Alaska/Yukon route planning

[maddog5150]

So I am playing with different route options for a trip to Alaska. I plan to make my way from Chicago here and there. Specifically I am looking at going north from Jasper National Park and it looks like there are 2 "main" options, stay to the east more and use the Alaska Highway, or a more westerly route taking the Cassiar.

So does anyone have experience with both and can recommend one over the other? What are pros and cons of each?

Thanks!
::022::

 

[rem]

Howdy, maddog. I haven't been down (or up) the Alaska Highway in many years, so I can't really comment on it, but I think some other Forum members have. I biked the Cassiar last fall, from Whitehorse to southern B. C. The Cassiar is now paved all the way (I think there was one mile unpaved north of Iskut) and was in excellent condition. Your primary concern will be motels and such, and fuel, but if you plan a little, no worries. The ride from Prince George to Smithers/Hazelton area is splendiferous. Farms, mountains, rivers abound. Very scenic. Once past Hazelton, things start to spread out. Stewart is off the beaten path a little, but good accommodations and fuel. Nice drive in. Going north from there, you have Bell II (very pricey and snooty) with gas, Iskut with a decent motel, Dease Lake with gas, food and lodging, then up to the junction with Alaska Highway and east to Watson Lake for an overnight, or kick it on west to Rancheria or Teslin. Do NOT stay at the Beaver Post Lodge just a half mile west of the junction. Rip off place.


It's good road all the way. Watch for animals on the Stewart-Cassiar. I would take at least a 5 liter container of spare gas. Hope this is helpful. R ::001::

 

[colorider]

Glad to see this thread as there are many of us that are wanting to know more about what options and pros/cons as well.

Thanks!

::026::

 

[johnnail]

up one way and back the other?n When we going?

 

[rem]

I'll be heading up the Cassiar sometime in early May likely ... from the Calgary area. R ::008:: ::001::

 

[maddog5150]

up one way and back the other?n When we going?

Hey there fellow hoosier! ::004::

I dont have real concrete dates yet, but so far I am shooting to leave on June 5, 2013 and return on July, 1st. Planning to be more camping than hotels, but figure for really crappy nights or the occasional shower the hotel might be nice. So far I have 2 other guys planning to make the trip and maybe a third.

 

[rem]

You should consider pushing your trip back a few days and stopping in at the Whitehorse Rally. First week of July. If it sweetens the deal any, I think I can ban Troll from the festivities. R ::008::

 

[maddog5150]

You should consider pushing your trip back a few days and stopping in at the Whitehorse Rally. First week of July. If it sweetens the deal any, I think I can ban Troll from the festivities. R ::008::

That does sound tempting, but I am trying to be home for 4th of July holiday. We usually have a large family get together that weekend....

 

[HoebSTer]

i don't recall if it has been mentioned, but for those traveling to the Great White North either Alaska and or the Yukon, motel reservations are STRONGLY advised months in advance. Tourist season will be in full swing and motel/hotels book quickly. My wife travels to Alaska in June, and makes reservations at least 3 months in advance.
Just a note for everyone looking to et a room for the occasional night. Oh, and rooms go for $200-300 / night at times.

 

[troll]

If it sweetens the deal any, I think I can ban Troll from the festivities. R ::008::

ouch ::005:: just because I was a little mean about that picture on the front page does't mean you should ban me or send me back under the bridge ::013:: ::013:: ::013::

 

[maddog5150]

i don't recall if it has been mentioned, but for those traveling to the Great White North either Alaska and or the Yukon, motel reservations are STRONGLY advised months in advance. Tourist season will be in full swing and motel/hotels book quickly. My wife travels to Alaska in June, and makes reservations at least 3 months in advance.
Just a note for everyone looking to et a room for the occasional night. Oh, and rooms go for $200-300 / night at times.

Woah, I am a little shocked by this. From the reading I have done so far it seemed like you might run in to some booked places but it was always easy enough to find a place. I might need to rethink things. Maybe that just means I have to camp more, and I am ok with that. I really do not want to book anything (except maybe Deadhorse) just because I want the freedom to speed up, slow down, take a diff route. As much as I am thinking about and "planning" for the trip, I really dont want too much structure around it, I want to leave things pretty open.

But thanks for the heads up, its good to know what to expect!

 

[HoebSTer]

Maddog, This is mostly for the higher populated areas, but touristy stuff is abundant in the north in summer. You may want to get some more opinions from people that have been up that way more recently than I. Also, the MilePost annual book is a great source that lists accomodations for each road and mile in Alaska and the Al-Can Hwy!!!

 

[bvail]

I went up there through Montana (Glacier National Park) and crossed the border near Whitefish MT. From there I went through the Canadian Rockies, but avoided Edmonton. Stayed at the Provincial Park in Banff (sp?) for about 25 bucks (Best Western in Banff was $250!). There is (or was 4 years ago) a KOA that is nice in Hinton, Alberta near the north end of the Rockies. If you decide to go the Alcan highway like I did, you will start in Dawson Creek (Mile 0). When you get to Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, I highly recommend Stampeder's B&B Cabins as very clean (they were brand new in 2007). They only have two cabins, so you would need to call ahead. Added bonus - liquor store is right across the street ::025:: Plus this town is where the famous sign forest is located.

Further up the road in Muncho Lake, a wonder to behold and Dawson City is pretty cool place to spend a day or two. From there the top of the world highway will get you (via gravel) to the border (northermost in N.America) and beyond to Chicken AK (don't forget to pick up an 'I got laid in Chicken' sticker) and then on to Tok, AK and the always popular stop off 'Fast Eddie's Restaurant'. Check out the fat tires on the bush planes at the airport across the highway. That's as far as I got because I crashed the bike between Dawson and Chicken, so due to extreme pain and the inability to walk a straight line because of aforementioned pain and injuries, turned 'chicken' and went back home to Denver (on the bike of course). That's the extent of my Great White North experience, other than growing up near the ND/Ontario border (YUK!)...

It's probably not a bad idea to get the latest version of Milepost (it's kinda like a phonebook listing stuff mile by mile) to keep track of who's still in business along the Alcan highway. Tough times up there when I went through in 2007.

p.s. When you go through Canada get a prepaid phonecard. Don't use your cell phone unless you have some kind of international plan. Check with CC companies to see if they are going to ding you with additional interest or fees - I believe there is at least one that doesn't.

And of course you have your passport up to date ::019::

 

[rem]

I have mentioned before that you would be wise to book ahead, even if a couple of days. This is a high tourist area, and a major pass through on the way to Alaska. On top of that, there is an outrageous amount of mining exploration going on just now. It is very busy up here in the summer, especially just now. Just a head's up. R

 

[maddog5150]

Maddog, This is mostly for the higher populated areas, but touristy stuff is abundant in the north in summer. You may want to get some more opinions from people that have been up that way more recently than I. Also, the MilePost annual book is a great source that lists accomodations for each road and mile in Alaska and the Al-Can Hwy!!!

I have mentioned before that you would be wise to book ahead, even if a couple of days. This is a high tourist area, and a major pass through on the way to Alaska. On top of that, there is an outrageous amount of mining exploration going on just now. It is very busy up here in the summer, especially just now. Just a head's up. R

Yeah, its sounding like maybe a little more planning and structure will be required for the nights we want an actual roof over our heads. This is great info to have. I was going to get a Milepost now, but figured I would wait till the new 2012 edition is out and study that, then prolly end up getting another 2013 right before departure.

p.s. When you go through Canada get a prepaid phonecard. Don't use your cell phone unless you have some kind of international plan. Check with CC companies to see if they are going to ding you with additional interest or fees - I believe there is at least one that doesn't.

And of course you have your passport up to date ::019::

These are 2 more great things to point out! My passport is good to go, but I need to make sure my iphone is set to not "auto-load" data through cell while I am in those areas!

Thanks again to all who have chimed in and I hope others are helped by the info as well!

::001::

 

[HoebSTer]

When I went to Alaska back in 2001, i used my cell alot, and didn't know this. I got binged for over $400 bucks for this misatake.

 

[Boostedxt]

I had this whole route typed up and then firefox shut down and I lost everything I typed so I am pissed.... anyways. My trip will be about 9,950 miles give or take a few hundred but my route is this...

denver to dawson creek BC
dawson creek BC to watson lake via Alcan Highway
watson lake to carmacks via Robert Campbell Highway
carmacks to glenboyle via Klondike Highway
Glenboyle to Inuvik and back to Glenboyle via the Dempster Highway
Glenboyle to Dawson City via the Klondike highway
Dawson City to Tetlin Junction via The top of the World Highway
Tetlin to Fairbanks via Alcan (AK-2)
Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay

The route I want to do. I plan on using my 39 liter holan panniers plus the 66 liter dry bag combo from TT. As for gas I am going to get 2 rotopax 1 gallon containers and strap them to the top of the panniers. If I want more gas I will mount the dry bags horizontal across the passenger seat and partially covering the gas cans. That way I can mount 1 or 2 more gallon containers to the luggage rack on the back. I will have the ability to have 146 liters of storage and anywhere from 8 to 10 gallons of fuel including the 6 gallon tank. I am going to do a lot of testing on dirt fully loaded up to get an idea of my MPG. I am at 50-52mpg now and I figure I will be at 40-42 loaded up so I can get roughly 300 - 420 miles between the extra gas and the fuel containers. I am sure REM will have more input but it seems like gas can be had every 300 miles or significantly less. I am going to come home through whitehorse and down into washington state to see some friends in Lynden and then down to meet Hoebster. From there home to denver through salt lake and around on 40 into denver.

I have it all outlined on a word document with gas stops and possible hotels in different areas. I also figure that you can camp in a lot of these places because they are so remote and people wont care, but I am not 100% sure about that just yet.

thats my idea anyways.

joe

 

[rem]

Sounds like the trip of a lifetime, Booster. However, beware road maps produced by foreigners. There is no Glenboyle. Or if there is, it's a couple of foundations buried in the permafrost. There are accommodations right at the Dempster cutoff, but questionable. There will be gas at the Dempster cutoff. I'd kick it on into Dawson ... 24 miles or so from the Dempster Corner. Do you have a Yukon map? If you send me your address, I'll put one in the mail for you.


You can get gas at Stewart Crossing, which is about halfway between Carmacks and Dawson. It is a reliable fuel stop.


Hope you're burning rubber around there by now. R ::008::

 

[erenet]

I've been doing some practice routes with http://www.motowhere.com/ for my Zumo 660, sometimes my computer freezes and I also lose everything, now I save it every 10 km. It's really not straight forward to do the maps on motorwhere then to mapsource then to the 660. What do you use to do your own routes?

I too had to learn how to walk for the second time 11 year ago. I shouldn't be impressed with you, but I am. Keep it up.

 

[Boostedxt]

Sounds like the trip of a lifetime, Booster. However, beware road maps produced by foreigners. There is no Glenboyle. Or if there is, it's a couple of foundations buried in the permafrost. There are accommodations right at the Dempster cutoff, but questionable. There will be gas at the Dempster cutoff. I'd kick it on into Dawson ... 24 miles or so from the Dempster Corner. Do you have a Yukon map? If you send me your address, I'll put one in the mail for you.


You can get gas at Stewart Crossing, which is about halfway between Carmacks and Dawson. It is a reliable fuel stop.


Hope you're burning rubber around there by now. R ::008::

thanks rem I am excite for it! From what I can tell a lot of the towns up there dont exist. I was going to get gas for the bike as well as top off the 2-4 gallons at stweart crossing. From stewart crossing its 83 miles to the dempster. From the turn on for the dempster its 230 miles to eagle plain which has gas. The total would be about 315 which I think is do able with the S10 and about 2 more gallons of fuel. Do you feel that is correct or am I way off? How does the trip sound over all? Does the distance between gas stops seem accurate to you?

Thank you for the offer on the maps! I am PM'ing you my address here in a bit. that would be great to have those!

Thanks
Joe