Date:         Wed, 20 Sep 1995 08:37:28 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         phillips@pi3.tucson.saic.com (Dave Phillips)
Subject:      Inuvik and Alaska

I want to offer a few words about the proposed 1996 GNATT trip.  I 
have just returned from a trip much like the one suggested to Inuvik
and Alaska.  9300 miles in a month in my bus.  The far north is a 
wonderful land to visit, rugged and wild, and very sparsely populated.  
Most people also probably have no concept how incredibly far away it is
-- particularly in a vehicle with a top speed of 50 MPH  ;-)

As a consequence of the far north being so remote, everything is
quite expensive, from gasoline to the motel rooms periodically required
for Martha's showers.  I paid as high as 75 cents Cdn per liter for gas, 
and as much as $1.49 per gallon in Alaska.  Major towns are cheaper than 
the lone filling stations in the boonies.  Five gallon jerry cans will help
you get between the major towns without a high priced fill-up.  I paid 
$95 for a motel room in Fairbanks that would be $40 in the lower 48.  
Campgrounds are $8-9 Cdn, when you can find them in the far north, and 
$9 in Alaska.  (Government campgrounds; I never tried any of the many 
private ones.)  I also spent many nights on two-track pulloffs from the 
Alaska Highway, as did many of the caravan of motorhomes traveling the 
highway.  I avoided posted private land for camping, and was never 
bothered by anyone.

I want to echo the statements made about lack of parts and service for 
air-cooleds (and wasser-boxers, too) in the north.  I saw few buses in 
Canada;  there were more in Alaska.  Most appeared to belong to tourists.
The climate of the region is just not amenable to preservation of 25-year
-old cars.  Consequently, the lack of a ready market means no parts and
few people who know how to work on the cars anymore.  I checked the major 
cities along the way for parts dealers -- nada.  I would suggest that 
Vancouver is the farthest north you may expect to find a wide selection 
of parts.  Of course, things can be flown in, but who wants the expense 
and travel delays?  Moral:  bring a kit of spares and tools along.  A CB
or ham radio might prove useful, although there is no shortage of traffic
on the Alcan, and I sure heard a lot of dead air in my tuning around the
bands.

The Alcan varies in condition greatly.  The southern portions are generally
paved and in good condition, although they do seal-coating periodicaly, 
which leads to loose gravel (and windshield chips).  Most of the motorhomes
I saw had some kind of gravel guard on the radiator and headlights.  The 
only windshield chip I picked up occurred in Montana, however.  The 
Canadians require daytime headlight use on the Alcan.  I would say about a 
third of the vehicles I saw were *one-eyed monsters* caused by the gravel
kicked up, so headlight guards would be recommended.

It was recommended to me to bring two spare tires along.  As it turns out, 
they were not needed, but I did see a few people changing tires along the 
route.  Parts of the northern section of the road (in the Yukon) are being 
reconstructed, and it is a dusty, muddy, aggravating mess and traffic delay.  
Forward progress slows considerably in these areas.  This is also a good 
area in which to get windshield chips.  The reconstruction is changing the 
highway from the old, original 1942 Alcan to a modern, wider, straighter 
Alcan.  The parts of the road that have not been rebuilt in Yukon and 
Alaska suffer from subsidence effects (like 6 inches or more) due to 
melting of subsurface permafrost, and these stretches can shake your teeth 
loose, not to mention parts of your bus and everything you have tied to it.  
I came upon a very large trailer being pulled behind a pickup, sitting in 
the middle of the road.  The bumps caused the trailer's suspension to fail, 
dumping the frame down onto the tires, destroying them.  Too bad.

The eastern part of the highway in Alaska is even worse than the 
Canadian side.  At least the Canadians are rebuilding their section.
The Alaskans just seem to be patching theirs.

Crossing the border into Alaska was once again a hassle for me, as entering
the US usually is.  I don't know whether it's the bus, long hair, or what.  
Register your electronics with US Customs before crossing into Canada, and 
follow all signs and instructions explicitly at the border posts.  The 
Canadians are only concerned about weapons, tobacco, and alcohol.  Having 
none of the above, they let me pass without delay.

I have a ham radio friend living in Inuvik.  It's apparently quite a 
bustling, happening place in the summer.  It should be a good tourist 
destination, although this round trip is an extra 1000 miles off the Alcan.

The summer weather was very pleasant for someone from Southern Arizona.  
Temperatures were mostly in the 60s and 70s, and 40s at night.  Sun and 
clouds alternated, such that I was continually turning on and off the 
heater to get comfortable.  Toward the middle of August the weather starts 
getting cooler and wetter as winter approaches.  An earlier trip may be 
more enjoyable.  By August 10th, traces of fall colors were appearing 
along the highway with threats of overnight frost.  Mosquitos were not
bad in late August.

I'm not sure about the Northern Lights part of one post I read.  There
will certainly be lots of northern light, so much so that your sleep 
is likely to suffer.  ;-)  Eye shades would be helpful.  I put away my
lantern in southern Alberta -- didn't need it anymore.  The deepest 
darkness in Alaska in summer is sort of dusky, and then it gets light 
again.  I was disappointed in not being able to see Polaris or the 
Big Dipper because it never got dark enough.

I had no trouble with the bus during the entire trip.  I ran on the 
available *regular* unleaded gasoline.  I checked and reset the valves 
at the trip midpoint, and got an oil/filter change in Fairbanks ($34, 
also quite expensive, IMHO).  The gal there who took my money turned 
out to be from Flagstaff.  From one cold place to another, I commented
to her.  She replied, Flagstaff's not bad, not like here!  Definitely
visit in summer.

Enjoy your trip, everyone who goes.  I must reiterate it is an incredibly
long drive to get there.  By the time I hit western Yukon, I was so tired
of driving that I didn't feel like doing any side trips (such as to 
Inuvik).  However, I did the trip alone, and that is likely why I was so 
burned out by that point.  It would be more fun in a caravan of buses.

I'm in digest mode becuase of the volume of mail, so if anyone wants to
ask questions about my trip north, please e-mail to me direct, and I'll 
post replies to the list as appropriate.


...Dave Phillips  '69 bus     |  Internet:  phillips@aries.tucson.saic.com