Roll Call Alaska 2019

[kcfissel]

Things seem to be a bit slow lately, so Let's get the ball rolling for next year. Scuttlebutt has it that several folks are looking northward for springtime road trips.

I would like to say, if the planets align, and the Lord keeps us healthy, our new trailer (on order) is ready, that we are planning to cross the 49th parallel at Eastport, Idaho on, or about May 1.
We will be on a slow schedule, but hope to cross into Alaska in early to mid June.

So how about it? Who else is planning to be going that direction?

[fanrgs]

What has happened to this thread? Where are all those 2019 Alaska-bound travelers who just can't wait to get on the road? Are you all snowed in and won't be able to leave your driveway until the spring thaw? Just joking of course, but thought this might move the thread back onto the first page of the forum!

[swphotobug]

Thanks, we will be crossing the border at Eastport or Roosville. Sounds like an easy drive with several stops we want to make, leisurely trip to AK.

[Johnny_G1]

swphotobug wrote:
I'm not asking about the Alaska leg. I am asking about hwy 95 on the west side of Banff/Jasper as a route rather than Icefields Parkway.

Hwy 95 start's at East Port and ends in Golden Bc, an interesting rd but mostly flat from Cranbrook along the river.

[swphotobug]

I'm not asking about the Alaska leg. I am asking about hwy 95 on the west side of Banff/Jasper as a route rather than Icefields Parkway.

[snowedin]

Veebyes wrote:

swphotobug wrote:
We are planning on Alaska in 2019. We had traveled in a caravan 12 years ago and though it was the right choice then we are going on our won this year.

Rather than do the Banff/Jasper route we are thinking of going up on the west side, hwy 95 and coming back via Banff/Jasper.

Any comments on this route would be appreciated.

There really are not many options when going to Alaska or even once you cross the border. You can go up the eastern route through Edmonton & onwards or you can do the westward route through Banff, Jasper & onward up the Cassiar. Either way they meet just north of Watson Lake at which point there are no other options, other than side trips, till you get just north of Whitehorse where you either stay on the Alaska Highway or head to Dawson City & the TOW highway where you meet again a little south of Tok.

From Tok you do Alaska clockwise or anti clockwise. It is basically that simple. Not many roads to choose from.

There are a couple of interesting options: 1) From the Whitehorse area drive to Skagway, take the Alaska Ferry to Haines, and then drive to Haines Junction. We found the scenery on that route to be just eye poppingly beautiful. 2) Drive to Dawson City then head west over the Top of the World road. And yes, the Alaska route #8 from Paxton to Cantwell was one of our favorites but the road can be slow going, rough so be prepared to take your time.

[Mickey53USA]

We plan to leave Texas sometime late May or early June. Going up the west side I guess - Banff - Jasper and coming out through Prince George. Enter in Montana and leave through Washington State. We have been planning for more than five years and have read every itinerary we could put our hands on. Talked to those that went before and got all the info we could. Now the "plan" will be good until the wheels start to roll - then we will figure it out.

[kcfissel]

Veebyes wrote:


From Tok you do Alaska clockwise or anti clockwise. It is basically that simple. Not many roads to choose from.

Or, due west"ish" from Paxson To Denali.

[Veebyes]

swphotobug wrote:
We are planning on Alaska in 2019. We had traveled in a caravan 12 years ago and though it was the right choice then we are going on our won this year.

Rather than do the Banff/Jasper route we are thinking of going up on the west side, hwy 95 and coming back via Banff/Jasper.

Any comments on this route would be appreciated.

There really are not many options when going to Alaska or even once you cross the border. You can go up the eastern route through Edmonton & onwards or you can do the westward route through Banff, Jasper & onward up the Cassiar. Either way they meet just north of Watson Lake at which point there are no other options, other than side trips, till you get just north of Whitehorse where you either stay on the Alaska Highway or head to Dawson City & the TOW highway where you meet again a little south of Tok.

From Tok you do Alaska clockwise or anti clockwise. It is basically that simple. Not many roads to choose from.

[swphotobug]

We are planning on Alaska in 2019. We had traveled in a caravan 12 years ago and though it was the right choice then we are going on our won this year.

Rather than do the Banff/Jasper route we are thinking of going up on the west side, hwy 95 and coming back via Banff/Jasper.

Any comments on this route would be appreciated.

[fanrgs]

I guess my camaraderie on an Alaska trip comes from spending an hour alone with a museum docent in Fairbanks who was a bush pilot before retiring, two Germans at an overlook of the Teslin River bridge headed for Deadhorse on their BMWs, a halibut fishing guide at Kasilof who explained how halibut feed, a lowboy trucker who stopped to repair my two flat truck tires on the Top of the World Highway, and a van driver bringing my wife and I back to Kenny Lake after our Kennecott tour (everyone else on the morning van flew back) who stopped to let us photograph beavers in a pond, then invited us to have dinner at his cabin with no running water.

My experience has been that meeting locals and visitors from around the world is more gratifying than being with the same group of acquaintances day after day.

[PA12DRVR]

fanrgs wrote:

PA12DRVR wrote:
re: Professional Caravans

Without commenting on the merits, a couple of things to note about the organized/professional caravans that visit AK:

- when they pull in to "town", they tend to impact the local "RV" services fairly significantly (depending, of course, on the specific location
- a group of 15-20 RV's can also provide a challenge for other passing traffic on some of the (predominantly) 2-lane highways around the state

I've got an idea! Why don't those of us who have lived, worked, or just been to Alaska dozens of times get together on this forum and write a guide for RVers traveling to Alaska!

We could include mile-by-mile directions, so no one would ever get lost, and gas stations, restaurants, and RV parks, so everyone would know where to find them. Then no one would need to caravan because they would have more information than they could ever use!

We might even call it "The Milepost"!

Great idea. 😉

I honestly think that caravans are great for camaraderie, for someone else doing the planning, etc....and there's no right/wrong about using or not using a caravan. However, I can't imagine that one is needed for staying on the route....dunno.

I drove the entire road (basically Houston TX to Los Anchorage and all points inbetween) this spring for the first time in decades. The only place I had trouble in was Whitehorse (hadn't stopped there since '98) and that was because my friend typo'ed his street address when he texted me.

Everything changes, but as much as Whitehorse is a great spot now, I miss the days when it was a 2-horse (OK, possibly 3-horse 🙂 ) town back in the day.

[timjet]

Part of the attraction of a caravan is the camaraderie. It's not all about finding things to do or interesting places to go or getting lost. And it's not always about having someone lead you so you don't get hurt.

[fanrgs]

PA12DRVR wrote:
re: Professional Caravans

Without commenting on the merits, a couple of things to note about the organized/professional caravans that visit AK:

- when they pull in to "town", they tend to impact the local "RV" services fairly significantly (depending, of course, on the specific location
- a group of 15-20 RV's can also provide a challenge for other passing traffic on some of the (predominantly) 2-lane highways around the state

I've got an idea! Why don't those of us who have lived, worked, or just been to Alaska dozens of times get together on this forum and write a guide for RVers traveling to Alaska!

We could include mile-by-mile directions, so no one would ever get lost, and gas stations, restaurants, and RV parks, so everyone would know where to find them. Then no one would need to caravan because they would have more information than they could ever use!

We might even call it "The Milepost"!

[PA12DRVR]

"Our experience was that the Caravans did not travel nose to tail and we saw no traffic issues. I'd guess that Caravans do bring in more rigs and people as many of them might not otherwise drive to Alaska."

I suspect that in the cold light of day, the caravans don't appreciably impact traffic, but within a few week span last summer, I had the Murphy's law experience: mid-June, leaving my buddy's house outside of Palmer (on a narrow two-lane) in the morning just as a 30+ motorhome caravan was departing the nearby "RV Park"....between the departure pattern and the slower traffic, the normal 10 minute drive to Palmer took about 45 minutes. Similarly, leaving Seward a couple of weeks later, left behind about 15 motorhomes.....unfortunately, not many passing lanes near Seward and it took until the Slodotna cut-off before I could drive my truck anywhere near the speed limit. Not the end of the world in any case, just a noticeable change.

[CA_Traveler]

Unfortunately Juneau and Skagway are jammed with cruises included the imported jewelry shops and employees from the Caribbean. I kid you not - the same button down shirt and tie sales people... We mostly avoided them and enjoyed the towns.

We enjoyed walking around the Canadian border area out of Skagway while the cruisers were not allowed off of the train. 😄