TnVadventure (Wasilla, Haines, Tok: prices, food, relocating)

[tvgrant0704]

Relocating in Wasilla, AK. Need input on driving the Alcan in mid January. Any experienced travelers? Will be taking our dog with.

[warptman]

How to Drive to Alaska in the Winter - ExploreNorth

[warptman]

Road Reports & Fuel Prices - ExploreNorth

[AKStafford]

You'll want to order a copy of The MILEPOST: Alaska Travel Guide and Trip Planner . In my opinion it's the essential guide to the drive.
You'll need current health certificates for the dog. You'll need a passport to get back into the US. Canada won't let you in if you have felonies or DUI's.
Have plenty of warm clothing, food and water with you in the car. You will go long stretches with no cell phone coverage. Plan your fuel stops wisely. Do not leave Watson Lake, Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Beaver Creek or Tok without a full tank of gas.
Be prepared for winter driving, including snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures. Have a spare tire, spare belts & hoses, coolant rated to at least 40 below, jumper cables, tow strap, flashlight, etc.
Keep your camera handy... There is some amazing scenery.

Driving the highway in the winter has been discussed often on the forums, so doing some research and reading here will give you more information.

Oh, and stopping at Fast Eddies in Tok for food is always recommended.

[heathen]

Extremely short daylight hours in the northern section of the road. Don't drive the section between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake in the dark, due to an exceptional density of large wildlife.

Car needs to be fully winterized before you hit Fort Nelson in BC. Block heater is mandatory. Even though you're heading somewhere relatively mild, you must drive through the border region, between Beaver Creek and Tok, which sees the coldest temperatures in North America. Coolant rated to 60 below.

[Dakster]

I'll second that extremely large wildlife comment between Fort Nelson and Watson Lake. Both going to and leaving from AK, I saw a large herd of Bison and several, very large, Moose. You can't see them at night until you are very close due to the fact that nothing on them reflects light and the road is curvey. Also, your 'miles driven per day' will be low in Northern Canada due to the 70-80 KM/H speed limit which is 45-50 MPH.

I would love to take the drive in the winter just to see the difference between the summer drive. Although we made good time in the 20 hours of daylight in the summer... Milepost was helpful - always topped off when I could and kept a spare 5 gal. fuel jug with me, wasn't really needed, but I did dump it in for a comfort factor to make it to the next station when fuel was $1.89 / Liter... Granted I was getting 20mpg in a truck with a 26 gal. tank. My OCD is running out of fuel... So I always make sure to have more than I need.

Can't answer the winter driving issues directly... but they have been discussed here ad-nauseam.

BTW, if you can I would drive thru Banff in western Canada.

[muttonhead]

Make sure your dog has winter gear too like booties as it won't be used to waking in that kind of cold.