I would like opinions on the route that I have planned for my Alaska ride hopefully in 2011. There are three must do locations on the way, The Beartooths, Glacier NP and Icefields Parkway. Most likely I will leave Arkansas late May or early June. Due to the season I believe Going to the Sun Road will still be closed. Maybe even Beartooth Pass? My thinking is to catch the later two on the way back. With that in mind Im open to suggestions on the route to the Cassiar. I will be solo on a 650 V-Strom and have six weeks off and a budget of $3500 if at all possible. Camping most of the time based on weather and will do a minimal amount of cooking. Google says this route is about 11,200 miles. The route starting at Prince George- North on the Yellowhead and up the Cassiar with maybe a side trip to Stewart/Hyder, not sure. Take the Alcan to South Klondike to Skagway. From there up through Whitehorse, Carmacks to Dawson City. Then TOTW through Chicken to Tok and north to Fairbanks. Switch to TKCs (until they are used up) Coldfoot to Deadhorse and back to Fairbanks, south on Parks Hwy to Cantwell. East on the Denali Hwy to Paxson, south to Glenallen to Palmer and Anchorage. Then to Seward/Kenai/Homer and back to Whittier Ferry to Valdez (possible glacier boat ride) Not sure about Kennicott, back to Tok South on the Alcan to Haines and catch the ferry back to Prince Rupert Enough time? Im thinking two weeks or so to get to and from Alaska/Yukon. Is missing Denali NP and the southern Parks Hwy a mistake? What about missing the Alcan from Dawson Creek to Watson Lake? I understand some parts will be a pass through and photo op. In others I will want to spend a little time. I have read a lot of ride reports and done much reading but everyones suggestions will speak to my situation and hopefully help me to decide what I should include or leave out based on the amount of time I have. I actually only get four weeks of vacation so if they dont allow me two weeks GTO my plan is to take it anyway and suffer the consequences which is points on my attendance record. The way I see it I may only get one chance and Id like to do it right. So be it. Hopefully I will be able to complete a 1500 Bunburner on the way to save some time on the back end. I really would appreciate any and all comments and suggestions for route changes must do's and etc. Thank you all in advance and hopefully will run into some of you on the trip.
Not till 2011? Your work seems a little tight to already be saying no to an extended trip that far out - offer a LOA and avoid the guilt when you return to work. I'm planning a similar route in reverse for July 2010, and I'm realizing that a) there aren't that many variations possible, or b) there are perhaps some secret roads that I must find! I'm interested to see the responses you get, except for the inevitable "did you try searching the Alaska forums for ideas?".
The thing is they have never granted a LOA or GTO in the history of the company. I have read all of the reports I could find and read a good bit on the Alaska regional forum. I guess I just would like answers to my specific situation regarding time and whether or not my plan to miss some of the big attractions is a mistake. Maybe I should just hop on the bike and go and make plans on the way huh?
The Beartooth Highway will not usually open until late May or early June or later. We did a similar ride from TX. to Ak and back and your mileage is correct. We chose to take the Ferry up(a great choice) to beat weather when leaving late May. Going to the Sun road will also be closed until mid June. Your idea to hit them on the way back will work. Another plus of going when you plan on going is NO bugs and not many RV's, yet. Both a big plus. Also not many people headed up until mid June, another plus in finding camp spots. Icefields Parkway is a must do. But then the whole ride is a must do. Keep your ideas wide open as it is one great ride. Don't worry about bears, they really like the taste of salmon better. Tell yourself that every night you go to sleep in your tent.....
2 things I can suggest, make sure you detour into Stewart/Hyder. The road into Stewart is one of the most scenic you will see on your whole trip, plus the Bear and Salmon Glaciers are cool. Also mark down "the bus" as a place for Seafood. Make sure you try the smoked Halibut. Secondly, dont Eat at the Restaurant in Paxson unless you dont mind some grubby cook sticking his finger in your food and then his mouth repeatedly to check the temp. It was so disgusting we ended up leaving . Anyways, the rest sounds good.
I like to hear the bugs won't be as bad as later on! And I am tring to make sure it will be a great ride because if the Mrs. actually lets me go without freaking out.....Aw who am I kidding, she would love for me to be eaten by a bear.:huh Funny how the food always tastes better if you don't see it prepared. Thanks I'll make sure to see Stewart, it's not too much of a detour in the scheme of things.
I'm planning a trip to Ak in June 2010. I have been doing a bit of research and just ordered a few maps on the Yukon area and Alaska. This is a great post for those of us that have not traveled to the area. Thanks for those tips.
If you haven't seen it (can't imagine) HERE is a link to a site with good maps you can print out. Also has other info as well. One thing I'm still uncertain about is whether six weeks is enough time for the 11,000-12,000 miles this trip will be. Even with my proposed Iron Butt of 1500 miles on the front end you have a three day advantage over me. I am currently in a quest for AK travel by motorcycle knowledge. Somehow I feel the best way to do this trip would be to just throw some stuff on the bike and leave without planning anything. More of an adventure I suppose. But since it could be years at best before I might get the chance to go again I am forced to make sure of three things. 1-What to see or leave out 2-What to take and not forget 3-How much time is required for #1 One thing that was suggested to me was to trailer the bike to say Denver and start from there. This makes no sense to me as OK, west TX and KS/NE routes don't offer much at all. Why torture myself with it in a cage? It only lessens the trip by two thousand miles and doesn't get me there any faster. Thanks for all the replies so far. I've plenty time to read more for anyone else so inclined.
My wife and I are planning a trip from El Paso to Anchorage. According to Mapquest, it is 3900 miles. I rode it in 2003 and made it via Bozeman, Glacier NP, Cassiar, Dawson and the TOTW highway in 9 days. I did not feel like I was really pushing. We plan on camping and riding about 400 miles per day. We have done the route a couple times in a car as well so we probably won't do a lot of sightseeing. Roads should be fine except for road construction in the Yukon. As someone already pointed out, earlier is better as less bugs and land tunas and it may be dryer. I left El Paso on Memorial Day and encountered sleet in the southern part of BC so dress warm. Electric clothing is great. I think your budget is fine and gas will probably be about $4/gallon in the Yukon. I took the ferry south from Haines on the way home. It makes a relaxing 4 days back to Bellingham. Camp on deck or sleep in one of the lounges and save some money. Don't forget binoculars for whale watching on the ferry and perhaps bear/moose viewing along the rest of the route. And go buy a copy of the Milepost. I believe the 2010 version is available or will be soon. Even an older copy is invaluable as the roads don't change much.
We did Colorado to Alaska in 2005. We ended up covering about 8000 miles. We really did not push hard except for not getting an early start most days. We were back in 19 days. We could have been gone up to 21 but we over estimated how long it would take to get back. The bus ride into Denali was one of the highlights of the trip. We saw 17 grizzlies, lots of moose, a large linx and some carabou. The mountain was spectacular as well. If you are going to skip something I would skip things closer to home. Beartooth is one of my favorite rides but you can get back to it a lot easier than Denali. One of the things I found out about after returning was the tunnel to Whittier http://www.dot.state.ak.us/creg/whittiertunnel/index.shtml Would have liked to gone there. Seward and Homer are great if you spend some time and meet the locals. There is a military campgrounds in Seward that is nice. As long as they have room they will rent you space even if you are not military. I highly recommend the short version of the wildlife boat tour. The longer version takes you to the same place only slower. Liard hot springs is a nice stop and it is free. There is also a free camp grounds allong there that is nice. The free part goes away pretty fast if you buy anything. The food is good but expensive. Eating breakfast in Alaska always seemed to take 2 hours. Not sure why eggs cook slower up there. :huh Don't pack your food in your bike at night. Even a black bear can open up your hard luggage like a canopener. When I go back I will spend as much time as possible in Alaska then iron butt my way back. Don't freak about gas to bad. I think the longest stretch we encountered was in Wyoming. Maybe 75 miles. Enjoy the Weestroms 300 mile range. One of the guys I was with was paranoid about gas so we saw every station in Alaska. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.
Thanks for your replies. Some of these things you may think are repetetive but it is helpful to here opinions from as many people as possible when your making decisions as this. So thank you all. rpilottx- I do have a heated jacket. It was indispensible this past October in the Appalachians where temps were in the mid to upper twenties some mornings. The only clothing I took was thin synthetics and a fleece jacket so I was warmest when riding. Made for faster starts in the mornings. OldWin1- Denali... don't get me wrong, I definitely want to see it. From all I've read the place is packed with tourists (like me) and most of them probably don't speak my language based on my other trips to National Parks. Most likely it will depend on the weather, if it's cloudy when I get there it will make the decision for me anyway. Also the plane ride I don't see being in the budget but I may have it by then. Liard Hot Springs... I live in Hot Springs, AR so the novelty of hot water has long ago worn off and I have not planned to do the Alcan from Dawson Creek to Watson Lake in exchange for the Cassiar. Fuel Mileage... This will be a problem for me I think. Normally I get 55mpg around home but on my last trip loaded and 70-80 mph I only got 35mpg. I tried to refuel every 150-175 miles to prevent the fuel pump getting hot by running the tank too low. I'm sure paranoia will be on the agenda for fuel.
Your itinerary and relaxed attitude sound good. You may wanna consider hitting Dawson City on your return instead tho and time it to be there Thurs/Fri June 24/25 for the annual Dust2Dawson get together. Over 150 riders from all around the world. Good times! A bunch of us will also be spending Wed night in Tok on our way there. If you're camping http://www.thompsonseaglesclaw.com/ motorcycle only campground is a great place located about 1mi south of Tok. If you run short of time, just going to Seward instead of Homer saves you a couple hundred miles. Homer is a lovely little artsy community in a gorgeous setting but I like Seward just as well. And if the weather's good and you do a boat cruise there I recommend Major Marine Tours as they run catamarans that are a lot faster and smoother to get you way out and around to the glaciers. My sig line is a link to my ride reports if you want to see and hear more about up here including riding our ferries. Glad you're thinking about getting off in Prince Rupert as opposed to Bellingham. GREAT roads in and out of Haines, Skagway, and Prince Rupert. Good luck and have fun, Mark H.
AKDuc, Thanks for the tip on the glacier boat, I havent seen many recommendations. Actually I am planning for 2011. Yeah very early for this level of prepardness huh? Its a sickness I suppose but I enjoy planning and dreaming at least half as much as actually doing whatever it is. Will the dates for 2011 be the same week perhaps? One drawback for making the event is the date of my return. I would like to be closer to home by that time. I would like to be there for it in '11 so well see. The loose plan right now is to be in Whitehorse in a week to a week and a half. Spend around two weeks in Alaska and take about two weeks to get back home. Days off currently, one day in Fairbanks for a tire change. One day visiting friends in Anchorage. One day in Glacier NP seeing what I missed in 96. Also two days on the ferries from Haines to Prince Rupert. So hopefully unforeseen circumstances will have time for a work around. And hopefully not much I want to see will be cut short because of off days. I've a feeling reservations, refueling stops and other unforeseen circumstances will take care of the scheduling for me.
I drove out of Alaska in mid March leaving Anchorage about 5pm (back in 1986). I was in a Chevy truck with a 20 gallon tank and paranoid about fuel as I was planning on driving overnight. The truck only had a 220 mile range. I remember it was -40F at the Alcan POE. However, there were 24 hour gas stations all along the Alcan even in the middle of winter. I believe the only place you might want to carry fuel is if you try the Haul Road. If memory serves, there is a stretch of 250 miles or so between gas stations. It is the only reason I thought about a GSA instead of a regular GS.
Much of the Alcan is not on my intended route. Instead I've decided on the Cassiar. So that will be a concern along with the Dalton. I've seen a few references to businesses that are shut down. Also stores closing early and opening late. Those are the main concerns with fuel I guess. The inconviences of such could very much alter plans enough to make things interesting or even difficult. But such is an adventure huh?
We've been planning our 2010 AK trip for a couple years now - Burlington, VT to Prudhoe Bay, depart June 24th. Two of us, both on DL 1000s. We're planning 5 weeks total, interior routes. Accumulating all the neccesary gear, and studying all the maps. Very helpful postings - THANKS! There's also this thread going: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=533121
Another question pertaining to my route. Since the early date will prevent me from the Beartooth mountains and Glacier National Park, can anyone suggest a route from say Denver to the start of the Cassiar. If the Icefields Parkway is worth seeing twice then this is a moot point I suppose. Then I would just need a good route through WY and MT on the way up. I'm just trying to see and ride as much quality as possible while avoiding riding anything twice unless there isn't a choice or twice is a must do. Thank you again for your help.
If weather conditions permit, I would like to suggest US50 from Pueblo, CO to Reno and then US 97 to the US/CAN Border. Then north to Kamloops and 100 Mile House. Pick UP Hwy 16 at Prince George and turn north at Kitwanga onto Hwy 37 (Cassiar Hwy) Here's a link to the Cassiar http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/cassiar_highway.html Also since you have some time for planning---you might want to purchase a MilePost http://milepost.com. It provides very detailed information about the northern roads and the services available. Some suggested Stops if you have the time; Prince Rupert - Eagles Bluff B&B (great seafood in town) http://www.citytel.net/eaglebluff/ Note: Hwy 37a to Stewart and Hyder a definite must spend at least one full day. I usually stay at the Bayview Hotel. For some Pictures---- follow the Photo Gallery Link found in the Signature Section of this thread. Enjoy your planning, sounds like fun. MkD
Here is the link to the NOAA long term weather forecast site. http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/two_class.php I am not making any claims, just passing the information, so don't shoot the messanger if it turns out different, but right now it looks prety good to plan that trip to Alaska in the summer. If anything it be good to follow this up and see how well it works out. This what they show for temps in June, July and August of 2010:
