So I realized this week I never circled back for any kind of summary. Work got crazy upon my return. Maybe a good thing as I’ve had more time to process the trip.
Three things stick out. First I wish we had more time. 44 days was a long trip but there is just so much ground to cover. Another 7-10 days would have been great if we used them to stay longer in a few places rather be temped to add more destinations to the map. 2nd the small fuel tank of the 250 brings the suck when towing. I don’t think I’d ever spend the money to add a long range tank. Never did on my 80. I just carry Jerry cans. My 40 had an extra tank and while the extra 22 gallons was awesome the process of transferring was not all that much better than Jerry cans. That tank is cheap compared to my 80/250 options. Finally, I wish I could have swung the cost of some big remote shocks prior to the trip. The frost heaves of the paved highways are hard on suspension. We ran far faster than the RV crowd through it, I was dreaming of my 80 at times with the 10” travel ADS shocks. So run the best shocks you can afford. Hope to add Slee’s shocks to my 250 as well next year.
Some of my favorite places:
Denali, AK
McCarthy, AK
Valdez, AK
Chicken, AK
Cold Foot, AK
Homer, AK
Mucho Lake, BC
Quiet Lake, YK
Destruction Bay, YK
Salmon Glacier, BC
Boya Lake, BC
Signpost Village, YK
Ice Fields Parkway, BC
Ferry ride from Valdez to Whittier.
Dalton HWY
Would have loved to add a day at Valdez, McCarty, Chicken, Salmon Glacier, Denali, Boya Lake, Ice Fields Parkway.
Could have skipped:
Talkeetna, AK
Banaff, AB
Talkeetna and Banaff were just too touristy. Banaff think Vail, very similar experience though it’s more beautiful. Talkeetna was hard to describe. It’s the climbers hub for access to Denali. As a non climber it was just way overpriced food, crappy gift shops and old people walking around hoping to get a glimpse of the mountain. It’s a train stop so you get that crowd. Denali NP is also, so the entrance town and visitor center is much the same. Inside the park you can escape the crowds but need to do so on foot.
Due to the poor range towing we spent more time stopping for fuel and thus didn’t cover as much ground as quickly as I’d like. Fuel stops turned into snacks and just lots of wasted time. If you can travel without a trailer you’ll be in better shape. For the three of us it was ideal having the full kitchen and food/gear storage. Plus two RTT.
Bugs, they were not bad this summer I guess due to colder than average temps. The pesticide, “Permethrin” I applied to the tents and some clothing worked great. We never had an insect inside the RTT. I’m going to continue to apply this to the RTTs moving forward. We used some other standard preventative measure as well. Citronella candle in the kitchen worked well. But again we were not really under attack this trip.
The charter fishing trip out of Homer was well worth the money. Pick a port, Valdez would have been great as well. Brooks Falls was another highlight. An expensive day but it was cool.
In general food was expensive both restaurants and grocery stores however really pretty similar to what we see in Durango. Fuel prices were kind of the same. If you could make it to towns it was not that bad. But forced to fill up on “resort fuel” it was priced accordingly. I often would pull fuel off the trailer in those situations then fill up everything again at a town. I had 20 gallons on the trailer giving me a total range of 450 miles.
Midway through the trip we adopted a practice of “linner” where we would stop on the road and cook what was planned for dinner but had it for lunch. This did a few things. It gave us a real break from the truck mid day and reduced our snacking while on the road. It made the evening camp experience easier as we had lighter meals with much less prep and clean up. More relaxing and less worry of bears. It was fun to do this at pull outs or roadside parks. We met others on the road and had great conversations. You’ll see many of the same rigs everyday on the road so getting a chance to talk to them is kind of nice.
Finding camping spots at provincial parks in CA and AK parks was pretty easy. The key is to get moving early and arrive early. If you do this I would not worry too much about reservations other than super high usage spots like Denali, Banaff, Lake Louise. The CA Provincial Park system is awesome. We rarely really dispersed camped. The options to do so are far less than you’d think in AK. Side roads often lead to a mine and have a gate. There just are not the forest roads we are accustomed to in CO/UT. When we had those opportunities I was met with resistance from Marianne as she was just not comfortable leaving the main road solo.
So many people talk about flat tires. I never really worried. Good AT tires and you’re fine. I saw a few people on side of the road. They were all RV’s and cars with car tires. Definitely carry a spare and plug kit. Tire shops are far and few between. Carry a set of wiper blades and washer fluid. Bugs will take their toll on your windshield. We didn’t get caught in any really bad rain. I’ve seen videos where the Dalton can get really sloppy so take that in consideration.
Good rain gear is a must. If you don’t own any buy the nicest you can justify. Evenings didn’t get all that cold as it never got dark. Even with the colder than normal temps I was fine most of the time in pants and my wool hoodie. Waterproof footwear is a must. Never used my headlamp in AK. The awning on the camper got plenty of use.
We checked into hotels roughly every 4th night to clean up from camping. Spent 4 nights at a hotel in Homer which was mid trip. That offered a good break from the tents for everyone. We did a double night in Fairbanks also but that was more to work a solid day and keep caught up with business. Also an oil change on the truck. The Starlink worked great for the same while on the road. Always had high speed wifi.
Fire away with any question if you have them.
