TWOLOST: Alaska 2008 (trip report)

[twolost]

Date (day): July, 31 (Day 34)

Source: Skagway, Alaska (Pullen Creek RV Park)

Destination: Iskut B.C. (Mountain Shadow RV Park)

Travel Miles: 550

Bug Activity: Low.

Deviation from plan: Decided to just keep driving past our original destination and carry on until we got tired. As such we ended up in Iskut B.C. (230 miles further down the road than originally planned).

Moment(s): Today was a bad GPS day (the root cause of which was my fault). I used a Garmin 276C which I had originally purchased for my motorcycle. This GPS finds a second lease on life here in the van. The software I use is the Garmin TOPO series (US package and Canada package). These software packages - at least when I purchased them three plus years ago - were supposed to provide the most detailed 'trail' information available at the time. So much information in fact, that I am unable to download all of the maps onto the GPS at the same time (due to a map quantity restriction, not a memory restriction). Due to the large distance covered on our trip, I had to be very selective which map areas I download to the GPS or I would overrun the quantity restriction when trying to load the entire trip at the same time. Well, as I found out later… while I was in the process of selecting map areas (prior to downloading the maps to the GPS) missed one map section by about 1 pixel. This 1 pixel mistake left a 'hole' on one section of our route. With this hole, the GPS could not identify the much shorter route as it did not see the path to be continuous. When I asked the GPS to take us to Dease Lake (from Skagway) for example, the GPS kept trying to guide us 80+ miles off course before it would put us on back on course. Ultimately, we did not believe the GPS (even though it was flashing at us, telling us to turn around, pointing behind us, etc...) and everything worked itself out.

Takeaway(s): To my lovely wife... "see, I told you we were on the right road." (whew!)

Sportsmobile Note(s): My brother ended up finding a slick suction cup fixture for our GPS that sticks on the inside of the windshield and cradles the GPS. This was cool because it put the GPS far enough out toward the front of the van that it can still pickup satellites most of the time without the addition of a special antenna extension. The only modification I made was to put a small piece of foam between the bottom of the GPS and the top of the dash (about the thickness of a pencil) just to minimize the GPS vibration while on the bumpy roads.




Skagway in the early AM hours




Back into the fog atop White Pass





Bove Island




Back on the Cassiar (Hwy 37)




Out of the Yukon and back into British Columbia




Mountain Shadow RV Park

[twolost]

Date (day): August, 1 (Day 35)

Source: Iskut B.C. (Mountain Shadow RV Park)

Destination: Stewart B.C.

Travel Miles: 150

Bug Activity: Moderate.

Deviation from plan: Shorter day today because of the longer day yesterday.

Moment(s): Hands down, seeing the bears. This stop was added to our trip for the sole reason of getting a chance to see wild grizzly bears fishing - up close. Fortunately, we arrived at just the right time, because there had been almost zero bear activity prior to our arrival. There was still very limited bear activity while we were there (reportedly, due to the low fish counts in the creek) but we were still able to see a couple of bears going after fish right in front of us. One minute, nothing. The next minute a 400 pound bear walks out of the dense brush like a ghost.

Takeaway(s): For me, this experience put 'fear and mystery' back into traveling outdoors in this area.

Sportsmobile Note(s): I am now double convinced that purchasing a hard sided vehicle that we could camp in was the right choice for us.




Bears... (Fish Creek; Hyder, AK)

[Greg In Austin]

Dang TwoLost, how soft was that bear's furr???

What size lense were you using there?

(great pics as awlays!)

[twolost]

Lens was a 70mm -> 200mm. The bears were so close at times that I had to back off from 200mm just to keep the bear in the frame. It was pretty impressive to see something on the top of the food chain wander around in the brush right in front of us and go after fish in the creek at such close range. Having never seen a wild grizzly bear this close up... it made quite a lasting impression. I admit to having a renewed respect for fumbling around outdoors when I am in places where these bears live. If I was to see one of these bears again - even from a distance - I would be less curious now... and would instead be a whole lot more interested in self preservation.

Thanks,
---TWOLOST---

[Sam]

WOW! What a fantastic trip the two of you took. I'd love to make a trip like that to Alaska sometime in my lifetime.

Thanks for the excellent report & pictures!!!

Sam

[twolost]

Date (day): August, 2 (Day 36)

Source: Stewart B.C.

Destination: Stewart B.C.

Travel Miles: 0

Bug Activity: Moderate.

Deviation from plan: None.

Moment(s): In addition to looking for more bears, we spent some time up beyond Salmon Glacier today - just out exploring. More glaciers, mining remnants, and mountain views... all spectacular. It was a beautiful clear day and we felt that this was a fitting way to end our vacation. As such, we decided to wake up early the next morning and put the hammer down in order to try to make it home in one day rather than taking the two days we had originally planned. It would all be over in 1000 miles and 22 hours of driving.

Takeaway(s): This was the right trip at the right time for us.

Sportsmobile Note(s): Our Sportsmobile carried us to far off places, it encouraged us to step off the beaten path, and it brought us safely home again - just as it was supposed to do.



Salmon Glacier






Found a few more glaciers while out exploring...






This should just about do it for this trip report. I will add a few pics of some interesting vehicles we encountered on our trip, add the fuel data, and add a few links to various campgrounds just to close my contribution to this thread. Thanks to the forum (Jage) for not throwing me out for posting so many pics and thanks to everyone else for their comments and for following along. Best wishes on your next adventure!!




Until next time...





Cheers,
---TWOLOST---

[twolost]

Here are just a few of the other adventure vehicles that we encountered while on our trip. Forum members may even recognize one of them!!

[olyfox]

We just returned this weekend from a similar 5-week adventure in the Yukon and Alaska--our first trip up there. I had read several of your postings prior to our depature, and we definitely benefitted from your recommendations and cautions. Your interesting log and photos were inspiring and helped us make a few decisions on our itinerary.

We did less off-road exploring than you did, but slept in our van every night rather than treating ourselves to B&B's and motels. Taking the Alaskan Ferry back from Haines to Bellingham was a nice treat, however.

We also only saw two other SMBs the whole time, but lots of rental campers with Europeans who had flown into Whitehorse or Anchorage. We added some fishing (very successful with halibut; less so with the silvers as the rains brought too much water into the rivers when I gave it a try). Our closest version of your swamp-sinking episode was being so close to hitting a moose that she brushed across the front of our van as I barely was able to stop without going off the road over a steep embankment.

I realize that the Alaska travel season is about over for this year (RV parks and even some government campgrounds closing down as we were leaving), but I'll be happy to provide more advice if others are still following this thread.

[Buji]

Originally Posted by twolost

Cheers,
---TWOLOST---

[/size]

Man, y'all are tall...
I barely come up to the window on my van. :-)

[Angel]

I love this thread. Thank you twolost! I drove 10,000 miles 4 years ago on a trip to Alaska, back packed the Chilkoot Trai and did the inland passage in a 17' rubber raft. I fell in love with Eagle , so much so that I had to go back to mush a dog sled team a couple years ago. Your pictures are fabulous. None of my pictures do the justice to Alaska like yours do. I look at them and am transported back to Alaska. It is one of the trips that I cannot wait to make again, this time in my new SMB.

Angel