Roll Call Alaska 2013

PA12DRVR wrote:
My personal guess (and it's no more than that) is the Alaska and Northern Canada are going to have a late spring that looks like:

- Usual temperatures to be expected by late May/early June; BUT
- Since those temps are late in arriving, much wetter and "earlier" in the greening season; leading to
- Muddier roads where there are dirt roads;
- More snowpack at higher elevations (depending on the snowpack that accumulated)
- Higher creeks and bigger swamps than usual well into July
- More bugs than the past several years at least during tourist season

Again...just a guess, but FWIW, my first ATV trip to the cabin is always on or before May 10....typically on wheels but this year, it will have to be on tracks since we still have substantial snowpack in the North-facing parts of the cabin trail.

Much obliged PA12DRVR and Sue T, for the info on a very late spring , breakup, and runoff ! The potential damage to some of the roads we will be using from melting snow pack runoff was defiantly in my thoughts as to when the best time would be to venture forth on this journey. Having spent several years with highway departments in Colorado and Wyoming , I have seen all too often roads washed out and made impassible for days due to an ample winter pack running full boar when the temperature finally goes up and melting it in a hurry.
I know most of the route has been paved except between Dawson City ,over the top toward Tok. But rushing water can take out paved roads too. Camped in the road two or three days waiting for the heavy equipment to put a temp. detour in "after" the water goes down could get old. Was planing to roll out the morning of 9 June, but will now keep watching whats going on with the weather in the Northwest "Yukon and Alaska" and may postpone roll out two or three weeks. Have not made any reservations for anything so is no problem to do so.:)
Just saying.