Alaska by RV, solo or caravan . . . . opinions please

My wife, cousin and combined 4 kids spent 5 weeks on the road in Canada and Alaska last summer. Left Portland without a single reservation. 14 days later they were in Anchorage. I told them they could have made it in 7 days and their reply was they had fun and enjoyed themselves.

I can't comment on caravans and their particular benefits but I wouldn't be intimidated by the Alcan - it isn't the 60's when my Grandparents first went up it. It is comparable to any good 2 lane state highway in the Lower 48 and better in most areas. If 2 Moms and 4 young kids can make the trip in our Ford F-350 and Bigfoot camper I suppose anyone can.

I am up in Valdez, AK now. I did the trip alone, do not need any one to hold my hand.

My wife and I grumble and groan, and sometimes flat out refuse to do any type of tours, museums, etc if a Caravan group will be there with us. We come back another time. Waiting in line, talking loudly, etc etc are not for us. We came for the quiet.

We try not to stay at RV parks that allow Caravan groups as well. Made that mistake at Liard River. I don't know how anyone can enjoy 30 diesel and gas engines starting up at precisely 8:00 AM, sounded like a huge construction site and scared all the wildlife away.

I do recognize that some people are not like us. If you like the sound of a truck shipping yard in the middle of a forest, yelling loudly to other people, driving with a constant view of a rig in front of, and behind you, you may love a caravan.

As others have said, the Milepost is good for historical reasons. When DH was driving, I had it open and would follow along in the book. I would read tidbits from it as we passed by the places and if something struck our fancy, we would stop. It really is a great resource.

Dale

Another excellent resource is the "allstays" app for your Ipad. I found that it had information on campgounds that were either not in the Milepost, or too hard to find. It is free, finds your location and shows not only campgrounds, but fuel stops, walmarts, etc. We also used our laptop with "Streets and trips" and a GPS antenna (thumb drive size) which worked everywhere, even when we had no wireless or cellphone signal.

If you want to know the location of:

- all the backroads (for boondocking)
- good fishing spots
- rest areas
- spots beside the highway and creeks for lunch/overnighting
- historical info of the Alaska Highway
- historical stops, such as Soldier's Summit
- lodges/gas stations, including which are closed
- territorial/provincial/state campgrounds and recreation areas
- hiking trails, cycling trails, parks
- wildlife and birding areas
- distance from A to B

then the Milepost is a good resource. The amount of info can be overwhelming to some.

When we were novice travellers up here (before moving here) I would review the relevant pages the night before and mark things of interest with a yellow highlighter.

These days, I usually use the digital Milepost in pdf format, saved on the laptop and open while we drive. We usually monitor our position with the GPS via livetracking on the laptop too. So the Milepost and nRoute are open side-by-side on the laptop, which sits in my lap while DH drives.

Over the years I've collected thousands of waypoints. I also waypoint locations that I take note of but where we didn't stop. Maybe the next trip we'll check it out. Yeah, I'm anal about data, love it! :B

We've found some amazing boondock spots this way, including this one this year:

The Milepost tells you about every single thing along the roads on the Alaska trip. Without it, you wouldn't know a lot of the stuff you pass is even there.

Sure does tell you about every little thing, EVERY little thing - and somewhere buried in all the useless dross is about 10% (being generous here) reasonably useful stuff, but only if the copilot is willing to spend most of the trip with head buried in the book trying to figure out where you are - and you constantly having to figure out the mileages so the copilot can find the right spot..

But if you want to know the average length, depth and deviation from straight line of every crack in the pavement, and where 30 years ago a dyslectic eagle nested in a tree which was struck by lightning 15 years ago and topled by a storm just last year (Dang, I really wanted to see that), and the grade of every little hill - then by all means purchase the book --

and then be prepared to collect all the unbound pages that fall out throughout the day and glue them back in each night.

The 'Milepost' is a MUST. It will give you so much history of the roads you're traveling. If you just pick up those little brochures from the visitor centers you'll be overwhelmed with trying to sort them out. Just skip all that necessary paper and get the Milepost.

I will say, don't rely on the Milepost for your campground ideas. Those are all paid ads by the campgrounds and they will all sound 'perfect'. Instead, get Mike and Terri Church's Alaska Camping book. It also includes the Yukon and Canada. They list ALL campground, public and private and also give some great boondocking spots. They lived in Alaska and still travel back and forth updating their book.

Those are the only two publications you'll need for the trip.

Went up twice 2002 and 2010 bought a milepost and winged it. Never made a single advanced reservation. With a caravan you are always with a crowd. If you like crowds go to new York city. To enjoy AK you need to experience the solitude. Boondock some along the way. It is good for the soul.

It has been long enough now (since circa 2000, Yikes) since I've driven the Alcan that I'd want to get the Milepost for the maps and general layout.

However, even back in the 80's and 90's when I was driving the Alcan frequently enough that I had my routes (primarily Los Anchorage - Montana or Idaho) almost memorized, I would do as Sue did and get the milepost on a regular basis just because it was a good resource.

I always felt that having the Milepost kicking around the back seat was a necessary element of driving to/from Alaska. Even had one stuck in the back seat of the plane the couple of times that I made the flying trip.

sue.t wrote:
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Gosh, I live in Yukon and buy the Milepost every few years because it is a good resource.

That's what we do with "Next Exit" and the Trailer Life campground directory.:)