When we arrived in Alaska seven weeks ago, the Big Dude had expressed an interest in dipping his toes into the Arctic Ocean. We had researched the possibility and decided, much to his disappointment, that with the distance and road conditions, we would not be able to include that as part of our trip. Or could we?
The North Slope Haul Road (Dalton Highway), made famous by the History Channel show Ice Road Truckers, is the only road north through Alaska that leads to the Arctic Ocean. It is 415 miles long and was built for the purpose of transporting supplies and equipment to and from the oil station at Prudhoe Bay for the Alaskan pipeline.
The literature described the road as 75% gravel (not on our list of favorite things) with “washboard so severe it can rattle your teeth”. There are narrow sections that can be built as high as 15 feet above the tundra with no shoulder and there are several steep grades up to 12%. One must watch for ruts, pot holes and severe dust during dry conditions. Flat tires and broken windshields from rocks kicked up by passing vehicles are common and truckers have the right of way.
There are only two small outposts along the 415 mile stretch that offer any services such as fuel and a limited amount of food. There is no cell phone service. And, travel along this route during severe weather is highly discouraged unless you have the training and equipment necessary to survive such conditions.
O.K., so that’s not exactly an invitation to lay on the beach with an umbrella drink but, I kept thinking that it would be a shame to have come all this way and not at least make it to the Arctic Circle. Going to the Arctic Ocean was out of the question since the private property along the coast can only accessed by specialized tour companies. But, the arctic circle, that seemed doable.
The Arctic Circle is about 200 miles from Fairbanks. Since we would be waiting in Fairbanks for a couple of days for a part to fix our broken tow bar, I thought we could do a day trip in our tow vehicle. We could run up, have a picnic, then return home. Our windshield was already cracked and without having to manage the RV it seemed more manageable.
So, we packed a picnic lunch, topped off the windshield fluid and checked the air pressure in the tires. We also decided to throw in a tent, sleeping bags and some extra food and water just in case we found ourselves, through some misfortune, unexpectedly overnighting on the tundra.
We headed out at 8:00am and by 8:20am, the “princess”, gave me a look of panicked discontent. So, we stopped to let her out and sure enough, she had diarrhea. Great, we had 350 miles to drive that day and a dog with diarrhea! I had given her a piece of moose bone the day before and she had spent two hours with her eyes rolled up in her head in pure ecstasy. Unfortunately, her “city” system was little too delicate for the hardy Alaskan fare. The moose bone incident would increase our potty stops by 5x.
The drive to the Arctic Circle turned out to be amazing. The aspens and birch were at their Fall peak of brilliant yellow which popped even more with the contrasting dark green spruce. The road proved to be as it was described but, our Honda CRV handled it well and it was much better than many other roads we have encountered. The rolling hills, colors and oil pipeline were our constant companions.
I’m sure there is an engineering reason for the pipeline to twist and turn and jag this way and that but, it sure looked like the engineers and builders of the pipeline had a few too many beers before its construction.
We had a picnic at the Arctic Circle as planned. But, the beautiful sunny day teased us to go further. What’s another hour? So, on we went to Coldfoot, one of the two fuel stops on the road. They also have a nice Arctic Visitors Center (believe it or not). By the time we finished at the visitor center it was dinnertime and a little late to head back to Fairbanks.
The Ranger at the visitors center recommended a nearby campground and added “you are going to the pass aren’t you? You can’t come all this way and not go to the pass!” She meant the Atigun pass across the Brooks Range. Yet another hour up the road. Another tease. We decided to sleep on it.
After reading the instructions to our as yet unused tent, we got it set up at a beautiful campground. Aaahh, I was looking forward to a peaceful night camping above the Arctic Circle. Then, I heard it. First one, then two, then three and it continued throughout the night. Everyone else slept fitfully but, the haul road was only a few hundred yards away and night time seems to be convoy time for the truckers. Here I was hundreds of miles from anywhere, above the Arctic Circle and listening to traffic noise! Needless to say, I did not sleep well.
Suckers, as we are, we decided the next morning to go for the pass. After a quick breakfast, we headed North and watched the trees fall away to tundra. There was a distinct change in the landscape that we had not seen until now. Pure tundra. There was even a sign stating the last northern most spruce tree. The low brush of the tundra was brilliant with reds, oranges and yellows until we got to the pass and then all plant life ceased.
The air on the pass was very cold and bitterly cold with the windchill. I can’t even imagine what it must be like in February! Had the coast been open to individuals, we may have pressed on but instead decided that this would be the place to finally turn back.
Our impromptu picnic evolved into a two day adventure that took us across 700 miles of a brilliant lively landscape not a barren wasteland as one might imagine. The “Princess” recovered from the moose bone incident, the Dudes earned a rare arctic Jr. ranger badge and although we didn’t get to dip our toes into the Arctic Ocean, we did get to have a lovely picnic at the Arctic Circle and sleep under a star filled arctic sky.
below: Atigun Pass in the Brooks Range, Lat 68 degrees.
“We hope that, when insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.” Bill Vaughan
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