Alaska 2025

[Mary O]

I booked the shuttle to Kennicott mine. $119pp

Edit: adding that we will be in the same shuttle with Donna and Melora. I asked if we needed to eat a light breakfast to fit. Vicki said no.

I just booked the last seat on this shuttle, but Vicky said they can add additional shuttles if needed.

 

[Lorraine Pittsburgh]

I'm quite enjoying this blog from a 2022 trip to Alaska. The author is includes beautiful pictures & often flowery writing, but it also contains lots of good info. Happy reading!

(This is the link to the final chapter, as that's where I started; in my next life, I'll be a normal person & start reading things at Chapter 1. Links to the other chapters on various segments of their trip are found at the bottom of this webpage.)

Airstreaming to Alaska - Final Chapter: Lessons Learned - Living In Beauty

Here is our open book of the details – things we learned which you may find interesting, or even serve you as you plan your own unique overland adventure to the 49th State.

livinginbeauty.net

 

[Lorraine Pittsburgh]

For those like me who love seeing wildlife, these viewing guides might be of interest. They list some very specific spots where various animals are often seen.

Wildlife Viewing Brochures, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Wildlife Viewing in Alaska, Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

www.adfg.alaska.gov

It will soon be time to stop researching & hit the road for Alaska; I leave 3 weeks from tomorrow. Look forward to seeing some of you at the rally in BC & a few in Fairbanks. Safe travels all!

 

[Donna D.]

I've been out camping for two weeks and the WiFi suxed. I had planned on posting this pic of my newest T-shirt on the 26th. Blew by that didn't we!! I'm getting really excited. I mean REALLY EXCITED!! I plan on wearing this T-shirt on May 26 as we start the adventure!! WOOOHOOOO

 

[Mike G]

That's a great shirt for a gal to wear. Those twin peaks will be in 3 dimensional relief on you!

 

[Donna D.]

For those going to Alaska that drive diesel rigs. I'm hearing DEF may be hard to come by at some locations, and that seems to change hourly. IF you need it, you probably should plan to have some with you. Twenty-six days to blast off!!!

 

[Donna D.]

This was just posted in the Milepost Facebook group. Good reminder!

 

[Donna D.]

More good info from an Alaska RV Facebook group:
"A message for you first timers driving your RVs to Alaska, whether you’re nervous about it or not…
Pay close attention to all these different signs on the edges of the roads. They’re there for a reason! Slow your roll. Both the Cassiar and the Alcan use them and be glad they do. Smaller rigs will feel all the bumps and dips and heaves more than the big rigs.
A note about the Cassiar: it’s basically a 450 mile long BACK ROAD! So if you don’t prefer back road driving, stick to the Alcan. And there’s no cell or WiFi for the WHOLE STRETCH and then some. Your last cell service will be at the beginning of 37 and you won’t have cell again until you get near Teslin.
Now you know. Enjoy the views and happy trails.
Oh yeah, if you’re coming up now (end ish of April) or early to mid May, remember it’s spring and it still snows up here. So if there’s precipitation, in higher elevations, it’ll likely be snow, so pay close attention to the temps."

I tried to make the image file name be representative of the sign meaning.

 

[Thrak]

In 2017 my wife and I left Northern California and drove up to Faribanks, Alaska with our teardrop trailer. (We just sold it and bought a 2020 Escape 19.)

We were planning on an 8 week trip up and back but southern British Columbia was on fire when we were coming back so we just scooted right on through and it ended up being a 7 week trip. We beat the living crud out of the poor trailer on the Alaska Highway. Just before getting to Toke, AK there was a sweeping turn and an old lodge or something off to the side. We were looking at that and missed the huge pothole in the middle of the road. (Almost made the same mistake on the way back!) The truck started "lump thumping" down the road. I checked it out in Toke (great pizza there by the way as well as a laundromat) and figured I had broken something in the front end. We limped on to Fairbanks where I went to a dealer to see what was up. Turns out the truck was fine but I had broken the steel bands in a front tire. (Did I mention it was a huge pothole?)

While sitting in the dealership waiting for them to figure it out and obtain a matching tire I found myself talking with a guy from Grass Valley, CA - a town I visited for work fairly often as one of the offices I serviced was there. Another "small world" story.

Anyway, take the signs seriously when they say "frost heaves" as they will jar the boogers out of you and your rig. Don't hesitate to go slowly when it seems prudent to do so. Far too many people beat the heck out of their rigs on that road but it is well worth traveling. You will absolutely LOVE driving up to Alaska. One thing to be aware of when you get there: All through Canada gas was sold by the liter. When we first hit Alaska my wife almost had a heart attack when she saw the sign for gas pricing. I had to laugh and point out to her that it was now listed by the gallon.

Camping through Yukon Territory was great. Nice campgrounds and absolutely free firewood. Just be sure you have an axe to split it. There were small, low walled and roofed shelters stacked with pre-cut wood for campfires. No charge at all. Soooooooooooooo very different from California where they want $10-$12 for a tiny little bundle of split pine.

No idea if they still do it but, when we reached Witehorse (a small town that is the Capital of Yukon Territory) we decided to get a room, eat in a restaurant, shower, do laundry, buy groceries, etc. We were surprised that the town was "full". We finally found one place with a room so we took it. The guy at the desk explained the tow was booked up due to an International Softball Tournament. We figured, "Oh, Canada and the USA". Nope. When we looked at the schedule on the wall it included teams from places such as Japan, Bulgaria, and a host of other countries. We were blown away!

If you stop at the Signpost Forest at Watson Lake YT you may be able to locate a sign that we left there in 2017. At the time we were fairly active Geocachers. I used the same name (Thrak) for geocaching. (I use the same name on the Cruise Critic forums as well.) If you should locate the blue sign with white lettering you will find our real names, the town we live in, and even the coordinates of our home. Not exactly discrete...

Enjoy your trip. My wife and I are envious. This was one of our favorite trips to date.

 

[Ron in BC]

That person's experience isn't our experience. We've driven far, far worse roads, the old unpaved cow trail called Mex5 comes to mind. Rough roads are easier to note in Baja. If you see an old tire lying on the edge of the road it means just about all of those road signs.

There's no reason to beat up a rig on really rough areas. Just go through them slowly and watch the road ahead. We've found it's the construction areas that are often the rough areas.

Stewart-Cassiar photos. I'd hate to think that those kind of articles deter anyone from this route. Boya Lake alone is worth it.

Ron

 

[Donna D.]

The roads and bugs... mosquitoes, change year-to-year. Those that traveled years back and had to take a couple of spare tires would be amazed at the improvement to the roads (what I'm reading anyway). Mosquitoes, that's another story and because northern Canada, Yukon and Alaska didn't get the usual amount of snow the past year... carry good bug spray.

The worst roads we'll probably encounter is between Destruction Bay and Tok, Chitina-McCarthy to Tok and then Tok to Chicken to Dawson City via Top of the World road. That's okay. We'll want to go slow(er) anyway because we don't want to miss seeing the scenery OR any wildlife.

 

[iamunique127]

More good info from an Alaska RV Facebook group:
"A message for you first timers driving your RVs to Alaska, whether you’re nervous about it or not…
Pay close attention to all these different signs on the edges of the roads. They’re there for a reason! Slow your roll. Both the Cassiar and the Alcan use them and be glad they do. Smaller rigs will feel all the bumps and dips and heaves more than the big rigs.
A note about the Cassiar: it’s basically a 450 mile long BACK ROAD! So if you don’t prefer back road driving, stick to the Alcan. And there’s no cell or WiFi for the WHOLE STRETCH and then some. Your last cell service will be at the beginning of 37 and you won’t have cell again until you get near Teslin.
Now you know. Enjoy the views and happy trails.
Oh yeah, if you’re coming up now (end ish of April) or early to mid May, remember it’s spring and it still snows up here. So if there’s precipitation, in higher elevations, it’ll likely be snow, so pay close attention to the temps."

I tried to make the image file name be representative of the sign meaning.

That person's experience isn't our experience. We've driven far, far worse roads, the old unpaved cow trail called Mex5 comes to mind. Rough roads are easier to note in Baja. If you see an old tire lying on the edge of the road it means just about all of those road signs.

There's no reason to beat up a rig on really rough areas. Just go through them slowly and watch the road ahead. We've found it's the construction areas that are often the rough areas.

Stewart-Cassiar photos. I'd hate to think that those kind of articles deter anyone from this route. Boya Lake alone is worth it.

Ron

Good information, you two. We are leaving for the Yukon today, Alcan on the way up and Cassiar Hwy. on the way home.

We’ve been there in the past and there was always construction somewhere.

 

[Thrak]

A note about the Cassiar: it’s basically a 450 mile long BACK ROAD! So if you don’t prefer back road driving, stick to the Alcan. And there’s no cell or WiFi for the WHOLE STRETCH and then some. Your last cell service will be at the beginning of 37 and you won’t have cell again until you get near Teslin.

When we went we did the Alcan going up and Cassiar coming back. I referred to the Cassiar as the "roller coaster road" as it seemed to have a lot of up and down to it. It wasn't a bad road at all but, like you said, basically seemed like a back road without many places one could pull off and pretty much nothing (other than scenery) along the way. It was interesting and we were glad we took that route. We were prepared for massive amounts of mosquitos during our trip up and back but actually had very little in the way of mosquito activity. We were happy.

Note: I just realized that I was spelling Tok as Toke in my previous post. D'Oh! (Old person moment.)

 

[Ron in BC]

We were prepared for massive amounts of mosquitos during our trip up and back but actually had very little in the way of mosquito activity. We were happy.

We carry these nets in the trailer. There's been sometimes that, without them, our experience would have been ruined. I've found that many times there's either mosquitos or nasty flies where you least expect them. I'd rather use the net than put mosquito spray on my face, especially in hot weather.

Ron

 

[Donna D.]

I have a favor to ask those that are following me using MY Itinerary. Could you PLEASE supply me a PRINTED copy of YOUR itinerary at the Escape Rally. It doesn't need to be fancy, in fact I'd prefer simple. Just the dates, campground and site numbers (if known). Please put your name on it! It would be VERY helpful if I need to find you, especially when in the same campground... I wouldn't need to walk the entire thing to find you. I WILL provide the same.

A bit more than two weeks 'til blast off!

 

[IanC]

WhooHoo! Ann and I are heading out from San Diego this Sunday, meeting our friends in Northern CA. We will be going through Vancouver and Whistler, and it looks like the group will catch us at Ten Mile Lake CG, passing us up at Boya Lake. Looking forward to the adventure.

 

[Donna D.]

Those that are going to Alaska, with this group or by yourself or NEXT YEAR.... there's some great information regarding services and attractions in the guides found about 1/2 down the page on this website. Best of all, it's free!

Homepage - Yukon Territory Information

Comprehensive links to attractions, bed & breakfasts, hotels & motels, outdoor adventures, sightseeing tours and more for the Yukon Territory, Inuvik, Beaufort Delta, Northern British Columbia and Skagway Alaska.

yukoninfo.com

 

[land’SCAPE]

I just came upon this link & it may prove helpful, if you haven't already seen it.

When you Google |Map directions from one town to another you get a drive time based on the posted speed limit. However, as we know, some of the routes we'll follow (Destruction Bay to Beaver Creek as an eg.) may be much slower due to construction, condition of the road, or both. This link allows you to customize your speed, to recalculate your drive time.

Driving Time from Whitehorse, Canada to Beaver Creek, Canada

How long does it take to drive from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory to Beaver Creek, Yukon? View a map with the drive time between Whitehorse, Canada and Beaver Creek, Canada to plan the duration of your next road trip.

www.travelmath.com

 

[Thrak]

When we transited Canada on our way to Alaska I had issues because the kph markings on our speedometer were really small and my eyes aren't what they used to be. I was "saved" by having my old Garmin GPS routing me. It automagically gave me the speed limit in mph. Using the GPS was good because we often didn't have cell coverage to get this info from Google maps.

 

[Donna D.]

10 days until I leave for Osoyoos! Getting prepared. I just purchased one Rain-X Windshield Repair Kit and one Slime Deluxe Tire Plug Kit. I hope none of us need these. I'm truly working the old saying: "Better to be prepared than sorry."