A THIRTIETH Anniversary Road Trip on the Alcan (Alaska) Highway

On The ALCAN Highway

Section: Dawson Creek BC to Whitehorse YT, CANADA

We have driven all 2196 km of the ALCAN (Alaska) highway between Dawson Creek BC CANADA and Delta Junction AK USA. 

The Canadian portion runs from Dawson Creek BC to Beaver Creek at the Yukon/Alaska border ... a total distance of 1848 kms. 

The remaining 348 kms of the highway is in Alaska. It took us several seasons and trips north, before we were able to complete the final section to Delta Junction, Alaska.

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Our first trip in 1988 only covered the section from Beaver Creek, YK to Muncho Lake, B.C. and return to Whitehorse for our flight home. The first time we drove from mile 0 at Dawson Creek was in 1994 and we have since repeated that journey multiple times. We've seen the highway change dramatically, adjacent corridor rock has frequently been blasted away and excavated, curves are mostly gone now and the roadway has straightened throughout most of its' route, many long and extreme grades remain but are now much safer to negotiate. All of that has resulted in a roadway that although is still breathtakingly beautiful it is no longer quite ... 'as exciting or adventurous to travel along!'

Here's a journal entry from our second trip ... 

Our first TC Rig: 1994 Ford F350 4x4 7.3l IDI diesel RC LB SRW/1988 Frontier Camper. 

During all those trips we've never really made an effort to focus on any highway history or share many of our photographs. So, for this trip, we thought it about time to do just that ...

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Here then, is some of that history ...

From a previous post ... source the Canadian Encyclopedia

' The Alaska Highway, constructed 1942-43 from Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Fairbanks, Alaska. In the face of a serious threat of a Japanese invasion, a preliminary road was rammed through forest wilderness and 5 mountain ranges in only 8 months. Called the Alcan Military Highway, it ran 2333 km from Dawson Creek to Big Delta, Alaska. Groups of US Army engineers working from several starting points built up to 13 km a day. The following year it became a permanent, all-weather, gravel-surfaced road, 7 to 8 m wide, 2451 km long, from Dawson Creek, BC, to Fairbanks, Alaska - the result of the labour of 11 000 soldiers and some 16 000 Canadian and American civilians. Along it were 133 bridges 6 m or longer and several thousand culverts. 

The US invested $147.8 million in the project for men, materials and equipment. Canada provided the right of way and on 3 April 1946 took over the 1954-km portion of the road from Dawson Creek to the Alaska border. Canada paid the US $108 million to cover airfields and flight strips, buildings, telephone systems and other assets. '

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AND ... here then, are some of those photograph locations, we missed sharing during those earlier trips ...

Mostly the highlights ... 

... starting with a few road construction stock photos from historical archives.

Milepost 0 (km 0)
Located in downtown Dawson Creek. It's here primarily for tourism visibility; this is not the official Historical Milepost survey cairn.

Downtown Dawson Creek, B.C.

Milepost 17.3 (km 27.8)

This is a side-road off the old Alaska Highway. It crosses a curved, wooden bridge over the Kiskatinaw River. This 162 m (531 ft) structure is the only original timber bridge built along the highway that is still in use today.

 

Kiskatinaw River

Milepost 34.4 (km 55.4)

The Peace River Bridge is the longest water span along the Alaska Highway. Some of these big RV rigs ' smoke the brakes ' coming down from a slowwww, loooong and twisty 5 kms ... there are few turnouts, exhaust brakes and tow/haul braking help somewhat, the air at the bottom stinks of burning asbestos. We always try and find the first safe place to stop after these descents and make sure that our brakes weren't the ones overheating (they weren't).

Milepost 227 (km 364.7) 

Prophet River: As RV's become more self-contained and able to off-grid camp and boondock, businesses like this that once offered full stop services ... fuel, camping, restaurants, hot showers etc are closing.

Milepost 239.2 (km385)

The Big Beaver Creek fire jumped the highway on July 8, 2015 and burned 8000 hectares.

Northern Canadian Rockies

Lesser Golden Plover

Milepost 373.3 (km 597)
Summit Lake and Mt. St. George at elev. 7419 feet in the Stone Mountain Range. 

Milepost 373.6 (km 597.6)

' Check your brakes' ... start of the looooong downgrade from Summit Pass. This is the highest summit on the highway at 4250 feet (1295 metres).

Milepost 376 (km 601.5)

The highway winds through a rocky limestone gorge then descends into the wide, picturesque Macdonald River Valley. Caution: long 8% grades.

Milepost 404.6 (km 646.6)

From the owners of  Toad River Lodge ... there are many stories of how different places got their names along the highway. We kind of liked this one about Toad so we’ve adopted it. 

Stock photo

' Back around 1942 when the Canadian and US armies and civilian crews were busy building the Alaska Highway there were problems crossing the river, what with no bridge yet built, so it was par for the course to be “towed” across. The proprietors of this establishment at that time adopted “Towed River” as the name of their lodge. Did someone really think they meant “toad” or were their language skills lacking? Your guess is as good as ours at this point. So that’s our story and we’re sticking to it. '

This is without a doubt, one of the BEST stops along the complete length of the highway. The lodge has been in operation for over 75 years.

Site #15 ... LOAF's been here before

Reflection Lake

Tree Swallows control the airspace at Toad River ... the campground owners have installed bird boxes on nearly every tree. The young had just hatched when we arrived, the adults were clearing the air of insects and feeding the young, they're quite territorial around their own boxes ... chirping and diving at others ... one even pooped on me, sssokay!

Moose (cow or young bull?) with a pair of Tundra Swans

Look closely ... is that a young bull on the right? Is that a small dewlap on the neck? Is that the start of a horn?

I met Rosie from the UK at Toad River Lodge. 

We were just kinda chattin' ... she looked up to the Northern Canadian Rockies that shade Reflection Lake and remarked ... 'This as the way Canada is supposed to look' ... she's correct of course. 

Stock photo

Canada's remote and rural landscapes are fairly unique; it's urban landscape is not. The Taiga (Boreal Forest) is the world's largest biome apart from the oceans. Canada's boreal forest represents about 1/3 of the world's boreal and is also considered to be the largest intact forest on earth. Many of the world's cities could almost be in any country; architecture often blurs and overlaps sovereign borders, juxtaposition dominates urban landscape, artificiality abounds.

A LOAF and a TOAD

We saw very little roadside wildlife on our 2016 road trip. Lots this time though.  A small flock of Stone (Dall) Sheep and a lone Bison bull on the drive to Liard Hot Springs. No caribou ... yet!

Road Salts ?

Milepost 477.7 (km 764.7)

Just follow the boardwalk to the hotsprings at Liard River Hotsprings Provincial Park. The bathers facilities have certainly been improved here. Thirty years ago what was once a very 'natural hot spring' now features ... modern toilets, changing rooms, a large decked area, and in-pool benches. The upper 'warm' pool has been abandoned due to persistent grizzly activity but access has been made past there to the upper 'hanging gardens'.

From Liard River to Watson Lake we saw 8 Black Bear (3 Cinnamon coloured) and a large group of Bison (aka. Buffalo) from the Liard River Bison herd. 

The cinnamon phase of Black Bear is considered rare in many parts of North America. Black bears (like Grizzlies) can vary in colour from white (Kermode Bear), through cream, yellow, browns, blues (Glacier Bear) to black.

Milepost 519.5 (km 831.7)

Whirlpool Canyon and a view of the Liard River Rapids.

Milepost 660.0 (km 1062)

Descent into the Rancheria River Valley. Rancheria is an old Mexican miners' term (in Spanish) ... meaning 'a native village or settlement'.

Milepost 699.4 (km 1120)

The Continental Divide divides two of the largest drainage systems in North America, the Yukon and Mackenzie Rivers. 

Milepost 808.9 (km 1296.2)

Teslin River Bridge at Johnson's Crossing. This will be our put-in for the 12 day/370 km canoe trip that covers the complete Teslin River and a short section of the Yukon River from Hootalinqua at the confluence of the two rivers, to our take-out at Carmacks. We paddle left ...

Milepost 887.4 (km 1425.3)

Arrival at Whitehorse, a full service town, situated at a wonderful location along the banks of the Yukon River. 

From Wikipedia ... ' Whitehorse is the capital and only city of Yukon, and the largest city in northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in Alaska. The city was named after the White Horse Rapids for their resemblance to the mane of a white horse, near Miles Canyon, before the river was dammed. '

Stock photo

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WHAT'S NEXT ...

Well, we're moochdocking in the outskirts of town ... on the rural property of some good friends for a few days. We also, have other friends here that we want to reconnect with; LOAF needs some maintenance and a real thorough cleanup. We will await the arrival of the remaining 6 members of TEAM Four Degrees over the next week or so. They'll arrive by road and air. Our first adventure together starts on July 26, when we embark on a 12 day canoe trip. Then we're back to Whitehorse to resupply and regroup for the overland drive to Tuktoyaktuk ... STAY TUNED!

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We're LOAFin Around 

... follow along, if you like.

Our latest route is included on TRAVELMAP 2018.   

For all posts from our latest adventure, 
click Trip 145

All photography is by LOAFin Around, unless otherwise noted. 

Italicized content is provided by a variety of web based sources. 

TEAM: LOAF, Crumby,Wry and Crusty ... 

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