most roadside areas and campgrounds do not have a cleared 14 foot square area with a flat spot in the middle for a tent that is next to where you would park your vehicle. I did not include any support post in the diagram as how many you need depends on the recommendation from the supplier of the fencing.  Will electric bear fencing work, yes it does. But the bigger question is will it be a practical solution for your trip and of course what will the $$ cost of it be? A very small tent just big enough for a double sleeping bag would be a big help in reducing the amount of fencing needed and reducing the ground area needed but it won't save a whole lot of time for setup.

 

[suemulberry]

I am embarrassed to say I did not make it.  After a long hard hesitation I did not think I was able to make the 10,000 mile drive by myself.  I still want to go to Alaska but probably will have to fly there and rent a car.

Meanwhile, I am looking for people to hike with from the Delicate Arch to the parking lot after dark Mid May.  I am hoping to go there to see the moonrise over the arch.  I don't want to get lost on the trail in the dark. l've reserved Devil's Garden Campground in Arches NP from 5/16-5/19, you are welcome to share the site if you can help me on the hike back.