Above the Arctic Circle
September 24, 2009
Interesting trip you shared with us..At 1st untill you showed the larger Mtn's it looked like Canaan Valley..."The little slice of the north" that has drifted south!
You were experiencing above normal temps while you were there..was it as warm as it looked in the pic where the shirts were off for the Polar bear dip??
I was surprised at the diversity of flora well into the arctic circle; in that respect Fairbanks in the summer looks much like eastern North Carolina.
We had quite above average temps, but not extreme. At Prudhoe, the sun was warm but low angle and the wind was strong so the jackets were more for windbreakers. Air temp was maybe 50.
Conversely, the Canada Rockies were experiencing a record cold spring. I might do a trip report about the Alaska highway later.
ok, now they have a real heat wave - this weeks forecast shows highs in the 70s all week in Wiseman, and in the 60s in deadhorse. wow.
I just ran a check on yahoo maps. Durham to Deadhorse is 4900 miles and 100 hours of driving. You're raising a troopful of serious road warriors. How many days was the trip for those that took bus back and forth?
28 days at ~11000 miles, or ~390/day avg. they will be men!
Cool beans! I did a hike years back in the ANWR (funny, it doesn't *feel* like years back but that's the only way to describe it). Dying to get back up there, I keep saying "someday" and like the old CCR song, well... but you've seen the Brooks Range. Splendid desolation that place is, surreal. Great photos!
would love to hear about the alaska highway... what rout did you take?
28 days at ~11000 miles, or ~390/day avg. they will be men!
As someone who is in charge of several BSA & CSA outings each year, I will have to say you're a sicko!
Did you loose a bet? I may not want to ski with you!
On a more serious note:
How did you get the time off? Or did you work off a lap top the whole trip.
Epic trip, this will be etched in their minds forever!
per Alaska highway: buy a Milepost magazine (it's like 500 pages). Seriously, this lists all the gas, food, camping, and interesting spots along the way. Don't go north without it. Most of the highway is good condition, only a few rough spots, and never boring. Make sure you stay at Laird River Hot Springs Provincial Park.
We entered Canada just north of Whitefish MT, which is georgeous, and drove up through their Rocky mountain national parks: Kootenai, Banff, and Jasper. Incredible places. Then you pick up the highway at Dawson Creek and motor for a few days until you reach Fairbanks. Go for it.
per work: I have a good position at a good company (SAS) and I planned for this months in advance. Delegate like crazy. There is not reliable cell coverage in the Canadian west (and really, why would there be?) and the Rogers network is crazy expensive. Just live and let live. Every couple of days my crackberry would get a few hundred new messages, and I called in a few times. Mostly, I was offline and happy - the way life should be :-).
I want to hear more about Roger's hike in the ANWR, which must have been the ultimate skeeter hell.
