Roll Call Alaska 2014

[sljohnson1938]

Anyone traveling to Alaska in 2014? We ,my wife and I, are planning a trip and was wondering if anyone is planning on going in 2014 also.
Would go this year, except we have two weddings to go to in MI, one in late June the other in early August.
So next year we are planning to leave home in NC in mid July, we plan a 2 month trip. We were there in 2004, only that time we were with paid RV tour. Loved it, and would take another paid tour in a 'heart beat', but the cost is now too much.
The reason for the mid July date is looking at the 2013 Alaska postings the wx, road conditions and insects are at their worst. Later in the season all three are better. Plus I want to travel back on the Cassiar Hwy in Sept is supposed to be the best time of the year on the Cassiar, plus less travelers.
Finally, money is an issue with us. So we will 'boon dock', stay at
free or low cost CG's, rest areas, etc. when ever possible.


Hope you all have a great trip and hope to see you some where along the way.

[sue_t]

Joe, our area of Yukon usually has much more pleasant weather than Whitehorse. Clearer skies and often a few degrees warmer. And no wind here. Whitehorse is in an odd little bowl that is often overcast, foggy and very windy.

It is a chilly morning today, the coldest we've had in a couple of weeks. But temps are forecast to rise above freezing this week. I hope not. My car might get dirty!

Oh, it's -14F in Whitehorse this morning, Joe!
http://weather.gc.ca/forecast/city_e.html?yt-16&unit=i

[joe_b_]

Sue, you need to move to town. Currently, 5:30 AM your time, the Whitehorse airport is reporting a temperature of -2.2°F with 8 miles visibility and a cloud base of 9500 ft. Nice day for flying there in that part of the Yukon.

Of course, you may be far enough north of town that the warm air (relatively speaking) that comes up toward Whitehorse, from Skagway doesn't effect you guys that much. Whitehorse weather tends to be a lot like that of Meziadin Junction and Dease Lake on the Cassiar Hwy, both of which get warm, wet weather funneled up the valley where they are located from the coastal regions. Lots of snow involved but not the super cold temperatures located north or south of all of them.

Even in the summer time, the coastal weather can move into the Dease Lake area and make flying fun and exciting. But all you have to do is move over to the east, a few miles and follow the old, never completed railroad bed, to Dease Lake and then cut north to pop out at the village of Atlin, then to Carcross and on to Whitehorse for fuel. Or go even farther east and fly up the length of Williston Lake and pop out at Watson Lake and on north.

So, if a person is RVing in one of these areas in the summer time and run into to sloppy wet overcast weather, often times just going a few more miles, 20 or 30 miles north or south will get a person into some nice camping weather. Or maybe not. LOL

[PA12DRVR]

SilverEagle.....you're likely correct on the glacier in question. Shows my bias for the Meth-Su.

Sitting in Ewe-stun today where it is a remarkably pleasant 78, but humidity beyond belief. -41 sounds much more like what winter should be.

[AKsilvereagle]

The Richardson Highway, is it the one that we see the Glacier, I beleive it is the Matunuska?

Unless one drove from Anchorage to Valdez on the Glenn/Richardson and took the same return, one would not cover the entire span twice. Only the Glennallen - Valdez portion....that portion does not include the view of the Matanuska glacier.

I believe the glacier in question is the Worthington Glacier which is located on the Richardson Hwy., roughly 28 miles from Valdez and just on the north side of Thompson Pass.

July 1993 - Worthington Glacier :


I almost fell in a crevice here while walking on it, and sounded like a lightning storm 50 times louder when the ice was cracking...sure made me respect the dangers more than ever.

By the way, at this time of posting, it is currently -41 below F outside at my location.

[CA_Traveler]

Transporting alcohol through Canada without paying duty is possible in a process know as in-transient travel. This is NOT taking a few bottles duty free to Canada.

The process involves paper work, sealing the alcohol containers and border inspection both in and out of Canada and a security deposit may be required.

We considered taking 2 cases of wine to Alaska for a special treat. We have an acquired taste for certain Dry Creek wines around the Healdsburg, CA area. Ultimately we choose not to use in-transient travel option.

Note: Many on these boards are in denial that this is possible. The process for in-transient travel is documented in this thread. Click here.

[Kidoo]

Ok, I did not know about the two runs, I would prefer the slow one, just to relax and watch the scenery, I will check this out.

[PA12DRVR]

Glenn Highway goes from Anchorage to Glennallen. Richardson runs from (I think technically Big Delta) Fairbanks to Valdez. The Glenn and Richardson highways intersect at Glennallen.

The Matanuska Glacier is on the Glenn....which I think is the glacier in question.

Unless one drove from Anchorage to Valdez on the Glenn/Richardson and took the same return, one would not cover the entire span twice. Only the Glennallen - Valdez portion....that portion does not include the view of the Matanuska glacier.

Need to carefully check the Whittier - Valdez ferry schedule to ensure which run you're taking: the fast ferry or the milk run. Don't know that it makes much difference price-wise, but will have a big time impact.

[CA_Traveler]

We took the Haines/Skagway ferry. One worker told me that they once had a caravan of 30 MHs at low tide. It took 6 hours to load the rigs since each one had to be blocked. This of course blew their schedule. Made me wonder why the reservation was set for low tide with that many vehicles.

[CA_Traveler]

Kidoo wrote:
Ferry from Whittier to Valdez. I have a truck camper, 24 foot. Do you think I have to reserve well in advance for the 15 of July?

A friend of mine has a 40 foot motorhome, do you think he can up on the boat?

The ferries can take any size vehicle.

The higher the tide the less low clearance will be a issue for the motorhome. They can adjust the ramps and use blocks etc. But I would advise the owner to be aware of the tides and discuss the clearance with the ferry workers as 30' tides are common.

I was concerned about the clearance with only 10' below high tide and had the discussion before buying the ticket. I even wanted to know about vertical clearance due to the ramp slope, and it was a non issue.

My MH has a 13' overhang from the duals to the rear. The tag won't support the weight otherwise I'd have a 10' overhang. Hence that was a concern.

[Kidoo]

Anybody knows if we can buy the Milepost at Dawson Creek? The charge $20 just to ship here.

[Kidoo]

The Richardson Highway, is it the one that we see the Glacier, I beleive it is the Matunuska? There is a nice drive portion on that road, it's true.
I did that drive in 2012 and doing both ways from Valdez to Glennalen does not trigger me too much.
I brieffly check, and it seems to be around 450 for 3 persons, one 24 foot Truck Camper, but I will call to make sure. I will also check on the motorhome, it could be very expansive.

[PA12DRVR]

Kidoo wrote:
Ferry from Whittier to Valdez. I have a truck camper, 24 foot. Do you think I have to reserve well in advance for the 15 of July?

A friend of mine has a 40 foot motorhome, do you think he can up on the boat?

I would offer that the drive to (or from) Valdez should not be missed. Personally, when doing that trip, my preference is to drive both ways (to/from Los Anchorage). If someone is making the Anchorage-Fairbanks-Valdez- Anchorage loop, driving both ways only doubles up on the Glenallen - Valdez portion of the Richardson highway and that is/can be an exceptionally scenic drive.

The Fast Ferry is 3 (?) hours. The milk run is 12 (?) hours. Neither (IMNSHO) is terribly scenic, although just being on the water ain't a bad view. The drive Anchorage - Valdez can be done in 6 - 8 hours.

I would expect that both the TC (due to "overwidth" charges) and the Motorhome (due to length charges) would be pretty expensive on the Ferry.

[Kidoo]

Ferry from Whittier to Valdez. I have a truck camper, 24 foot. Do you think I have to reserve well in advance for the 15 of July?

A friend of mine has a 40 foot motorhome, do you think he can up on the boat?

[CA_Traveler]

BTW I met this owner several times on our Alaskan trip. He was in a caravan so I know that they used paved roads except for the TOW gravel portion.

[CA_Traveler]

Some rigs no longer come with a spare and the larger sizes would take up a lot of space. In addition their weight precludes most RVers from changing them. But of course having at least the tire sans rim would be very helpful if needed. Kidoo posted some good ideas. I would not want to lose the storage space on our extended trips.

Here is one persons approach to carrying a spare. This is a significant welding and cover project. And this carrier may not be the best idea with a rear radiator DP, but it gives the owner options if there is a tire problem.

Wish I had this tire carrier but I'm thinking about adding a bicycle carrier instead.