Arctic Circle Trip Report
Hi All- wanted to make some notes and leave some pics on my recent trip out of Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle on the Dalton Highway.
Also will put a link to my Blog about traveling the Northern part of the Pan American Highway at the end.
It took about two hours to drive the from Fairbanks to the beginning of the Dalton Highway- skies were overcast and some rain was spit and the road from Fairbanks has some construction areas that slow you down a bit at times.When I got to the starting point there was a bicyclist named Benji who'd ridden from Deadhorse and soon after two blokes from Australia showed up who are driving an all electric vehicle they are charging mostly with solar panels. pics:
I left them behind and started up the Dalton- it was graded dirt and not too bad really for many miles, but I still kept it slow not wanting to change a tire or suffer a breakdown up here. If you need a tow there is a $1,000 surcharge over and above the mileage fee!
Here's the road:
and parts were paved, but with huge potholes:
About 80 miles in and across the Yukon River there is a small place called Yukon River Camp where you can get gas and there is a tiny BLM office across the road from it. The gas is VERU expensive, but I needed some.
On the way back I ate there and they have an excellent Salmon Bahn Mi sandwich- soooo good!
I was pretty tired by now so I camped at a site about 4 miles away from the Yukon River. It had potable water, pit toilets, picnic tables and a fire ring and a magnificent view. Was free too! :
When I got up I only had 60 miles to go to the Arctic Circle- the road was really pot holes so you have to dance around them and also all the time on the Dalton you need to be able to move over for the Haul Road Truckers- every time you come to a blind rise or corner you need to slow up and move righ in case one of them is coming around the corner so there is a high premium on paying attention. And the Pipeline runs alongside the road in many place- the road and the pipeline are pretty amazing technological achievements, Man goes wherever he wants!
After about an hour I ran into dense fog. I stopped at a photo op overlook to see if it would lift- one of the truckers had been killed in a fog just last Friday, she was the only woman who drove and had been working driving it for 13 years. If fog could cause someone with that many years experience to make a mistake, I was for sure going to respect it.
Because of the fog you could barely even see the Finger Mountain Viewpoint let alone a "View". Too bad I bet it was beautiful!
After about an hour or so I with no sign of the fog lifting I decided to head out cautiously and ten minutes later I descended under the fog. A group of three vehicles with 'AlCan 5000' on their sides passed me and honked a hello and twenty minutes later I was at The Arctic Circle pull out. I'd made it!
There is a campground there, but I elected to head back to Fairbanks while the weather was still pretty good. On the way back I stopped at the little BLM station at the Yukon River and a nice volunteer named Bob who had retired from the BLM stamped and presented me with an Arctic Circle Certificate.
Yea!
Eighty miles back on the Haul Road and then two more hours back to my boondock at the Fairbanks Walmart.
Thanks for looking in!
Also will put a link to my Blog about traveling the Northern part of the Pan American Highway at the end.
It took about two hours to drive the from Fairbanks to the beginning of the Dalton Highway- skies were overcast and some rain was spit and the road from Fairbanks has some construction areas that slow you down a bit at times.When I got to the starting point there was a bicyclist named Benji who'd ridden from Deadhorse and soon after two blokes from Australia showed up who are driving an all electric vehicle they are charging mostly with solar panels. pics:
I left them behind and started up the Dalton- it was graded dirt and not too bad really for many miles, but I still kept it slow not wanting to change a tire or suffer a breakdown up here. If you need a tow there is a $1,000 surcharge over and above the mileage fee!
Here's the road:
and parts were paved, but with huge potholes:
About 80 miles in and across the Yukon River there is a small place called Yukon River Camp where you can get gas and there is a tiny BLM office across the road from it. The gas is VERU expensive, but I needed some.
On the way back I ate there and they have an excellent Salmon Bahn Mi sandwich- soooo good!
I was pretty tired by now so I camped at a site about 4 miles away from the Yukon River. It had potable water, pit toilets, picnic tables and a fire ring and a magnificent view. Was free too! :
When I got up I only had 60 miles to go to the Arctic Circle- the road was really pot holes so you have to dance around them and also all the time on the Dalton you need to be able to move over for the Haul Road Truckers- every time you come to a blind rise or corner you need to slow up and move righ in case one of them is coming around the corner so there is a high premium on paying attention. And the Pipeline runs alongside the road in many place- the road and the pipeline are pretty amazing technological achievements, Man goes wherever he wants!
After about an hour I ran into dense fog. I stopped at a photo op overlook to see if it would lift- one of the truckers had been killed in a fog just last Friday, she was the only woman who drove and had been working driving it for 13 years. If fog could cause someone with that many years experience to make a mistake, I was for sure going to respect it.
Because of the fog you could barely even see the Finger Mountain Viewpoint let alone a "View". Too bad I bet it was beautiful!
After about an hour or so I with no sign of the fog lifting I decided to head out cautiously and ten minutes later I descended under the fog. A group of three vehicles with 'AlCan 5000' on their sides passed me and honked a hello and twenty minutes later I was at The Arctic Circle pull out. I'd made it!
There is a campground there, but I elected to head back to Fairbanks while the weather was still pretty good. On the way back I stopped at the little BLM station at the Yukon River and a nice volunteer named Bob who had retired from the BLM stamped and presented me with an Arctic Circle Certificate.
Yea!
Eighty miles back on the Haul Road and then two more hours back to my boondock at the Fairbanks Walmart.
Thanks for looking in!
