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RE: ? condition of highways from Montana thru Canada to Alaska?
As noted,
For the most part by answering the thumping 20 to 30 ft interstate type of highway or roadway question leading to the far north : NO
However as noted again - there will be occasional frost heaves, lots of road construction zones, lots of small patches of uneven road surfaces that you can drive fast or (safely)-slow over, pilot car escort delays, temporary road bypasses, bridge repair or bridge replacements in which there is just no getting around any of those factors....
If one feels the need to be in a substantial hurry to haul a heavy trailer, cabover, or what have you driving these far north roads upon the factors mentioned above - then this kind of trip is NOT for YOU !!!
Go ahead and risk suffering the consequences in remote places where one's trip will be severely delayed and very costly in both money and time....
There was one traveler in a 30 foot travel trailer with Maine plates that was Alaska bound and got impatient to pass me at least 65mph near Glacier Creek - north of Destruction Bay, as it was a nasty stretch of frost heaves while I was driving 40mph and getting ready to slow down even more - the driver still crossed over that stretch at 65mph while I crossed over the same stretch safely for my rig at 15mph and was ready to take evasive action as that travel trailer had violently launched while veering side to side practically out of control....You swear this driver was driving that rig like the state of Alaska was ready to detach from the North American continent or something within the next hour - I know for sure that person will never make it back to Maine driving like that !
Also, one can face potential road closures due to wildfires or flooding which are generally unexpected but do happen - so expect the unexpected in that regard.
If one like myself does not ever hurry enroute to a destination in my 1970 or 1975 Ford Truck hauling a heavy cabover camper around on these far north roadway conditions over the years since 1996 in an RV - I have yet to encounter any suspension or other vehicle related damage to either of my two rigs used for a RV....
(-now 15 times out of the last 27 years permitted entry into Canada in my RV)
(*and my 30th permitted entry driving into Canada in the last 38 years total since 1985 upon my first Alaska Highway trip)
Due to the covid restrictions in 2020 thru 2022, this was the only reason of not visiting Canada on a yearly basis and it was nice to see most everyone there again in 2023.
This year for me in 2023 was a short 7 day RV trip consisting of the Klondike Loop...Now my 9th time visiting Dawson in the Yukon Territory and a first time consisting on a odd numbered ending year*
(1992 1998 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 *2023)
For the most part, all the routes were the typical norm as far as road conditions were concerned with the exception noted :
The North Klondike Highway route was a bit rougher than in years past north of Stewart Crossing, as this route was upon the 7th time I driven it (all 7x southbound) - and I am not including the stretch of major construction between Dempster Hwy. Jct, and Mc Questen area.
The Alaska Highway 83 mile stretch from Destruction Bay to White River was still better than in years past with some of the upgrades still intact, as my log showed making it in 2hr-30min at 33 mph (2023) than the old normal time of 3hr-45min at 22mph (2010)...
Only twice I ever made this stretch in my RV in less than 2 hours (1:46 and 1:50) when they made substantial upgrading, as these far north roads don't stay upgraded for long.
The Alaska Highway stretch on the Alaska side from the border thru Northway Junction (mile 1222 thru mile 1264) had another major reconstruction job (the 6th time that I know of since 1989) as they are constructing majorly at mile 1240 thru 1250.
Here are my total travel figures and expenditures for my 2023 Canada trip :
FUEL EXPENSES - 9 Purchases
Start Point : Milepost 328.3 Richardson Hwy - Both Tanks Full @ $0.00
Ending Point : Milepost 328.3 Richardson Hwy - Both Tanks Full
$768.97 USD Total Cost
1268.4 Fuel Odometer Miles
146.0 US Gal
$5.267 USD per US Gal
.60625c USD per mile
8.68 Miles Per US Gallon
US Purchases x4 -
$336.41 USD - 69.3 US Gal @ $4.854 USD
Canada Purchases x5 -
$567.75 CAD - 290.5 Litre @ $1.954 CAD
$7.402 CAD (per US Gal)
-to US Dollar and US Gallon conversion :
$432.56 USD - 76.7 US Gal @ $5.643 USD
Rate of Exchange : $1.3125 CAD
1x @ $1.3496 CAD
1x @ $1.3237 CAD
3x @ $1.2770 CAD (from 2019 cash envelope)
----TRAVEL FIGURES----
Total Odometer : - 1293.6 miles
Non Route Miles : - (+23.9)
Direct Route : - 1269.7 odometer miles
Direct Route Travel : - 34-hrs 17-mins
Average Total : - 37.035 MPH
-OUTBOUND ALASKA-
Richardson Hwy MP 341.0 to MP 266.0 (Alaska Hwy MP 1422) :
74.5 odometer miles - 1:31 travel = 49.121 MPH
Alaska Hwy MP 1422.0 to MP 1301.7 (Taylor Hwy MP 0) :
120.7 odometer miles - 2:23 travel = 50.643 MPH
Taylor Hwy MP 0 to MP 95.7 (Boundary Spur Road MP 0) :
93.9 odometer miles - 3:52 travel = 24.284 MPH
Boundary Spur Road MP 0 to MP 13.2 :
13.7 odometer miles - 0:30 travel = 27.400 MPH
-YUKON TERRITORY CANADA-
Top of the World Hwy MP 65.8 to MP 0 :
65.4 odometer miles - 2:58 travel = 22.045 MPH
North Klondike Hwy MP 323.4 to MP 0 (Alaska Hwy MP 894.8) :
324.5 odometer miles - 8:21 travel = 38.862 MPH
Alaska Hwy MP 894.8 (via to MP 887.4) thru Alaska Hwy MP 1188.0 (Alaska Hwy Historical MP 1221.3) :
304.3 odometer miles - 8:02 travel = 37.879 MPH
-INBOUND ALASKA-
Alaska Hwy MP 1221.3 thru MP 1301.7 (Taylor Hwy MP 0) :
77.9 odometer miles - 2:22 travel = 32.915 MPH
Alaska Hwy MP 1301.7 thru MP 1422.0 (Richardson Hwy MP 266.0) :
120.5 odometer miles - 2:39 travel = 45.471 MPH
Richardson Hwy MP 266.0 to MP 341.0 :
74.3 odometer miles - 1:39 travel = 45.030 MPH
Here are a few current September 2023 pictures of road surfaces taken to show upon why I barely averaged 37 MPH over 1269 direct route miles upon taking my time and not tearing my rig up....
Some frost heaves are clearly marked with signage -
Mile 1176 Alaska Highway -Mirror Creek- Central Yukon Territory Canada :
https://i.postimg.cc/mk7tKqNz/1635.jpg
Other frost heaves are marked without signage -
Mile 1092 Alaska Highway - Central Yukon Territory Canada :
https://i.postimg.cc/qvWXkR3z/1424.jpg
Other frost heaves are not marked at all -
Mile 255 North Klondike Highway - Central Yukon Territory Canada :
https://i.postimg.cc/zvC0v2Mb/921.jpg
If one sees multiple tire marks on the road surface, that's an indication of a pretty bad unmarked bump for a heavy rig so it would be wise to really slow down like these others didn't -
Mile 1284 Alaska Highway - Interior Alaska :
https://i.postimg.cc/yxJCGZfY/1802.jpg
Mile 1248 Alaska Highway -construction bypass- Interior Alaska :
https://i.postimg.cc/Hxktd41H/1759.jpg
Living in the far north has it's challenges, especially on maintaining roads which is a never ending battle due to the harsh terrain and the extreme climate temperatures it endures.
Hope this gives a better perspective for some that never traveled the far north region of what type of road conditions they are going to experience, so slow it down when needed if hauling a heavy rig of sorts.
This posted message has been brought to you by :
'YOUR' - 2023 Nenana Ice Classic 'WINNER' !
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AKsilvereagle
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09/14/23 05:32am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Denali Hwy 8
Although I haven't driven the entire Denali Highway since 2001, I doubt much has changed at all....
The eastern half of the Denali Highway route has always been quite a bit rougher than the western side, as it can get pretty rough along the MacLaren Summit corridor....
Especially if it rains hard, or after a significant rainfall - the entire unpaved portions of the Denali Highway can be just plain rough period - and particularly along the MacLaren Summit area during rainfall are known to have poor to zero visibility conditions also as I got caught up in that more than one time....
Two to three days is generally ideal to experience passing thru the entire Denali Highway upon excellent to light rain type weather conditions while taking your time as I drive pretty slow thru this stretch with my old 1970 Ford Truck and cabover camper on it (5 to 10 mph if needed) as I would generally average in the low 20 mph range on the unpaved portions that were not rough....
I would say wear and tear will not be an issue if one would allow "in general normal conditions" 6 hours driving time on the unpaved portions and a total of 7 to 8 hours total driving time on the entire 135 mile route.
I would allow an extra day stretch of travel along the Denali Highway upon bad weather conditions of three to four days time while leasuring in between - for those who care about their rigs and not constraint for travel time.
As the other posts were spot on, large area turnouts and parking to accommodate a large rig are limited, however one should appear no more than a 30 mile gap distance at the most (safely for a large rig) if my memory serves right....
As far as for other potential travelers reading this post taking on the Denali Highway regarding fuel distances as being a concern, my sound advice would be to always carry extra spare fuel and ONLY count on fuel supply available in Cantwell (west end of Denali Highway) and Delta Junction (81 miles from east end of Denali Highway)....
Rule of thumb for those upon traveling in the far north of Canada and Alaska :
Never truly rely on fuel supply from any remote location of a lodge or roadhouse for even those handful of remote reputable places who know how to pay their bills and have a great credit line for automatic fuel delivery, as there have been more than enough times where the fuel companies themselves are the major problem upon delayed delivery or supply issues as these remote out of the way places are not priority for fuel deliveries when those logistic glitches happen.
Paxson Lodge (east end junction of Denali highway) over the years was hit and miss for fuel availability -
Open and maybe fuel available -
Open and maybe NO fuel available
Closed up for business
Reopened for business and maybe fuel available
Reopened for business but no fuel available
Closed for business again, etc, etc....
The Denali Highway is truly scenic in every aspect as I have also taken on both directions of travel, and in my opinion it is a bit more scenic and enjoyable while viewing the trip enroute from east to west direction as you deal with the more rugged half side first and have more downhill and less ascend in the westbound direction from MacLaren Summit - the only minus grade from east to west direction of travel here would be if one were to commute during the time of 900pm and later, as the sun will be staring right at you for 2 to 3 hours until it lowers toward the horizon....
The Denali Highway route also has the least amount of general traffic and hardly any commercial traffic at all out of all the Alaskan "major highway" routes too, even less traffic busy than the Dalton and Taylor Highway remote routes as you get the least "I'm Joe blow and I'm in a hurry" type of drivers from behind to deal with.
This posted message is from YOUR - 2023 Nenana Ice Classic Winner !!!!
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AKsilvereagle
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05/13/23 09:05pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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