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North Star Trek - Captain’s Log – A Winter Exodus
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Nov-05-2013 05:14 AM
One year ago - three weeks from tomorrow, we left Alaska and wrote the following posts in email messages to friends and family. We'd like to share the story and experience with you all here and now in the Alaska/Canada Forum. Today we offer the Introduction and first chapter called Final Preparations. Tomorrow we'll continue with travel day one, then each day a new chapter until we wrap up 10 days of travel and an "Afterward" covering final thoughts and logistics of the trip. We hope you enjoy our North Star Trek - Captain's Log - A Winter Exodus.
INTRODUCTION
In early November 2009, Dave and Ruth left their home in Wyoming (WY) for a new life, albeit temporary, in Fairbanks, Alaska (AK). Dave was to finish his career with this job move, perhaps spending as little as one year, maybe as long as three or more; and with such a move there’s always the chance of permanency.
Three years later, his career completed, they decide to move back home. They’ll be back amongst family, including their two adult age children and four grandchildren. And they’ll finally get to enjoy the fruits of their labors by really living in their Wyoming home, a place they’ve been building and remodeling for the past two decades and had only recently brought to an almost finished state before this move, and a previous one-year move to the Washington DC area in 2007 and 2008.
What follows is a humorous accounting of their winter exodus out of Alaska, three years and three weeks after the original trip there. The story was originally told in a series of email messages to their friends and family, in what Dave had styled as “Daily Captain’s Logs”.
Leaving Fairbanks, AK on November 27, 2012, they pick up the Alaska Highway – also called the ALCAN – in Big Delta. From there they drive the ALCAN’s 1373 miles along Alaska’s eastern interior, through Canada’s Yukon Territory (YT) and into British Columbia (BC), to Dawson Creek. From there they take what is know as the East Access Route through Canada’s Alberta (AB) province, reentering the United States in Montana (MT) and finally into Wyoming (WY).
In this work, the email messages have been edited and rewritten in a book format for the general reader. The entire trip is over 2800 miles and takes them 10 days. They are both drivers of two vehicles, including a trailer holding a third vehicle – their beloved 1954 Willys Jeep CJ3B - and their household goods. The trip includes plans to camp along the way, in an effort to control lodging and dining expenses, and to provide adventure.
Dave is driving a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 four-wheel drive pickup with a 5.9 liter Cummins Turbo-Diesel engine and the 48RE automatic transmission, outfitted with a 2003 Starcraft Lonestar pop-up slide-in truck camper, and pulling an 2009 Interstate 20’ tandem axle enclosed car-hauler/cargo trailer. Altogether the outfit weighs 20,000 lbs. Yes, Dave is pretty amazing!
Ruth is driving her smiley-face-yellow 2000 Jeep Cherokee with the venerable 4.0 liter inline six-cylinder engine and automatic transmission with the Selec-Trac transfer case, which offers both full or part-time four-wheel drive as road conditions dictate. It is packed full. Ruth is alacritous!
Enjoy the story as you travel along with Dave and Ruth in this North Star Trek, a winter exodus.
CAPTAIN’S LOG - FINAL PREPARATIONS
North Star Date: 11/26/2012
Location or Route: Fairbanks, AK
Travel Miles: 2823 - Proposed Trip Total
Weather Conditions: Cold. Tonight’s overnight temperatures are forecast to be around -25F/-32C. Skies are clear and there is no expected wind or precipitation.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare and dry for the initial and latter sections; snow and ice packed throughout the majority of mid-route.
9:11 PM (-20F/-29C)
Our preparations are nearly complete. We disassembled the rocker-recliners last night and loaded them into Ruth’s car. Since then we have been sitting on camp chairs. The minimally remaining household goods are still to be loaded out. We have the trailer out of the storage lot and parked outside here at the apartment complex. Ruth has the food and water stores in various staged locations throughout the apartment. In the morning I’ll install the portable CB radios and rooftop antennas, load out the camera bags and mobile devices and the electronic equipment will be ready to go. The trailer is close to maxed out in both space and gross weight. Here’s hoping all 325 of the truck’s horses stay healthy and well fed or we may well end up having to discard some of our possessions along the trail.
A cold air mass in the form of a surface high pressure system is sinking south from northern Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories. Forecast weather charts indicate it will move over our route and remain in place, perhaps for the next several days, pushing up against the coastal mountain ranges south of the Alaska Highway. Therefore, our route should remain clear and cold. That’s at least favorable for driving and scenery – we should have some magnificent photo opportunities – but with nighttime lows possibly into the -25 to -35 degree range, a whole new definition begins to emerge for the phrase “winter camping”!
Some nervousness has started to set in. Yes, we have two cars, so if there is trouble with one, having a spare vehicle is much better than just having a spare tire. But a major vehicular problem in the winter wilderness of Alaska or Yukon Territory presents its own unique concerns and challenges. Extreme cold is very hard on machinery and because while living in Alaska we haven’t had to depend on Ruth’s car as a daily driver, when it got to -15 or below we would just leave it parked. So it’s never been outfitted with: block heater, battery heater, engine and transmission oil pan heaters. Even so, it’s a good, dependable car and the truck is also in good condition and does have the above mention heaters. At those times when electrical plug-in is unavailable we can use the remote-start every few hours if necessary to keep the truck’s life-giving fluids from getting too cold.
Cold temperature stress on the trailer’s running gear is one of our greater concerns. We adjusted the trailer brakes and greased the wheel bearings in late Fall (August), and we have in our supplies an extra set of wheel bearings, races and seal, just in case one wheel suffers a failure.
We have a full set of tire chains for the truck, but none for the trailer – which theoretically might be helpful on a steep downhill run to prevent jack-knifing. And, we don’t need chains for Ruth’s mountain-goat-of-a-Jeep. Actually, we really don’t expect to need chains at all, what with the expected storm-free weather under this frigid arctic air-mass, a condition which typically only provides additional frozen precipitation accumulation on road surfaces in the form of a thin layer of ice crystals, and because I don’t usually chain-up until after I need them, and by then it’s too late and unnecessary.
Tonight we’ll get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow morning we’ll turn to a southeasterly heading from our “furthest north” abode. The condition called retirement, and the life changes associated with it - and of going home - have not yet taken up much of our mental excesses. Ahead of us we have miles and miles and hours and hours of solo-driving for those thoughts to begin to gel and to take on more definitive shape.
INTRODUCTION
In early November 2009, Dave and Ruth left their home in Wyoming (WY) for a new life, albeit temporary, in Fairbanks, Alaska (AK). Dave was to finish his career with this job move, perhaps spending as little as one year, maybe as long as three or more; and with such a move there’s always the chance of permanency.
Three years later, his career completed, they decide to move back home. They’ll be back amongst family, including their two adult age children and four grandchildren. And they’ll finally get to enjoy the fruits of their labors by really living in their Wyoming home, a place they’ve been building and remodeling for the past two decades and had only recently brought to an almost finished state before this move, and a previous one-year move to the Washington DC area in 2007 and 2008.
What follows is a humorous accounting of their winter exodus out of Alaska, three years and three weeks after the original trip there. The story was originally told in a series of email messages to their friends and family, in what Dave had styled as “Daily Captain’s Logs”.
Leaving Fairbanks, AK on November 27, 2012, they pick up the Alaska Highway – also called the ALCAN – in Big Delta. From there they drive the ALCAN’s 1373 miles along Alaska’s eastern interior, through Canada’s Yukon Territory (YT) and into British Columbia (BC), to Dawson Creek. From there they take what is know as the East Access Route through Canada’s Alberta (AB) province, reentering the United States in Montana (MT) and finally into Wyoming (WY).
In this work, the email messages have been edited and rewritten in a book format for the general reader. The entire trip is over 2800 miles and takes them 10 days. They are both drivers of two vehicles, including a trailer holding a third vehicle – their beloved 1954 Willys Jeep CJ3B - and their household goods. The trip includes plans to camp along the way, in an effort to control lodging and dining expenses, and to provide adventure.
Dave is driving a 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 four-wheel drive pickup with a 5.9 liter Cummins Turbo-Diesel engine and the 48RE automatic transmission, outfitted with a 2003 Starcraft Lonestar pop-up slide-in truck camper, and pulling an 2009 Interstate 20’ tandem axle enclosed car-hauler/cargo trailer. Altogether the outfit weighs 20,000 lbs. Yes, Dave is pretty amazing!
Ruth is driving her smiley-face-yellow 2000 Jeep Cherokee with the venerable 4.0 liter inline six-cylinder engine and automatic transmission with the Selec-Trac transfer case, which offers both full or part-time four-wheel drive as road conditions dictate. It is packed full. Ruth is alacritous!
Enjoy the story as you travel along with Dave and Ruth in this North Star Trek, a winter exodus.
CAPTAIN’S LOG - FINAL PREPARATIONS
North Star Date: 11/26/2012
Location or Route: Fairbanks, AK
Travel Miles: 2823 - Proposed Trip Total
Weather Conditions: Cold. Tonight’s overnight temperatures are forecast to be around -25F/-32C. Skies are clear and there is no expected wind or precipitation.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare and dry for the initial and latter sections; snow and ice packed throughout the majority of mid-route.
9:11 PM (-20F/-29C)
Our preparations are nearly complete. We disassembled the rocker-recliners last night and loaded them into Ruth’s car. Since then we have been sitting on camp chairs. The minimally remaining household goods are still to be loaded out. We have the trailer out of the storage lot and parked outside here at the apartment complex. Ruth has the food and water stores in various staged locations throughout the apartment. In the morning I’ll install the portable CB radios and rooftop antennas, load out the camera bags and mobile devices and the electronic equipment will be ready to go. The trailer is close to maxed out in both space and gross weight. Here’s hoping all 325 of the truck’s horses stay healthy and well fed or we may well end up having to discard some of our possessions along the trail.
A cold air mass in the form of a surface high pressure system is sinking south from northern Alaska and Canada’s Northwest Territories. Forecast weather charts indicate it will move over our route and remain in place, perhaps for the next several days, pushing up against the coastal mountain ranges south of the Alaska Highway. Therefore, our route should remain clear and cold. That’s at least favorable for driving and scenery – we should have some magnificent photo opportunities – but with nighttime lows possibly into the -25 to -35 degree range, a whole new definition begins to emerge for the phrase “winter camping”!
Some nervousness has started to set in. Yes, we have two cars, so if there is trouble with one, having a spare vehicle is much better than just having a spare tire. But a major vehicular problem in the winter wilderness of Alaska or Yukon Territory presents its own unique concerns and challenges. Extreme cold is very hard on machinery and because while living in Alaska we haven’t had to depend on Ruth’s car as a daily driver, when it got to -15 or below we would just leave it parked. So it’s never been outfitted with: block heater, battery heater, engine and transmission oil pan heaters. Even so, it’s a good, dependable car and the truck is also in good condition and does have the above mention heaters. At those times when electrical plug-in is unavailable we can use the remote-start every few hours if necessary to keep the truck’s life-giving fluids from getting too cold.
Cold temperature stress on the trailer’s running gear is one of our greater concerns. We adjusted the trailer brakes and greased the wheel bearings in late Fall (August), and we have in our supplies an extra set of wheel bearings, races and seal, just in case one wheel suffers a failure.
We have a full set of tire chains for the truck, but none for the trailer – which theoretically might be helpful on a steep downhill run to prevent jack-knifing. And, we don’t need chains for Ruth’s mountain-goat-of-a-Jeep. Actually, we really don’t expect to need chains at all, what with the expected storm-free weather under this frigid arctic air-mass, a condition which typically only provides additional frozen precipitation accumulation on road surfaces in the form of a thin layer of ice crystals, and because I don’t usually chain-up until after I need them, and by then it’s too late and unnecessary.
Tonight we’ll get a good night’s sleep and tomorrow morning we’ll turn to a southeasterly heading from our “furthest north” abode. The condition called retirement, and the life changes associated with it - and of going home - have not yet taken up much of our mental excesses. Ahead of us we have miles and miles and hours and hours of solo-driving for those thoughts to begin to gel and to take on more definitive shape.
29 REPLIES 29
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Nov-10-2013 04:39 PM
That's great GarySandra.
When we wrote these email messages last year, tomorrow's forum post was originally on December 2, which kind of aligns with February 2 - Groundhog's day. Pay particular attention to the date I ascribe in the Captain's log. You'll see why.
Even more important, tomorrow's post contains content that is particularly aligned with the fact that tomorrow is Veterans Day. It only dawned on me just now as I was pre-reading and editing tomorrow's post; it was not planned out to fit like this.
I believe whatever drives the universe will show us just such coincidences if we pay attention. I thought it was really cool so decided to mention it. Perhaps after tomorrow's post you will too. 🙂
When we wrote these email messages last year, tomorrow's forum post was originally on December 2, which kind of aligns with February 2 - Groundhog's day. Pay particular attention to the date I ascribe in the Captain's log. You'll see why.
Even more important, tomorrow's post contains content that is particularly aligned with the fact that tomorrow is Veterans Day. It only dawned on me just now as I was pre-reading and editing tomorrow's post; it was not planned out to fit like this.
I believe whatever drives the universe will show us just such coincidences if we pay attention. I thought it was really cool so decided to mention it. Perhaps after tomorrow's post you will too. 🙂
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Nov-10-2013 09:45 AM
Having made five trips to Ak with another planned next year, I have wondered what it would be like to travel in the winter. Sounds like it would be quiet an adventure. I am looking forward to "The rest of the Story"
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Nov-10-2013 04:16 AM
CAPTAIN’S LOG - DAY 5
North Star Date: 12/1/2012
Location or Route: Fort Nelson, BC to Dawson Creek, BC.
Travel Miles: 283 (1464 - Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Overcast with light to moderate snowfall on and off all day.
Road Conditions: Overnight snowfall accumulations of 2-3 inches. Mostly ice and snow packed with some stretches of bare pavement. Mostly plowed and graveled or sanded. Many ground blizzards in moderate snow by tractor trailers and other vehicles causing blinding conditions at times.
Animals Observed: a herd of Caribou, one Mule Deer, and a Sasquatch (Bigfoot).
10:11 AM (-4F/-20C)
Ironically, on my first “official day of retirement” - December 1st - I had to work late in the hotel room and get an article off to the editor. We finally went down to the office for the continental breakfast that the desk clerk had been so proud of last night, promoting it at least eleven times during our check-in.
Lo and behold - there was Dan Aykroyd! You know - Saturday Night Live Dan, of Ghostbusters and “Jane you ignorant strut” fame? He must own this hotel! I had forgotten he was Canadian until Ruth mentioned it. Yeah, he was on the telephone talking business to a woman named Jane, when we came in to get our breakfast cereal and teensy-tiny ham, cheese, egg and biscuit sandwiches and pineapple-zucchini muffins. No fresh fruit? Must have fresh fruit!
While we ate, Dan’s business call got louder and louder and went from initially very pleasant and controlled to angrier and angrier saying such things as, “Jane, if she doesn’t like our work she can just get somebody else!” and “She wanted all white cabinets and we decided a little black smear in from the edges would be nice!” and “Well, she wants perfection, and if she wants us to come in and fix it now then TOUGH TITTY!” - and milk just about came out of Ruth’s nose.
I’m looking around in a bit of amused shock and Ruth has her eyes closed in concentration, exercising extreme control trying to keep from laughing out loud, and the desk clerk and continental breakfast lady are wandering around picking up things and wiping off counters and stuff, acting all nervous and apologizing to Ruth and me for Dan’s outburst like it happens all the time and they were expecting it or something.
It had been many years since we’d heard the expression, “tough titty”, and it was so comical, used seriously by a grown man in that cute little Canadian accent that Dan used on Saturday Night Live.
We have to side with the client this time, because we think this guy was the same master-craftsman who installed the kitchenette cabinets we found in our room.
(Disclaimer: The hotel and staff were wonderfully accommodating. Rates were reasonable and we would definitely stay here again. The events described above are for purposes of humorous writing but pretty much happened exactly as stated.)
11:11 AM (-4F/-20C)
Five minutes out of Fort Nelson - flashing highway sign reads BLOWING SNOW – LIMITED VISIBILITY – SEVERE WINTER CONDITIONS AHEAD. “Oh Fuuuuuuudge!”
12:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
Road conditions pretty good so far, even boring - monotonous. Waylon Jennings makes for some good road music.
1:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
Road conditions still good, still monotonous, but – we did see a tractor trailer rig down in the oncoming lane’s barrow-pit nestled in about three feet of snow, so that was cool. Yeah, he’ll be there ‘til spring; couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. AC/DC makes for some good road music.
2:11 PM (-7F/-22C)
Road conditions are still good, not so boring at times. Saw where a snow-plow truck had taken a corner too sharp and dropped his right rear tires off the edge of the road surface. He tilted nose-up at a precarious angle with the left side of the plow pointed heavenward. I couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. Traveling Wilburys makes for some good road music.
3:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
Road conditions worsening in places. Ruth’s CB radio batteries finally died. I’ve taken to communicating with her using my headlights flashing simple messages in Morse code. At first it was kind of hard, and a bit confusing. It’s surprising just how long it takes to flash out, “Breaker one nine sweet chil’ ‘o mine you got a bubba with a big white trailer”.
She caught right on however, and soon was tapping out “10-4 Good Buddy” with her brake lights in record time and with limited errors. Everything was going fine until I misunderstood her message “Gas” as needing a potty-stop when what she really meant was she needed to refuel her Jeep. I can’t seem to get her attention now. Michael Martin Murphey makes for some good road music.
4:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
We just refueled in Fort St. John. It was dark now and we pulled out of town for an expected easy 47 miles to Dawson Creek. While stopped I put fresh batteries in Ruth’s CB radio; she’s talking to me again.
5:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
Just outside of town we came to more flashing highway signs about “steep grades” and “mandatory chain-up” for combinations of five axles or more. I counted mine: one, two, three and four. Whew! That was close – I HATE chaining up; that’s probably the worst thing about carrying chains!
The chain-up staging area was filled with rigs and cars of all kinds. You could see a line of headlights coming down the steep hill and another line of tail-lights going up. Some were military youngsters on their own Alaska exodus and you could tell these by how they would weave in and out of the other traffic.
The situation looked eerily similar to the miner’s trail over Chilkoot Pass above Skagway during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898! I was also reminded of an amusement park ride where the sign says, “You Must Be This Tall To Ride”, except in this case it would have been a limbo-bar that read ,”If You Can’t Go THIS Low – You MUST Chain-Up”!
So in the spirit of C.W. McCall, I “put down my bottle and mashed my foot down on the throttle” and from a standstill, began the trip up that hill.
I have two greatest worries about this trip, please don’t tell Ruth. Both have to do with the fact that I’m cheap.
1. My two diesel truck batteries are nearing the end of their life-cycle. I didn’t want to pay Fairbanks (or Canada) prices for batteries when these still appear to be perfectly adequate and lower 48 prices are easier to take. I wouldn’t have even considered that gamble if we didn’t have two cars.
2. My truck tires were new when we came up here and are now three years older. Any experienced winter driver knows new rubber is always more grippy than used rubber. I have adequate tread, but just barely.
Since departing Fairbanks and needing that battery jump in Whitehorse, I have seriously questioned my decision to put off buying new batteries, but too bad - so sad!
Now however, I am seriously thinking about kicking my own smash for such tire-buying stupidity in the face of this hill! Ruth goes ahead and I take a position at the back door.
We start out good enough; the grade says 8%, but it sure seems worse than those 8%’s we came down earlier today. The road is fairly well sanded (yes, we’re into less gravel and more sand now), but due to chain use and lots of traffic the snow pack is somewhat loose and I’m concerned about breaking traction.
The Cummins turbo-diesel pumps out gobs of torque (610 foot pounds) and muscle (345 horsepower). Dodge had sucky automatic transmissions for many years, but the newly designed 48RE installed in my 2006 is awesome! The shift-points in the “Tow/Haul” setting are perfect, and it is very strong. As the engine speed holds at about 2200 RPM, the 10,000 lb. truck and camper combination drags that 10,000 lbs. of cargo-trailer kicking and screaming up the slope. Speed about 25 mph, doing fine, now hold her steady. I flash out “give me room - don’t hold me back” in Morse code over the headlights.
There are only two sets of headlights behind me. What’s that now, the road steepens? RPM holds steady but speed falls off, down to 20 mph - now down to 15. Don’t break traction, don’t break traction. Why is the speed less but the RPM the same? Is the tranny fluid too hot? Wish I had a temperature gauge for that. Oh great – am I going to burn out this transmission?
Damn you Spike! Why did I ever listen to you and bring Lil’ Willy on this trip? Why did we haul all those damn family photos and kid’s school art projects all this way if we weren’t going to do anything with them but haul them all back! Why did I have to buy that EXTRA utility trailer? Why – Oh Why was I so stupid? Don’t break traction, don’t break traction!
(Informational: Spike is my friend who said bringing Lil’ Willy to Fairbanks was a good plan because there are great trails all over the area to go four-wheeling. Lil’ Willy is our 1954 CJ3B Willys Jeep and the extra utility trailer was purchased in Alaska as a souvenir to be pulled behind Lil’ Willy - both of which are inside the cargo-trailer along with our household goods and all the other heavy items mentioned above.)
Just a little further - I think I see the top. Where is Ruth? Is that a Care Bear? Oh My Gosh it was just an illusion - there’s a whole ‘nuther hill ahead - and look at those big trucks coming down! From behind, headlight 1 and headlight 2 fly around me and quickly dart in front before the downhill traffic hits them! I swerve to miss them. Military Youngsters, damn you!
What’s that warm feeling? Did I turn on the heated seat? No time to check – keep your eyes on the road. How are the gauges, I wish I had a transmission oil-temperature gauge, don’t break traction. That’s a pretty warm feeling.
About four hours later we reached the top. I wanted to pull over and cool the transmission, but Ruth was ready to fly, “C’mon slow-poke” she flashed over her brake lights. I got on the radio and said “Hunny, do you know where we packed my brown pants”? “Don’t worry about it” she replied, “it’s dark and I’ll walk behind”. So I’ve got that going for me - which is good.
Day 5 Pics
North Star Date: 12/1/2012
Location or Route: Fort Nelson, BC to Dawson Creek, BC.
Travel Miles: 283 (1464 - Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Overcast with light to moderate snowfall on and off all day.
Road Conditions: Overnight snowfall accumulations of 2-3 inches. Mostly ice and snow packed with some stretches of bare pavement. Mostly plowed and graveled or sanded. Many ground blizzards in moderate snow by tractor trailers and other vehicles causing blinding conditions at times.
Animals Observed: a herd of Caribou, one Mule Deer, and a Sasquatch (Bigfoot).
10:11 AM (-4F/-20C)
Ironically, on my first “official day of retirement” - December 1st - I had to work late in the hotel room and get an article off to the editor. We finally went down to the office for the continental breakfast that the desk clerk had been so proud of last night, promoting it at least eleven times during our check-in.
Lo and behold - there was Dan Aykroyd! You know - Saturday Night Live Dan, of Ghostbusters and “Jane you ignorant strut” fame? He must own this hotel! I had forgotten he was Canadian until Ruth mentioned it. Yeah, he was on the telephone talking business to a woman named Jane, when we came in to get our breakfast cereal and teensy-tiny ham, cheese, egg and biscuit sandwiches and pineapple-zucchini muffins. No fresh fruit? Must have fresh fruit!
While we ate, Dan’s business call got louder and louder and went from initially very pleasant and controlled to angrier and angrier saying such things as, “Jane, if she doesn’t like our work she can just get somebody else!” and “She wanted all white cabinets and we decided a little black smear in from the edges would be nice!” and “Well, she wants perfection, and if she wants us to come in and fix it now then TOUGH TITTY!” - and milk just about came out of Ruth’s nose.
I’m looking around in a bit of amused shock and Ruth has her eyes closed in concentration, exercising extreme control trying to keep from laughing out loud, and the desk clerk and continental breakfast lady are wandering around picking up things and wiping off counters and stuff, acting all nervous and apologizing to Ruth and me for Dan’s outburst like it happens all the time and they were expecting it or something.
It had been many years since we’d heard the expression, “tough titty”, and it was so comical, used seriously by a grown man in that cute little Canadian accent that Dan used on Saturday Night Live.
We have to side with the client this time, because we think this guy was the same master-craftsman who installed the kitchenette cabinets we found in our room.
(Disclaimer: The hotel and staff were wonderfully accommodating. Rates were reasonable and we would definitely stay here again. The events described above are for purposes of humorous writing but pretty much happened exactly as stated.)
11:11 AM (-4F/-20C)
Five minutes out of Fort Nelson - flashing highway sign reads BLOWING SNOW – LIMITED VISIBILITY – SEVERE WINTER CONDITIONS AHEAD. “Oh Fuuuuuuudge!”
12:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
Road conditions pretty good so far, even boring - monotonous. Waylon Jennings makes for some good road music.
1:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
Road conditions still good, still monotonous, but – we did see a tractor trailer rig down in the oncoming lane’s barrow-pit nestled in about three feet of snow, so that was cool. Yeah, he’ll be there ‘til spring; couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. AC/DC makes for some good road music.
2:11 PM (-7F/-22C)
Road conditions are still good, not so boring at times. Saw where a snow-plow truck had taken a corner too sharp and dropped his right rear tires off the edge of the road surface. He tilted nose-up at a precarious angle with the left side of the plow pointed heavenward. I couldn’t grab the camera fast enough. Traveling Wilburys makes for some good road music.
3:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
Road conditions worsening in places. Ruth’s CB radio batteries finally died. I’ve taken to communicating with her using my headlights flashing simple messages in Morse code. At first it was kind of hard, and a bit confusing. It’s surprising just how long it takes to flash out, “Breaker one nine sweet chil’ ‘o mine you got a bubba with a big white trailer”.
She caught right on however, and soon was tapping out “10-4 Good Buddy” with her brake lights in record time and with limited errors. Everything was going fine until I misunderstood her message “Gas” as needing a potty-stop when what she really meant was she needed to refuel her Jeep. I can’t seem to get her attention now. Michael Martin Murphey makes for some good road music.
4:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
We just refueled in Fort St. John. It was dark now and we pulled out of town for an expected easy 47 miles to Dawson Creek. While stopped I put fresh batteries in Ruth’s CB radio; she’s talking to me again.
5:11 PM (-5F/-21C)
Just outside of town we came to more flashing highway signs about “steep grades” and “mandatory chain-up” for combinations of five axles or more. I counted mine: one, two, three and four. Whew! That was close – I HATE chaining up; that’s probably the worst thing about carrying chains!
The chain-up staging area was filled with rigs and cars of all kinds. You could see a line of headlights coming down the steep hill and another line of tail-lights going up. Some were military youngsters on their own Alaska exodus and you could tell these by how they would weave in and out of the other traffic.
The situation looked eerily similar to the miner’s trail over Chilkoot Pass above Skagway during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898! I was also reminded of an amusement park ride where the sign says, “You Must Be This Tall To Ride”, except in this case it would have been a limbo-bar that read ,”If You Can’t Go THIS Low – You MUST Chain-Up”!
So in the spirit of C.W. McCall, I “put down my bottle and mashed my foot down on the throttle” and from a standstill, began the trip up that hill.
I have two greatest worries about this trip, please don’t tell Ruth. Both have to do with the fact that I’m cheap.
1. My two diesel truck batteries are nearing the end of their life-cycle. I didn’t want to pay Fairbanks (or Canada) prices for batteries when these still appear to be perfectly adequate and lower 48 prices are easier to take. I wouldn’t have even considered that gamble if we didn’t have two cars.
2. My truck tires were new when we came up here and are now three years older. Any experienced winter driver knows new rubber is always more grippy than used rubber. I have adequate tread, but just barely.
Since departing Fairbanks and needing that battery jump in Whitehorse, I have seriously questioned my decision to put off buying new batteries, but too bad - so sad!
Now however, I am seriously thinking about kicking my own smash for such tire-buying stupidity in the face of this hill! Ruth goes ahead and I take a position at the back door.
We start out good enough; the grade says 8%, but it sure seems worse than those 8%’s we came down earlier today. The road is fairly well sanded (yes, we’re into less gravel and more sand now), but due to chain use and lots of traffic the snow pack is somewhat loose and I’m concerned about breaking traction.
The Cummins turbo-diesel pumps out gobs of torque (610 foot pounds) and muscle (345 horsepower). Dodge had sucky automatic transmissions for many years, but the newly designed 48RE installed in my 2006 is awesome! The shift-points in the “Tow/Haul” setting are perfect, and it is very strong. As the engine speed holds at about 2200 RPM, the 10,000 lb. truck and camper combination drags that 10,000 lbs. of cargo-trailer kicking and screaming up the slope. Speed about 25 mph, doing fine, now hold her steady. I flash out “give me room - don’t hold me back” in Morse code over the headlights.
There are only two sets of headlights behind me. What’s that now, the road steepens? RPM holds steady but speed falls off, down to 20 mph - now down to 15. Don’t break traction, don’t break traction. Why is the speed less but the RPM the same? Is the tranny fluid too hot? Wish I had a temperature gauge for that. Oh great – am I going to burn out this transmission?
Damn you Spike! Why did I ever listen to you and bring Lil’ Willy on this trip? Why did we haul all those damn family photos and kid’s school art projects all this way if we weren’t going to do anything with them but haul them all back! Why did I have to buy that EXTRA utility trailer? Why – Oh Why was I so stupid? Don’t break traction, don’t break traction!
(Informational: Spike is my friend who said bringing Lil’ Willy to Fairbanks was a good plan because there are great trails all over the area to go four-wheeling. Lil’ Willy is our 1954 CJ3B Willys Jeep and the extra utility trailer was purchased in Alaska as a souvenir to be pulled behind Lil’ Willy - both of which are inside the cargo-trailer along with our household goods and all the other heavy items mentioned above.)
Just a little further - I think I see the top. Where is Ruth? Is that a Care Bear? Oh My Gosh it was just an illusion - there’s a whole ‘nuther hill ahead - and look at those big trucks coming down! From behind, headlight 1 and headlight 2 fly around me and quickly dart in front before the downhill traffic hits them! I swerve to miss them. Military Youngsters, damn you!
What’s that warm feeling? Did I turn on the heated seat? No time to check – keep your eyes on the road. How are the gauges, I wish I had a transmission oil-temperature gauge, don’t break traction. That’s a pretty warm feeling.
About four hours later we reached the top. I wanted to pull over and cool the transmission, but Ruth was ready to fly, “C’mon slow-poke” she flashed over her brake lights. I got on the radio and said “Hunny, do you know where we packed my brown pants”? “Don’t worry about it” she replied, “it’s dark and I’ll walk behind”. So I’ve got that going for me - which is good.
Day 5 Pics
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Nov-09-2013 03:24 AM
CAPTAIN’S LOG - DAY 4
North Star Date: 11/30/2012
Location or Route: Watson Lake, YT to Fort Nelson, BC.
Travel Miles: 319 (1181 Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Overcast skies with light snowfall on and off all day. Very windy over the mountains at times, especially in the vicinity of Liard Hot Springs and Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
Road Conditions: Overnight we had 1 to 2 inches of snowfall accumulate on road surfaces. Throughout the day, mostly ice and snow packed with some stretches of patchy bare pavement. Half and half mix of plowed and unplowed on the fresh snow fall areas. Some areas without gravel (in the north it’s graveled, not sanded, and it’s snow machine not snow mobile, but we don’t have time to talk about that right now), but most areas were graveled, especially on grades where the extra traction was needed.
Animals Observed: Many bison, a fox, a herd of wild horses, many caribou, one cow elk near Fort Nelson at dusk – are elk this far north?
7:11 AM (-15F/-26C)
Looking out the second floor hotel window we can see our vehicles parked nose to nose; it’s so cute. Apparently they slept well throughout the night, all plugged in and comfortable and under the watchful eye of the hotel attendant on the security monitors. Using the remote, we watched as the truck started without incident. There will be no jumping vehicles this morning - so we got that going for us - which is good.
We did some stretching in the hotel room and then made our way downstairs for breakfast. Snow is falling.
8:11 AM (-11F/-24C)
We pulled out of the hotel parking lot and took the short drive over to see “Signpost Forrest”. That’s a place where people from all over come to hang stolen signs of all kinds on posts and on structures in a kind of domestic tribute garden to themselves.
We easily located our Wyoming license plates, which we had hung on a small structure on the north perimeter during our trip here in 2009; CJ3B for me and Lil’ Willy, and SMYL for Ruth and her smiley-face-yellow Jeep. Ruth was pleased to see nobody had removed them to make space for their own. She didn’t know that when I hung them I had attached a mattress tag to each, stating penalties under the law for their removal. I keep several of these tags available for just such use; you too should consider it - just don’t get caught removing one.
8:39 AM (-11F/-24C)
Because we had already fueled the vehicles last night, we were able to get right onto the highway leaving Watson Lake and headed southeast bound toward our planned destination for today - Fort Nelson, BC.
Speaking of compass directions, you recall yesterday we talked about the truck’s potentially inaccurate outside air temperature reading of -40. At the same time, the computer display for the compass was reading “N” for North. It appears likely that heading north may have been the cause of the bitterly cold temperatures we’ve been experiencing all along!
After resetting the instruments, not only have we noticed the vehicles are now traveling in the correct direction, but we’ve seen a significant increase in temperatures! Today we’ve had a nice comfortable range of 1F to -11F. This illustrates the importance of not relying too much on electronic technology. If we had checked our course earlier against a magnetic compass, we may have been able to shave off a day or so from our overall travel time.
It’s just shocking what effect an inaccurate gauge can have on temperatures in the atmosphere! Maybe when we get home we’ll mention that to the scientists, in the event they haven’t considered this possibility regarding the global warming issue. And, if we bring the irregularity to the attention of the Dodge engineers, along with the over-optimistic mileage figures the computer always provides, and the fact that the GPS map ends just north of Edmonton (two things we discovered on the way up here three years ago), maybe they’ll show their gratitude by giving us a new truck!
(Disclaimer: The temperatures previously reported have been accurate and obtained from multiple sources, not simple reliance on inaccurate truck computer displays. The imbecilic comments made above are solely for the purposes of making a joke.)
11:11 AM (-7F/-22C)
Over the past several miles we have shillyshallied back and forth numerous times across the Yukon and British Columbia dividing boundary. Now, we just traversed it to the south for the last time. We won’t be seeing Yukon Territory again. So long old friend!
12:11 PM (1F/-17C)
We are 35 miles from Liard River Hot Springs (pronounced Lee-Ard). Up ‘til today, we’ve had no desire to don bathing suits and get wet in these extreme temperatures, but now it is an almost balmy one degree above zero Fahrenheit! I radioed ahead for Ruth to consider a break from our weary travels and to take the half-mile walk in the wind to the springs for a relaxing warm bath - not forgetting about the open-air changing rooms and how our feet froze to the concrete floor during our first experience with this place three years ago. We are not yet “home, home on the range”, so I guess I shouldn’t dwell too much on trying to coach Ruth against uttering discouraging words. Besides, the FCC can’t fine you if they can’t find you. “10-4 good buddy, over and out”!
1:21 PM (0F/-18C)
Oh my gosh, I made it back to the truck; that was probably the scariest time of my life! We had just pulled into the Liard Hot Springs parking lot and before taking the half-mile hike over for a soak, I wanted to see if the camper furnace would light.
Because of the gusty winds, I radioed for Ruth to sit tight in her car and I made my way around the back side of the truck. I had my faithful butane barbecue lighter tight against my chest on an inside coat pocket next to my water bottle and toothpaste.
Just as I was preparing to reach up and release the back roof-latches on the camper and swing open the door, the wind picked up and plastered me spread-eagle across the back wall of the camper.
Increasing in intensity, it just wouldn’t let up and I found myself unable to move. Flattened as I was against the frigid aluminum, I fought hard to stay conscious as I felt the heat slowly drain out of my body.
How long I remained there, pressed up against that malevolent RV I don’t know; I was drifting in and out of consciousness. At one point I thought I saw the Care-Bears. Would Ruth sit tight – or would she come to my rescue?
After what must have been many hours I thought I could hear my name being shouted out over the howl of the wind. “Wha? What is that?” I murmured. It was Ruth! My Angel! When I hadn’t returned after a few minutes she had come to my rescue!
She’d tied one end of the 50’ extension cord around her waist and the other end to her car door handle. Fighting her way against the wind, and the cutting shards of ice and wind-hardened snow blasting around her in the blizzard conditions, she made her way inch by inch in the direction she had last seen me go, and where she believed the truck to be.
Upon finally reaching me, she got ahold of the far side of my coat and with her grippy-finger gloves, and a supernatural strength - brought on at times like these - she pried me off the camper surface against the force of the wind. We both tumbled onto the protected side of the truck and camper. Then she hoisted my 225 lbs. of almost-dead weight up into the truck, turned on the heated seat to try and help revive me and then clawed her way back up the extension cord and climbed into the safety of her own vehicle.
After I regained consciousness and the ability to speak, I raised her over the radio. She was sad when I suggested we not take the hike to the hot springs and a warm bath after all. But I was able to convince her we still had a long way to go and we had to make time. Perhaps I will surprise her with a romantic trip to Thermopolis Hot Springs in Wyoming for our anniversary in February.
3:32 PM (-11F/-24C)
Approaching Summit Lake; will these mountains never end? We need to get out of the mountains before dark! It’s been very windy and the roads are winding. They’re also narrow and snow covered and our travel speeds are down to 25 and 30 mph. Some of the grades are steep and the ground blizzards caused by nearby or passing vehicles are causing terrifying periods of whiteout blindness, especially when produced by those evil tractor-trailers! The hours are beginning to wear on us. “Shut Up”! “Don’t talk to me”! “10-4”.
6:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
After driving into cell phone coverage close to Fort Nelson, I called ahead and secured lodging at the Ramada. We fueled up and then found our way to the hotel. We got the vehicles plugged in and the saddles removed and finally relaxed in our room.
This was a hard day, nine hours on difficult mountain roads, the last few hours in the dark. But there are not many winter lodging opportunities between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson, so it had to be done. We are past the most difficult sections of the trip, so we got that going for us - which is good.
Day 4 Pics
North Star Date: 11/30/2012
Location or Route: Watson Lake, YT to Fort Nelson, BC.
Travel Miles: 319 (1181 Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Overcast skies with light snowfall on and off all day. Very windy over the mountains at times, especially in the vicinity of Liard Hot Springs and Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
Road Conditions: Overnight we had 1 to 2 inches of snowfall accumulate on road surfaces. Throughout the day, mostly ice and snow packed with some stretches of patchy bare pavement. Half and half mix of plowed and unplowed on the fresh snow fall areas. Some areas without gravel (in the north it’s graveled, not sanded, and it’s snow machine not snow mobile, but we don’t have time to talk about that right now), but most areas were graveled, especially on grades where the extra traction was needed.
Animals Observed: Many bison, a fox, a herd of wild horses, many caribou, one cow elk near Fort Nelson at dusk – are elk this far north?
7:11 AM (-15F/-26C)
Looking out the second floor hotel window we can see our vehicles parked nose to nose; it’s so cute. Apparently they slept well throughout the night, all plugged in and comfortable and under the watchful eye of the hotel attendant on the security monitors. Using the remote, we watched as the truck started without incident. There will be no jumping vehicles this morning - so we got that going for us - which is good.
We did some stretching in the hotel room and then made our way downstairs for breakfast. Snow is falling.
8:11 AM (-11F/-24C)
We pulled out of the hotel parking lot and took the short drive over to see “Signpost Forrest”. That’s a place where people from all over come to hang stolen signs of all kinds on posts and on structures in a kind of domestic tribute garden to themselves.
We easily located our Wyoming license plates, which we had hung on a small structure on the north perimeter during our trip here in 2009; CJ3B for me and Lil’ Willy, and SMYL for Ruth and her smiley-face-yellow Jeep. Ruth was pleased to see nobody had removed them to make space for their own. She didn’t know that when I hung them I had attached a mattress tag to each, stating penalties under the law for their removal. I keep several of these tags available for just such use; you too should consider it - just don’t get caught removing one.
8:39 AM (-11F/-24C)
Because we had already fueled the vehicles last night, we were able to get right onto the highway leaving Watson Lake and headed southeast bound toward our planned destination for today - Fort Nelson, BC.
Speaking of compass directions, you recall yesterday we talked about the truck’s potentially inaccurate outside air temperature reading of -40. At the same time, the computer display for the compass was reading “N” for North. It appears likely that heading north may have been the cause of the bitterly cold temperatures we’ve been experiencing all along!
After resetting the instruments, not only have we noticed the vehicles are now traveling in the correct direction, but we’ve seen a significant increase in temperatures! Today we’ve had a nice comfortable range of 1F to -11F. This illustrates the importance of not relying too much on electronic technology. If we had checked our course earlier against a magnetic compass, we may have been able to shave off a day or so from our overall travel time.
It’s just shocking what effect an inaccurate gauge can have on temperatures in the atmosphere! Maybe when we get home we’ll mention that to the scientists, in the event they haven’t considered this possibility regarding the global warming issue. And, if we bring the irregularity to the attention of the Dodge engineers, along with the over-optimistic mileage figures the computer always provides, and the fact that the GPS map ends just north of Edmonton (two things we discovered on the way up here three years ago), maybe they’ll show their gratitude by giving us a new truck!
(Disclaimer: The temperatures previously reported have been accurate and obtained from multiple sources, not simple reliance on inaccurate truck computer displays. The imbecilic comments made above are solely for the purposes of making a joke.)
11:11 AM (-7F/-22C)
Over the past several miles we have shillyshallied back and forth numerous times across the Yukon and British Columbia dividing boundary. Now, we just traversed it to the south for the last time. We won’t be seeing Yukon Territory again. So long old friend!
12:11 PM (1F/-17C)
We are 35 miles from Liard River Hot Springs (pronounced Lee-Ard). Up ‘til today, we’ve had no desire to don bathing suits and get wet in these extreme temperatures, but now it is an almost balmy one degree above zero Fahrenheit! I radioed ahead for Ruth to consider a break from our weary travels and to take the half-mile walk in the wind to the springs for a relaxing warm bath - not forgetting about the open-air changing rooms and how our feet froze to the concrete floor during our first experience with this place three years ago. We are not yet “home, home on the range”, so I guess I shouldn’t dwell too much on trying to coach Ruth against uttering discouraging words. Besides, the FCC can’t fine you if they can’t find you. “10-4 good buddy, over and out”!
1:21 PM (0F/-18C)
Oh my gosh, I made it back to the truck; that was probably the scariest time of my life! We had just pulled into the Liard Hot Springs parking lot and before taking the half-mile hike over for a soak, I wanted to see if the camper furnace would light.
Because of the gusty winds, I radioed for Ruth to sit tight in her car and I made my way around the back side of the truck. I had my faithful butane barbecue lighter tight against my chest on an inside coat pocket next to my water bottle and toothpaste.
Just as I was preparing to reach up and release the back roof-latches on the camper and swing open the door, the wind picked up and plastered me spread-eagle across the back wall of the camper.
Increasing in intensity, it just wouldn’t let up and I found myself unable to move. Flattened as I was against the frigid aluminum, I fought hard to stay conscious as I felt the heat slowly drain out of my body.
How long I remained there, pressed up against that malevolent RV I don’t know; I was drifting in and out of consciousness. At one point I thought I saw the Care-Bears. Would Ruth sit tight – or would she come to my rescue?
After what must have been many hours I thought I could hear my name being shouted out over the howl of the wind. “Wha? What is that?” I murmured. It was Ruth! My Angel! When I hadn’t returned after a few minutes she had come to my rescue!
She’d tied one end of the 50’ extension cord around her waist and the other end to her car door handle. Fighting her way against the wind, and the cutting shards of ice and wind-hardened snow blasting around her in the blizzard conditions, she made her way inch by inch in the direction she had last seen me go, and where she believed the truck to be.
Upon finally reaching me, she got ahold of the far side of my coat and with her grippy-finger gloves, and a supernatural strength - brought on at times like these - she pried me off the camper surface against the force of the wind. We both tumbled onto the protected side of the truck and camper. Then she hoisted my 225 lbs. of almost-dead weight up into the truck, turned on the heated seat to try and help revive me and then clawed her way back up the extension cord and climbed into the safety of her own vehicle.
After I regained consciousness and the ability to speak, I raised her over the radio. She was sad when I suggested we not take the hike to the hot springs and a warm bath after all. But I was able to convince her we still had a long way to go and we had to make time. Perhaps I will surprise her with a romantic trip to Thermopolis Hot Springs in Wyoming for our anniversary in February.
3:32 PM (-11F/-24C)
Approaching Summit Lake; will these mountains never end? We need to get out of the mountains before dark! It’s been very windy and the roads are winding. They’re also narrow and snow covered and our travel speeds are down to 25 and 30 mph. Some of the grades are steep and the ground blizzards caused by nearby or passing vehicles are causing terrifying periods of whiteout blindness, especially when produced by those evil tractor-trailers! The hours are beginning to wear on us. “Shut Up”! “Don’t talk to me”! “10-4”.
6:11 PM (-6F/-21C)
After driving into cell phone coverage close to Fort Nelson, I called ahead and secured lodging at the Ramada. We fueled up and then found our way to the hotel. We got the vehicles plugged in and the saddles removed and finally relaxed in our room.
This was a hard day, nine hours on difficult mountain roads, the last few hours in the dark. But there are not many winter lodging opportunities between Watson Lake and Fort Nelson, so it had to be done. We are past the most difficult sections of the trip, so we got that going for us - which is good.
Day 4 Pics
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Nov-08-2013 03:46 AM
CAPTAIN’S LOG - DAY 3
North Star Date: 11/29/2012
Location or Route: Whitehorse, YT to Watson Lake, YT.
Travel Miles: 273 (Cumulative 862)
Weather Conditions: Clear skies quickly became overcast for the rest of the day and just after mid-route the wind picked up causing blowing snow over the road surface. For the last 60 miles or so the wind died down.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare first half of the day then mostly patchy hard-pack and ice. The wind buffeted Ruth’s Jeep, making it less secure on some icy patches. The truck clung well to all surfaces, but required more accelerator pedal finesse and less cruise-control.
10:45 AM (-27F/-33C)
After a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed and a warm room we enjoyed a hot breakfast at the restaurant downstairs, packed up and readied ourselves for departure. Truck wouldn’t start. We hadn’t been able to plug-in and I had figured using the remote start to run the engine for 20 minutes every six hours would suffice; it didn’t. Ruth’s car started fine and we used it to jump the truck. Yesssss! Go Jeep! Even so, it took most of an hour to generate enough charge for two truck batteries and the amperage required for the intake manifold heater (which replaced glow plugs on this Cummins Turbo Diesel). So we got that going for us, which is good.
12:11 PM (-27F/-33C)
We’re on the road again. We just fueled and the fuel attendant came out to assist us. He was a really nice older guy - about my age - and after learning of our trip plans wished us God-speed, even while countenancing a hint of pity. I had looked ahead online and our next destination, Watson Lake, was -37F/-38C.
2:11 PM (-40F/-40C)
Minus 40 is where the two temperature scales, Fahrenheit and Celsius, come together. The current temperature is either -40, or below -40 (because my display gauge only reads that low), or above -40 (because after the truck-jump this morning the gauge may be stuck on “inaccurate”). I keep tapping my finger-nail on the plastic covering over the digital display to see if there’s a stuck needle or something, and the reading doesn’t change, so I think it’s -40 or below, or a little above.
In the atmosphere, water vapor condenses around tiny particles, like dust or space debris. The resulting liquid water droplet becomes bigger and bigger until it resembles a raindrop and falls out of the sky. You see, as the water droplet becomes bigger, it adheres to itself in a round shape, much like people, through the principle of hydrostatic cohesion, or something like that.
If there were no gravity, the water droplet would be perfectly round and would not resemble a raindrop. When it is in an updraft, also known as a rising column of air, and is equally balanced against gravity, it is in what is called a “zero gravity state”, like on a roller coaster, and it is perfectly round, like some people on roller coasters – really, check them out next time!
As it is carried further aloft, the water droplet may become colder than freezing and still remain in its liquid state until it bumps into something like an airfoil or tin foil or something like that. Then due to the principal of crystallization or crystal worship or something like that, it freezes instantly and then airplanes fall out of the sky on account of icing. At least that’s what 28 years of Air Traffic Bulletins have instilled in me. This H2O state is something called “super-cooled water”.
Overnight, my case of bottled drinking water on the floor of the truck had sat very still – unmoving even – and had dropped to about -40F&C (which is Canadian for friggin’ cold), yet the water had remained in its liquid state. In essence, it had become “super cooled water”! As I picked up one bottle I could see it wasn’t frozen, then as I jostled it while twisting open the cap it began freezing and I watched the ice-crystals form from top to bottom right there in my hand. It was froze! Fascinating!
So I picked up a second bottle, jostled it and watched it freeze. Then a third and a fourth; who needs TV! I had heard of this happening before, mostly from old Flight Service guys who were trying to sound knowledgeable, but I had never actually witnessed it. I ended up thawing water bottles over the defroster ducts all day long.
While driving today I had the following thoughts - based on food stuffs available from yesterday’s lunch which had also been left in the truck cab overnight.
• Frozen Carrots are good, somewhat soft, like a cooked carrot, but edible none-the-less.
• Frozen celery should be thrown out.
• Frozen cookies can be eaten frozen or thawed and make for a delicious treat.
• Bread thaws faster than the ham slices in between, but frozen ham sandwiches are quite edible. One should be careful here as too much frozen ham can lower core body temperature.
• Frozen orange slices make for a delicious treat.
• Frozen apples should be saved until tomorrow and then thrown out.
• Baking pecans are somewhat bland as is, but lightly roasted in the oven and added to the rest of the mixed nuts makes for a delicious treat. Frozen mixed nuts are quite edible.
• Freezing string cheese improves its texture.
4:11 PM (-11F to -19F/-24C to -28C)
After one particularly windy rest stop that felt relatively warm outside, I repaired the truck’s still stuck on -40 temperature gauge by shutting of the engine and allowing the computer to reset; it had warmed up considerably: -11 to -19. I don’t think we had so much crossed a surface frontal or air-mass boundary as we had just arrived at the top of the cold surface air and were now in the warmer air aloft; we had been driving through some higher terrain.
6:11 PM (-24F/-31C)
Just pulled into Watson Lake. We fueled up and located an acceptable hotel with accommodations to plug-in the vehicles overnight. On the truck we power an engine block heater, two battery heaters, an engine oil pan heater and a transmission oil pan heater. On the Jeep we have a trickle charger for the battery - not that it seems to need it; Go Jeep! So we got that going for us, which is good.
8:11 PM (-24F/-31C)
Ruth and I have decided there is nothing at all wrong with hotels - except maybe bedbugs, and generally the pillows, and sometimes you’ll find whiskers in the sink, and we’ve all seen that 60 Minutes program with the ultra-violet light source that those news investigators carry around with them. But it’s not minus 33 in this room!
We unplugged the strawberry air-freshener we found in one room outlet, mostly because it is over-the-top obnoxious and because Ruth can’t seem to get the song “Strawberry Fields Forever” out of her head, but also I needed to charge my Mobile Device (I just like saying mobile device). But, we wonder what the air-freshener was trying to cover up!
The restaurant provided adequate overly-processed food. The combination of its effects, along with our limited mobility, is starting to have a negative influence on how we feel. We’re looking forward to getting off the road and back into our exercise routine.
Day 3 Pics
North Star Date: 11/29/2012
Location or Route: Whitehorse, YT to Watson Lake, YT.
Travel Miles: 273 (Cumulative 862)
Weather Conditions: Clear skies quickly became overcast for the rest of the day and just after mid-route the wind picked up causing blowing snow over the road surface. For the last 60 miles or so the wind died down.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare first half of the day then mostly patchy hard-pack and ice. The wind buffeted Ruth’s Jeep, making it less secure on some icy patches. The truck clung well to all surfaces, but required more accelerator pedal finesse and less cruise-control.
10:45 AM (-27F/-33C)
After a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed and a warm room we enjoyed a hot breakfast at the restaurant downstairs, packed up and readied ourselves for departure. Truck wouldn’t start. We hadn’t been able to plug-in and I had figured using the remote start to run the engine for 20 minutes every six hours would suffice; it didn’t. Ruth’s car started fine and we used it to jump the truck. Yesssss! Go Jeep! Even so, it took most of an hour to generate enough charge for two truck batteries and the amperage required for the intake manifold heater (which replaced glow plugs on this Cummins Turbo Diesel). So we got that going for us, which is good.
12:11 PM (-27F/-33C)
We’re on the road again. We just fueled and the fuel attendant came out to assist us. He was a really nice older guy - about my age - and after learning of our trip plans wished us God-speed, even while countenancing a hint of pity. I had looked ahead online and our next destination, Watson Lake, was -37F/-38C.
2:11 PM (-40F/-40C)
Minus 40 is where the two temperature scales, Fahrenheit and Celsius, come together. The current temperature is either -40, or below -40 (because my display gauge only reads that low), or above -40 (because after the truck-jump this morning the gauge may be stuck on “inaccurate”). I keep tapping my finger-nail on the plastic covering over the digital display to see if there’s a stuck needle or something, and the reading doesn’t change, so I think it’s -40 or below, or a little above.
In the atmosphere, water vapor condenses around tiny particles, like dust or space debris. The resulting liquid water droplet becomes bigger and bigger until it resembles a raindrop and falls out of the sky. You see, as the water droplet becomes bigger, it adheres to itself in a round shape, much like people, through the principle of hydrostatic cohesion, or something like that.
If there were no gravity, the water droplet would be perfectly round and would not resemble a raindrop. When it is in an updraft, also known as a rising column of air, and is equally balanced against gravity, it is in what is called a “zero gravity state”, like on a roller coaster, and it is perfectly round, like some people on roller coasters – really, check them out next time!
As it is carried further aloft, the water droplet may become colder than freezing and still remain in its liquid state until it bumps into something like an airfoil or tin foil or something like that. Then due to the principal of crystallization or crystal worship or something like that, it freezes instantly and then airplanes fall out of the sky on account of icing. At least that’s what 28 years of Air Traffic Bulletins have instilled in me. This H2O state is something called “super-cooled water”.
Overnight, my case of bottled drinking water on the floor of the truck had sat very still – unmoving even – and had dropped to about -40F&C (which is Canadian for friggin’ cold), yet the water had remained in its liquid state. In essence, it had become “super cooled water”! As I picked up one bottle I could see it wasn’t frozen, then as I jostled it while twisting open the cap it began freezing and I watched the ice-crystals form from top to bottom right there in my hand. It was froze! Fascinating!
So I picked up a second bottle, jostled it and watched it freeze. Then a third and a fourth; who needs TV! I had heard of this happening before, mostly from old Flight Service guys who were trying to sound knowledgeable, but I had never actually witnessed it. I ended up thawing water bottles over the defroster ducts all day long.
While driving today I had the following thoughts - based on food stuffs available from yesterday’s lunch which had also been left in the truck cab overnight.
• Frozen Carrots are good, somewhat soft, like a cooked carrot, but edible none-the-less.
• Frozen celery should be thrown out.
• Frozen cookies can be eaten frozen or thawed and make for a delicious treat.
• Bread thaws faster than the ham slices in between, but frozen ham sandwiches are quite edible. One should be careful here as too much frozen ham can lower core body temperature.
• Frozen orange slices make for a delicious treat.
• Frozen apples should be saved until tomorrow and then thrown out.
• Baking pecans are somewhat bland as is, but lightly roasted in the oven and added to the rest of the mixed nuts makes for a delicious treat. Frozen mixed nuts are quite edible.
• Freezing string cheese improves its texture.
4:11 PM (-11F to -19F/-24C to -28C)
After one particularly windy rest stop that felt relatively warm outside, I repaired the truck’s still stuck on -40 temperature gauge by shutting of the engine and allowing the computer to reset; it had warmed up considerably: -11 to -19. I don’t think we had so much crossed a surface frontal or air-mass boundary as we had just arrived at the top of the cold surface air and were now in the warmer air aloft; we had been driving through some higher terrain.
6:11 PM (-24F/-31C)
Just pulled into Watson Lake. We fueled up and located an acceptable hotel with accommodations to plug-in the vehicles overnight. On the truck we power an engine block heater, two battery heaters, an engine oil pan heater and a transmission oil pan heater. On the Jeep we have a trickle charger for the battery - not that it seems to need it; Go Jeep! So we got that going for us, which is good.
8:11 PM (-24F/-31C)
Ruth and I have decided there is nothing at all wrong with hotels - except maybe bedbugs, and generally the pillows, and sometimes you’ll find whiskers in the sink, and we’ve all seen that 60 Minutes program with the ultra-violet light source that those news investigators carry around with them. But it’s not minus 33 in this room!
We unplugged the strawberry air-freshener we found in one room outlet, mostly because it is over-the-top obnoxious and because Ruth can’t seem to get the song “Strawberry Fields Forever” out of her head, but also I needed to charge my Mobile Device (I just like saying mobile device). But, we wonder what the air-freshener was trying to cover up!
The restaurant provided adequate overly-processed food. The combination of its effects, along with our limited mobility, is starting to have a negative influence on how we feel. We’re looking forward to getting off the road and back into our exercise routine.
Day 3 Pics
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Nov-08-2013 03:41 AM
Joe we loved our stay there, and the cold was just part of the experience. Even so, when it was time to go we couldn't wait a few more months. We had sold our home (the comfortable place the stay) and were in an apartment, so even more reason to go.
The highway is usually best in winter with fewer RVs and other travelers and with washboard and/or potholes filled in with hard pack snow, which typically provides excellent traction at temperatures below 0F, as you probably well know.
With Wyoming our home and family waiting, we said go. Day 3 is next!
The highway is usually best in winter with fewer RVs and other travelers and with washboard and/or potholes filled in with hard pack snow, which typically provides excellent traction at temperatures below 0F, as you probably well know.
With Wyoming our home and family waiting, we said go. Day 3 is next!
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Nov-07-2013 10:41 AM
Thanks, will try a different computer.
On edit: different computer worked. Didn't like my iPad I guess. The photos make me
Cold just looking at them and remembering the years we lived in Nenana and other
Communities in the Alaska Interior. Knowing me, I would have waited till next spring
To pack up to move. LOL
On edit: different computer worked. Didn't like my iPad I guess. The photos make me
Cold just looking at them and remembering the years we lived in Nenana and other
Communities in the Alaska Interior. Knowing me, I would have waited till next spring
To pack up to move. LOL
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
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Nov-07-2013 10:29 AM
The Photos work for me. Maybe because I am logged into google (gmail)?
Chris and Pat
2023 Ram 3500 Limited, Cummins, Aisin, dually, Auto Flex Rear Air Ride Suspension
2022 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
2024 Winnebago Minnie 2327TB
2023 Ram 3500 Limited, Cummins, Aisin, dually, Auto Flex Rear Air Ride Suspension
2022 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS
2024 Winnebago Minnie 2327TB
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Nov-07-2013 10:24 AM
I'm sorry you're having trouble Joe. I've tried a few checks, including both my other computers and other family members who are not part of my log on or Google+ and they are having no problems accessing the pictures. I had an uncle who once had similar problems viewing my pictures, even though he also posts pictures on Picassa. We could only finally determine he had a computer setting preventing the link access. I suspect your computer has a similar setting.
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Nov-07-2013 05:50 AM
I keep getting an error message trying to pull up the photos on google+. Both days.
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
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Nov-07-2013 03:26 AM
CAPTAIN’S LOG - DAY 2
North Star Date: 11/28/2012
Location or Route: Destruction Bay, YT to Whitehorse, YT.
Total Miles: 162 (589 Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Cold and Clear. No Wind.
Road Conditions: Mostly well-graveled snow and ice pack.
9:11 AM (-27F/-33C)
Just after 5:00 AM I got up to pee. The furnace was blowing lukewarm air; is that a correct term? We had only been in bed for about four hours and it was fitful sleep at best. The block of ice under the sleeping bags, also known as a foam mattress, had throughout the night continuously sucked precious heat from our bodies.
The driver of the semi-truck parked next to us had left his probably-warm motel room about an hour earlier to start his truck not less than 12 feet from our heads and had left it running for about twenty minutes before he went back to his probably-warm room. The motel office was closed when we had arrived last night – not that we would have wussed out and taken a room anyway – especially since it wasn’t minus 33 degrees, and we had a furnace ‘mind you! But now, the furnace was blowing lukewarm and turning colder. I figured the propane tank was empty so I dressed and stepped outside to swap tanks.
Before going to bed, Ruth had used her hair dryer to heat the inside surfaces of the sleeping bags, and it had worked great. You have to picture this thing. It’s a “Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor” model with three heat settings: WARM, HOT and BLAST FURNACE. Using the highest heat setting and the higher of the two fan settings: NORMAL and JET-ENGINE, we warmed up those sleeping bags right fine.
Unfortunately, the mattress beneath the sleeping bags didn’t get the memo. During the night, I used the hair dryer several times to try and warm certain areas of the bed, as I was on the outside perimeter - and furthest from the furnace. Also, with a greater amount of body weight, I had more surface area compressing the sleeping bag fabric, putting myself into closer contact with the ice block!
Upon swapping propane tanks, the furnace wouldn’t re-ignite. In MacGyver-like troubleshooting fashion I tried to light the stovetop with a match - and a paper clip - because butane barbeque lighters don’t work at these temperatures, and I guess that’s why we only have three on hand. While trying to light the stovetop, in an attempt to expel the air-bubble from the propane line caused by a tank changeover, the match wouldn’t even flicker!
After trying about 20 matches that wouldn’t flicker, and with mumblings of “come on baby light my fire” coming from Ruth over in the corner in her cold-induced delirium, I stuffed the hair dryer into the outside propane tank compartment and attempted to warm the liquid propane enough to improve gas flow. Setting the controls to the “BLAST FURNACE – JET ENGINE”, I closed the compartment door. It didn’t take too long before we concluded the propane line itself was probably frozen too and we knew our night was over.
Using the hair dryer, we began the initially effective, but eventually fruitless, task of satisfactorily heating the plastic windows in the soft-sides of the camper enough to drop the top without cracking the plastic. I heated the windows and swabbed the now liquid ice with a towel while Ruth made coffee. But with both appliances running, the amperage load was too great and we tripped the breaker on the truck stop outlet.
I got the boots, coat, hat and gloves back on and stepped outside to swap electrical outlets; we tripped another breaker. Now, on the last available outlet, we allowed the coffee maker to finish its important task while we placed the heater (hair dryer) into temporary shut down mode. On one of my outside forays I walked over to the now open convenience store and restaurant to let them know about the breakers and to see if they knew what the temperature was. MINUS 33! – albeit in Centigrade, which is -27F. The woman told me it was -33, so I assumed it was -33C, because we are now in Canada and they speak Canadian here, and that must be what the C stands for.
Like a bad 1960’s sci-fi movie, or Steven King’s “The Landoliers”, the minus 33 degree monster had caught up with us while we slept! It had consumed us in the night, just as we had let down our guard. The Amoeba-like monster had engulfed us and caught us with our top up! Yes – when we dropped the top we heard cracking. I guess we’re just doing our parts to create business at our local canvas shop in Wyoming.
The truck had been plugged in and I had started the vehicles earlier. Now they had been running for quite some time and after packing things up and getting the camper ready to roll we wandered over to the restaurant for breakfast; we had officially wussed out. Sausage and eggs for me and a spinach omelet for Ruth, we took a moment in the warmth of the restaurant to compile pictures and logs, upload photos and send email, brush teeth; then we hit the open road.
8:10 PM (-27F/-33C)
We just returned from the Gold Pan Saloon and Restaurant – at our hotel – where we had a fine meal of a steak sandwich for me and a spinach and Chicken Alfredo pizza for Ruth. Did I mention Ruth likes spinach? Upon entering, we had spied the only available seating, at a table near the opening of the mine shaft-like entrance, and excitedly took a seat, even though there were ample residuals left on the table by the previous occupants - apparently overlooked by the service staff. We soon discovered the why-fores of the table’s vacancy however; whenever somebody came or went an arctic blast would hit us full brunt, and it was a busy night – “Wednesday Night Hot Wings” and apparently the locals know about it.
So now it’s time to get some sleep. We chose the Gold Rush Inn, an historic downtown Whitehorse hotel – the same place we stayed on our way up here three years ago – for a chance to regroup and examine our options now that the minus 33 degree monster had won his battle over we mere mortals. This will be our first night in a real bed in almost a month since we sold our bed back in Fairbanks.
The drive from Talbot Arm to Whitehorse was uneventful and held beautiful clear skies and amazing scenery in bright sunshine. Ruth began to get the impression from all the sunlight that the outside temperatures had warmed, but was rudely reminded at every outhouse stop that we were still in the arctic north.
Roads were mostly clear with patchy hardpack and we were able to keep highway speeds at about 90 – that’s kilometers – which is Canadian for miles and equates to about 55 mph. Interestingly, we discovered ice-road truckers are not bound by any such speed limit laws.
Whitehorse is named after an adventuresome horse some 250,000 years ago that migrated here from southern regions. His coat became frosted over and ever since, all his offspring have had genetic permafrost coats, giving off a peculiar white cast in the dim arctic light.
We’d parked in the “extended-length vehicle” section of the hotel parking lot – which is about three miles away – quickly grabbed our essentials and made a mad dash for the lobby. After we paid for our room the desk clerk told us we couldn’t shower for a little while because maintenance personnel were doing their best to repair a main water line leak. Huh! You couldn’t tell us that before we paid?
We got into our room and began unloading the frigid contents of our bags, watching in a moment of panic as the room air temperature dropped a full 10 degrees before settling out. Our shampoo and conditioner were frozen – guess they get that a lot up here because they had shampoo and conditioner dispensers hanging on the wall of the shower. Our hand lotion – an essential item in anybody’s arctic survival gear – was frozen, but the hotel again came to the rescue. They had these cute little lotion samples in teensy-weensy bottles. You’ve seen these before, they are the same as the ones you put in your luggage whenever you check out of a room and throw away when you get home. Our toothpaste wasn’t frozen as we have taken to carrying it on our bodies in an inside pocket alongside our water bottles.
Eventually the hotel water was restored; we showered and made our way downstairs to the mineshaft for supper.
Day 2 Pics
North Star Date: 11/28/2012
Location or Route: Destruction Bay, YT to Whitehorse, YT.
Total Miles: 162 (589 Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Cold and Clear. No Wind.
Road Conditions: Mostly well-graveled snow and ice pack.
9:11 AM (-27F/-33C)
Just after 5:00 AM I got up to pee. The furnace was blowing lukewarm air; is that a correct term? We had only been in bed for about four hours and it was fitful sleep at best. The block of ice under the sleeping bags, also known as a foam mattress, had throughout the night continuously sucked precious heat from our bodies.
The driver of the semi-truck parked next to us had left his probably-warm motel room about an hour earlier to start his truck not less than 12 feet from our heads and had left it running for about twenty minutes before he went back to his probably-warm room. The motel office was closed when we had arrived last night – not that we would have wussed out and taken a room anyway – especially since it wasn’t minus 33 degrees, and we had a furnace ‘mind you! But now, the furnace was blowing lukewarm and turning colder. I figured the propane tank was empty so I dressed and stepped outside to swap tanks.
Before going to bed, Ruth had used her hair dryer to heat the inside surfaces of the sleeping bags, and it had worked great. You have to picture this thing. It’s a “Tim-the-Tool-Man-Taylor” model with three heat settings: WARM, HOT and BLAST FURNACE. Using the highest heat setting and the higher of the two fan settings: NORMAL and JET-ENGINE, we warmed up those sleeping bags right fine.
Unfortunately, the mattress beneath the sleeping bags didn’t get the memo. During the night, I used the hair dryer several times to try and warm certain areas of the bed, as I was on the outside perimeter - and furthest from the furnace. Also, with a greater amount of body weight, I had more surface area compressing the sleeping bag fabric, putting myself into closer contact with the ice block!
Upon swapping propane tanks, the furnace wouldn’t re-ignite. In MacGyver-like troubleshooting fashion I tried to light the stovetop with a match - and a paper clip - because butane barbeque lighters don’t work at these temperatures, and I guess that’s why we only have three on hand. While trying to light the stovetop, in an attempt to expel the air-bubble from the propane line caused by a tank changeover, the match wouldn’t even flicker!
After trying about 20 matches that wouldn’t flicker, and with mumblings of “come on baby light my fire” coming from Ruth over in the corner in her cold-induced delirium, I stuffed the hair dryer into the outside propane tank compartment and attempted to warm the liquid propane enough to improve gas flow. Setting the controls to the “BLAST FURNACE – JET ENGINE”, I closed the compartment door. It didn’t take too long before we concluded the propane line itself was probably frozen too and we knew our night was over.
Using the hair dryer, we began the initially effective, but eventually fruitless, task of satisfactorily heating the plastic windows in the soft-sides of the camper enough to drop the top without cracking the plastic. I heated the windows and swabbed the now liquid ice with a towel while Ruth made coffee. But with both appliances running, the amperage load was too great and we tripped the breaker on the truck stop outlet.
I got the boots, coat, hat and gloves back on and stepped outside to swap electrical outlets; we tripped another breaker. Now, on the last available outlet, we allowed the coffee maker to finish its important task while we placed the heater (hair dryer) into temporary shut down mode. On one of my outside forays I walked over to the now open convenience store and restaurant to let them know about the breakers and to see if they knew what the temperature was. MINUS 33! – albeit in Centigrade, which is -27F. The woman told me it was -33, so I assumed it was -33C, because we are now in Canada and they speak Canadian here, and that must be what the C stands for.
Like a bad 1960’s sci-fi movie, or Steven King’s “The Landoliers”, the minus 33 degree monster had caught up with us while we slept! It had consumed us in the night, just as we had let down our guard. The Amoeba-like monster had engulfed us and caught us with our top up! Yes – when we dropped the top we heard cracking. I guess we’re just doing our parts to create business at our local canvas shop in Wyoming.
The truck had been plugged in and I had started the vehicles earlier. Now they had been running for quite some time and after packing things up and getting the camper ready to roll we wandered over to the restaurant for breakfast; we had officially wussed out. Sausage and eggs for me and a spinach omelet for Ruth, we took a moment in the warmth of the restaurant to compile pictures and logs, upload photos and send email, brush teeth; then we hit the open road.
8:10 PM (-27F/-33C)
We just returned from the Gold Pan Saloon and Restaurant – at our hotel – where we had a fine meal of a steak sandwich for me and a spinach and Chicken Alfredo pizza for Ruth. Did I mention Ruth likes spinach? Upon entering, we had spied the only available seating, at a table near the opening of the mine shaft-like entrance, and excitedly took a seat, even though there were ample residuals left on the table by the previous occupants - apparently overlooked by the service staff. We soon discovered the why-fores of the table’s vacancy however; whenever somebody came or went an arctic blast would hit us full brunt, and it was a busy night – “Wednesday Night Hot Wings” and apparently the locals know about it.
So now it’s time to get some sleep. We chose the Gold Rush Inn, an historic downtown Whitehorse hotel – the same place we stayed on our way up here three years ago – for a chance to regroup and examine our options now that the minus 33 degree monster had won his battle over we mere mortals. This will be our first night in a real bed in almost a month since we sold our bed back in Fairbanks.
The drive from Talbot Arm to Whitehorse was uneventful and held beautiful clear skies and amazing scenery in bright sunshine. Ruth began to get the impression from all the sunlight that the outside temperatures had warmed, but was rudely reminded at every outhouse stop that we were still in the arctic north.
Roads were mostly clear with patchy hardpack and we were able to keep highway speeds at about 90 – that’s kilometers – which is Canadian for miles and equates to about 55 mph. Interestingly, we discovered ice-road truckers are not bound by any such speed limit laws.
Whitehorse is named after an adventuresome horse some 250,000 years ago that migrated here from southern regions. His coat became frosted over and ever since, all his offspring have had genetic permafrost coats, giving off a peculiar white cast in the dim arctic light.
We’d parked in the “extended-length vehicle” section of the hotel parking lot – which is about three miles away – quickly grabbed our essentials and made a mad dash for the lobby. After we paid for our room the desk clerk told us we couldn’t shower for a little while because maintenance personnel were doing their best to repair a main water line leak. Huh! You couldn’t tell us that before we paid?
We got into our room and began unloading the frigid contents of our bags, watching in a moment of panic as the room air temperature dropped a full 10 degrees before settling out. Our shampoo and conditioner were frozen – guess they get that a lot up here because they had shampoo and conditioner dispensers hanging on the wall of the shower. Our hand lotion – an essential item in anybody’s arctic survival gear – was frozen, but the hotel again came to the rescue. They had these cute little lotion samples in teensy-weensy bottles. You’ve seen these before, they are the same as the ones you put in your luggage whenever you check out of a room and throw away when you get home. Our toothpaste wasn’t frozen as we have taken to carrying it on our bodies in an inside pocket alongside our water bottles.
Eventually the hotel water was restored; we showered and made our way downstairs to the mineshaft for supper.
Day 2 Pics
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Nov-06-2013 04:41 PM
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Nov-06-2013 04:28 PM
Yes we have pictures. Here's a link to Day 1
https://picasaweb.google.com/104109436858618130676/Day1WinterExodus?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyBw4yc_p6oLQ
I'll include subsequent day links at the end of each narrative.
https://picasaweb.google.com/104109436858618130676/Day1WinterExodus?authkey=Gv1sRgCOyBw4yc_p6oLQ
I'll include subsequent day links at the end of each narrative.
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Nov-06-2013 02:09 PM
Got any photos to go along with the narrative?
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
2016 Fleetwood Flair 31 B Class A w/bunks
www.picturetrail.com/jbpacooper
Alaska-Colorado and other Trips posted
"Without challenge, adventure is impossible".
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Nov-06-2013 03:37 AM
CAPTAIN’S LOG - DAY 1
North Star Date: 11/27/2012
Location or Route: Fairbanks, AK to Talbot Arm, Destruction Bay, Kluane Lake, YT.
Travel Miles: 427 (427 - Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Cold and Clear. No Wind.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare and dry. Some snow and ice pack along with frost heaves for the last 100 miles or so.
3:11 AM (-19F/-28C)
Woke up at 2:30 AM; couldn’t sleep. Ruth asked if I wanted to go to work. “I’d rather do that than try and get that trailer down the road” I replied. In the words of the Three Amigos bartender, “This town’s getting too rough for me!”
We had coffee and planned our departure. There’s still so much stuff hanging around this apartment! What to leave behind? Isn’t there any HEAVY stuff that can stay? There’s still some space in Ruth’s car, and behind the front seat in the truck. Man that trailer felt heavy last night as we moved it from the storage lot to the fueling station and here to the apartment.
Most of the items to load out go in the camper: food, water, travel bags, emergency packs, the camp chairs and the camper foam mattress we’ve been sleeping on since we sold the real bed. I guess we better pop the camper up; really need to get the mattress and sleeping bags positioned out of the way and have to raise the roof to do that. But it’s -19F(-28C).
Still have to air-up the tires and the air-springs on the truck’s rear axle. The planned air-station last night was froze up! I can pull out my portable compressor, but it takes a spell longer. Glad we got those heavier gloves.
Ruth keeps looking at me and smiling as she says, “You’re retired”. Alright, back to task.
7:11 AM (-21F/-29C)
This is bad – airing the tires is taking forever! Not sure this is going to work. Every place we’ve checked in town has their air service froze up, or if inside, there’s no room to pull this big rig straight through. We’ll hope for success and stay on it.
The truck wouldn’t start this morning – batteries too cold. Overnight I couldn’t plug it into our head-bolt (that’s Alaskan for a personal vehicle electrical outlet that you pay for in blood or gold-dust) because I didn’t want to unhitch the trailer. Ruth’s car started fine after turning on the headlights for 30 seconds to generate the heating effects of the chemical reaction – and with no plug-in, we’re just saying (Go Jeep)! We jumped the truck.
Furnace not working in the camper. Still so much to move out of the apartment; better postpone the time of the apartment check-out once again.
1:11 PM (-17F/-27C)
Got the camper furnace working around 8 a.m.; I’m still not sure what it was, but maybe a combo between cold temperatures and some ageing electrical connections. When we get back to our Wyoming home I’ll have to do full maintenance on all the systems. Got all 13 tires aired up! Once the compressor understood just what it was I wanted, and that I wasn’t going to slack off on my expectations, it found some resolve and took care of business.
We rolled the now full, left front truck tire over the clock radio; ain’t gonna need that anymore. This is the radio a friend gave us for Christmas almost 30 years ago! Guess we got our use out of that.
We got everything packed out except the excesses: plastic hangers, laundry baskets, two plastic folding tables, waste paper baskets and other incidentals that we couldn’t find any extra space for. These we gave to the Fort Wainwright Army lad living next door and he was happy to take them.
We just dropped off the TV cable-box and modem at the GCI Store. The truck and trailer feels much better than it did last night now that there is air in the tires and air-springs, even in spite of the extra weight loaded on board this morning, and I don’t mean us.
7:45 PM (-33F/-36C)
We just crossed the Alaska/Canada border and everything went smoothly. It’s really cold out, but inside the vehicles are nice and toasty. No reason to stop, we are wide awake and there’s a full moon bathing the mountains and surrounding landscapes in the muted silvers and cobalt blues of the wintertime Arctic northlands. We could stop and get out the SLR camera for some proper photography, but we have the good-sense to keep moving. Wish the point and shoot camera worked better in such low light conditions, and while driving. I can only do so much when I shoot from the hip. The scenery was stunning – described by Ruth as a frozen York Peppermint Pattie – “get the sensation”. We kept tabs over the CBs.
The roads were clear for the most part. We decided against spending the night in Tok or Border City, as overnight temperatures were expected to be -33F/-36C. Young’s Motel in Tok looked accommodating – so we kept going. Two hours later the Border City Lodge looked tolerable – so we kept going. We should be able to reach the Talbot Arm on Destruction Bay of Kluane Lake before midnight local. It’s only -13F/-25C at Kluane, and they’re at a bit higher elevation so it’s likely we’ll be able to avoid the extremely low temperatures that are down here in the lower river valleys. Let’s hope that furnace fires up.
11:45 PM (-18F/-28C)
Just rolled into Talbot Arm Truck and RV Stop after over three hours of frost heaves, pavement sinks and graveled hard-pack – that’s Alaskan for gravel mixed in with frozen, oh so frozen, packed snow and ice. We popped up the camper. Had a little trouble getting the furnace to start, but soon had it working. It doesn’t seem to want to turn off - go figure. Let’s hope it just keeps on going and going and going like a little Energizer Bunny.
Everything in this camper is frozen and all surfaces are absorbing any and all heat the little furnace can supply. It feels like we crawled into a freezer and sat down on frozen slabs of meat. The bags of chips in the pantry are frozen – no really – the bags are like hard clumps. Now you see why we didn’t want to stay in Tok or Border City where it was -33F/-36C! No, I don’t have an explanation for why we didn’t just get a room! The mountain was there; that’s a good enough reason to climb it.
North Star Date: 11/27/2012
Location or Route: Fairbanks, AK to Talbot Arm, Destruction Bay, Kluane Lake, YT.
Travel Miles: 427 (427 - Cumulative)
Weather Conditions: Cold and Clear. No Wind.
Road Conditions: Mostly bare and dry. Some snow and ice pack along with frost heaves for the last 100 miles or so.
3:11 AM (-19F/-28C)
Woke up at 2:30 AM; couldn’t sleep. Ruth asked if I wanted to go to work. “I’d rather do that than try and get that trailer down the road” I replied. In the words of the Three Amigos bartender, “This town’s getting too rough for me!”
We had coffee and planned our departure. There’s still so much stuff hanging around this apartment! What to leave behind? Isn’t there any HEAVY stuff that can stay? There’s still some space in Ruth’s car, and behind the front seat in the truck. Man that trailer felt heavy last night as we moved it from the storage lot to the fueling station and here to the apartment.
Most of the items to load out go in the camper: food, water, travel bags, emergency packs, the camp chairs and the camper foam mattress we’ve been sleeping on since we sold the real bed. I guess we better pop the camper up; really need to get the mattress and sleeping bags positioned out of the way and have to raise the roof to do that. But it’s -19F(-28C).
Still have to air-up the tires and the air-springs on the truck’s rear axle. The planned air-station last night was froze up! I can pull out my portable compressor, but it takes a spell longer. Glad we got those heavier gloves.
Ruth keeps looking at me and smiling as she says, “You’re retired”. Alright, back to task.
7:11 AM (-21F/-29C)
This is bad – airing the tires is taking forever! Not sure this is going to work. Every place we’ve checked in town has their air service froze up, or if inside, there’s no room to pull this big rig straight through. We’ll hope for success and stay on it.
The truck wouldn’t start this morning – batteries too cold. Overnight I couldn’t plug it into our head-bolt (that’s Alaskan for a personal vehicle electrical outlet that you pay for in blood or gold-dust) because I didn’t want to unhitch the trailer. Ruth’s car started fine after turning on the headlights for 30 seconds to generate the heating effects of the chemical reaction – and with no plug-in, we’re just saying (Go Jeep)! We jumped the truck.
Furnace not working in the camper. Still so much to move out of the apartment; better postpone the time of the apartment check-out once again.
1:11 PM (-17F/-27C)
Got the camper furnace working around 8 a.m.; I’m still not sure what it was, but maybe a combo between cold temperatures and some ageing electrical connections. When we get back to our Wyoming home I’ll have to do full maintenance on all the systems. Got all 13 tires aired up! Once the compressor understood just what it was I wanted, and that I wasn’t going to slack off on my expectations, it found some resolve and took care of business.
We rolled the now full, left front truck tire over the clock radio; ain’t gonna need that anymore. This is the radio a friend gave us for Christmas almost 30 years ago! Guess we got our use out of that.
We got everything packed out except the excesses: plastic hangers, laundry baskets, two plastic folding tables, waste paper baskets and other incidentals that we couldn’t find any extra space for. These we gave to the Fort Wainwright Army lad living next door and he was happy to take them.
We just dropped off the TV cable-box and modem at the GCI Store. The truck and trailer feels much better than it did last night now that there is air in the tires and air-springs, even in spite of the extra weight loaded on board this morning, and I don’t mean us.
7:45 PM (-33F/-36C)
We just crossed the Alaska/Canada border and everything went smoothly. It’s really cold out, but inside the vehicles are nice and toasty. No reason to stop, we are wide awake and there’s a full moon bathing the mountains and surrounding landscapes in the muted silvers and cobalt blues of the wintertime Arctic northlands. We could stop and get out the SLR camera for some proper photography, but we have the good-sense to keep moving. Wish the point and shoot camera worked better in such low light conditions, and while driving. I can only do so much when I shoot from the hip. The scenery was stunning – described by Ruth as a frozen York Peppermint Pattie – “get the sensation”. We kept tabs over the CBs.
The roads were clear for the most part. We decided against spending the night in Tok or Border City, as overnight temperatures were expected to be -33F/-36C. Young’s Motel in Tok looked accommodating – so we kept going. Two hours later the Border City Lodge looked tolerable – so we kept going. We should be able to reach the Talbot Arm on Destruction Bay of Kluane Lake before midnight local. It’s only -13F/-25C at Kluane, and they’re at a bit higher elevation so it’s likely we’ll be able to avoid the extremely low temperatures that are down here in the lower river valleys. Let’s hope that furnace fires up.
11:45 PM (-18F/-28C)
Just rolled into Talbot Arm Truck and RV Stop after over three hours of frost heaves, pavement sinks and graveled hard-pack – that’s Alaskan for gravel mixed in with frozen, oh so frozen, packed snow and ice. We popped up the camper. Had a little trouble getting the furnace to start, but soon had it working. It doesn’t seem to want to turn off - go figure. Let’s hope it just keeps on going and going and going like a little Energizer Bunny.
Everything in this camper is frozen and all surfaces are absorbing any and all heat the little furnace can supply. It feels like we crawled into a freezer and sat down on frozen slabs of meat. The bags of chips in the pantry are frozen – no really – the bags are like hard clumps. Now you see why we didn’t want to stay in Tok or Border City where it was -33F/-36C! No, I don’t have an explanation for why we didn’t just get a room! The mountain was there; that’s a good enough reason to climb it.
