Fairbanks to the Arctic Ocean – Our 6-month Alaska Adventure Part 7

Overview

This is part 7 of our 6-month journey to Alaska and back. This post covers the incredibly fun 500-mile trip up on the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Ocean from Fairbanks and back.

Nancy and I don’t typically do tours and much prefer to travel by arranging our own logistics. However, we made an exception here for a number of reasons.

• This can be a challenging road and has a reputation for giving you multiple flat tires.
• It’s also famous for trucks throwing rocks and breaking windshields. We confirmed this with talking to Sabrena our tour guide where she said this happens multiple times to her a year.
• Lodging is EXTREMELY limited up here and we had faced multi challenges booking and keeping a room booked.
• This is not a road where you can take your eyes off of it. There are often sheer drop-offs of 10 feet or more on the sides of the road with no guard rails and lots of road damage.  Taking a tour meant someone else would drive and we could focus on the scenery.
• In the end, with the bonus of flying back in a small plane over Gates of the Artic National Park, we decided to book a tour and let them handle all the logistics.

The Trip North

We arrive at the Northern Alaska Tour Company office 10 minutes before the specified arrival time only to see we are actually the last of 4 couples to arrive!  This group is prompt.  We meet Randy & Jan from an hour north of Seattle.  The other 2 couples are travelling together – Carol & Rudy are from Uniontown, PA and Sharon & Jack are from Fairmont, WV.  We can already tell we have a great group.  Steve gives us an overview of the trip schedule for the next 3 days, introduces us to our driver & tour guide, Sabrena – and the 9 of us board the 9-passenger van.

Today we will drive 255 miles to Coldfoot and it will take us 10 hours with stops.  We will rotate seats so everyone gets time in the front and everyone gets relinquished to the back and seats in between. The van has huge windows so no matter which seat you are in, you can see pretty well.  Sabrena has a headset with a microphone so we can all easily hear all her commentary as we go along the drive.  The first 2 hours is the same road (Elliot Hwy) we took a few weeks ago on our drive to Manley Hot Springs.  This time, instead of turning off to Manley, we will continue north on the Dalton Highway – also known as “the haul road”.  The Elliot Highway is paved – but littered with frost heaves and potholes.  Once on the Dalton Hwy, it is unpaved for the majority of the rest of our ride.  There are a few exceptions – we learn they get funding to pave 13 miles each year and the entire trip is almost 500 miles (including the first 75 miles up the Elliot Highway to get to the Dalton), so it is going to take a while, if ever for the whole road to get paved.  

The Dalton Highway was built as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.  The road was completed in 1974 and the pipeline was completed in 1977.  The highway directly parallels the pipeline.  The road was taken over by the state in 1979 and opened to the public in 1981.  One of the most isolated roads in the United States, there are only three towns along the route: Coldfoot (pop 34) at Mile 175, Wiseman (pop 12) at Mile 188, and Deadhorse (25 permanent residents, 3,500–10,000 or more seasonal residents depending on oil production) at the end of the highway at Mile 414.  The road is used by about 160 trucks daily in the summer months and 250 trucks daily in the winter.  Trucks traveling north are filled with supplies and trucks traveling south, are empty.

Arctic Trading Post

Our first stop is at the now closed Arctic Trading Post – a victim of the pandemic.  It is for sale if any of you are interested.  The bathrooms here are now managed by our tour company and kept locked to ensure they are only used by people on their tours. The family that owns it had this property for years had raised 15 children here. The state actually built a small school for the family at one point.

Dalton Highway Sign

We stop at the Dalton Highway signs for pictures and then it is on to our lunch stop at Yukon Crossing. 

About 10 miles before this stop for lunch we see a mangled motorcycle on the side of the road and its rider is laying still on the ground.  There are several emergency response vehicles attending to things, but it is reminder how dangerous this road can be. The van has a CB radio tuned to the trucker channel and we hear truckers talking about how crazy those motorcycle guys are for travelling to the Arctic on this road.

Dalton Highway to the Yukon River

The views are somewhat obscured by smoke as we head north but it’s not nearly as bad has it had been a few days ago in Fairbanks.

Yukon River Crossing

The Yukon River is the 1980 miles long and traverse in both Yukon, Canada and Alaska, US and was the primary source of transportation during the Klondike Gold Rush.  Despite its long length, there are only 4 bridges that cross the Yukon – and this is the only one in Alaska.

Yukon River Camp

We ordered our sandwiches before we boarded the van, so they are ready for us when we arrive.  Yukon Crossing is at MP 56 (milepost) and isn’t officially a town – just a rest stop restaurant, gasoline and a very small visitor center.  

Yukon 1000 Finish Line

Lucky us – we have landed in Yukon Crossing on the last day of the Yukon 1000, the world’s longest canoe race.  It requires participants to paddle 18 hours a day.  They must make camp between 10pm and midnight and rest for a minimum of 6 hours.  One wrong turn forces competitors to backtrack upriver in the most isolated grizzly and black bear territory in the world.  They say more people have hiked up Mt. Everest than have completed this grueling 1000-mile race that takes 10 days.

Visitors Center

After hanging out down by the river for a bit, we walk across the road to the Yukon River Crossing Visitors Center and take a gander at the information boards.

 

After doing our first seat swap for the day, we enter a region known as the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, the 3rd largest wildlife refuge in the US. 

Finger Mountain

We make a brief stop at an overlook at MP 86 and then another stop at Finger Mountain at MP 98.  We do a short hike here.  

We’ve been learning bits and pieces of information about this area – most notably about permafrost.  Permafrost is an area of ground that stays frozen at or below 32° for at least 2 years.  When building the pipeline, they had to concern themselves that the heat of moving oil wouldn’t damage or impact the permafrost in any way.  More on that when we talk about the pipeline itself.

Arctic Circle

Our next stop is at the Arctic Circle at MP 115 to get pictures with the sign while we stand on a red carpet provided by the tour company.  Sabrena surprises us with a special dessert – a zucchini cake with whipped cream.  She warns us to guard our cake because the gray jays (birds) are very bold and will snatch it right off your plate.  One of them dive bombs Harrison from behind, but he’s able to protect his cake.

Grayling Lake

Next, we stop at Grayling Lake at MP 150 for a few minutes to switch seats and take a few pictures of this beautiful area. 

Fires in the Artic

In many places along our drive, we see the smoke rising from smoldering fires in the distance.  The last couple weeks the smoke from these fires has been really bad. In Fairbanks there were some days recently that you were advised to stay inside. As we head north, we hope to get above all of this mess.

Yukon to Coldfoot

Aside from the remnants of an old work camp that somebody has bought, there is nothing but the pipeline and the road in this area of the world.

Arctic Visitors Center

Before settling into Coldfoot Camp for the night we take time to visit the nearby Arctic Visitors Center.

Coldfoot

We wait in the van while Sabrena gets the keys to our rooms at Coldfoot Camp and then walk around a bit to get a feel for this little place north of the arctic circle.

Coldfoot Camp

We all drop off our stuff in our rooms – very basic work camp centric rooms with 2 twin beds, a toilet and a small shower. We learn there are only 52 rooms at this place and it is THE only lodging in town. It’s really the only thing in town at all. 

Coldfoot Restaurant

We then head to get dinner at the buffet which includes shrimp, a pasta casserole and prime rib sliced as you wait.  That’s better than expected. While there is a bar here, they are out of beer and wine because the huge biker group that stayed here over the July 4th weekend drank them dry and the supply trucks haven’t come in yet to replenish things.  There are other independent travelers staying here as well with a few of them camping out in an open area. As we eat dinner, we watch a helicopter land near by and learn that its part of the support for the thousands of fire fighters that are in the area.

Rafting the Koyukuk RIver

We’ve booked an optional floating raft trip and need to meet our guide at 8pm.  We are the only folks who booked this trip, so we are delighted to have a private experience.  Our guide, Connor, drives us out just past Wiseman and he tells us the river is fairly low.  Just then, a buddy up at Atigun Pass 100 miles north contacts him on the CB and tells him it has been pouring rain there all day so the river might be up a little.  We get into the raft in the middle fork of the Koyukuk River and Connor notes it is up 1-2″.  Connor will do all the paddling and says it is highly unlikely we will get wet at all.  It is unseasonably warm so the slight breeze of floating down the river is a welcome thing.  The scenery is just spectacular, and Connor knows so much about the mountains, hiking paths and the area in general.  He came to Coldfoot after getting his Associates Degree and not knowing what he wanted to do in life – so he took a job “washing dishes in the Arctic”.  He’s now on his fifth year and has worked his way up to tour guide and auto shop repair guy.  He tells us that 80% of the tires he has to fix or replace are NOT punctured by rocks, but by debris that has flown off trucks (such as screws, bolts, nails, pliers and even wrenches).

Connor asks us to take note of an 8″ hole in the side of a cliff up on the right.  We learn it used to be home to a mammoth tusk just sticking out the side about 8′ above the river water.  They had called the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to notify them – they came and out confirmed what it was, but said it was in too difficult of a place to get it out at the moment.  For three years they pointed it out on raft trips until one day, some idiot travelers posted its exact location on social media – and soon came the poachers.  Coldfoot Camp alerted BLM to the situation and they came out immediately and removed it.  It is currently being cleaned and will be put on display at Coldfoot Camp.

 

After 3 glorious hours of rafting, the temperature has dropped slightly and we land the raft on shore.  We learn we are only 1/2 way back to Coldfoot Camp   The next rafters will start at this point and float back to Coldfoot.  Connors ties the raft to a rock and comments there is no chance of anyone stealing the raft.  It turns out we had to hike about 1/2 mile to the van through a rough “path” marked by an occasional piece of orange tape tied to a tree.  The mosquitos are INSANE and hanging all over Connor.  We aren’t being bothered – we all have insect repellent on but we’ve been taking Brewer’s Yeast tablets and it just may be the difference.  He’s wearing a mosquito hat, but we don’t bother.  He has at least 100 mosquitos all over his clothing at any given time.  Connor points out some grizzly tracks as well as a pile of scat – both the paw prints and the scat are huge.  We also see some moose tracks.

We get back to camp around midnight and crawl into bed and are asleep quickly.  We need to be up, done with breakfast and in the van by 7am.

 

Day 2: The Dalton Highway – Coldfoot to Deadhorse (day 64 of the overall trip)

The alarm goes off early, but we pack up quickly and enjoy a wonderful breakfast buffet.  Connor had told us that the one thing his employer does right, is the food.  They want their staff (and guests) to eat well so they will return year after year.  Remember when I said our fellow van travelers were prompt folks?  They were done with breakfast by the time we arrived to eat – except for Randy who slept in and skips breakfast.

We have almost 240 miles to cover today and we’ve heard this section of the road is worse than the part we’ve already traveled.  With stops, we expect to be on the road 12 hours today.  We are all issued mosquito hats – a clue to the plethora of those buggers that we will run into today.

Wiseman

Just 14 miles up the road we make our first stop at Wiseman to meet Jack, one of the 12 people living there.  He greets us and we notice he’s carrying an electric bug zapper racket – which he’s almost constantly moving around his body and we hear an almost constant *pop* of frying bugs.  He invites us into his living room where he explains how he lives off the land.  His home is essentially 2 rooms – a bedroom (we don’t see) and a living room/kitchen.  He remarks you need a small house because of the cost to heat in the -40° winters.  He has solar panels which have lowered his heating cost by 80% – less wood to chop!  He grows 600 lbs of potatoes each year and keeps them in a “root cellar” under his house.  He grows lettuce, beets, beans – just about everything except tomatoes and he cans everything.  He also collects and preserves berries.  He hunts and kills 1 moose per year as well as about a dozen geese and other small animals.  He tells us he must cut/clean the 1200 – 1500 lb moose in the field into about 12 pieces so he can carry it out – or the predators will smell it and come for a share.  He talks about taking all the internal organs out of the geese and stuffing the cavity with snow.  He’s built a meat house up on stilts where he can store the meat outside since the fall & winter temperatures just act like a freezer.  He also has several freezers in the house for summertime.

 

He walks us through the village and points out all the buildings.  There are 2 bed and breakfasts here, one of which is run by his daughter.  Most visitors are in the fall and winter – they come to see the aurora borealis which he says is just spectacular here (and shows us pictures).  We go to a cabin that is jewelry workshop/store run by his wife, Nicki.  She makes jewelry from caribou and moose antlers as well as from teeth and bird feathers.

Scenes from the Dalton Highway

After 2 hours – that has just flown by – we are back in the van and learn Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve is on our left and will be for the next 100 miles.  This is one National Park that has no roads or trails – one can only access it by plane or by hiking.  We’ve also entered what is called the Brooks Range that stretches some 700 miles (1,100 km) from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada’s Yukon Territory.   The Canadian portion of the range is officially called the British Mountains.  In the United States, these mountains are considered a subrange of the Rocky Mountains.  You’ll see a photo of “Link up” – the road was built from both ends at once – and “link up” is where the two groups met to complete it.

Sukakpak Mountain

We pass by Sukakpak Mountain at MP 204, a prominent 4,459-foot mountain summit located in the Philip Smith Mountains of the Brooks Range.  The highest peak in the range is just shy of 9000′ and is located in Canada. 

Last North Spruce

We stop at MP 235 at “the last tree”, a black spruce.  We are entering the Tundra – a word that means “treeless plain”.  You may remember back from your school days learning about the various biomes or ecological zones.  The 7 biomes of earth are the Tundra, the Taiga, Deciduous Forest, Grasslands, High Plateaus, Deserts and Tropical Forest.  The Tundra accounts for 20% of the earth.  Oh, the things you learn in school that you barely remember!  It turns out we were traveling in the Taiga (or boreal forest) biome, a coniferous region primarily containing spruce, pine and birch that accounts for 11.5% of the earth.

Chandalar Shelf

We rotate seats and continue north and pass through a flat plain known as Chandalar Shelf at MP 238. In the winter, they shoot howitzer cannons to trigger the avalanches and as we pass through this area the cannon mounts are pointed put to us.

Atigun Pass

Now we begin our ascent and go over Atigun Pass, elevation 4739, at MP 244.  We stop at the top for a photo opportunity – the area known as the Arctic Divide – where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide.  Rivers to the north empty into the Arctic Ocean, while rivers to the south empty into the Bering Sea.  Atigun Pass is the highest maintained mountain pass in Alaska and has grades as steep as 12%.  It has been featured in the TV Show Ice Road Truckers on many an episode. The natural beauty along this stretch of the Dalton Hwy is positively undeniable.  We also stop at the bottom of the pass Sabena declares “this is why I live here and why I’m a tour guide on the Dalton”.   We now leave the Gates of the Arctic area and enter the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge area.

 

The Alaska Pipeline

Back in the van, we pass by Pump Station 4 that has a cool sign. So let’s talk about the Alaska Pipeline.  It is 800 miles long, 48″ in diameter and transports crude oil from Prudhoe Bay south to Valdez, a trip that takes approximately 12 days for the oil.  The pipeline zig-zags along the Alaskan landscape across 3 mountain ranges, 3 earthquake faults and numerous rivers and streams.  The zig-zag configuration allows for expansion or contraction of the pipe because of temperature changes.  More than half of the pipeline is above ground and the rest underground – based on the permafrost it needs to traverse.  It is engineered to withstand a magnitude 8 point earthquake – it withstood a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that was centered along the Denali Fault in Interior Alaska. The ground along the fault moved an estimated 18 feet horizontally and nearly 2.5 feet vertically without inflicting any significant damage.  The pipeline has been shown capable of delivering over 2 million barrels of oil per day but nowadays usually operates at just under 500,000 barrels per day. If flow were to stop or throughput were too little, the line could freeze.  There are 11 pump stations along the route with only 6 currently in use.  Most can hold 2 days worth of flow in a holding tank should there be a pipeline issue down the line.  Several notable incidents of oil leakage have occurred, including those caused by sabotage, maintenance failures, and bullet holes. Sabrena tells us of a few bullet hole stories, almost all involving alcohol and “dares” and result in jail time.  We also learn that wildlife prefers to travel next to the warmer pipeline – which has cut down on wildlife on the highway, resulting in fewer accidents and wildlife fatalities.  The pipeline is truly beautiful and is the most photographed pipeline in the world.

Galbraith Lake

Our next stop is Galbraith Lake at MP 275 where we enjoy deli sandwich lunches we must assemble ourselves.  We pre-ordered them, but all ingredients are in separate baggies to keep the bread from getting soggy.  

Rotating seats, we continue traveling and pass pump station 3, then Happy Valley, the Sag River Overlook at MP 348 and stop at Last Chance Wayside at MP 355.  Along the way we see Musk Ox right along the road – which hardly ever happens according to Sabrena.  We also see them out in the fields.  We spot a well-fed red fox that crosses the road then follows along the road’s edge for a bit.  One more seat change and we complete the remaining 59 miles of our drive.  This section of the road is paved, but there’s construction paving for a 24 mile stretch that makes the road one-way for those 24 miles.  It will take about 45 minutes to drive that rugged 24 miles and we missed the pilot car by about 15 minutes – so we have to wait 30 minutes for the northbound direction drivers to get through the construction so the pilot car can then lead the southbound drivers for 45 minutes back to us.  

Last Chance Overlook

 

Wildlife

As we journey towards Deadhorse, we encounter Arctic Fox, Musk Ox and Caribou. When we get to Deadhorse, we find out we just missed by a day, the annual migration of the Caribou where thousands went by this area and what we see are the stragglers.

Accidents Along the Way

Along the way we encounter more reminders of how dangerous this road can be, Sabrena tells us the white car in the photo below has been there for over 2 years.  They have scrawled “FOR SALE, $6900, NO LOW BALL OFFERS” on the windshield.  She further tells us that $6900 is probably how much it would cost to get a tow truck out this far.  We are all shocked that people are “allowed” to leave these cars on the side of the road, with radiator fluid, gasoline, and other fluids probably dripping into the soil.  Sabrena believes there is some obscure law that can’t force the owner to remove it if it is for sale – but that is unconfirmed.

Deadhorse

We finally arrive in Deadhorse around 7pm.  It is a huge town but most of it is restricted to anyone but the oil workers and their supporting cast. There is a surprising amount of security here where you can’t get close to anything but the immediate area of where we are staying with clearance and going through check points.

End of the Road Sign

We finally reach the end of the road and find the End of the Road sign where we take our picture. We also each get a certificate stating we have driven the entire length of the Dalton Highway.

Deadhorse Camp

We are staying at Deadhorse Camp and are greeted by Molly who is the hostess for the camp.  We learn there are no locks on our rooms; Deadhorse has ZERO crime.  We also learn the rooms do not have private bathrooms – there is one women’s and one men’s bathrooms “down the hall” shared by about 50 rooms in this building.  Shoes are not allowed past the front door so we all must walk around in our socks.  We all drop off our stuff and head to the buffet dinner in the building next door.  It is BBQ night so we get ribs and chicken as well as some delicious vegetable casseroles. 

Again, the food is superb because they need to keep the workers well fed.  There are 4 or 5 different “camp” facilities in Deadhorse where workers do 3 week shifts, then go home for 3 weeks and then repeat the cycle.  As mentioned before, Deadhorse has a population of 25 permanent residents and 3,500–5,000 or more seasonal residents – but it can house as many as 10,000 workers.

We go to bed at 8:30, exhausted from the short sleep the night before.

Day 3: The Arctic Ocean & Flight back to Fairbanks (day 65 of the overall trip)

On average 2.25 million people visit Alaska each year and approximately 55% do so by cruise ship.  Only 10% are from countries other than the US or Canada.  About 1/4 of the Alaska travelers (600,000) visit the area known as the interior – which includes Denali National Park and Fairbanks.  About 12,000 people will travel to Coldfoot or Wiseman each year, primarily for prime “northern lights” viewing (which means September to April).  We are told only 2400 people go as far north as Deadhorse – and then on to Prudhoe Bay to see the Arctic Ocean.

The only way to get to the Arctic Ocean in Prudhoe Bay, is to take the Arctic Shuttle Tour.  Everyone must show a government issued ID (driver’s license or passport).  The 8 of us are all on the Arctic Tour as are about 10 other independent travelers who we’ve been following along the way.  Most have come up by motorcycle including a few folks from Portugal and Germany.  Pre-pandemic, the tours were run by the security guards at Prudhoe Bay, but as of 2021, the tours have been turned over to trained tour guides from our tour company.  Security is taken very seriously up here at the oil fields and so is cleanliness.  We learn that if so much as 1 drop of gasoline, radiator fluid or even Pepsi is spilled on the grounds, the hazmat crews are Johnny-On-The-Spot to clean it up.

It is raining and about 33° outside.  We learn the ocean is also at 33°.  Molly tries to spin the rain in a positive way by telling us they only get about 5″ of precipitation a year so we’re actually lucky to experience it up here.  It takes about 20 minutes for us to drive through multiple security checkpoints out to the designated area at the Arctic Ocean where tourists are allowed to go. 

The shuttle bus pulls up and folks start tripping off clothing down to their bathing suits.  We must walk about 100 yards to the water’s edge and even then, the water is only knee deep for a long while.  We don’t intend to take the full plunge, but we have our river shoes on and roll up our pant legs above our knees so we can wade in pretty far.  One by one, 8 or 9 people take the full plunge, some more than once for some reason.  The guys from Portugal take their home country flag into the water with them for a photo op.  With the air temperature the same as the water temperature and rain coming down, the Arctic Ocean surprisingly doesn’t seem as cold as we thought it would.  At least the wind isn’t blowing hard.  The “plungers” quickly head back to the shuttle bus to put warm clothes on over their naked upper bodies and to wrap their lower body into blankets or towels.  Sabrena tells us this is the highest number of people that she’s had “take the plunge” in one trip.

 

After about 30 minutes, we head back to Deadhorse Camp to change clothes and pack up.  We then head to the airport for an 11:30 flight back on an 8-seater plane.  The airport is a one room building with no security.  We don’t even have to show our IDs to board the plane.  We meet Neil, our pilot, and Sharon whispers to me that he looks like he’s over 16, old enough to drive a car.  One by one, we hand over our backpacks which are placed inside the wings of the plane and 6 of us enter the plane.  Two folks will take a later flight to help balance the weight restrictions.  We climb into the plane and put on headphones that will help diminish the noise of the propellors as well as hear some commentary from Neil.  The take-off is really smooth and we ascend into the clouds.  It has just stopped raining, but clouds obscure our view for the first 30 minutes.  The clouds start clearing as we approach the Brooks Range.  Neil makes sure we get a good view of the range and points out several highlights.  Once out of the range, we head straight to Fairbanks and land after a 2-hour flight.

Salty’s On Second

We head to our new lodging, a Best Western where we’ll spend the next 3 nights. We decide to go back to Salty’s on Second for a late lunch/early dinner.  We get 2 seats at the bar and meet a local couple whose names are Nancy & Carl.  We really hit it off and enjoy their company for several hours.  We also run into Anthony, the boyfriend of bartender Lily at the Oasis Restaurant.

Summary

What an absolutely awesome 3 days!  While we could have driven this road ourselves (and have driven on roads in far worse condition), we’re really glad we took the tour.  Had we not taken the tour, we would have missed the very informative commentary, the stop with Jack in Wiseman, the plane ride over the land we’d travelled by vehicle and probably not known about the option to take the float trip in Coldfoot.

Up Next

We are now going to start to head south to Denali National Park.

 

Prior Legs of the Journey

Part 1 – The Trip to Key West is located  here.

Part 2 – Cross Country to Bellingham Washington is located  here.

Part 3 – The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Juneau is located here.

Part 4- The Alaska Ferry Inner Passage to Haines & Skagway is located here.

Part 5 – Haines to Fairbanks Alaska is located here.

Part 6 – Three weeks in Fairbanks is located here