Flying Down The ALCAN

The first time I drove the Alcan the road was half paved. The second was January and -40/-50 below zero but NO Dust which was a real pain in the summer when most people travel the road. I have driven up once and out 3 times. In 2017 it's all paved! 95% of the road is very good and 5% fair. The Yukon Territory has a lot of frost heaves and the only safe way for you and your vehicle is to SLOW DOWN. In Alaska frost heaves are also an issue especially on the Tok Cutoff going to the Glenn Hwy.

The Alcan was built to aid the U. S. in fighting the Japanese who had invaded and occupied two islands in the Aleutian's which are close to Japan, in 1942. It was also the first land based link between the lower 48 and Alaska. The road was completed in 8 months an incredible feat of man and machine, SO we are less isolated than Hawaii!

Crews started at mile "0"Dawson Creek, BC and at Delta Junction the official end at mile post 1422, some 298 miles to Fairbanks, AK. There were big camps out of Whitehorse and Fort St. John. The road followed winter roads, Indian trails, river and eye balling. Many of the servicemen where Black Units ran by white officers. The 10,000 men were ill prepared for the weather and elements and not all were servicemen. There were civilian workers. All support material and services had to be brought into the wilderness, constructed, utilized, torn down and moved many times

The road was not opened to the public until 1948, some 6 years after it was completed. It was done with public funds, so Americans were very unhappy with the delayed opening!

Many lodges, cafes, service stations and motels were needed and built. It took a special type of people to man these isolated wilderness out posts to service the traveling public under sever weather conditions. These outposts saved 100's of lives over the years.

A example of saving lives: In 1951 my dad and a childhood friend were driving the Alcan in January. It was in the -40/50 degree range at night. My father's friend was driving and dad was sleeping in the back seat of there Nash Ambassador a very large vehicle with lots of room inside, His friend fell asleep ran off the road, flipped the car and fell into a lake. My dad wakes up and is met with total darkness and freezing cold water. He had no idea he was upside down in the vehicle, so when he tried to exit the car nothing was where he thought it should be, he was panicked.

A car coming the opposite way saw them go off the road and the driver jumped into the lake and opened the doors and dragged my dad's unconscious friend and my dad to shore. That was great except they were all wet and it was -50! The driver piled them into his car and drove them back to the first gas station. It was closed but the owner lived next door. The driver woke them up and the owner helped carry my dad and his friend into their warm home. the whole family was put into action to get dry clothing and hot food for there guest. Needless to say this was not the first such wake up call this family had had like this. Many were due to car accidents or runs with moose or other animals. Many of the travelers did not survive.

The next AM after sleep and a hardy breakfast the garage owner took his wrecker out and retrieved their car, brought it back to the shop and thawed it out, got the water out of the engine, gas tank and lines. This took several days and the family put up my dad and friend and for one night the good Samaritan.

Besides my dad and family friends drove the Alcan in the early days. It was a real challenging trip. The road bed had a lot of logs in it, so for the first 50 years as the logs deteriorated the road was constantly needing to be rebuilt.

There is always construction projects in Canada and Alaska. They are wrapped up by late September, so October is a real great time to drive the road as is January through March is also good because the road is frozen and smooth. You can really get going and the ice is only a problem if something gets in your way! The road is some 40 miles shorter due to improvements over the years.

Driving in a car you can "fly up or down" the highway but in a motorhome "flying" is a misnomer!!! It's a great way to go especially for Old Farts. Why you ask, well you have your own head,(bathroom) onboard and that's a life saver!

This year I have driven portions of the highway 3 times, once in May, once in September and October. October was by far the best because all the "Summer Construction" projects are done and the road is in the best shape for the year except in the frozen winter.

There are many great places to see and 100's of things to do along the road. If you are planning a trip of a life time you will want to purchase The MilePost. It tells you by mile what's there and any sights or services.

Keep Rollin