Trip Summary

The adventure lasted 38 days and covered 10,987 miles of the most beautiful terrain on the continent. It was a first camping experience that was captured with journal entries and photos on this web site maintained throughout the trip. This article contains excerpts from this awesome solo adventure that began on May 23rd, 1999.

As I pulled out of Rochester, I could see the dark clouds out my back window as the storm moved in. Ahead, white billowy clouds set against the bright blue sky. It was like an omen… that I had made the right decision. Heading north to International Falls, into Canada and beyond… the excitement grew as the adventure had begun.

I had been preparing for almost a year. It was a period of transition and a life long ambition, since reading "Travels With Charley" by Steinbeck, to go on the road with a small camper.

In a copy of "Trailer Life" magazine, I discovered a small popup camper called the Aliner. Unlike tent campers the Aliner opened into a hard sided A-frame structure that could be setup or taken down easily in seconds. Developed for "trans-continental touring and off-road adventures", I felt that it had been designed just for me! The Aliner, towed behind my Jeep Cherokee, became my "home" for the journey.

Camping my first night (ever) at the Lake of the Woods, I started my journal. I brought along a laptop computer and a digital camera to be used to maintain this web site that I established to keep in contact with my family. At this camp I had to connect using the Road Warrior Telecoupler II to the pay phones located outside of the office. It attracted attention as I sat on the floor with my laptop and wires running up to the phone as I uploaded my pictures and journal enty. As I traveled furthur, I found most camp managers willing to allow me a brief modem connection from within their office which was much more efficient..

The next morning there was a mist on the lake that extended across the road, making it slow going at first. The birch trees that lined the shore glistened in the early morning sun. I spotted deer feeding near a small stream… it was a great day to be alive and on the road!

I followed the Queen’s Route 1 out of Ontario, across Manitoba and into Saskatchewan where I turned north at Regina. The drive to Saskatoon was relaxing and beautiful. The countryside wide and rolling. A meadowy gorge followed along the highway with a small river snaking its way along the bottom. The sky was bright and blue. French ballads played on the only radio station adding to the ambiance.

At Saskatoon I joined the Yellowhead Highway 16, which I followed on to Edmonton, the collection point on the path to Alaska feeding traffic that flows from the popular Calgary route. After stopping for the night at Whitecourt, I pressed on across Alberta anxious to arrive at Dawson Creek, British Columbia, which marks mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

As I arrived north, I found the longer days particularly invigorating. Less sleep was required and I frequently found myself working on my journal at near midnight with the northern lights visible from my window.

A workshop adjoining the campground in Dawson Creek was busily fitting plywood barriers onto the front of towed vehicles, and rock guards over the grills and headlights of trucks and RVs, as if preparing for a great demolition derby.

With an early start up the Alaska Highway, I found myself alone on the road and it was quiet and peaceful. By mid morning I spotted several young moose grazing, and later caribou, mountain sheep and black bear. The texture of the forest changed with the appearance of the tallest white birch that I had ever seen. The light green leaves of the birch mixed with the dark green of the Canadian spruce created some spectacular scenes… best captured on canvas.

The roads began to wind up into the mountains where snow and ice covered lakes appeared as the temperature dropped to near 30 degrees. The views were magnificent rendering the trip up to this point no more than innocent foreplay to tantalize the traveler. Sightings of Caribou and moose became common. I arrived at Laird River Hotsprings Provincial Park where I camped for the night.

A boardwalk took me back through the woods to the first of the two hotsprings. Black bear are common in the park and are frequently spotted wandering across the boardwalk by tourists. I put on my swimsuit and climbed into the hotspring, spending a relaxing session spinning yarns with the other travelers that were visiting there.

As I passed through Yukon Territory I was initiated to tougher road conditions when a passing truck delivered a small rock to the corner of my windshield resulting in a 5-inch crack. The crack continued to grow and eventually needed replacement while in Fairbanks… the first of two windshield replacements during the trip.

I took a detour to Skagway where I caught the ferry across to Haines and camped for the night. I continued on to Whitehorse, then up the Klondike highway to Dawson City, and across the Top of the World Highway into Alaska along narrow gravel roads through beautiful mountain passes. Entry into Alaska was at Poker Creek, the most northerly land border port in the USA.

Then south to Valdez to see the beginning of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and ships loading the crude oil for delivery to the refineries. It seemed that each new area I visited presented the most spectacular views of the trip. Alaska is like that, with every turn giving you another magnificent view of rugged mountain ranges, unique with nature’s tricks in the presentation.

Traveling south through Anchorage I camped several days in the port city of Seward where I watched Orca whales at play and studied the fantastic blue colors you find only in glacier ice. Then traveling north to Denali National Park I spent a day at the foot of Mt McKinley watching grizzly bears at play on the valley floor.

The grand finale of this trip was to enter the arctic region of Alaska. Leaving my trailer in Fairbanks, I took the Jeep about 300 miles up the Dalton Highway. The gravel road follows the Trans-Alaska pipeline and is traveled by service vehicles supporting the pump stations on the Northern Slope.

Entering the Arctic Circle, I continued 150 miles north into the Brooks mountain range stopping at the top of Atigun Pass on the continental divide. Here I celebrated my farthest point north with a glass of white wine and a can of Kipper snacks before beginning the long trip home to Rochester.

Alaska is something that you have to experience. Words and pictures cannot adequately describe the feeling of being alone in the Arctic region surrounded by the natural beauty that few get to experience. It leaves one feeling humble and with a sense of peace, far from the daily stresses of the "real" world.

You can read the complete Journal starting with Day 1 or the Planning and Preparation sections....
For a summary of costs incurred during the trip: Alaska Trip Cost Summary