Ideas driving to Alaska (horse, places, summer)

[warptman]

Originally Posted by me and bee

we will be driving to ak around the end of sept. beginning of oct. will there still be places open that time of year

Yes, there are places open year round. This is a great time to drive up, not man RV's on the road.

Between Fort St. John and Fort Nelson, Buckinghorse Lodge is open year round. Past Fort Nelson, Toad River Lodge is open year round, too. They are in the Northern Rockies.

Most places only cater to the summer tourists. No matter what time of year you drive it, keep your fuel on the top part of half.

[warptman]

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[Malathi Tuers]

we drove to Homer Alaska and back from San Francisco. On the way up we took the Casir Highway. This was in April. Rain and snow, but roadss were good. saw a lot of wild life on the cassir, bears, caribou, moose, fox. Exccelent scenery. No roblems getting gas,as we filled up wherever we could.canada can be expensive. No flats no repairs, no slow moving vehilces. Made it up in 4 days.
we drove back on July 25. Steling hiway was slow. These campers(whats up with them) They would go so slow and would not let us pass, and when there was an opportunity to pass them they would spped up. Very frustrating for all you campers people take adive: itts nice to share the road.
After we got to Anchorage things got better. We decided to take the Alcan. It was wonderful we drove 3700 miles in 5 days. Make reservations for hotels in July. Roads were good, gas plentiful,
toilets immaculate, people friendly. We plan to drive this route again next year.
Everyone should do this at least once. Cost for gas and lodging and food $1500USd each way.
we drove a Chevy silverado pick up, stayed in nice places, average hotel billbetween $100-$150 USD. On the Alcan not as much wildlife although we did see bison on the road. I plan to enter a detailed blog of my ttrip a liitle later.

[warptman]

Sweet, I'm glad you had a great trip!

[AQHA]

Warptman (or anyone else who can answer these questions),

I'm going to be pulling three horses from Helena, Montana up to Anchorage. I pull horses a lot but NEVER this far. I have several questions I hope you can help me with.

*How bad are the frost heaves? Big bumps in the road are hard on horses when they sneak up on you.

*I drive a GMC Duramax, this thing drink a lot of fuel when I'm pulling this big trailer. Are there plenty of gas station that sell diesel?

*How are the roads as far as inclines and curves? Again, these are hard on horses.

*How lang do you think it will take to get there. We can put in 10 hour days behind the wheel no problem, I just want to get the horses there as quick as I can to reduce there stress.

*Any recommendation for a person pulling a load load of horse to Alaska?

*I will need to research what Canada requires to pull horses through there, has anyone here ever done that?

Thanks guys!

[AQHA]

oh, one thing I forgot to ask, how much road construction might I expect to see this time of year?

[warptman]

Originally Posted by AQHA

Warptman (or anyone else who can answer these questions),

I'm going to be pulling three horses from Helena, Montana up to Anchorage. I pull horses a lot but NEVER this far. I have several questions I hope you can help me with.

*How bad are the frost heaves? Big bumps in the road are hard on horses when they sneak up on you.

*I drive a GMC Duramax, this thing drink a lot of fuel when I'm pulling this big trailer. Are there plenty of gas station that sell diesel?

*How are the roads as far as inclines and curves? Again, these are hard on horses.

*How long do you think it will take to get there. We can put in 10 hour days behind the wheel no problem, I just want to get the horses there as quick as I can to reduce there stress.

*Any recommendation for a person pulling a load load of horse to Alaska?

*I will need to research what Canada requires to pull horses through there, has anyone here ever done that?

Thanks guys!

The last 100 miles or so to the border and the first 40 miles into Alaska are the roughest part of the Alcan. Most of the bad places are marked with small orange signs and or orange flags or both. Take it easy on these places. When it says loose gravel ahead, they mean it!

There are many stations that sell diesel on the road. All the places I've stopped has a separate pump for them. Shouldn't be a problem.

Here are some questions I've answered on the steep parts...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/alask...nth-guide.html

"Over the years, the Alaska Highway has evolved from a rough challenge to one of the Northwest's major tourist attractions. Today, the highway has been straightened and flattened as much as possible, and is now almost entirely paved. The steepest hill is a ten percent grade, at Steamboat Mountain -- a far cry from the 25 percent grades of the past. The highway is continuously being repaired, as the freezing and thawing of the ground causes frost heaves, buckling the asphalt. The highway now has two lanes, and ordinary automobiles regularly traverse it."

I've never pulled horses up before, I don't know how long it'll take you to get up here with them. Normally takes me 4-5 days to down to Montana and the same coming back up in a Ford Ranger.

These two people are hauling horses up to Alaska from Washington state, you might call them up and ask questions about the requirements.

Hauling Horses round trip Alaska to Washington 3 spots open now!!!

[warptman]

Construction in the Yukon...

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[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by AQHA

Warptman (or anyone else who can answer these questions),

I'm going to be pulling three horses from Helena, Montana up to Anchorage. I pull horses a lot but NEVER this far. I have several questions I hope you can help me with.

*How bad are the frost heaves? Big bumps in the road are hard on horses when they sneak up on you.

*I drive a GMC Duramax, this thing drink a lot of fuel when I'm pulling this big trailer. Are there plenty of gas station that sell diesel?

*How are the roads as far as inclines and curves? Again, these are hard on horses.

*How lang do you think it will take to get there. We can put in 10 hour days behind the wheel no problem, I just want to get the horses there as quick as I can to reduce there stress.

*Any recommendation for a person pulling a load load of horse to Alaska?

*I will need to research what Canada requires to pull horses through there, has anyone here ever done that?

Thanks guys!

Be kind to your horses and put down the thickest rubber mats in that trailer that you can. will help cushion bumps, stabilize them on hills and ease the stress on their leg for a trip that long.

[nwcountrygal]

I have pulled horses in one day Mt Rainier to Lincoln Mt. That was a long day with them and I didn't have the advantage of a Duramax. I drove from Mt Rainier to Seward first of the month up the Cassier. I really don't remember any passes like MT. Fraiser was kinda windy with Glenn Allen Road.

Construction for the whole trip going that way (haven't done the otherway) I was held up for 20 minutes entire trip half of that was on Seward hiway. On Cassier it was probable 40 miles less of perfect gravel, very little washboard. Just in case you drive that way.

The heaves you will be slow... gonna be I believe your toughest part of the trip. Road was pretty much patched up and has flags on most of them but boy your not gonna want to have one sneak up on you. Very little gravel. All in all I found the roads to be way better than I expected and you shouldn't have a problem - at least the way I drove. I drove average 60 miles an hour in Chevy truck except with the heaves. Glad for shocks and felt like I was on a bouncy horse going faster than you will.

Plenty of gas stations and from what I noticed all had desiel..I just stayed half tank - but actually could have done it without a couple of fill ups. Allthough the green gas handles in Watson Lake had me concerned if it was gas or desiel so don't count on a green handle being desiel.

I know a brand and health certificate are required for horses in Canada.That was years ago though. Not sure if anything else. Talked to a friend of mine that was a vet getting 30 of them ready for a show before I left. For my dog had all my paperwork ready no one wanted to see it.

Plenty of pull outs for pit toliets or garbadge droped of you can let them out and stretch their legs.

I drove it from Mt Rainier to Seward in basically 4 days - If it was me and horses I would think 6-8 days? Good luck and have fun!