Alaska 2018 ?

[LJY]

Just throwing it out there to see if anyone is planning or interested in going up to Anchorage Alaska next year?

[Devil Dog]

Bin-there done n'that twice, loved it .
Tag up with some one and just Go.
Or do it solo . The people up North are so friendly you really wont know you solo .
Really...

[NCBill]

Be sure to visit Homer when you are in Anchorage. Its relatively close, its the end of the road. I camped out on the spit, it was great (and surprising to me, bug free!!)

Also, if you go to Denali, I couldn't get camping at the National Park (booked months in advance). But about ten miles down the road you come to Denali State Park. Very basic camping, but it was cheap, and it is looking at the same mountain. Empty too!

[StarvingHyena]

Hello Everyone,
I live in Juneau, Alaska and I'd like to encourage anyone interested in exploring Alaska to come North in 2018. Would suggest coming North after the Rally. Anyone interested? I'll try to help with your plans ... I haven't traveled to Alaska interior much but do know Southeast Alaska quite well... its the best anyway. Oh Oh! I could be in trouble for that last comment.

Lets start a thread for Alaska 2018.

Tom

[ReagentGrade]

I can't make it in 2018, but I'll follow this thread with great anticipation. Alaska is definitely in my future plans.

Enjoy!

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by LJY

Just throwing it out there to see if anyone is planning or interested in going up to Anchorage Alaska next year?

Just plan it, and they will come.

Not certain when, but heading to Alaska for a few months is definitely on our must do list. We did do a 2 week trip in the southeast part, including a one week yacht trip and a night out with Tom, but definitely want to go back with our trailer. Taking it on the Marine Highway is also a consideration, camping for a bit at every port, just have to weight out the costs involved.

[Zardoz]

We've been talking about such a trip for quiet a while. If all the variables in life came into alignment, we'd be interested.

[a602pmcc]

We too will be following this thread with great anticipation. Probably not in the cards for us in 2018, maybe 2019....

Paul & Denise

[Bobbie54]

I wish I could say absolutely yes, but probably not in 2018 for me, either.

[Loren & Cathy]

We bought the trailer to do the bucket list of which the main one is a trip to Alaska. But Cathy has to get fully retired first plus her mother is slowly failing in the nursing home. As of now I hope it is 2019 to Alaska. To take a trip with no time frame of when you have to be back has got to be the ultimate. Loren

[SFDavis50]

I can say possibly yes and after the 2018 Escape Customer Appreciation Rally would be a very good time to start an Alaska trip as I will be going to the rally. The completion date for my 5.0TA is this July 6 and my orientation date is the 10th. I am planning to spend three or more weeks on a shakedown cruise in Washington and BC before heading back to Colorado.

[currinh]

If we went to Alaska again, I'd be very tempted to bite the bullet and take the Ferry. Expensive but the drive through BC and the Yukon is long. Maybe drive one way and Ferry the other. Has anyone taken the Ferry this far with an Escape?

Thanks.

[Jim Bennett]

One thing to consider is the 50th anniversary Boler rally is in August next year.

I like the idea of a rally a few weeks after the 2019 Escape Rally.

[SFDavis50]

Originally Posted by currinh

If we went to Alaska again, I'd be very tempted to bite the bullet and take the Ferry. Expensive but the drive through BC and the Yukon is long. Maybe drive one way and Ferry the other. Has anyone taken the Ferry this far with an Escape?

Thanks.

I have thought about taking the Skagway to Prince Rupert section of the Alaska Marine Highway system as part of the drive back. The online system seems to limit you to 30 ft. in length though. Not sure if I was using it correctly and I haven't verified anything. 30 ft. is the longest it would let me enter for the price. The Anchorage to Bellingham is way to expensive, I could book several Alaska cruises for that price.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by currinh

If we went to Alaska again, I'd be very tempted to bite the bullet and take the Ferry. Expensive but the drive through BC and the Yukon is long. Maybe drive one way and Ferry the other. Has anyone taken the Ferry this far with an Escape?

Thanks.

Maybe you can convince Congress to build a bridge over BC and the Yukon.

[SFDavis50]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Maybe you can convince Congress to build a bridge over BC and the Yukon.

Only if they use American Steel! Canadian concrete would be OK though.

[laurah]

I will be going full time as soon as I sell some property and have thought I would love to go to Alaska. I just wasn't sure I wanted to do it alone. I would definitely be interested in joining you or a group.

[AKCamper]

The drive from Skagway to Seattle takes three long days or four or five casual ones. I drove the Cassier twice last year and my wife just drove in three days last week. The drive through Bamff and Jasper is a great way to go as well. I am not retired yet and I drive the highway fairly often. I am going to drive to Montana to pick up our Escape in two weeks. I have no idea how much a ferry ticket would cost from Bellingham, but it would be expensive. Just watch out for the big rigs barreling through construction zones. Best to have zero deductible comprehensive insurance to replace your windshield, it's cheap. It really is a beautiful drive and if you take the Cassier don't miss having one of the burgers at Bell 2. Heck, Laird Hot Springs makes the drive worth it, but you have to take the Alaskan highway instead of the Cassier.

[StarvingHyena]

Hi Eric,
I think you are thinking of Prince Rupert. The drive between Seattle and Prince Rupert is close to 1000 miles. The drive between Seattle and Skagway (top end of Southeast Alaska) is around 2350 miles.

Both are great drives with good (enough) roads. Maybe I'll rattle on in future posts about driving up here.

In May early I took the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham, Washington to Juneau. That ferry takes about 3 days and I find it to be very relaxing but it is expensive. .... how many times in your lifetime will you do this trip (rationalization ... I know)? My fee was about $1500.00 US for myself and vehicle .... no trailer one way. There are cabins available for families or individuals for extra. I prefer though to camp out (free) on the Solarium deck where there are 'flat folding' lounge chairs. When you can get onboard held up to the Solarium Deck and stake out your "campsite" and reserve your lounge chair with your camp pad and sleeping bag. Then move up the rest of you stuff. I like camping on deck (its covered with infared heaters in the ceiling) because you'll be camping with a lot of other young people who frequently bring musical instruments and evenings are frequently filled with guitars and singing- not always in English as it can be a fun international mix. You are not allowed to sleep to sleep in your camper .... every 4 hours, weather permitting they have a dog walk period on the auto deck.

Each ship is a little different but there is a galley where you can get hot food and sit down to eat. While not gormet its passable and filling and tastes good. I usually bring along a stewardess style hand truck with a cooler (to save on food costs) and my sleeping gear on top. The cooler is usually packed with breakfast and lunch fixin's ... then I splurge on a nice dinner.

Tomorrow, I'll get some prices and post more ...

Hold that thought ...... more tomorrow

Tom

[Ron in BC]

I wouldn't make doing it dependent on having other folks with you. It's easy to do solo. I'd recommend a cell phone booster. We found ours very handy on some stretches.

Take the top of the world highway, It's worth it.

We drove up and took the ferry to Prince Rupert back. Seemed like a good compromise to driving both ways and you get to visit places only accessible by water.

Ron