What are your thoughts about driving your own LC on the Dalton Highway in Alaska?

[adrenalinejunk8]

Hello adventurers,

I am new to here. I am planing to take a road trip to Dalton Highway from Texas. My route is from Central Texas to New Mexico, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Anchorage, Fairbanks, then Prudhoe Bay. What are your thoughts and recommendations? Thanks in Advance!

 

[SGT0311]

Do it, much lesser vehicles have made the trip. Good tires and extra fuel. There is a blog or something out there with someone doing that route in like a BMW Z3 Coupe.

 

[adrenalinejunk8]

Do it, much lesser vehicles have made the trip. Good tires and extra fuel. There is a blog or something out there with someone doing that route in like a BMW Z3 Coupe.

Thanks SGT!

 

[Ryan Towry]

As long as you don’t value the paint job on your vehicle and are ok with replacing windows. I know a guy that works for Halliburton that drives that road all the time from Fairbanks to pridhoe and he said headlight lenses windows and tires are always getting destroyed on that road

 

[adrenalinejunk8]

As long as you don’t value the paint job on your vehicle and are ok with replacing windows. I know a guy that works for Halliburton that drives that road all the time from Fairbanks to pridhoe and he said headlight lenses windows and tires are always getting destroyed on that road

Thanks for this info!

 

[TonyP]

Go for it. I'm planning on going on giving it a go next year.

 

[adrenalinejunk8]

Go for it. I'm planning on going on giving it a go next year.

I am planning on this Summer.

 

[Ryan Towry]

I was also told when I lived up there is you can deal with the cold the road is better in the winter. Although less scenic due to the dark.

Make sure you pack lots and lots and lots of mesquito spray too if done in summer.

 

[EverywhereBear]

Get the Milepost travel planner - very good info and making planning very easy. I did Alaska on my motorcycle in 2016 and planning to do either the Dalton or the Dempster this summer in the LX

 

[Markuson]

I assume you mean in the Summer months, right?

DO IT!! You will LOVE it.

My personal rules for Dalton Highway (though it's now been quite a few years past)...
-2nd Spare tire (Can definitely be metal debris hidden on road since it's in a constant state of damage/repair...Saw a guy pop both tires on a side right in front of me.)
-Extra Fuel
-Seriously check vehicle before this trip! You can get help, but it can cost a fortune.
-Don't Forget to Sleep: If you are there in the Summer, it's easy to forget to sleep, because it will still be "evening" up past midnight once you're so far North.

Unsolicited Tips:
Driving:

-Milepost Book is still your friend. Will point out all sorts of cool stuff by the mile...
-Rock Damage Question: I avoided this entirely by simply pulling well to the right if a vehicle passed me...and also by making plenty of room for on-coming big-rigs & avoiding tailing them (most vehicles you see will be huge trucks unless it's gotten more touristy of late...). Running the full length twice, I had no noteworthy rock damage either time.
-If you see standing water next to the road with a bank/drop on the other side...BEWARE! -Total road wash-out could be brewing! (Ask how I know!)
-Lots of wiper fluid & good wipers. When it's wet, your vehicle becomes coated in grey/brown crust.
-Last couple hundred miles to the Arctic Ocean is monotonous. Straight... Tundra... No trees, etc.​

-Later in Summer usually means fewer mosquitos... Hard to predict since it's all about standing water and life cycle/thaw dates, etc... I was there in August both times and they weren't bad.
-Brooks Range is incredible. Dall Sheep let you get very close.
-Wide angle lens, plus 80-200mm, and LARGE telephoto lens & tripod. Low-angle sunlight is gorgeous throughout the day if you ever get direct sunlight on your landscape...
(No, your telephoto lens still won't seem long enough for critters... Zoom with your FEET or splurge on that big lens).
-Prudho Bay/Arctic Ocean is no photo-spot (though you gotta take some anyway). Basically an outpost for oil workers. Not set up for tourists, though there is a "motel."
-Firearms: You CAN carry firearms, but getting them through Canada is a problem. You should be able to mail them to a gun shop somewhere in Alaska...(Don't carry small calibre stuff...it will most likely just tick the bear off. 44Mag with heavy loads, 454 or 460/.500 better. Or shotgun with slugs. Very unlikely you'll need it, but I was carrying.

Camping:

-You can basically camp wherever along the way. Respect fragile tundra.
-Bear protection/Smarts (read up from local sources...not "the internets..."
We were in a tent, with multiple Brown/Grizzy not far away... Read up on proper bear behavior & response.
(No, Grizzlies are NOT about to eat you just because they stand on their hind legs.) Their eyesight is poor & they're just having a look-see. My bro-in-law's friend needlessly killed a bear because he'd seen too many movies of standing bears eating folks...
-No food in tents!
-Be nice to bow hunters (just keep driving if you see them crouched or stalking). They have their work cut out for them trying to close distance on Caribou with so much open tunrdra.
-Daily rain showers common
-We slept IN the vehicle about half the time due to crazy weather.
-If you see rusty animal traps, leave them alone. They will look abandoned and cool, but they are in use--likely by subsistence hunters who really can't afford to replace them. They leave them in their favorite spots, tethered by wires. Taking them reeeeally does those folks damage.
​

My 1.5 cents. Blah blah blah!

M

 

[mcgaskins]

I assume you mean in the Summer months, right?

DO IT!! You will LOVE it.

My personal rules for Dalton Highway (though it's now been quite a few years past)...
-2nd Spare tire (Can definitely be metal debris hidden on road since it's in a constant state of damage/repair...Saw a guy pop both tires on a side right in front of me.)
-Extra Fuel
-Seriously check vehicle before this trip! You can get help, but it can cost a fortune.
-Don't Forget to Sleep: If you are there in the Summer, it's easy to forget to sleep, because it will still be "evening" up past midnight once you're so far North.

Unsolicited Tips:
Driving:

-Milepost Book is still your friend. Will point out all sorts of cool stuff by the mile...
-Rock Damage Question: I avoided this entirely by simply pulling well to the right if a vehicle passed me...and also by making plenty of room for on-coming big-rigs & avoiding tailing them (most vehicles you see will be huge trucks unless it's gotten more touristy of late...). Running the full length twice, I had no noteworthy rock damage either time.
-If you see standing water next to the road with a bank/drop on the other side...BEWARE! -Total road wash-out could be brewing! (Ask how I know!)
-Lots of wiper fluid & good wipers. When it's wet, your vehicle becomes coated in grey/brown crust.
-Last couple hundred miles to the Arctic Ocean is monotonous. Straight... Tundra... No trees, etc.​

-Later in Summer usually means fewer mosquitos... Hard to predict since it's all about standing water and life cycle/thaw dates, etc...
-Brooks Range is incredible. All Sheep let you get very close. I was there in August both times and they weren't bad.
-Wide angle lens, LARGE telephoto lens, tripod. Low-angle sunlight is gorgeous throughout the day if you ever get direct sunlight on your landscape...
(No, your telephoto lens still won't seem long enough for critters... Zoom with your FEET or splurge on that big lens).
-Prudho Bay is no photo-spot (though you gotta take some anyway). Basically an outpost for oil workers. Not set up for tourists, though there is a "motel."
-Firearms: You CAN carry firearms, but getting them through Canada is a problem. You should be able to mail them to a gun shop somewhere...(Don't carry small calibre stuff...it will most likely just tick the bear off. 44Mag with heavy loads or 460/.500 is better. Or shotgun with slugs.

Camping:

-You can basically camp wherever along the way. Respect fragile tundra.
-Bear protection/Smarts (read up from local sources...not "the internets..."
We were in a tent, with multiple Brown/Grizzy not far away... Read up on proper bear behavior & response.
(No, Grizzlies are NOT about to eat you just because they stand on their hind legs.) Their eyesight is poor & they're just having a look-see. My bro-in-law's friend needlessly killed a bear because he'd seen too many movies of standing bears eating folks...
-No food in tents!
-Be nice to bow hunters (just keep driving if you see them crouched or stalking). They have their work cut out for them trying to close distance on Caribou with so much open tunrdra.
-Daily rain showers common
-We slept IN the vehicle about half the time due to crazy weather.
-If you see rusty animal traps, leave them alone. They will look abandoned and cool, but they are in use--likely by subsistence hunters who really can't afford to replace them. They leave them in their favorite spots, tethered by wires. Taking them reeeeally does those folks damage.
​

My 1.5 cents. Blah blah blah!

M

Awesome post Mark!

 

[TXSunDevil]

Have fun and post plenty of pics. I looked at doing it this summer but it is a long drive from South Texas. I would burn 4 weeks of vacation I figured.

 

[SmoothLC]

Do it, much lesser vehicles have made the trip. Good tires and extra fuel. There is a blog or something out there with someone doing that route in like a BMW Z3 Coupe.

From the Expo Vault: To the End of the Earth in a BMW M Coupe

 

[GordJ]

Get the Milepost travel planner - very good info and making planning very easy. I did Alaska on my motorcycle in 2016 and planning to do either the Dalton or the Dempster this summer in the LX

We did the Dempster to Inuvik last June. Most of what Markuson posted is right on for the Dempster too. No problem with headlights or windshields for us and tires weren’t an issue. The road is smooth and well maintained but it was really dusty, we will put down drop cloths in the trailer next time. June is flying insect month, you may think that you know about skeeters but trust me you don’t. I watched a tv show that said young caribou can lose 1/2 liter of blood a day and there are hoards of black flies and no see ums with them. The animals are mostly in their dens with the young but you get 24 hours of sunlight. The campsites on the road are exceptional with bug rooms and free firewood for $14 Canadian a night. I am going back this summer because the summer road to Tuktoyaktuk (on the Arctic Ocean) is finished now and later in the year you might catch sight of the caribou migration and there is night then so the Northern Lights are visible. Plan on a full day, at least, in Dawson City because it is pretty cool. The municipal campground across the free ferry is very nice and there are about three old paddle wheelers rotting away downstream from the campground.

 

[4gotalot]

Your a good writer with good info Mark, thank you.

You said it was just your 1.5 cents worth. I will throw in a quarter for more , how do you say it? Blah blah blah!

Time line for .25 cents, averages will be fine.

 

[jmw101]

I think I came across this years ago... Can't remember if he's on Mud or not. Some great pictures of LCs in Alaska here
Land Cruiser Alaska

 

[alsation]

Exactly a year ago my girlfriend and I drove from a Seattle to Fairbanks and Anchorage and back. Super cold there were several days where the temp was -52 without windchill. I had an FJ cruiser at the time. Now want to try it again in my 2016 LC. You don't see many animals in winter but the scenery is spectacular. If you're thinking of doing the trip in winter plan you accommodations and fuel stops beforehand. A lot of places close down in the off season.

 

[NMNORSSE]

I've never driven that road, but FWIW if I were I'd want a bull bar, magnetic window screens, shovel, axe, and pistol (.44 mag Taurus revolvers aren't too expensive, esp. used, and are rumored to be built with the actual colt dies etc...). Possibly a hood air deflector/bug shield, some rain-x and an extra set of wiper blades.

When I lived on the mosquito coast in Hondruas, I'd get under my mosquito net and tuck it under the mattress as the sun went down with a paperback book in hand. The paperback was used to kill any mosquitos that got in the net (or tent). I'd open the book and quickly close it on the mosquitos. There the mosquitos were the worst around sundown.

I found the bug incense coils gave some relief but they stink.

Now there is a bug spray for clothes/gear that survives 10 washes or so, which is great! Permanone. I think Repel is one brand.

 

[M1911]

Definitely on my bucket list.

 

[gplin96]

I know this is 18 months old but I was wondering if any of you went on your road trip. I’m planning on it very soon. Any updated info on the road conditions and lodging would be great on the Dalton as well as the Canadian and Dawson highway. I was planning on Deadhorse as a destination but maybe north of Inuvik.