Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Alcan Highway?

Pulled a fifth wheel up and back this summer. It was a lot better than I expected. Some pretty impressive frost heaves on the north end. On the way up, the narrower and winding part through the Cassier's around Toad River was all covered with gravel. That wasn't fun. On the way home, it was all cleaned off and in pretty good shape. We saw lots of black bears, a few stone sheep and caribou. A really good time

My grandfather commented that a lot of the other cars we saw (probably fifty in total, on the Canadian portion) seemed to be from Texas. He said they were probably going up because they refused to believe Alaska was really bigger.
When My wife and I travelled the highway a few years back, I was astounded by the disappearance of all the small businesses along the highway. We used to go up to Summit Lake for a weekend in 1958 and stay there. Now it is deserted. Of course, some of the places we stayed in in the '50's would not even be allowed to exist today.
When we first moved up there (from Wyoming), the Mile 0 marker in Dawson Creek made an impression. For the first couple of years, the highway was gravel right from Dawson Creek but, by the time we left, in 1961, the pavement had reached the north end of Taylor (Mile 38) and many of the streets in Ft. St. John were paved as well. In 1959, the bridge across the Peace river collapsed and a detour added ten miles to the trip to DC so we didn't make the trip very often until the new bridge was built. GD

Have they paved it yet and put guard rails up along the Frazier?

Cassiar is paved partway in from each end. Not very far really. Don't recall about guardrails tho.

I have never driven it—but I used to drink beer at the Canadian Legion Hall in Nipigon with a Cat Skinner who was on it from start to finish. He had some stories to tell. They started in March which was still full blown winter and got the first cut thru by October. He told me they were frequently several miles ahead of the engineers laying it out—and some places that were flagged for the route was impossible to drive a Dozer across.
He finished the war in the Aleution Islands and worked the rest of his life in a paper mill

Holy Smoke, an additional 900 miles of dirt, and then 900 miles back down and yer STILL in the middle of what most folks would call BFE

What kind of motorcycle and where does one get gas?

Where did you sleep?

Yep, drove it in the late 60's. Only pavement was a couple miles through Whitehorse. Took a side trip to the Yukon, a little village called Pelly River Crossing. Learned to hate logging trucks.

First time in the early 1980's. There was a lot of gravel and very crooked sections. Last time was early 2000's and it was mostly like half a freeway.

Cassiar twice in that time. Once was when freshly graded--fast and smooth. The other time it was endless miles of potholes.

Bruce

Only one round trip from eastern Oregon to Fairbanks! The summer of 1966. When we go up the Alaska now we fly. Then use the kids pickup when we get there! I remember changing headlights, three times! Rocks hit hard enough to push the screen guards into the lights! Didn't loose a windshield on that trip, but it had enough rock chips it got changed when we were home. I don't know how many miles were gravel then, but it seemed like all of it was gravel!

That sounds like an interesting trip!

KLR 650
I carried extra gas but didn't use it. Bike has a 6.1 gallon factory tank. I did need reserve from Dawson City to Eagle Plains.
Mostly tents and an occasional hotel.
I'll maybe tell my whole story here when it slows down some if anyone is interested.

I for one would love to hear it, especially with pictures. That, in my mind, is what the Campfire was meant for.

My mother's brother was in the army engineers. He helped build it during the 1st 2 years of WWII. After that, he was sent to Europe in time for the Battle of the Bulge.

The friend, Bert, had a lot of stories about build that highway. many were about the cold weather. He said they changed oil with the machines running. A man on top with the oil, another on the drain plug.