Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Driving to Anchorage March 5th from KC

So you driving the car up there alone?

My buddy did delayed travel drove up got the house situated. Went to transportation said ready for family to come up they cut tickets for them. They were still in the Ft Bragg area. They were flying up in February time frame. They get to Ted stevens he meets them, get luggage they all walk outside and she goes wtf you drag me into lol. February is usually pretty cool out. Not saying you daughter will say this but hopefully she’s landing midday here. If not it might be a wtf moment.

His sil should be able to get the orders amended at transportation and get it shipped up here on the Air Force dime. But might be sol if they declined that, I been out of the PCS question business for couple yrs so I don’t remember all the ins and outs.

Well someone was able to provide a perspective that your daughter needed to learn.

I have driven way to many miles in weather that started out nice and turned into a raging snow storm or blizzard. It is one thing to be by your self it is another to be with a mother and small child.

There were some very good information on this posting that you probably could save and give it to her later, when you take the vehicle up. I have only drive the road 5 time up and back and one thing i know is that some parts are always in rough shape. What one considers nice scenery in the summer can be a real education in a winter storm.

On every trip i have run into vehicles in the ditch, some i could pull out others were left as they were way off the road. Some sections had a dozer to pull through larger vehicles, that did not have 4X4 to make the stretch on their own. And you always had some stupid individuals who thought that they knew how to drive in rough conditions and failed miserably.

Anyway, driving on snow or ice packed roads is not for the faint of heart. As mentioned up hill has one set of challenges, however going down is where experience come into play.

In many ways.

There was definitely a positive correlation amongst the posters between time since having a toddler and thinking it was a good idea - the further away from dealing with toddlers, the more encouragement there was!

You and toddlers… lol at least while driving you can stop calm the kid. Versus listening to a kid howl for 18 hours straight on a plane to South Korea.. When I fly and see toddlers getting on I go oh ph uck here we go. I have ptsd from that flight going to South Korea.

I did copy and save a lot of these ALCAN driving tips as a reference.

Really good things to consider and not have to learn the lessons the hard way.

Is the vehicle even the AT4 model? Or just the basic front-wheel drive model? Are you prepared to pile in with a strange trucker for the ride into the nearest town when it breaks down, leaving everything behind? A 100-day postponement could make a dangerous trip into a pleasurable one. Won't help with having a toddler along with the three of you in what's going to be very cramped quarters for such a long drive though.

Phil

I agree. Your daughter is a moron.

I'll add your son in law is a moron too for giving her the green light. Everything I've heard about that highway says it's no joke at the best of times. An inexperienced woman alone with a baby at the tail end of winter? I'd go ahead and file the missing persons report before she even left.

re #2 -I was not aware that they had dropped the proof of covid vaccinations as a requirement

re #4 - my advice to having firearms paperwork filled out before hitting Canadian Customs was meant to help ease the entry, not that it couldn't be done at the border

p.s. - if you are taking a firearm be sure to register it at US Customs prior to entry into Canada so that you have proof that it was in your possession when you left the US, it may save you a hassle when reentering the US

drover

Did the drive up in December of 06, then again Thanksgiving of 22. There is a whole lot of "caution" from a whole lot of people who don't know what they are talking about here which I guess is normal. For sure some prep is in order, but there's no need to freak out.

Ft Nelson, Watson lake and haines junction all have decent places to stay and fuel. Limited services maybe in haines junction.

If a single spare doesn't give you the warm fuzzy, a tire plug kit and 12 volt compressor take up less space than a tire. As mentioned though, having good (new) tires at the start is the best insurance. The road is really pretty good, especially in winter.

I called the credit card company to "pre-authorize" travel and they just laughed at me. Said they don't do that anymore. I brought a bunch of greenbacks and nobody had any problem taking them, but I very rarely spend cash. Never exchanged anything. You may not get the best exchange rate doing it that way, but thats sort of made up anyway.

If you have a cut rate cell phone, it may not work in CA. That might be something to remedy as soon as you cross the border and still have shopping options.

Bring a camera and have fun.

That's what I get for not reading the whole thread before responding.

While I know it's all been settled, how many people mentioned that the idea of spending all day on the road with a freaking toddler trapped in a car seat for at least a week, is at the very best ill advised? If not just plain insane?

I had to walk up and down the aisles of a jet for hours and hours, when he was 15 months old and we were on a 12 hour flight. Seriously, I probably walked a good couple of miles. And the next day, after landing and we started the drive home? It was an absolute horror show. Doing that for days on end? GMAFB. After day 4, you'd probably be begging for a peaceful death by exposure.

No chit we all put out great info only to get oh she’s flying talk about a let down.

Good decision for daughter!

I agree that flying is the best option in this situation. 12 hours or so beats the heck out of 8-10 days or so this time of year, or less in summer, with a toddler along. Even if there are canceled flights and it takes another day or so, flying is still best.

Scenery and the driving experience only go so far.

Hopefully the child doesn't have any ear or sinus problems - the airplane pressure changes can be brutal, but fairly short lived usually. Still worth it.

Something I suggest if the kid is pretty mobile, is a body harness (not a collar, fool!) with a wrist leash, especially in the airports.

We used them with our kids and there were two reactions:

Appalled, and " Hey, where did you get that?"

Good decision and good news. It was worth the thread to point out the risks. I would print out the whole thing and give it to her for reading on the plane. Best of luck to her on the move.

No Scheitt, I was envious wishing I could go

Just an FYI. If there's even a possibility of being stuck in a irritating situation, buy some noise canceling headphones.

Kids can scream until they pass out and idiots can jabber until there Jaws lock up while you look around and enjoy watching the rest of the world suffer.

I tried.

I think many are so far removed that they have forgotten (or repressed!) how truly heinous it can be.

It's only been 15 years or so, so the nightmare is still fresh XD