June 5,2008 marked the beginning of one of my most favorite adventures, The Dalton Highway in Alaska! A friend of mine is planning a trip to Alaska and his goal is to drive the Dalton (yikes!) and I promised him I would do a retrospective on my blog of that part of my trip..I started blogging 6 months later...better late than never! Its
something that I would do again in a heartbeat and recommend to everyone going to Alaska. Dale, seriously....if you need a copilot/navigator/maid/sherpa...whatever...call me! I'm up for the challenge! Although I was a bit blurry-eyed from the previous day's excitement (the Wings beat the Penguins to clinch the Stanley Cup :-) )I awoke about 5 am eager to get to HQ of the Northern Alaska Tour Company for my tour...Arctic Ocean Adventure! Yup...right up my alley! Joining me in the van were guide Jackie and 8 other adventurers. I got to
ride shotgun for the first part! It wasn't long before I spotted the 1st moose of the day(we saw half a dozen over the course of the day) and a few minutes later pointed and shrieked "little brown furry thing!"....a marten had just crossed our path and everyone else missed it, including my camera!Don't be deceived...very little of the 
road is paved, only at the very beginning, on the opposite side of the hill near the bottom you can see an elevated section of the pipeline that stretches from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. The dark brown area to the right of it that cuts through the boreal forest is the Dalton Highway, or Haul Road. Wheeeee!
road is paved, only at the very beginning, on the opposite side of the hill near the bottom you can see an elevated section of the pipeline that stretches from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. The dark brown area to the right of it that cuts through the boreal forest is the Dalton Highway, or Haul Road. Wheeeee!
We stopped briefly near a section of the 800 miles of pipeline to examine it closely. It is preferential to bury the pipeline but 420 miles of it is elevated due to the permafrost that lies below. Some of it is elevated higher than normal at "caribou crossings". The darker H pieces are called vertical support members and are designed to allow the pipe to flex with environmental changes such as earthquakes. The pipe can actually slide across the horizontal bar a few feet each way if mother nature feels the need to shake the ground! The silver part at the top of the vertical bar radiates heat away from the pipe and metal into the air as to not heat up the permafrost below. It is truly an engineering marvel and would recommend reading "The Great Alaska Pipeline" by Stan Cohen. Anyway, the pipeline constantly parallels the haul road either above or below ground and was our companion for the next 2 days.
Within a few hours we approached milepost 56, the Yukon River. Remember...this is not really a ROAD like you live on...it is a dirt road with tons of potholes and truck traffic...think of the worst backwoods road you have been on...how fast did you drive?! The Yukon is the 3rd largest river system in the US stretching nearly 2000 miles draining into the Bering Sea. The 2, 300 foot bridge over the Yukon river was completed in 1975 and not only carries vehicles, but the 
pipeline itself is anchored to the east side of the bridge. For obvious reasons, security is quite strict and there is NO STOPPING ANYWHERE on the bridge! It is constantly monitored by air and folks on the ground, if you go less than 5mph the loudspeakers start blaring and then draw their weapons!So..keep moving forward, but you don't have to speed. Yes, those are wooden planks. Another tidbit, you may not stop ANYWHERE along the road for more than 30 minutes, unless you are in one of the towns. The road is being monitored and if you stop for more than 30 minutes, someone WILL approaching to ask YOU questions! Keep an eye on the time! Now right around here was a nice diner and across the road a Bureau of Land Management visitor center with some great info!Unless you packed a lunch...you better stop. Oh, also, fill up with fuel at EVERY opportunity!
pipeline itself is anchored to the east side of the bridge. For obvious reasons, security is quite strict and there is NO STOPPING ANYWHERE on the bridge! It is constantly monitored by air and folks on the ground, if you go less than 5mph the loudspeakers start blaring and then draw their weapons!So..keep moving forward, but you don't have to speed. Yes, those are wooden planks. Another tidbit, you may not stop ANYWHERE along the road for more than 30 minutes, unless you are in one of the towns. The road is being monitored and if you stop for more than 30 minutes, someone WILL approaching to ask YOU questions! Keep an eye on the time! Now right around here was a nice diner and across the road a Bureau of Land Management visitor center with some great info!Unless you packed a lunch...you better stop. Oh, also, fill up with fuel at EVERY opportunity!
Milepost 98 brought us to a turnout
at Finger Mountain, although the weather was going to pot, I hopped out for a look around the area and to inspect the tiny arctic blooms on the tundra!
at Finger Mountain, although the weather was going to pot, I hopped out for a look around the area and to inspect the tiny arctic blooms on the tundra!
And who doesn't want their photo
taken on Finger Mountain amongst all the lichen covered rocks?!
Milepost 115...yay I am crossing the Arctic Circle and am now officially in the Arctic!Somewhere around here also was an "airplane crossing". A section of the road ties into a runway and "railroad gates" will come down as planes approach! How odd!
Oh, be sure to stop at Milepost 156 the south fork of the Koyukuk river. You can get out here and go down by the river and look for rocks, its BLM property so feel free to take one...or two...Watch for bears!
Milepost 175 is the "town" of Coldfoot. I use the word "town" loosely. "Town" has the Slate Creek Inn (where I stayed), an old mining camp, post office, cemetery, visitor center (HIGHLY recommended), Alaska DOT buildings, state trooper post, and and airstrip. That's it. I was supposed to take a small plane to Anuktuvuk Pass-a settlement in Gates of the Arctic National Park...but the incoming plane blew a tire upon landing and replacement parts would not arrive until the morning...excursion cancelled. :-( If you don't go with Northern Alaska Tour Company...perhaps they can arrange for just the excursion...I hear it is well worth it!
So here's my "hotel" the Slate Creek Inn in Coldfoot, Alaska. At first I was a bit freaked out...but I adjusted to rustic accommodations rather quickly and now consider it just part of the adventure! As long as there are no bugs. By this time it was late...about 9pm or so and decided to have a bite to eat. I didn't have to go far....just across the parking lot for a great meal!
If you watch the History Channel's
Oh, be sure to stop at Milepost 156 the south fork of the Koyukuk river. You can get out here and go down by the river and look for rocks, its BLM property so feel free to take one...or two...Watch for bears!
Milepost 175 is the "town" of Coldfoot. I use the word "town" loosely. "Town" has the Slate Creek Inn (where I stayed), an old mining camp, post office, cemetery, visitor center (HIGHLY recommended), Alaska DOT buildings, state trooper post, and and airstrip. That's it. I was supposed to take a small plane to Anuktuvuk Pass-a settlement in Gates of the Arctic National Park...but the incoming plane blew a tire upon landing and replacement parts would not arrive until the morning...excursion cancelled. :-( If you don't go with Northern Alaska Tour Company...perhaps they can arrange for just the excursion...I hear it is well worth it!
So here's my "hotel" the Slate Creek Inn in Coldfoot, Alaska. At first I was a bit freaked out...but I adjusted to rustic accommodations rather quickly and now consider it just part of the adventure! As long as there are no bugs. By this time it was late...about 9pm or so and decided to have a bite to eat. I didn't have to go far....just across the parking lot for a great meal!
If you watch the History Channel'sIce Road Truckers, the "restaurant" is often featured in the show. There is a large wooden support post near the cash register about at big as a circle you make with your arms....if someone has called (or passed through) and wanted to leave you a message...it would be tacked to that post. Here's my room and it did have a private bath :-)
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