North to Alaska — The Long Drive South

18th – 29th November 2018

As I begin writing this post – my first real one about time on the road - I’m in a motel in Dawson Creek. This place is famous for two things - firstly, sharing its name with a corny teenage drama from the late 90’s but more importantly being Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway (aka ALCAN or Alaska-Canada Highway), which is to say the naming conventions of the places I’d been for the last week or so are tied to the distance from Dawson Creek. So it seems fitting that I write the post from Mile 0 of the road that made the entire drive up to Alaska possible.

After 12 days on the road, I’ve covered very close to 6,000km, stayed in eight different motels, seeing about a dozen different species of amazing wildlife on the roadside, used about 1,000 litres of premium petrol and seen some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever encountered. I was lucky enough to share this part of my adventure with my sister Kelly who made an excellent co-pilot and great company.

The route:

This post covers my journey from the starting point in Vancouver, up the Cassiar Highway to the Alaska Highway, West to Anchorage and then East back along the Alaska-Canadian Highway finishing up in Edmonton. In all, nearly 7,000km.

When we did this in late November while daylight hours were short, typically not light until 10am and getting dark by 4pm (and as the timezone changed as we headed west, closer to 3pm). So most days we drove 7 or 8 hours to balance progress without too much driving in the dark.

The sequence of towns were Vancouver, Prince George, New Hazelton, Dease Lake, Whitehorse (with rest day), Tok, Anchorage (where my co-pilot and sister Kelly jumped on a plane to head back home to Vancouver), Tok, Whitehorse, Liard Springs, Dawson Creek, Edmonton.

My route is publishing live via my Garmin InReach here - https://aus-share.inreach.garmin.com/longdrivesouth - if you want to see where I’ve been and where I’ve moved on to since this post

Phase 1 of my route: Although covered in less than two weeks, it constitutes about 20% of my planned kilometres across the journey to Ushuaia (Southern Argentina) and back up to Buenos Aires

Wildlife:

Probably one of the most amazing parts of the drive was all of the animals we saw along the way. While I don’t have great pictures of everything we saw, the list includes bison, elk, caribou, foxes, a wolverine, chipmunks, ptarmigan (fat little game birds), moose, a cougar and I’m sure a few others I’ve missed or we couldn’t identify from brief sightings.

Bison: The drive from Whitehorse to Liard Springs posted caution signs for bison. Sure enough, I saw about a dozen over the course of the day including an up-close encounter with these two. Talking to a local later, he laughed that I lived up to my … — Bison: The drive from Whitehorse to Liard Springs posted caution signs for bison. Sure enough, I saw about a dozen over the course of the day including an up-close encounter with these two. Talking to a local later, he laughed that I lived up to my reputation as a typical Australian foolishly approaching dangerous animals (pro tip: Bison weigh 1,000kg and apparently will charge)

Caribou: This is one of Kelly’s photos and the best single photo I have of a caribou. However, I saw hundreds of them in various herds over the journey

Moose: This is the best shot I had of my moose encounter. We looked at each other for a few minutes but he kept his distance and the snow was too deep for me to get any closer

We saw various birds including this one (unidentified) but less than I thought. I was amused at the ptarmigans which appeared to have the flying capability of a chicken. Surprised to not see any eagles or other birds of prey which I’d come to expect… — We saw various birds including this one (unidentified) but less than I thought. I was amused at the ptarmigans which appeared to have the flying capability of a chicken. Surprised to not see any eagles or other birds of prey which I’d come to expect from time in coastal BC

The Car:

Affectionately known as Jolene, the first few days were spent getting to trust the car. Having only driven it around Vancouver for a few days, it was daunting at first to venture into the remoteness of Northern BC without having properly tested her. At times, we would drive three hours without seeing another car and temperatures were often -10C or below so my eyes were constantly on the temperature gauge and watching for warning lights. Thankfully for the drive to Alaska, the engine and car performed flawlessly and consistently.

I find myself taking more photos of my car than the landscape around it

The second week was about learning the idiosyncrasies of the car. Issues presented and (mostly) fixed so far include:

She chews through oil thanks to a leaky oil pan. After 6,000km, right as I was about to leave Dawson Creek (for a harrowing six hours drive in the dark and heavy snow), I got an oil pressure warning light. Found myself a Jiffy Lube and had the oil changed and topped up. I’m not going to fix the leak, I’ve just accepted that I’ll be checking the oil and topping it up every few days
Broken hose to front windshield washer spray – doesn’t sound bad but in the dark with snow and grit, not being able to use your washer fluid to see out the front kinda sucks (currently duct taped together)
Windshield wiper bent out of shape in the cold stopped working for a week, came back online as temperatures returned nearer to zero
Side indicator fell off, super glued back on
Fuel cap mechanism broke, bent back into working order
Stay tuned, more to come no doubt

The first, but certainly not the last, time the duct tape comes out

So, as much as anything, I realise this is going to be a mechanical adventure where things constantly stop working and I find ways to fix them. I like this element of trip, it excites me as much as it worries me. I just hope that more serious problems don’t present – my schedule doesn’t include contingencies for engine swaps or rebuilds.

I was very lucky I noticed my first oil level issue was while I was within a few kilometres of a major town (and some very friendly and helpful Canadian mechanics). Having said that, I’m carrying a lot of equipment including fluids

Highlights:

Quickly talking through some of the other highlights of the segment, I would include:

First spot in the highlight has to go to sharing a great adventure with my sister Kelly

Liard Hot Springs – a beautiful natural hot spring in the middle of the Alaska Highway. I ended up spending a few hours talking to two nice strangers in the pitch dark, never seeing their faces but enjoying the serenity and hot water against the fre… — Liard Hot Springs – a beautiful natural hot spring in the middle of the Alaska Highway. I ended up spending a few hours talking to two nice strangers in the pitch dark, never seeing their faces but enjoying the serenity and hot water against the freezing mountain air

Open mic night at the Gold Pan Saloon in Whitehorse for some country classics

Trying the local microbrews at Yukon Brewing which were great. Also being amused that they sell fresh produce grown hydroponically from a container out the back of the brewery – it’s weird to see someone show up to a brewery and walk away with a hea… — Trying the local microbrews at Yukon Brewing which were great. Also being amused that they sell fresh produce grown hydroponically from a container out the back of the brewery – it’s weird to see someone show up to a brewery and walk away with a head of lettuce

Learning to fly a drone in the freezing cold at stops along the way (I’ve got a long way to go but at least I figured out how to make it take off and shoot photos & video). Admittedly got a bit too close to power lines on first test flight

Matanuska Glacier on the drive into Anchorage

Beers with the locals in Tok, Alaska and getting a view on life in small towns in remote Alaska (summary: it’s mostly about hunting, fishing and drinking from what I gather so far)

Other highlights:

Learning about the origins of the ALCAN at Whitehorse museum and how it affected the region (quick summary: initial populations were driven by gold rush and first nations settlements, then later WW2 necessitated the creation of a supply route to Anchorage so they build the highway in 8 months in the 40’s which caused big population swings and changed the region by linking up previously isolated towns and creating new ones for construction)
Not getting a ticket for speeding after being pulled over by an Alaska State Trooper

Lowlights (there aren’t many thankfully):

Consistently getting up in the middle of the night to check the Aurora app and walk outside in the cold to not see the Northern Lights
Getting bitten all over by bug(s) in one of the motels

Tips for those considering doing this:

The Milepost is a great companion for historical and practical info along the route, a thoroughly detailed handbook about navigating the region
Buy the right winter tires. I anguished over the decision for my rubber but ultimately glad that I had M+S and Three Peaks Snowflake endorsed tires (BFG K02s) and went over and above to carry chains although thankfully they never had to get put on
Carrying extra fuel is good for peace of mind but not necessary
Know that you’ll go through a ton of windshield washer fluid keeping the visibility up
I’ve gone two weeks without handling cash. Again, handy for a backup but not required

Photo credits: Kelly Naunton, my sister, can take credit for all of the good photos but they are a mixture of our photos from my iPhone and her DSLR.