A couple of regular contributers to TMO asked me to write something about our recent trip to Alaska but I can't get excited about doing it in the traditional way. One reason is that we lived in Juneau Alaska for several years and going to Alaska is no longer an adventure for us. The second is that it's a long trip (2,500mi from the Montana border to Anchorage) and I'd like to mention other travel alternatives for those people who may not have time to drive R/T.
I suppose what I'll say about taking an RV up may also come across as negative to some people but I'm assuming everyone already knows it's an incredibly beautiful place. If not, I want to assure you that it is well worth your time to see it.
The alternatives to driving an RV up that come to mind are: (1) Cruise Ships, (2) the Alaska Marine Hwy ferries and (3) flying up and renting a small motor home or car. IMO all three alternatives are better than spending 75-90% of you vacation days behind the wheel of your car or truck. If you'll have less than a month to cover Montana to Anchorage and back I'd recommend using one of the alternatives now and driving up later when you have more time.
Cruise Ship options include: "one way by water & fly back", "R/T by water" and "one way by water plus various extensions by bus and/or train & then fly back". We've never done the cruise ship thing but I think cruising to Skagway and taking their bus the 600-900mi on to Fairbanks and Anchorage would be a good way to go. Http://
www.vacationstogo.com has been recommended to me as a good place to find discount cruises if (like me) bargain hunting is your thing.
Alaska State Ferries: This is a popular way to visit Alaska but is not inexpensive.The 1000mi, three-day, ONE-WAY trip from Bellingham Wa to Haines or Skagway Ak to connect to the hwy system will run approx $2,000.00 for two people, a vehicle and state room. Taking the TM along will add another $1,000.00. Taking the ferry on to the Whittier/Seward area will increase that cost by about 2/3. Fares from Prince Rupert BC are approx 1/2 those from Bellingham are take half as long. PR is about 1,000mi north of Bellingham by road. Info can be found at http:
www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs
Fly and Drive: The last time I checked, a small motorhome could be rented in Anchorage, Fairbanks or Whitehorse for about the same cost as a hotel room and rental car per day. This is possibly the least expensive way to visit Alaska and you'll be joining the 1000's of Europeans who dominate parts of Alaska and BC/Yukon during the summer.
Hauling the TM up: First I have to tell you that you need to get a copy of http:
www.themilepost.com if you are driving to Alaska. It has mile by mile coverage of the routes. The following are the things I think you'll need to be aware of while driving the Alaska Highway (hasn't been called the Alcan in years and Canadians may resent use of that name). In no special order:
Time- The Ak Hwy is a pretty good paved two-lane road in most places but carries heavy traffic during the summer so relax and go-with-the-flow so to speak. Figure 2/3 of the MPH you average in the lower-48.
Gasoline- We averaged US$3.00 per gallon this summer but found it plentiful with frequent gas stations. They come and go however, especially on the north end, so we don't let our tank get much below 1/2 before stopping. Propane is a motor fuel in Canada and we paid $18.00 once for a 20lb fill.
Gravel- Although the roads around the large cities are high quality, most of the pavement is chip seal and there will be sections being replaced along the way. Chip seal (I'm told) is a process of spraying liquid asphalt on the road bed and covering it with a couple inches of gravel. After traffic has run over it for a couple of weeks they machine brush the excess gravel off and expose the new paving. These sections provide billowing clouds of dust during that two weeks and gravel flies everywhere. We have a Roadwing rock shield that attaches to our draw bar and stops most of the gravel but we still got some dings on the front of the TM. The Only way to really prevent gravel strikes is to attach full-width plywood or a similar material on the frame just in front of the TM shell. We've never had a broken headlight of windshield on that hwy. I read some time back that trucks don't throw stones at us but just throw them up in the air for us to run into. We slow down when trucks approach from the other direction.
Dust- Dust getting inside was a problem when we towed our Alpenlite 5th wheel to Alaska some years back and is even worse with the TM. We may not take our's up again for that reason but if we do I'll spend several hours underneath with cans of expanding foam and tubes of caulk to seal every crack and opening I can find. Every article I've ever read about someone testing an RV in Alaska has mentioned dust getting inside but That knowledge doesn't help when we are cleaning ours.
Bugs- As I mentioned in another thread, bugs use the same openings dust does and we found it nearly impossible to keep the insect hordes out if we had lights on at night. My theory is that they spot where light is coming out and fly right in. Turning the lights off significantly reduced the problem and since it is light most of the time in the summer we found we didn't need them anyway.
Traffic- We usually traveled the Ak Hwy in late fall or early spring when we lived there and traffic was fairly light but we have also traveled south in June and it's quite different then. Once was a few years back when we were on a 500mi bike camping trip from Fairbanks to Haines Junction and again this summer coming home. We couldn't believe all the RV's we saw coming north. They came at us in waves of 3 to 10 and only a few minutes apart. I'd estimate we saw 200-500 per day and it must be that way throughout June. I was surprised to note that approx 50% of them were big 5th wheels and another 30% class-a motorhomes. Nary a TM of course but a smattering of canvas popups mixed in with the rest. You will not be alone up there. The visitors center at Denali Natl Park reminded me of the crowds attending an NFL game and we were there in September.
RV Parks- We had no problem finding camping places. There were many listed in our Trailer Life Directory but most are not. Although fairly primative by the standards further south in Canada and most of the US, most had some hookups and were reasonably priced - averaging about US$18.00. I should mention that we did not go north of Whitehorse this summer so things could br different further north.
Just my $0.02 and YMMV
Travel to Alaska
Thanks.
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