What should I stock up on?

[mockturtle]

Alaska-bound later this month and wonder what household/grocery items to stock up on before I cross the Canadian border from NE WA. I will be driving up the AlCan and down the Cassiar. In other words, what, if any, items might be difficult to find on my journey. Obviously, I am space-challenged in my small rig so there's a limit to stocking up.

[PA12DRVR]

What I have found is that it's often cheapest to buy "seafood" at the extremes of the supply chain: either at the beginning end (i.e. Peter Pan's retail nook in Valdez) or at the far end (Costco in Los Anchorage, surprisingly, frequently has the best availability and pricing on Alaskan Halibut and Crab).

[joe_b_]

As mentioned, the Peter Pan cannery in Valdez has a retail store. It is not far from the large cannery building located on the small boat channel. Good selection and usually good prices on fresh fish.

[traveylin]

Fred Meyers in Soldatna is a great place to buy fish. King Crab there was 11 dollars a pound. King crab in the fishing port city of Homer was 32 dollars a pound the same week. The cannery in Valdez was another good place for fish.

[paulj]

The higher % DEET is not necessarily better - unless you want to damage your acrylics (and some other plastics).

[2gypsies1]

You're going to be surprised at how expensive fish is in Alaska. 🙂 Better bring your fishin' pole.

If you have special foods you like, bring a few extras but most everything can be purchased - it'll just be a little more expensive. Fresh veggies are a premium.

[bbaker2001]

My wife is my best friend too. How blesses I am

[mockturtle]

Thank you for all the additional tips. I don't eat out but look forward to buying fresh fish in AK. Stocked up on Wolf Brand Chili while in TX/AZ since it doesn't seem available anywhere else. Not a potato chipper but I may have to try some Canadian chips just for fun. I'm hoping they will allow me my Counter Assault bear spray but, if not, I'll just buy some more across the border.

[tonymull]

Cheezies are so much better than Cheetos! And all the potato chip flavors! Also you can get Trophy Kettle Cooked Peanuts. They are so crunchy. I hit every Safeway on my route and buy all those they have...and then hit them all again on my way home.

[sue_t]

dfm wrote:
And You can get REAL Cheezies , not sold in the U.S. A.

Cheezies make a great fire starter, especially in winter or during an emergency. Just light one with a match and put it with the campfire.

🙂

[Scottiemom]

We overstocked with food, canned goods, etc. We didn't eat out a lot because DH has salt restrictions. We didn't come near eating everything I had taken, so next time, I would probably go a little lighter. Milk could be very expensive, $8 a gallon in Dawson City, but we use very little of it. I took powdered milk and evaporated which can be reconstituted. Didn't use any of that. I took dried sliced potatoes and didn't use them either. Food was expensive, but I took way more than we would need. While not eating out much, we do enjoy buying and preparing foods/fish we wouldn't otherwise have. And our fisherman neighbors in Ketchikan gave us fresh salmon and halibut daily. Loved those guys!

Eating out was way more expensive than preparing ourselves and we found that many times everything (especially along the cruise line route) was fried in order to serve the masses. We just don't do fried.

I still want to go back.

Dale

[Sourdough_Biscu]

Groceries are more expensive along the drive than in Alaska. We have Walmart, Safeway and Fred Meyer in Alaska. We are usually just "passing through" Canada when we make the drive. So, we try to bring enough for the trip through and do the majority of our shopping in the US.

Of course, bring essentially NO fresh produce through the borders. Onion and cabbage seem to be "safe".

Have fun!

[Fer2005]

Potato chips!! They're different up there! I Couldn't find my favorite chips till I got to Anchorage!

[garyhaupt]

"Maybe bring some ammunition, it's hard to find in Alaska. bringing up your limit of 22LR could probably make you enough profit to pay for a tank of gas."

I can't think of a better and faster way to have a long wait at a border crossing into Canada than have a carton of ammunition. That will be while they tear apart the RV, looking for the gun that goes with the ammo. But hey...it'll be a great tale to tell here about how someone got hassled.


Gary Haupt

[SBradley]

Kampoos is a great place to stock up on perishables, don't get carried away there are other opportunities to stock up, just more expensive.

If heading to Dawson Replenish in Whitehorse, Dawson is my favorite town in Yukon but they are a little limited on groceries.
Dawson restaurants aren't that expensive enjoy your stay.

If heading to Tok restock there, Whitehorse is a little cheaper.
Fast Eddies is best place to eat, breakfast was great last fall.

Heading South on the Cassiar stock up in Whitehorse least expensive. Watson lake to pickup items you may have forgotten but you will have to back track to the turn off.

Dease Lake fuel and groceries are available expensive, be sure to top off. Next fuel stop Bell II, after that it is a stretch to the next station especially at night.

Once on 16 you aren't in the wilderness and everything is available.

[dfm]

" That said, be sure to check out the local groceries and try the local fare. As previously discussed, Canada has an amazing variety of potato chip flavors that we don't see in the US. "

And You can get REAL Cheezies , not sold in the U.S. A.