TWOLOST: Alaska Or Bust in 2008

[Ed in Montana]

Pretty impressive list of projects there TL!

Back in 1997 when we drove to the northern Yukon, I brought an extra spare tire for my truck, but I found that to be overkill. The worst road we drove turned out to be the Cassiar Highway in northeastern British Columbia. The gravel sections were fine, but the semi -paved sections were horrible with giant pot holes and deep, sharp ruts designed for shredding sidewalls. I was amazed we got down it without any mishaps.

[windom]

The worst thing we had happen to our Westy when we did this in 93 was that while camped overnight somewhere in the wilds of Stone Mountain Provincial Park in B.C., a cute li'l rabbit (there were lots of them) gnawed through the electrical cable to our fuel pump. So be prepared!

[EMrider]

TL,
Using the motojack rack for an extra spare tire is really creative.

But........how have you secured the tire to the rack??

Have a great trip.
R

[twolost]

Just a quick update from the road...

Sitting in Nugget City RV Park in Yukon Canada tonight.

Everything on the SMB is working great and nothing I have added has fallen off yet - despite the best attempts of a chuckholed and frost heaved Hwy 37.

We ended up leaving a day late as I was still thrashing on the van and did not get any sleep. Had to makeup the time the following day. 102 degree temps up through the Fraser River Canyon. Sunshine the whole time so far. Our attempt to visit Salmon Glacier in Hyder AK was semi-foiled as there was still too much snow to navigate with our van. I neglected to let my finnancial institution know I was traveling in Canada, so they blocked access to my account. Made it hard to purchase fuel. Finally got hold of my bank today on our sat phone and was... of course put on hold for an eternity. Nearly got clipped by a semi tractor trailer today... he was speeding around a blind curve that had just been chip sealed. I kept watching his front tires fight for traction as he snowplowed right at us. Missed us by inches. So close in fact my wife started crying (she thought she was a gonner for sure). We used every bit of the shoulder on that one. Three more days in Canada before we break into mainland Alaska.

Will try and respond again once I am in a location to do so.


Here is where we eneded up tonight...





Cheers,
---TWOLOST---

[surfgeek33]

Thanks for the update Bruce! Hope you and the wife have a safe journey on the rest of the trip! Cheers.

-Ray

[twolost]

Another quick road update...

Sitting in Anchorage Alaska tonight at a B&B. Have had a spectacular trip so far. No rain to speak of.

Since our last update, we traveled some 400 miles along the Robert Campbell Highway - and more than 300 of those miles were unpaved. Encountered more moose than vehicle traffic. Ran up to Dawson City where we found a rutted and fairly steep fire lookout road that overlooked the entire area. Our SMB had no problem on the ascent or decent (and there were no tour busses up there). Next morning was Top Of The World Highway (mostly unpaved). We were the first to cross over the Yukon at Dawson on July 4 and again had the ferry and the road all to ourselves. Found a few off the beaten path spur roads to explore as well. I even managed to get stuck up past the front axle in a roadside swamp - not six inches off of the main road - while I was letting a faster vehicle pass. The far outside of the main road collapsed below us and the van was listing way over twoard the passenger side. Had to be towed out by an 18 wheeled fuel truck. The driver said that we were the 5th vehicle in a week to get stuck in the same spot. Ultimately, we ended up in Tok Alaska for the night and washed off the 200 pounds of gook we hauled out of the swamp. This morning we left Tok for Anchorage. We visited a muskox farm and made a side trip over Hatchers Pass (rough and unpaved - but spectacular views) to round out our day. Tomorrow we remain in Anchorage during a semi-planned SMB maintenance and general clean-up. Next we will be hitting points south (like Homer, Seward, Whittier, and Valdez).

Cheers,
---TWOLOST---

[twolost]

Entering Dawson City...




Onboard the Yukon River Ferry...



Top Of The World Highway U.S. Border...



Leaving Tok Alaska...



Muskox Farm...



Hatchers Pass...





Cheers,
---TWOLOST---

[Velogeo]

Those are great pictures. It looks like you're having the perfect road trip.

[cellularSTEVE]

What an awesome trip. Thanks for the updates.
Did you try using your Pullpal to get unstuck prior to the 18 wheeler pulling you out?

keep up the reports. I was supposed to be there this summer.


steve

[bitburger]

Keep the updates coming, this is great to follow.

Safe travels!

-Bitburger