978 July 7, 2023 Dalton Highway Or The Haul Road
Each time I woke up during the night, I looked out to see what was happening in our neighborhood. Then, I quickly went back to sleep. At 2:30 in the morning, I took this picture from the tent. We could occasionally hear trucks barreling down the highway but it was otherwise a peaceful sleep.
There was an intense mosquito presence this morning. We used our whole arsenal of bug deterrents. We sprayed with OFF and used yard fogger and built a fire and Tim tossed some green spruce branches on top to produce some smoke. Those interventions calmed things down and we were able to enjoy our coffee by the river.
We left our campsite at 7:00am.
In a fire ravaged landscape, fireweed is one of the first things to regrow.
This was the view as we traveled.
The Dalton Highway!!!!
This road is a Utility Corridor for the Alaska Pipeline. The land is managed by the BLM. All of this is public land. This area was the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
There was an area of road construction for 20 miles. They were not allowing vehicles to pass through unescorted. We had to wait for a long while for the pilot car to come and then we followed it to the end. This highway is an interesting mix of surfaces. There are a few paved portions, lots of patched sections, lots of gravel stretches, miles of mud, and too many potholes to count. The industrial traffic and equipment have the right of way. We drove slowly and carefully and gave truckers wide berth.
We saw a doglike critter cross the road in the distance; maybe a coyote or a wolf. By the time we passed, it was long gone. There were poor little ground squirrels darting around…the bottom of the food chain out here.
We had driven this part of road 5 years ago. We didn’t remember just how pretty it was.
We stopped at the Yukon River Crossing. The bridge is 2000 feet from one side to the other. The pipeline is close to the highway here. This pipeline begins in Prudhoe Bay and travels 800 miles to Valdez. To see it and to drive with it for hundreds of miles is really impressive. The engineering and ingenuity that it took to cross three mountain ranges, the Arctic tundra, and over 800 streams and rivers is mind boggling.
At the Visitor Center, we picked up a brochure about the Dalton Highway. There are so many warnings in the book. There are no groceries, no banks, no ATMs, no medical facilities, and only 3 gas stations. If you are going to travel this way, it is important to have the right vehicle and to be prepared!
There are also no billboards, no streetlights, no trash, no houses; it truly is a remote wilderness area.
It was at this point that the weather turned. We had rain and it got foggy. We were robbed of the beautiful views.
We stopped to walk at Finger Mountain Wayside. This rock structure is a tor and rises 40 feet above the ground.
Mountain avens.
We arrived at the Arctic Circle.
We visited Gobblers Knob.
Prospect Camp lies in the valley below. It is here that the official coldest temperature in the US was recorded; -80 degrees F.
This area receives about 5 inches of rain a year. This is less than the Sonoran Desert. Here, the summer temperatures are cooler, there is less evaporation, and the permafrost retains moisture like a giant sponge.
Grayling Lake.
There were heavy storm clouds ahead.
In Coldfoot, we went to the Arctic Visitor Center. This place is a gem. There are lots of incredible displays and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
There is no sunset here in Coldfoot from May 10th until August 2nd. In the winter, there is no sunrise from November 18th through January 23rd.
We arrived at the “town center.” Ha-ha!! We pumped gas for $7.49 per gallon. Then we bought stamps at the small post office which could not accept credit cards…only cash. We had dinner at the Trucker’s Café. Then we checked into the swanky Coldfoot Camp. This was a dormitory for pipeline workers. It is very rustic and had no amenities. But we are warm and dry and we have a nice shower!
We had a brief period of sunshine this evening and so I went out to take pictures of the town.
The forecast for tomorrow is for heavy rain. We will see what the day brings and modify our plans if we need to!