going the wrong way...AK to CO

[Andy82Hoyt]

Alright I know this forum is mostly used by people moving to Alaska. However, unfortunately I’m moving out of state due to work after 6 years of living in this beautiful place. I cannot wait to come back. So ill be leaving Anchorage the second week of February and headed to Colorado. I’ll have my F-350 with a slide in camper, wife, her and d*** dog and out 5 year old. I’m going to pull a trailer, not sure what size yet but looking somewhere in the range of 14’ to 20’. I plan on getting a set of snow chains for my truck. We are looking to make the drive in 7-8 days or so, Im not really in a hurry. I don’t mind driving in the snow and cold but it’s just a long ways. I will have normal winter survival items. I’ll be bringing along a freezer full of game and fish and run a generator at night as needed. Ill have ammo, no guns.

What suggestion do you all have for making this trip safe and successful in February?

 

[kevin476]

Alright I know this forum is mostly used by people moving to Alaska. However, unfortunately I’m moving out of state due to work after 6 years of living in this beautiful place. I cannot wait to come back. So ill be leaving Anchorage the second week of February and headed to Colorado. I’ll have my F-350 with a slide in camper, wife, her and d*** dog and out 5 year old. I’m going to pull a trailer, not sure what size yet but looking somewhere in the range of 14’ to 20’. I plan on getting a set of snow chains for my truck. We are looking to make the drive in 7-8 days or so, Im not really in a hurry. I don’t mind driving in the snow and cold but it’s just a long ways. I will have normal winter survival items. I’ll be bringing along a freezer full of game and fish and run a generator at night as needed. Ill have ammo, no guns.

What suggestion do you all have for making this trip safe and successful in February?

just take it easy, it's not like other people haven't done it before. 7-8 is a lot of time to get to anywhere in Colorado

 

[Andy82Hoyt]

your right, its been done a million before. thanks!

 

[kasilofchrisn]

Don't pass up a gas station.
Some of them are closed for the winter and just because you have 3/4 of a tank doesn't necessarily mean you don't need to stop.The next open gas station may be a long ways away.
Bring along a full spare gas can.

 

[labdad]

I just made the trip again taking my Tahoe south. Good comments above. I prefer winter as the traffic is light, very little construction, and they maintain the roads very well. Take it slow and stay off the brakes! Heed the Bison signs as I had to drive through two herds of them, one herd of Caribou and one herd of Stone Sheep. Oh, and there is a ton of semi traffic south of Fort Nelson. Have a nice drive.

 

[limon32]

Don't pass up a gas station.
Some of them are closed for the winter and just because you have 3/4 of a tank doesn't necessarily mean you don't need to stop.The next open gas station may be a long ways away.
Bring along a full spare gas can.

I've made the trip a couple times in summer and this advice is spot on, even then!


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[Kenai_guy]

Agree on the gas station. Don't forget extra fuel cans either. Saved my butt on several occasions.

As for your guns. I brought 12 across the border without any issues. Just fill out the paperwork in advance and you'll be fine. No handguns though

 

[Andy82Hoyt]

Don't pass up a gas station.
Some of them are closed for the winter and just because you have 3/4 of a tank doesn't necessarily mean you don't need to stop.The next open gas station may be a long ways away.
Bring along a full spare gas can.

I plan on about 30-40 gallons. I wanna have enough incase I get held up a day or two on the road.


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[Andy82Hoyt]

Agree on the gas station. Don't forget extra fuel cans either. Saved my butt on several occasions.

As for your guns. I brought 12 across the border without any issues. Just fill out the paperwork in advance and you'll be fine. No handguns though

I took the ferry from Bellingham to Haines, then drove to anchorage back in 2009. I brought guns even my 7 1/2 inch super red hawk. I had all the right paperwork and it went smooth. Some people have terrible stories but it was good for me.


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[Andy82Hoyt]

who in Anchorage makes tire chains? I just cant seem to remember the name.

 

[BIGAKSTUFF]

Something to add about the gas stations, most of them along the ALCAN do not have credit card swipes on the pumps! This means you have to go inside and pay, and if it isn't between the hours of 0600-11:00, you ain't getting gas. Tried to pull an all nighter driving through before and got held up at midnight in Watson Lake I believe, all because I had to wait for the station to open the next morning.

And bring two spare tires for your truck, and 2 for your trailer, I paid 300 bucks for a spare tire in a small podunk town before when i blew out 2 tires at the same time. Dude ripped me off big time.

 

[limon32]

Something to add about the gas stations, most of them along the ALCAN do not have credit card swipes on the pumps! This means you have to go inside and pay, and if it isn't between the hours of 0600-11:00, you ain't getting gas. Tried to pull an all nighter driving through before and got held up at midnight in Watson Lake I believe, all because I had to wait for the station to open the next morning.

Had the same thing happen time in the same place, spent a cold 4 hours trying to sleep until they opened!

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[Kmagers]

You will need a health certificate for the dog. Its a mandatory thing but they never look at mine. its a just incase they ask kinda thing.

 

[rilasp12]

Birth certificate for the child. You can bring handguns through with the completed paperwork with some restrictions (minimum barrel length, minimum calibers, maximum magazine capacity). Sounds like that's not an issue for you though, just thought I'd toss it in. If you are curious, Google Canada firearms restrictions or similar and you can find the official government website pages that explain it all. Liard Hot springs is a must, as others have said. Enjoy the Kluane Lake area but watch out, storms there can get insanely crazy. Some great coffee shops in Whitehorse. I prefer the Cassiar Hwy but it can be really iffy that time of year so I would recommend staying on the Alcan. Spend a 1/2 day at least in the Jasper/Banff stretch, some of the best scenery in the world. Say hi to MT when you pass through. Have a great trip, that is an awesome time for it.

 

[Icebear]

My husband and I have made this trip many times, even before the roads were all paved, we only had 4 wheel drive, no chains and we made the trip just fine.

The Milepost would be a big help for you leaving and our online store does sell those: http://alaskaoutdoorssupersite.com/...rds=Milepost&lCsid=ub820t9juqc42us7s47toaanq3 and we offer those at a discount price, but if you order by Monday night, you can get an additional 15% off your order.

Gas stations are far and few in between especially in the winter months. Make sure you have a cooler with lunchmeats, veggies and things to snack on, you won't always be near restaurants. Once you get towards the bigger cities, you will lots of choices for hotels. We used priceline.com to get the better rates.

Just like our Alaska roads, when they don't look icy, they are icy, it's WINTER, so take it slow and enjoy the trip. Once you enter into Canada from Beaver Creek, the construction was really bad this past July when we came back to Alaska, lots of pot holes and we know they weren't going to have that fixed in any time, figured a couple of years, so that will be the worst spot for you.

Safe journey to you and your family. Merry Christmas

 

[Andy82Hoyt]

Something to add about the gas stations, most of them along the ALCAN do not have credit card swipes on the pumps! This means you have to go inside and pay, and if it isn't between the hours of 0600-11:00, you ain't getting gas. Tried to pull an all nighter driving through before and got held up at midnight in Watson Lake I believe, all because I had to wait for the station to open the next morning.

And bring two spare tires for your truck, and 2 for your trailer, I paid 300 bucks for a spare tire in a small podunk town before when i blew out 2 tires at the same time. Dude ripped me off big time.

Thanks, I'll be bringing a second spare for my truck now! I planned on two for the trailer but not the truck.


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[Andy82Hoyt]

Birth certificate for the child. You can bring handguns through with the completed paperwork with some restrictions (minimum barrel length, minimum calibers, maximum magazine capacity). Sounds like that's not an issue for you though, just thought I'd toss it in. If you are curious, Google Canada firearms restrictions or similar and you can find the official government website pages that explain it all. Liard Hot springs is a must, as others have said. Enjoy the Kluane Lake area but watch out, storms there can get insanely crazy. Some great coffee shops in Whitehorse. I prefer the Cassiar Hwy but it can be really iffy that time of year so I would recommend staying on the Alcan. Spend a 1/2 day at least in the Jasper/Banff stretch, some of the best scenery in the world. Say hi to MT when you pass through. Have a great trip, that is an awesome time for it.

We will have to look into liars hot springs. I have 20 days to make the trip. But would prefer to do it in 8, we will see.


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[Andy82Hoyt]

My husband and I have made this trip many times, even before the roads were all paved, we only had 4 wheel drive, no chains and we made the trip just fine.

The Milepost would be a big help for you leaving and our online store does sell those: http://alaskaoutdoorssupersite.com/...rds=Milepost&lCsid=ub820t9juqc42us7s47toaanq3 and we offer those at a discount price, but if you order by Monday night, you can get an additional 15% off your order.

Gas stations are far and few in between especially in the winter months. Make sure you have a cooler with lunchmeats, veggies and things to snack on, you won't always be near restaurants. Once you get towards the bigger cities, you will lots of choices for hotels. We used priceline.com to get the better rates.

Just like our Alaska roads, when they don't look icy, they are icy, it's WINTER, so take it slow and enjoy the trip. Once you enter into Canada from Beaver Creek, the construction was really bad this past July when we came back to Alaska, lots of pot holes and we know they weren't going to have that fixed in any time, figured a couple of years, so that will be the worst spot for you.

Safe journey to you and your family. Merry Christmas

Thanks for the priceline idea, I just usually find a hotel and pull over, I don't get good deals. I hear gas buddy is great for getting a good fuel price. Do you just look these things up on a cell phone? Do you have to change a plan to international? I jut don't wanna pay out the butt for phone service.


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[323]

Far as fuel beaver creek, YT has two gas station it is spendy next stop will be destruction bay and I'm almost sure they won't have fuel. After that Haines jct they have 2 gas stations then whitehorse stop and get some beer from the Yukon brewery Yukon gold is top notch. Then from their you won't have any problems getting fuel. Once you get too Dawson creek the roads are in real good condition. We went through Grand Prairie, Edmonton, Calgary, into Montana. I did this route last December and this past October.

 

[limon32]

Thanks, I'll be bringing a second spare for my truck now! I planned on two for the trailer but not the truck.


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I would consider two spares for each the bare minimum!

Put a set of studs on and leave your summers on wheels, then you'll have lots of spares for the truck!

Some kinda I ice tire would be higher on the priority list fore than chains, I prefer studs, but I don't want to start a 6 page debate over THAT!


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