Alaska trip

[Tractorat]

Well, Im getting pretty serious about driving up the alcon to alaska this summer. To those who have gone before. If there were only 1, maybe 2 spots to stop and fish along the way for trout, where would you most recommend ?



Thanks in advance

 

[cguthrie]

i made the trip this sep. and there was alot of places to stop and fish, i didn't fish anywhere myself so i can't help you out with locations. Just make sure your concurrent with the laws i don't know what kind of fishing laws they had but i can tell you going through towns, when i was leaving them the mounties would be standing next to there car on the side of the road with radars and if they got you they would just walk out in front of the cars and wave them over. It wasn't me but i saw a couple of people get caught this way. Pretty funny to me though



Chris

 

[DBF]

Fish

"trout fishing alaska highway"



I typed the above phrase into the Google search engine and got all sorts of replies.



Look for yourself.



DBF

 

[RJOL]

Go to google and do a search for "The Milepost. " This is a very useful travel guide for those going to Alaska...

 

[Grizzly]

I made the trip in '95 on my brand new 95 Dodge/Cummins 3500 dually and pulling my '88 HR Alumalite 5th Wheel. I didn't fish, but I saw many places and small lakes to do so. Do get the Milepost. It tells you the location of every fishing spot and trash can, restrooms, stations with diesel, restaurants and much more. Lots of good history of the construction of the alcan highway by the Corps of Engineers. I retired from the Corps of Engineers. What RV will you be taking? Large 5th Wheels have a rough time with the frost heaves. The best RV for the alcan is a cab-over camper, no extra running gear. If I can tell you more, let me know. Good luck. Grizzly

 

[Tractorat]

Grizzly,

Thanks for the reply. Im pulling my 1988 19ft travel trailer. Tires were brand new last year just before I pulled it from Seattle to Minn and back, so that should be OK. The stock tires on my '02 2500 are OK per the guy at Discount Tires, but I may put my winter tires back on just because they only have about 7k miles on them.



Its been 10 years since your trip, so Im hoping the roads have improved a little (I guess Ill find out. ). But, might you be able to give me an idea of what I can expect for roads ? Any steep grades, or long pulls ? Also, I think Ive heard that fuel is available about every 100 miles, so Im guessing that I dont really need to bring extra fuel for emergency. But what about camp sites. In your experience, is it a good idea to make reservations along the way ? Or can I find pretty good camping just about anywhere ?



Oh yeh, and I think Ive heard that it is a good idea to have plastic covers over the headlights. Do you have an opionion on that ?



Thanks again,

 

[Grizzly]

MBuck, man I could talk to you for days about Alaska and alcan highway. I had problems with my axles and tires on that trip. As it turned out the running gear on my 5th wheel was too small for that much trailer, which weighed 8500 lbs. I had to replace one axle and two tires on the way back in 100 Mile House Canada and the other axle and tires when we got home. I was starting to have problems with the axle in Fairbanks. I took my rig to an RV shop and was told by the owner, a 70 some year old man who had made the trip many times. His best advice to me was that the best RV for the Alcan highway was a cab-over camper, because no extra axles and tires. The worst RV was a TT because, 1st: the hitch alway breaks on the frost heaves, 2nd: axles and tires. The next worst RV was the large motor homes because they break there front springs. He said that the very small class C motor homes did fine. I now have a cab-over camper because we are going to make that trip again next year.



After 10 years I hope the highway is better, but I wouldn't count on it. You will be going along the continental divide, but there are no major grades. No Wolf Creek Pass type stuff. Expect a lot of construction as the three summer months are the only time to remove frost heaves and repave. The entire highway has been at one time paved, but when the frost heaves get real bad they bulldoze them and gravel the roadway. I think the gravel is worse then the frost heaves. I installed a large grill guard on my 95 as well as my new truck. I tied a large 1/4" screen on the grill guard and extended some 5" higher then the hood to protect the radiator, headlights and hood. My windshield was completely busted and had to be replaced as soon as I got home The sides of my new (95) truck had rock dings and the 5th wheel suffered much rock damage. Diesel is very much available everywhere. I filled up often, didn't let it get below 1/2 tank. The Mile Post tells all the locations with gas and diesel. There are plenty of pull out and you can camp anywhere you want. You will not need reservations. You don't need to stay in KOA unless you want hook-ups. plenty of dump stations, Mile Post has that information. Take a 2000 W generator. When you get to the bigger cities, like Fairbanks and larger, you can park at Wal-Marts or Fred Myers, with permission. Take a roll or two of duck tape to seal your doors and camper openings. There is a lot of dust in the gravel areas. If you want more information you can e-mail me at baccagab@netzero.com . Hope this helps. Get a second opinion on that TT. Grizzly

 

[Suprmn]

Fishing in Alaska and on the way

Do a search on the internet for "Highway Angler". There are books out by a guy named Gunnar Pedersen that cover just about every concievable fishing spot along highways in Alaska, and I think he covers parts of the Alcan highway as well. Good Luck with the trip. I have the made the trip 9 times. Just make sure you have good tires, a good spare, some tools, good hoses spare belts and dont let your fuel get low. I have been to spots along the highway that have run out of fuel.

 

[DwayneKelch]

MBuck,



I've made two trips up/down the ALCAN Highway. The last trip was Sep 2003. I plan to head back the first part of Jun 2005. I'm taking my boat back up there to sell to a friend of mine. The boat is better suited for the waters (Cook Inlet/Prince William Sound) up there than the lakes around here (Oklahoma).



The highway was in pretty good shape (relative to my first trip in 1994), approximately 80 miles of road construction. As mentioned there are frost heaves, but the bad spots in the road are usually marked with warning signs... The trip I made in 2003 went without experiencing any problems, no flats, etc. In fact, some of the highway, moving from Colorado to Oklahoma, felt rougher then the ALCAN.



The Mile Post is a valuable tool to use for planning your trip. Make sure you have a passport or an original copy of your birth certificate when you enter into Canada. If you take a firearm (no pistols allowed, just long-guns) you'll have to register it with the Canadian Government and pay a fee to transport through Canada. The fee is good for one year. Some of this may have changed since 2003, I need to go to their website to get updated before I make my trip.



It's a beautiful drive. You'll see lots of wildlife. Take a movie camera and plenty of film/flashcards for a 35mm/digital camera. Have them ready at all times. Keep an eye out for crazy tourists that stop in the middle of the road, without warning, to stop and take pictures... lol.



Good luck and enjoy your trip! If you've found out any info on identification requirements and gun restrictions, please let me know. Thanks.





Dwayne

 

[Grizzly]

Mike, from what I'm reading it seems that the Alcan Highway is much better then it was in my '95 trip. I suggest that you throw out a new thread to seek out people who have made the trip with a Travel Trailer in the last year or so. Also ask about the dust problem. When we made the trip almost everyone duct taped all openings on there RV. It really is a great trip, you won't regret it and then you will do it again. Grizzly



:-laf

 

[K5IP]

We picked up quite a few trout (accidently) while we were Salmon fishing in the Keni river. You might like trout, but fly fishing for Sockeye might make you forget trout for a while. When the Sockeye (red's) are in (mid July for second and biggest run) it is world class and you can do it from the shore line with waders and a fly rod or medium spinning/casting rod. The fish run about 10 to 12lb.

We completely emptied our refigrator/freezer and filled it with fish. We also shipped some home. World class!

Stream fishing for trout is great just about anywhere in the Youkon. If you camp in Canadian Provincial campgrounds you are often near a stream.

One suggestion was to return via the Cassiar highway. There are three nice Provincial

campgrounds spaced about a days drive from each other. The middle one (I think near Dease lake (sp?) is the best, but it is on a lake so you need a small boat or float tube to get to the trout.

One trailer suggestion. The first trip I made to AK was in a 5th wheel that did not have shock absorbers. I completely used up all my spring shackels and ruined several tires (alignment problems) because of rough roads. You might want to add a set if you don't have them.

 

[snapshot]

I think your biggest problem towing with that `02 will be remembering you have a trailer behind you.

I installed the headlight covers that Geno's offers with great success. The biggest risk is to your windshield. If you see fresh oil ahead slow way down. If you see another vehicle coming at you on fresh oil too fast, don't hesitate to come to a full stop. It may tic the rigs behind you off but it works and will save your windshield.

 

[snapshot]

The trip to has gotten easier every year. I have made the trip several times, always with a 5er. About the only steep grades you will encounter will be if you travel to coastal towns like Homer, Valdez, Hyder, Skagway or Seward. Even then they are not long and not that steep. As others have pointed out, highway construction will be the biggest problem Most of the Alcan is being rebuilt in a manner that will prevent "frost heaves". Don't count on "bump" signs being there, and if you come across signs that say "bump" and there is none, it's because it has been fixed but will return so they don't bother to remove the sign. The thing I dislike about most of the Alcan is the lack of shoulders. When you do see something, there is no place to pull off. That is the reason for tourists stopping on the road. I love to video and photograph but have had to pass up a ton of good shots because there was no shoulder to pull off on.

As to fishing for trout, will you have a boat? There are a lot of good lakes along the way. If you are looking to stream fish, that is a problem. Most of the rivers will look like thick cement at least until mid to late summer, and then they almost disappear. Your best fishing will be for Salmon on the Kenai Peninsula, all 5 types. You can also do some serious Dolly fishing here. Everything I have mentioned above is via your vehicle. To get to the really exotic trout fishing you see in the travel logs you will have to charter a boat or plane.

I have yet to need to reserve a spot at any campground and most are inexpensive until you reach Alaska, t<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com#ad
<st1:City>Northern <st1:State>BC</st1:State> and the <st1:State><ST1Yukon and then drops again as you near Anchorage. <st1:City><ST1Don’t count on the Wal-Mart’s or Fred Meyers for overnights. Most of that has been stopped. They say it was for insurance reasons but I know the commercial campgrounds were putting on the pressure. The Wal-Mart in White Horse may be the only one left you can overnight at. <O


If you want to make the most of your trip I might suggest you plan to take the <st1:Street><st1:address>Cassiar Highway</st1:address></st1:Street> on your return trip. It will save you about 150 miles and is now fully paved. It runs through wilder country and is less traveled. If you go this route be sure to turn west at Meziadin Junction for a side trip to <ST1<st1:City>Hyder</st1:City>, <st1:State>Alaska</st1:State>. You can camp at the Run-a-Muck campground and they will point the way to Fish creek. Here you can observe bears fishing for Chum Salmon up close and personal. If you get lucky you might even witness wolves stealing Salmon from the bears. Note that you will be leaving <st1:country-region><ST1Canada and re-entering Canada <st1:country-region><ST1at this location. If you have fire arms you registered at your first border crossing you will need to get a new number. No extra cost, just a new file number. Good luck with your trip. If I can answer any other questions for you don’t hesitate to ask. I hope you will be able to take your time. I have known folks that have taken 7 weeks on the trip and still felt rushed.
</ST1</st1:country-region></st1:country-region><st1:City></st1:State><st1:City></st1:State></FONT></FONT>

</st1:City></st1:City></st1:City></st1:City>

 

[Grizzly]

snapshot, where is Anchorpoint? We will be making that trip again next year and I would like to contact you for additional information as we get closer to making the trip. I'm particular interested in the Cassiar Highway and seeing bears in the river. We saw a lot of Grizzly's and Kodiak bears in Kodiak, Alaska on the last trip. That's how I got my nickname.



Also when we make the trip if there is anything you need I can take it for you, provided I can get it in my cabover camper. Grizzly







11' 3" Lance Legend extended cab-over camper

 

[snapshot]

Anchor Point is very close to the "end of the road". It is the last wide spot before you get to Homer. I am located about 8 miles out of Homer near the southern junction old and new Sterling Hwy.

I always travel the Cassiar when I go outside, I love it. Hyder is a neat little bush town with dogs, horses and bears running loose. The bears show up in numbers when the chum salmon run.

I expect we are getting a little off thread so E-mail me for more. The address is snapshot@homernet.net

Put TDR in the subject line so I'll know it's not spam.

Thanks for the offer, I will keep it in mind. Shipping is a killer up here.