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WA to Deadhorse, AK Last Post 01 Jan 2011 03:22 AM by T&A-XJ. 8 Replies. | Sort: |
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Tim Boone
Posts:99
 | | 29 Dec 2010 08:23 PM |
| I am beginning to seriously research this trip. I am tentatively planning to make the trip in July or August over a 3 week period. I have started with reading the AK DOT DaltonHighway booklet and have read a few random trip reports across the web. My father has made the trip to Fairbanks(almost 40 years ago!) before the Alaskan Highway was paved and has lent some good insight on that route plus he might be joining me on this adventure if things work out. I would like to include Anchorage and Valdez in the trip since this will more than likely be a once in a lifetime trip. This will be a solo trip which I might be naive but is kinda the purpose of the trip. I am looking for any good info, references and tips on things/places to see, mistakes not to make, best routes etc. I am also torn between taking my '99 Jeep Cherokee which is pretty solid but still a lifted Jeep or my '06 Dodge CTD 3500. I am leaning toward my Jeep for the adventure aspect and ability to repair almost anything on it myself trailside. My Dodge would be the ultimate in comfort, range between fill ups, carrying capability and reliability. But I worry it will be less than perfect after a trip like this especially after the Dalton portion of the trip, the jeep not too worried about its condition. Any insight on this would be great! Tim | | |
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Mic
New Member
Posts:3
| | 30 Dec 2010 07:59 AM |
| Tim,
My buddy Jay sent me over here to answer any questions you may have about your trip to Deadhorse/Prudhoe Bay.
I guess the first question to ask is, have you decided on a route to the Alaska Highway?
Where do you want to start on it? Do you want to start at Mile 0 in Dawson Creek (My recommendation) or do you want to start out after Watson Lake?
If you want to start out at Mile 0, you can get there in one of 2 ways.
First, you can take Highway 97 North, all the way up to Dawson Creek. This is the most direct route to Dawson Creek.
The next route, which I recommended if you have never been on the Ice Fields Parkway, is to head up and hit Canada 1, and follow it all the way to 93 (Ice Fields Parkway).
It cost me 9 dollars 80 to use the parkway, but it is well worth it.
From there, head North along the parkway, make sure to stop and take plenty of pictures. Give yourself a day to do this, it's absolutely spectacular. I wish I had more time through here.
Stop and look at the Columbia Ice Fields (Start of the Columbia River), and have a good time.
You'll exit the Parkway in Jasper. I don't recommend staying in Jasper, as the prices are pretty danged high. I myself, pushed on to Grand Cache, which is up Highway 40 outside of Jasper. Outside of Grand Cache is a turnoff on the left for Sulfur Gate, It's supposed to be a spectacular view, but I woke up that morning, packed up, and took off. Forgetting about it until about 45 minutes later (duh).
You'll want to hit Highway 43 once in Grand Prairie and that will get you to Dawson Creek.
I'm going to skip forward to Whitehorse.
I recommend, that if you are in it for the experience, that at Whitehorse, you point your direction North Again.
This will take you up to Dawson.
Dawson is a town right out of the old west. Dirt streets, old buildings, and just an absolute awesome place. I fell in love with it.
From Dawson, you can take the ferry (free) across the Yukon, and head on your way to Alaska via the "Top of the World" highway.
You'll go through the border, and the town you drop down into is "Chicken". It's worth going and getting a bumper sticker.
You'll then drop back down on to the AK Highway just outside of Tok.
From there, you follow all the way up to Fairbanks, and eventually you'll make your way to the Dalton.
The Dalton is a mix of paved and unpaved.
Your last fuel stop before the Dalton is in Fox. This is the cheapest of the stops on the rest of the trip.
Your next fuel stop is about 100 miles out at the Yukon Camp, then you'll cross over the Arctic Circle (Right hand turn off, NOT WELL MARKED).
Up from that you'll hit Cold Foot. That is your LAST fuel stop before Deadhorse. It is 240 miles from Cold Foot to Dead Horse.
Take in the Brooks Range, and Atigun Pass. It's awesome.
When you get to Deadhorse, you'll have two options for fuel, and a couple options for lodging.
You'll come to a T in the road, go Left.
This will take you to the residence area with Caribou Inn, Prudhoe Bay Hotel, and a fuel station.
Another Recommendation, first, make sure you call at least a week in advance for reservations for lodging, and if you want to take the tour, that as well.
I recommend Prudhoe Bay Hotel for Lodging. Cheaper Rates (especially if there are 2 of you and share a room, it's 110 a person per night), and they have a MUCH better food court. The food is 24/7 all you can eat.
They have various things out throughout the day, but they do have "Serving" times for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Caribou Inn is where you will register for your Tour. You'll want to go early so they can get your info. You need ID to take the tour so they can run a background check in advance.
The Tour is the only way to the Ocean, so it's worth taking.
I took the Morning Tour, and wish I waited until the 5pm one, as that day the Ice Fog had decided to lift.
I was there July 1st, and Polar Bears do not show up until the end of July, beginning of August apparently. Boo.
Return Trip, I recommend taking Highway 37 at Junction 37 off the Alaska Highway in Yukon. This will bring you down the Stewart Cassiar Highway straight down the middle of BC, and it is a wonderful stretch of highway.
Other than that, any questions feel free to ask.
You can check out my day by day report of my trip here: http://micsadventure.com/adventures/arctic-expedition-seattle-to-the-arctic-circle-and-beyond/
Take Care, and above all else, Have Fun!
Mic | | | |
| Mic
New Member
Posts:3
| | 30 Dec 2010 08:02 AM |
| Oh, another thing I suggest is picking up "The Mile Post"
It's a great resource of routes, and mile marker account of things to see, places to get food, stay, camp, fuel, etc.
It covers BC, Yukon, NWT, and Alaska. | | | |
| Tim Boone
Posts:99
| | 30 Dec 2010 12:56 PM |
| Thanks for the info! I hadn't given much thought to the route between here and Dawson Creek. As close as Jasper Nat. park is it would be hard to pass up the scenery. Will have to give it some thought... In my head I have had two seperate trips bouncing around. One to Deadhorse and the other from Jasper National park down through Banff, Glacier to Yellowstone/Grand Tetons and home. The later to be more of a 'family' excursion. The other portion mentioned is the side trip from Whitehorse through Dawson City on the Top of the World Highway. Looks too good to pass up so I might have to make this side trip for the experience. In which direction I am not sure but will work it out. Any thoughts on following the BC coastline down through Vancouver Island? Not sure of the road numbers or towns just was playing with the route on Google and thought it might be a different experience. Possibly not worth the additional time and hastle of the ferries and such though? Oh and thanks for the reminder of 'The Mile Post" book, I had forgotten about that. | | | |
| Mic
New Member
Posts:3
| | 31 Dec 2010 08:55 AM |
| Also, what are your plans for Lodging?
Hotel? Camping? Mix?
How "rustic" do you want to be?
What is your fuel range? How much extra fuel can you carry?
I'm going to give you some tips for the Haul Road (Dalton Highway).
Yukon Camp, directly across the road along the Yukon River is an information center. Stop there for road conditions!
They will be able to tell you where all the construction is at, and what type it is, and if it is pilot car construction.
Depending on how the road is, about 10 miles from Deadhorse, the road turned into what you would expect a roadbed to be, huge large diameter rock.
Make sure you have a skid plate protecting your oil pan, we actually stopped a guy who was unaware he was loosing his precious oil for his that was in a F250 pickup. That is not somewhere you want to be stuck.
Fairbanks to Coldfoot, depending on time of year, expect it to be pretty steady temps.
However, as soon as you cross the Brooks Range, expect the temp to drop... A lot.
June 30th, it was 82 in Cold Foot, 32 in Deadhorse. The range blocks that cold arctic air from coming inland. Dress appropriately.
The Napa/General Store/Post Office is open 24 hours (it is one building).
Deadhorse is a Dry Town, as it is a company owned and ran town (BP). No alcohol.
The Dalton is comprised of some paved area's, some chip seal, gravel and calcium chloride.
As soon as you get back to Fairbanks, find a car was and wash the hell out of your vehicle. Any exposed metal will rust almost instantly due to the Calcium Chloride.
If you are going in the summer while school is out, you can stay at the Dorms. It's like 29 bucks per person, or 40 per room. You'll have a bed, internet, free showers and free laundry services. (There is a car was down the street)
There is absolutely nothing to do in Deadhorse besides the Tour, and walk around taking pictures of big ass equipment.
Although I had fun talking to the workers during the meals. Most of them will start conversation with you at the tables, it's a great way to pass the time if you are in to listening to what they do. You can learn a lot about what these guys do.
Ferries are expensive. So figure that in. You can go to the website for the Alaska Highway, and price it out. You'll have Per Person Costs, Vehicle Costs, and if you want a room to sleep in, cabin costs.
I do plan on doing that one of these days, but it wasn't in the expenses to do it this last time I was up, and I won't be able to do it again next year either, although next year, I'm just going back up to the Cassiar, and possibly back to Dawson.
Anymore questions feel free to ask. | | | |
| Craig Miller
Posts:11803
| | 31 Dec 2010 08:59 AM |
| Posted By Michael McLane on 12/31/2010 8:55 AM
Make sure you have a skid plate protecting your oil pan, we actually stopped a guy who was unaware he was loosing his precious oil for his that was in a F250 pickup. That is not somewhere you want to be stuck.
Tim's XJ is *completely* built, he has years of experience running "Most Difficult" rated trails, and knows how to fix just about anything on his truck.
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| Caleb Weand
Basic Member
Posts:159
| | Craig Miller
Posts:11803
| | 31 Dec 2010 08:46 PM |
| Just to make sure it came across correctly. My post about Tim wasn't intended as a critique of the information provided. Tim doesn't log in here a lot, and I was just trying to provide some background info on him and his rig to make it easier for people to provide relevant information. | | | |
| Tim Boone
Posts:99
| | 01 Jan 2011 03:22 AM |
| Thanks for all the info so far! the tips are a big help in invisioning what I am up against. My current fuel range is only 240ish miles, that being combined street, freeway and trail. But there are a few factors that I intend to repair and/or get to the bottem of before the trip which should increase my range. The main one being the cracked exhaust manifold, this kills mileage on these later model XJs. The other is I might have an error in my fuel level sending unit as even with the DTE (distance to empty) reading showing 0 I can only get 16.5-17 gallons in the 20 gallon tank. Other than that a simple tune up and fluid change will help the cause. As much as I hate to say it a jerry can might be in order... As for being rustic, I have a pretty good collection of camping gear and will be keeping it simple. Slightly more than the motorcyclists but no roof top tents and all the bells and whistles. My major splurge will be on an ARB fridge, but otherwise I will rely on my trusty 3 season tent, 0* bag, mattress and camp stove. I had designed a pretty good 1 person sleeping platform for my Jeep but if my father tags along there is no point, just bring my bigger tent. A motel here and there will be nice but not mandatory as I have a place to stay, do laundry etc in Fairbanks. Although come to think of it I might splurge for one of those propane tent heaters. Will have to look up the ferry rates between Whittier and Valdez I think thats the only one I might be interested in taking. I must have misread the directions on google thinking I could take a short duration ferry back to the mainland at the north end of Vancouver Island and tie into the Alaskan Highway. Actually thought about this for the ride back for some different scenery. The Kennicot mines are on my list of things to see while I am up there along with Denali Nat. park. Otherwise still looking up places to visit. I have pretty much ruled out using my Dodge for the trip, for several reasons. - Have no knowledge of how it works or how to fix it if it dies in the middle of nowhere.
- Will need tires before the trip to ease the mind and thats out of the budget.
- Its a super clean truck, I fear it would need a paint job to be considered excellent condition.
- lastly, I have spent alot of effort making my jeep stay street friendly as well as perform on the trail. This will be the true test of my labors.
The major issue to learn to deal with will be myself. I get antsy and like to keep moving. i will have no issue making it to Dawson Creek in one day, from there I will have to learn to slow my brain down. Example being, when I bought this XJ, I left the guys house in Denver at 9:30 or so PM and was on Hells Revenge in Moab at 7 AM the next morning, ran a full days worth of trails, took a nap, got up and hit the road home and was here Sunday afternoon. Could have taken till Tuesday but got in that mode and off I went. The midnight sun will not help with this! | | | |
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