2014 Alaska Trip Lessons/Info
We are back in the lower 48 after a summer trip to Alaska. We left Indiana just before Memorial Day and we were back across the border right before Labor Day. We traveled with a 37 foot 5th wheel and a dually truck. We have a 62 gal fuel tank. Thought I would share some of the things we encountered and experienced in the hope that it helps others if deciding to go to Alaska. Keep in mind that this is our opinion and experience. Others may have experienced other things.
- Take stacks of money.
- If you think about the cost of fuel, it will make you cry. Diesel is very expensive in Canada and can be in Alaska. It was $4.74 in Valdez, $5.10 in Cantwell, $4.44 in Seward.
- The roads were incredibly bad in places. We have a Moryde IS suspension and we had things move around that had never moved before. If you have a rear kitchen, it may be problematic. We crept over bad sections/construction zones and still had trouble with things shifting. Construction was worse on our return south.
- Frost heaves/broken pavement are only marked on good road. You have to become adept at looking for the bad sections so you can slow down.
- There are some steep grades and narrow roads.
- The Milepost is an invaluable tool.
- Our GPS would occasionally go insane. Most common was "Make a u-turn and then an immediate left" and once it even said "Go Thata way."
- Campgrounds are not that good and pretty expensive. If you want full hookups you are going to be slide to slide with your neighbor and it is just going to be a gravel parking lot with 30 amp. We stayed in a variety of campgrounds, the best being a USFS campground and it was the only paved site we had the entire trip. We only made reservations twice the entire trip and dry camped about 1/3 of the time.
- Dining out is very expensive and we found the food to not be very good. We were also unwilling to pay $40-$50 per person for a meal. Portions are usually huge though.
- Homer was our favorite place followed by Valdez and Denali National Park.
- We met some really nice people and one couple will be life long friends.
- Most of our wildlife sitings were in Canada. Black bears in BC and grizzlies in the Yukon. We only saw one bear in Alaska other than in Denali. There is lots of opportunity to see a wide variety of wildlife.
It was a spectacular journey and we are already planning on our return. It is truly an adventure. Would be happy to answer questions or provide additional information.
- Take stacks of money.
- If you think about the cost of fuel, it will make you cry. Diesel is very expensive in Canada and can be in Alaska. It was $4.74 in Valdez, $5.10 in Cantwell, $4.44 in Seward.
- The roads were incredibly bad in places. We have a Moryde IS suspension and we had things move around that had never moved before. If you have a rear kitchen, it may be problematic. We crept over bad sections/construction zones and still had trouble with things shifting. Construction was worse on our return south.
- Frost heaves/broken pavement are only marked on good road. You have to become adept at looking for the bad sections so you can slow down.
- There are some steep grades and narrow roads.
- The Milepost is an invaluable tool.
- Our GPS would occasionally go insane. Most common was "Make a u-turn and then an immediate left" and once it even said "Go Thata way."
- Campgrounds are not that good and pretty expensive. If you want full hookups you are going to be slide to slide with your neighbor and it is just going to be a gravel parking lot with 30 amp. We stayed in a variety of campgrounds, the best being a USFS campground and it was the only paved site we had the entire trip. We only made reservations twice the entire trip and dry camped about 1/3 of the time.
- Dining out is very expensive and we found the food to not be very good. We were also unwilling to pay $40-$50 per person for a meal. Portions are usually huge though.
- Homer was our favorite place followed by Valdez and Denali National Park.
- We met some really nice people and one couple will be life long friends.
- Most of our wildlife sitings were in Canada. Black bears in BC and grizzlies in the Yukon. We only saw one bear in Alaska other than in Denali. There is lots of opportunity to see a wide variety of wildlife.
It was a spectacular journey and we are already planning on our return. It is truly an adventure. Would be happy to answer questions or provide additional information.
