Taking a few bumps

Tourists traveling to and from Alaska often talk with each other about road conditions. We entered Alaska from Dawson on a gravel road called the Top of the World Highway. A more common entrance is by taking the Alaska Highway from Whitehorse, Yukon to Tok Alaska. That stretch of road has a reputation for being a rough drive. When the Alaska Highway was built during the Second World War, engineers knew very little about permafrost. They used bulldozers to clear the pathway, which disrupted the permafrost and resulted in great stretches of mud. At first the roadway was only passable in winter when everything froze. Tons of fill dirt and gravel were hauled in. However, the road allowed water to seep through it. The water seeping underground melted part of the permafrost, adding moisture to that coming from above. The result was a pool of gelatinous mud beneath the gravel highway surface. When the mud froze, it expanded, forcing a bulge in the road surface. These frost heaves caused further cracking of the surface of the road, allowing more moisture to penetrate.

The road has been under nearly constant construction since it first was built.

We are driving the Alaska Highway backwards from Tok to Dawson Creek BC. The Alaska Highway officially ends at Delta Junction in Alaska, but we drove that portion when we first arrived in Alaska, so we will have driven the entire road by the time we get to Dawson Creek. The section from Tok to Haines Junction is a little less than 300 miles. Starting at Tok, the first couple of hundred miles are in rough shape and have been the talk of many travelers we have encountered on our journey. We planned to allow plenty of time to drive that section so that we could go slowly and reduce the wear and tear on the camper and the truck.

There are a few sections that are under construction where it is reasonable to drive about 45 mph. There are a few other sections where improvements have been made, and the speed limit is 60 mph. Much of the road, however, is driven by speeding up for a short section and braking for a rough section. Our speed varied from 25 to 50 mph for much of the drive.

As we were driving and keeping a sharp eye out for rough spots, I thought about some of the stories I have been reading of native Alaskans. In the time before the arrival of outsiders, travel was usually by river in the summer and by snowshoe and/or dogsled in the winter. The rivers were the common routes for either mode of travel. After settlers came, steamboats were introduced which made travel on the major rivers faster.

One story I read was of a trader who made his living transporting supplies to miners working in very remote areas. He would use a motorboat to push a barge with the supplies. When the water became too swift, he would hire locals to help pull the boat up the stream, while using poles to push from the deck of the boat. In one section it took them six days to go 30 miles.

Even when we are going our slowest, we are making much better time than that. In addition, we are traveling in luxury. We can close our windows to keep the mosquitoes out. We have a heater and an air conditioner to keep the temperature at a comfortable level. And even when the roads are rough, we have the suspension of the truck to ease the bumps.

About halfway between Tok and Whitehorse, we camped at a campground that had a lot of abandoned US Military construction equipment on display. It seems that after the Alaska Highway was completed, machines that needed repair or too heavy to move were simply abandoned where they stood. Most of the trucks and tractors had no cabs. Operating them meant having to wear heavy coats, hats and gloves when the weather was cold and being exposed to flies and mosquitoes when the weather was warm.

I don’t feel like complaining about the roads we have encountered. Sure, they are rougher than many other modern highways. Our trip to Alaska, however, wasn’t about the usual or typical. And we have a rig that can take a few bumps. We are on an adventure, and a bit of rough road seems to be part of the adventure.

My advice to those who drive the Alaska Highway is to be prepared to go slowly and enjoy the scenery. No need to tear up a vehicle or a trailer just to drive at highway speeds. Fewer miles per day is still a lot faster than some of the early travelers of this route.