Iditarod 2019 and the Alaska Highway! Deadhorse too? (Well, probably not.) (Anchorage: rent, taxi)

[echo7tango]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

Your food and drink in the Jeep will freeze when the outside temperature in March through Canada is -20 degrees. And you'll freeze trying to sleep in the car...
I've done the drive in the winter and we've always driven it straight through, only stopping for gas.
I think you are severely underestimating just how cold it'll be.
In the winter, the park road at Denali National Park is only open for the first three miles: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvis...activities.htm
I'd skip the drive and just fly up. It'll be cheaper. Save the drive for a summer trip.

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

I'd strongly consider doing this thing as two trips. Fly up for the Iditarod and save the road trip for a better time of year. Driving up can certainly be done in March, but late winter is so blah. If you go to Skagway, for instance, most of the town will literally be boarded up except for a couple of local cafes.

ETA I see AKStafford has already made that suggestion.

Yeah folks, I might have to do this. The crossing from Little Gold YT is still closed. Still way too cold up there.

Gotta discuss plans with the wife. Thanks.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

Yeah folks, I might have to do this. The crossing from Little Gold YT is still closed. Still way too cold up there.

Gotta discuss plans with the wife. Thanks.

Well yeah, Top of the World Highway is closed, that's to be expected. Not the typical road route to Alaska though.

[echo7tango]

Originally Posted by Blind Cleric

Well yeah, Top of the World Highway is closed, that's to be expected. Not the typical road route to Alaska though.

Would be cool to check it out though. I’ll save it for when I do the drive up, and maybe I’ll do it.

For now, yeah, like suggested here I will break this up into two trips. Probably first will be the 2019 Iditarod, likely fly up for that, and I’m looking into those plans and reservations now. Hopefully Anchorage and Willow Lake and Nome, all.

The Alcan drive will come later, maybe also in 2019, but when the weather is generally better. I’d rather not do the drives (Alcan, Dalton, Old Denali, etc) when the skies are dreary and the roads are bad. As much bright, sunny days would be nice. Although the road conditions map at Alaska 511 show the Dalton as open now. But we’re in late April.

And then seeing the summer solstice Midnight Sun Game in Fairbanks would be cool too!

[bus man]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

Yes, I plan to be there next March. Thanks anyway, bus man.

Looks like they run the tour in March as well.

Arctic Circle Winter Fly Drive

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by echo7tango

Although the road conditions map at Alaska 511 show the Dalton as open now. But we’re in late April.

The Dalton is kept open year round. It's the lifeline for the North Slope oil activities.

[bus man]

Originally Posted by AKStafford

The Dalton is kept open year round. It's the lifeline for the North Slope oil activities.

I can't even imagine the size of the snowplow fleet that must be required to keep that highway open year-round.

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by bus man

I can't even imagine the size of the snowplow fleet that must be required to keep that highway open year-round.

It's nothing like the Richardson highway, where Thompson pass gets about 50 ft of snow per season.

Arctic is fairly dry-northern desert.

[mizzile]

Originally Posted by Frostnip

Just managed to open this map.

Man, I don't know if I'd drive the stretch from Haines to Haines Junction in the middle of winter. It's a well-maintained road but it's dead lonely in summertime, so I can't imagine it gets busier in winter, and no cell service. If you got in trouble there you could sit a long time before anyone came along. It's not like the Alcan or the Cassiar where there's a pretty steady flow of traffic.

I'm a Yukoner part of the year and this is really NBD. Nice drive actually.

Then again most of the Yukon has very little traffic so if that isn't your cup of tea then avoid it.

[pittsflyer]

Buy a plane in the lower 48, get your pilots license and fly to nome, scream and yell and jump up and down fuel up and leave lol. You could tie down at Merrill and monitor the mushers then fly up to nome.

Fly back home and sell the plane. This will seriously be less aggravation than dealing with the brewhaha of hotels. I would not even want to know what the hotel costs were and the flight to nome.

I would even bring fuel in a bladder in case they try to ********* in nome on the fuel costs.

[echo7tango]

I’ve made hotel reservations in Anchorage and Nome. Now I have to figure out where to stay for the Willow Lake restart (near there? Or stay in Anchorage and shuttle up & back?). We also want to visit one of the early checkpoints. I remember reading that some checkpoints are better for visitors/tourists like us, but I don’t remember the info. Got suggestions?