This time I processed my journal in the opposite order, processing the photo's first, as they tell the real story. Selections from 84 photos are linked below in several categories. Net is that this was a fantastic trip... I drove the near 700 miles round trip without any tire problems... on every type of road surface you could imagine. Got back to Fairbanks about 3:00 AM.
Summer has come to Alaska, with the temperature in the 80's here in Fairbanks, and up in the Arctic Circle region it was in the low 70's. I decided to leave the trailer in the RV park and drive the Dalton Highway with just the Jeep. At the information center here in North Pole, Alaska, the girl told me a story about her brother's drive to Coldfoot and back, with 5 flat tires recently. The girl at the RV checkin told about someone she knew that had traveled the area with 6 flat tires, and was told that it was better to let some of the air out of your tires so they were softer going over the rocks. At the Alaskan Pipeline information booth north of Fairbanks, a 17 year old boy told me that last summer he just jumped into his pickup and drove up to the Arctic Circle and back with no problem. It seemed that there was a story for everybody and you could pick the answer you liked best. I had two spares for the Jeep and was determined to go see for myself.
I loaded a few snacks in a bag, a water jug, and threw the sleeping bag in back of the Jeep, and left for the Arctic Circle at about 6:00 AM. Plan was to top off at Livengood where a Mercantile located near there provided gas. The first 40 miles were paved, then dropped down to gravel which was still of fair quality. When I arrived at the Mercantile at Livengood, 40 miles later, it was closed with hours listed from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.. The next gas available was about 60 miles at the Yukon River crossing, so I pushed ahead. The only wildlife I saw was a Lynx (later identified at the Yukon information center) crossing the road early in the morning, and several porcupine. Other than that, the sides were filled with Rabbits which seemed to like to chew on the muddy service of the road which was laced with a calcium based salt.
Immediately after the Yukon River bridge was a gas stop, with tire repair and some mechanical work available. They were open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Also, a small information center managed by a man and wife volunteer couple.. We discussed the Dalton while we fought off the mosquitoes... spraying them, swatting at them, and using something that looked like a tennis racket with batteries in the handle that would electrify them when caught up in it. Already I had traveled over 100 miles of gravel and rocky road, but had kept speeds down to 30 to 40 mph while I bumped along. They agreed that speed was the single factor causing most tire problems. We discussed the road ahead and they mentioned the possibility of me proceeding beyond the Arctic Circle to Coldfoot, and even Atigun pass. This was the area also mentioned by a fellow camper that had worked the North Slope before he retired. I topped off my gas tank and decided I would take it mile by mile. As I left there was back packer hitchhiking north along the road. A few miles further I saw several other people back packing, camping by a steam. This was just one of many ways I was going to discover people traveling and experiencing the Arctic region.
Over the period of this trip, I saw the many personalities of the Dalton Highway. There were areas of fairly good, smooth gravel road. There were areas of very bumpy road where the surface was gone and the clay base had eroded and the rocks were protruding from the surface, with sharp corners visible. It was this road that was the most likely to cause tire problems, so I proceeded slowly, 25 to 30 mph like on egg shells. Some areas of the road were covered with rocks that had not been worked into the surface yet. There were areas of fine clay like surface that was smooth when dry, and "grimy" when wet. And some washboard.... I think I saw it all over the course of this trip.. even with some short stretches of some hard asphalt surface that would appear for a few miles for no evident reason. I also ran into road repair crews in several spots. Consider driving this road part of the adventure, or best not to go (but do take the drive.. it is really worth it). The photo's tell the tale..
I appeared to be the only one on the road, and as I traveled through mountains and valleys, past lakes and streams, it was like I was the only person on earth. Magnificent views with a sunny sky and big billowy clouds. The temperature climbed to 70 degrees which was warm for the Arctic area. Before long long I arrived at the Arctic Circle, and pulled in to see the monument identifying the spot. Since I was the only one there, I took several pictures, but there was no one to take a picture with me in it, so you will have to trust that I was behind the camera. After spending a few minutes, I decided to press on the next 60 miles to Coldfoot.
This was where I experienced the delay of road construction. The road slowly deteriorated and then I arrived at the road repair area. Several trucks were waiting to get through and I got out and talked with the flag girl. The delay was going to be about an hour as the guide car was 20 miles away at the other end with some trucks. The girl told us about being called from her union office in Anchorage where she lived and told to get up here for this job... pulling her trailer house to the road construction site about 10 miles beyond the repair site here where they were all camped. It sounded like this was going to continue for much of the summer. I asked the hours that the construction was going on and she said they knocked off at 5:30 and that there was no night shift Finally the guide car arrived and we were taken through the construction area. The guide car and the two trucks ahead of me were driving much faster than I wanted to go through this stuff, so I dropped back until they finally had to slow up for me. They used channel 19 on the CB so I could monitor what was happening as we drove through. Once through the area, the trucks disappeared ahead of me and I was alone on the road again, headed north. It was here that the road surface became covered with loose rock so I had to proceed cautiously.
Finally, about 2:00 PM I arrived at Coldfoot and pulled into the small village. A gas station and "eatery", garage for maintenance, and a "kinda" prefab motel where rooms started at $135 a night. I filled up, bought a big bag of ice to replenish my cooler, then called Rob and Niki from a pay phone using my calling card.. thrill of being called from 70 miles within the Arctic Circle. Then I proceeded to the information center. I discussed the roads ahead and how far it was to Atigun Pass.... she said she thought the roads were the same, as she was from Wiseman north about 10 miles and drove it everyday... I was hoping for better. But, gassed up and with a new load of ice and a nice sunny day, and two unused spares in the back... I decided to head north.
As soon I pulled out heading north, the road improved substantially.... it was clear the the girl from the information booth had not traveled south for awhile. I was able to move ahead at a faster pace, but generally kept speed at 40 mph even on the better road. Along the way to Atigun Pass, on a road that was bumpy and with loose rock, I saw a headlight coming up fast from behind, and a motorcycle passed me... had a gas can strapped on the back and a sleeping bag. The rider had a full face mask for the dust and was probably traveling over 50 mph. It was a small to intermediate size dirt bike which was probably a good fit for this road.
I noticed that the lower speeds, running without overdrive, and the hills were helping my gas mileage quite a bit, and I was getting in excess of 23 mph vs the 19 mph I normally get on the highway. That helped me conserve gas, as I needed to make sure I did not go beyond a half tank so I could get back to Coldfoot. Along the road I also saw several bicycling and camping their way to the Arctic Ocean... one was returning alone from Deadhorse. Then at a short stop outside Atigun Pass, I saw a girl riding a horse come around the corner.
When I thought I was the only person in the whole world (or within a hundred miles) Karen Babcock rides her horse up to the car. She was riding a gorgeous horse from Prudhoe Bay (about 200 miles north on the Arctic Ocean) all the way to Valdez (the 800 miles of the Alaska Pipeline). She was doing this to bring awareness to some charity sponsored by "The Inner Mountain Wilderness Center" for cancer victims and familes. Her ride was called "Alaska Trek 99". I promised to look it up on the Internet when I get home... then asked if I could take her picture and post it on my web page.. she agreed. I was happy to learn that her husband was driving a van and waiting for her a couple miles ahead. They camp each night and had had some close experiences with a grizzly bear the night before, where the horse ran off and they had to go find it. She wanted to follow the pipeline trough, but decided to stick to the Dalton for awhile because of the high bear activity in the area. Not far back a grizzly had been spotted with two very young cubs.. a potentially dangerous situation.
I proceeded on to the Atigun Pass climbing into the hills of the Brooks Mountain Range, and stopped at an overlook at the top of the Pass and had lunch. A transport truck was also parked there and I assume the driver sleeping. The rocky mountain sides were a haven for the Dall Sheep and there were a number of them on the sides near the road. I noticed how thin they looked compared to the pictures you see in the "Alaska" picture books in the store. Maybe the late spring was making food more difficult to find.
Coming into the pass, I noticed the sign to Deadhorse, 173 miles... my tank was still near 3/4 due to good gas mileage.. the weather was good... it was 5:30 PM... I was out of food because I had not planned a long trip... I decided to make this the north point of my trip and head back to Coldfoot.
At Coldfoot I "topped off" my tank, and decided to drive at night back to Fairbanks to avoid road construction delays. I knew that I would be passing over the Yukon River Bridge after the 11:00 PM closing hours, so no chance to top off my tank and about 270 miles to travel. With some experience behind me now (and two good spare tires in the back) I drove a bit faster going back. There was one place where they had been spreading calcium on the road and watering it to keep the dust down that was still muddy and slippery when I got to it. Then I encountered a brief Arctic storm near the Arctic Circle turnout, with a short period of high winds and some rain. I pulled into the Arctic Circle turnout and found a van camping there. As the storm seemed to pass, I decided to continue on.
The remainder of the trip back was uneventful... I tired as you would expect and had to force myself to concentrate on watching the woods along the road... one moose cow and a calf passed over the road ahead of me, but with the exception of many rabbits in the muddy road bed, there were no other animal sightings going this direction. No radio stations up here.. no one else on the road... the sun went down but was still light throughout the trip. I would meet an occasional truck that had also figured out traveling at night was a way to avoid the road work.
So it was a good adventure... great scenery, and completely doable... Bicycles, motorcycles, horse back, back packing, pulling boats, pulling trailers, big RVs and small RVs, driving the "family" car... lots of different ways to try to get north. The scenery is worth the trip.. and just the feeling of being alone with nature. Travelers on the road were cordial.. with truckers slowing for you and waving as they passed.. unlike the Alaska Highway where trucks went by with disregard for other traffic, throwing rocks and sand. There seemed to be a camaraderie among the travelers of the Dalton...
[Dalton Roads][Scenic Views][Atigun Pass][Arctic Road Signs]
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