Moving Denver to Juneau (Anchorage, Skagway: car rental, 2014, transporting)

[nlake00]

Hi! I am planning on moving to Juneau Alaska in the spring / summer of 2021. I have trying to do my research on best ways to physically get there. Ranging from just flying there and shipping all of my items, driving to Washington and ferry from there, or make the 49+ hour drive to Skagway for the ferry into Juneau.

some things to mention:

1. I have a 2 year old golden retriever and am trying to make this as stress free for her; curious others experiences with traveling this far with many modes of transportation

2. I have a 2014 jeep wrangler, not sure if I want to put the 49+ hr stress on my car. ( I have thought about shipping my car to WA, then putting it on the ferry, and then renting a car from Denver to make the drive)

3. Is it too risky to make the drive through the Canadian Rockies in May/June/August time frame?

Curious what the best tips and tricks are for making this move!

thanks in advance

[jdhpa]

I haven't found a way to fly with a dog that doesn't fit under the seat, except to put them in the cargo hold (which I won't do). If there's another way I'd be very interested in that.

The ferry from Washington, IIRC, requires the dog to stay in your car, and there are 4 (?) daily 15 minute intervals you can go down to walk them, over a 2 day trip. I wouldn't do that, either.

If you want to drive, get The Milepost.

Juneau is beautiful, I'm sure you'll love it!

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by nlake00

Hi! I am planning on moving to Juneau Alaska in the spring / summer of 2021. I have trying to do my research on best ways to physically get there. Ranging from just flying there and shipping all of my items, driving to Washington and ferry from there, or make the 49+ hour drive to Skagway for the ferry into Juneau.

some things to mention:

1. I have a 2 year old golden retriever and am trying to make this as stress free for her; curious others experiences with traveling this far with many modes of transportation

2. I have a 2014 jeep wrangler, not sure if I want to put the 49+ hr stress on my car. ( I have thought about shipping my car to WA, then putting it on the ferry, and then renting a car from Denver to make the drive)

3. Is it too risky to make the drive through the Canadian Rockies in May/June/August time frame?

Curious what the best tips and tricks are for making this move!

thanks in advance

No matter which method you choose there will be a downside. I've made the same Denver-to-SE AK move you are facing with a dog and a bird, but had to do it in January. Didn't care to drive through more snowy mountains at that time of year. I chose to drive to Bellingham and take the ferry to Juneau, then on to the tiny bush town that was my final destination. The pets made it just fine.

Why wouldn't your Jeep handle 49+ hours of driving? Maybe that is a bigger question to answer. You don't want to bring a troublesome car of any sort to Juneau. There will be fewer options there to deal with continuing problems. Sure, Juneau has mechanics but everything you need to replace on it will cost you more and you'll wait for parts. Another thing to think through is living with a soft top vehicle in Juneau's climate. No small consideration. Have a mechanic go over your truck thoroughly and take care of any known mechanical problems ahead of time, carry supplies you might need on the road, and don't overload it pulling a heavy trailer.

Driving through the CA Rockies at that time of year should be fine. It may actually be easiest on your dog as you'll be with her all the time and can stop and get out whenever you want. Big question will be whether the US-CA border will be open. If you will be transporting any firearms you need to check into that in advance. Also what health certification you'll need for your dog.

I have traveled with pets (you think travelling with a DOG is a hassle, try birds or reptiles!!!) in and out of SE AK locations several times over the years. And, not just to a city...continuing on to small bush towns from there. Yes, your dog will need to fly in the cargo hold. Alaska Airlines doesn't have a bad reputation in terms of handling pets. I've flown with a dog several times without trouble, but I was prepared, my dog was comfortable spending time in her crate, and I followed the airline requirements to the letter. Be aware that they can impose a temporary embargo on pets due to weather on very short notice. You can check for their requirements on the airline website ahead of time.

The ferry is also a reasonable option (assuming the state hasn't cut its financial throat). I have also traveled on the AMHS ferry with pets several times including the longer routes of 4-5 days and I know quite a few other people who've done it too. Yes, dogs/cats need to remain in your car, but it is entirely doable if you think it out ahead of time. You'll find quite a few other passengers do the same. You need to make a comfortable space in the car where they can sleep, stretch, provide water, food, and blanket/bed that's familiar and smells like themselves and you. Space for this may be an issue with that size dog and small truck. Obviously if your dog suffers from separation anxiety this won't work too well. I'd suspect most pets just sleep away the hours. The crew understands how important letting your pet out of the car is. They make announcements for a car deck call on a schedule unless the sea conditions are so rough it would be hazardous. The majority of that route will be pretty smooth sailing. They provide water, paper towels, and trash cans for you to clean up after your pet. You'll have time for a short walk circling the car deck a couple of times to get the kinks out. If they are docked in port there may be time to take your dog for a walk off the boat too. One of my dogs was very "needy" and easily frightened by strange things and I was quite worried about her. She was totally fine and had the routine down by the end of the day. Be aware that that time of year is prime for ferry travel and space will fill up months in advance. Make your reservations early.

[Alaskan Mutt]

If you decide to drive to Skagway, May into June you may have to spend a lot of time waiting for pilot cars to guide you through road repair zones along the Alcan highway. However, other than the delays, the road will be quite passable. If Canada full opens it's borders in 2021 there will be a lot of traffic on the highway. There will also be a lot of people looking for hotel rooms along the highway.

You will want to make ferry reservations way in advance. With all of the cuts in service car space could sell out fast.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by nlake00

then renting a car from Denver to make the drive

I do not think you'll find a car rental company willing to rent you a one-way rental from Denver to Juneau.
If you do drive, make sure and have a copy of www.TheMilepost.com . In my opinion it's the best guide to the drive.

[pnwguy2]

I moved to Anchorage from Washington State in ‘96. My parents offered me a birthday gift of a ferry ride from Prince Rupert BC which takes autos. Kind of cool, same route as most of the cruise ships. So was a great trip with not much actual driving. When my job ended a couple of years later I drove all the way back to Washington. That was a haul! And back then a lot of the highway was not great. I think it took me three days total. Yes get the “milepost” an excellent guide. Above post mentions website but I used their paper magazine version back then. Disclaimer: I did both these trips in September. Anything past that would not be recommended.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

If you're a communist like Colorado has become please don't move to Alaska.

What a d!ckhead thing to say. Do you even live here?

[DyingThumb]

We drove from FL to AK with a 50lb dog, hauling a 12' trailer. We made the trip in March 2020. Drove to CO, stayed 2 weeks, then restarted the trip. We wanted to ship the dog but no airline would take him because he's a scary pit mix. We considered the ferry but it was closed this time of year and it was going to cost in the neighborhood of 8k from Washington to Anchorage.

The Milepost is very nice and did help for our trip but not significantly. Because of Covid, a significant number of places were closed - including gas stations. The Milepost told us where to fuel up where there are long stretches of no gas stations. Unfortunately, many of those were even closed. Before our trip, we got extra fuel, just in case. Didn't need them but made us feel better when heading out on some very lonely roads.

Road conditions were tolerable up to Edmonton (late March). Then they started getting rough and at some points real nail-biters. We were very happy we had real winter tires and 4wd. People are generally friendly (I'm told) and will help stranded motorists. I don't know if it's because of Covid, but no one stopped for us when we had trailer issues. Make sure your vehicle is SOLID. You don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere - especially when there is no cell reception.

We started calling Canada while in CO asking if they would let us in. All they could tell us is they make the decision at the border. We were the only vehicle at the Sawgrass crossing. No issues getting in or through. Seemed like Covid put them in a "pass 'em through quick" mode.

Hotels and gas stations raised prices significantly. A hotel that listed $80/night was nearly $200/night when we got there. We really didn't benefit from the lower gas prices on the east cost. We were paying over $4/gal at some points.

The trip is doable, just plan, check, adjust... and Good luck!

[karen_in_nh_2012]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

If you're a communist like Colorado has become please don't move to Alaska.

Colorado is a communist? Really? That doesn't even make sense. What an incredibly rude, stupid post.

OP, I live in New Hampshire but find the Alaska forum to be really interesting with lots of helpful posters. Just ignore the idiots. (I guess that's good advice anywhere!) And good luck!

[pnwguy2]

The Colorado communist post has apparently been deleted. MODS usually delete responses to deleted posts. ???