AlCan Route Planning

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori) 05/02/2019 at 12:25 • Filed to: TQ3, AlCan

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Hey! You interested in hearing details about planning a two week road trip? Of course you are! I’ve been working on schedules for our trip and wanted to write up a summary, mostly for my own benefit tbh, but figured Oppo might have some opinions.

If you’re not familiar, in what is now apparently “An Thing, ” my friends and I occasionally fly to a place, buy cars, drive an epic road trip, and then “sell” the cars when we get to the destination. (Sell... keep... what is the difference really...)

In 2015 we did San Diego to Seattle via the Highway 1 and 101 and then in 2017 we drove   offroad vehicles from Sacramento to Salt Lake City via Tahoe, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, and more.

This time, we’re finishing what we started by buying cars in Seattle and then driving 2,500 miles to Anchorage, Alaska.

Requirements

All good trip has requirements! For this, we have hard and soft requirements. Hard requirements are our “must haves. ” S tuff that is neither flexible nor optional, as the name implies. Soft requirements range from “would very much like” to “would be cool if” but either way have a fair amount of flexibility and can be optional.

Hard Requirements

At least t wo full days (three nights) at the beginning of the trip for car purchase and prep

At least t wo days at the end of the trip to dispose of the cars

Trip must be completed in 18 days

Accommodations must have hot showers at least every other day

Have fun

Don’t die

Previously Established Constraints

These are things that we’ve already decided one way or the other to help narrow down the possibilities.

Start in the Seattle area

End in Anchorage

Visit Denali

Route through Fairbanks

Favor the Cassiar highway

Soft requirements

Would like to visit Port Angeles/ Victoria, the site of our “Victory climb” from the first trip

Use the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert ferry, if possible

Have time on a weekday to work on the cars near the beginning of the trip

Easy first and last day

Offset high mileage days with low mileage the next

Three Mock Schedules

From that input, I’ve generated three “mock” schedules. Essentially these focus on getting from A to B meeting all requirements and meeting the average daily mileage, but don’t take into account accommodation availability, sightseeing, etc. (So if you see a place you know we can’t stay, chill.)

#1 - Price Rupert Ferry Route

This concept is the most controversial and the one we’ve spent the most time talking about, by far. When researching we discovered there is a ferry that runs from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert. The ferry covers about 400 miles as it weaves through the islands along the Canadian coast and, frankly, looks epic.

However, it only runs once every other day, leaves at 7AM, is very expensive, and doesn’t actually involve driving. If this was an option somewhere in the middle of the trip, I don’t think there would be any question, but at the beginning of a road trip, it seems a little... odd. It introduces a lot of moving parts, many of which are outside our control, that pose a lot of risks at an already ambitious schedule. Plus, again, very expensive at $575 per person, plus the Victoria ferry which adds another $80 per person. To be brutally honest, that is $655 I’d rather spend on a car.

That said, it cuts about 350 miles off our trip in addition to the ferry journey, everyone wants to do it eventually (even if not on this trip), and I kinda dig the idea of starting the trip and then, essentially, being transported into the middle of nowhere.

Anyway, back to the schedule!

Aside from the ferry discussion, this one is certainly the most relaxing. With only two high-mileage days, we’ll have plenty of time for hiking, sightseeing, and car repairs. This schedule also leaves us with an extra day in Anchorage, which we could instead transfer to an extra day in Seattle if we so chose.

Overall, a really solid schedule and route. We’d average 187 miles and four hours of driving per day. Almost too short!

#2 - No Ferry, but still visit Port Angeles

This schedule skips the ferry, but lets “start” at Port Angeles.

Unfortunately, it is also a bit of a bear. The added time to route through Victoria means many long days and no real slack in the schedule makes it a hateful option.

This is problematic because I think all three of use would love the opportunity to pay homage to the first trip, the one that started it all.

This one averages 204 miles and four hours per day, but has some really nasty ones in the middle. With that, I think it is more likely we’ll try and find an alternative way to honor the first trip while skipping the extra time and money driving though Victoria adds.

#3 - No Ferry, No Port Angeles

This schedules is the most logical road trip route. No nostalgia, leaves an entire day to get the cars worked on and cross the border, and overall pretty solid.

This route gets us an average of 195 miles and 3.85 hours of travel per day. It does have a few longer days and no real room to add a no travel day, but overall it is my 2nd favorite route.

Which will it be!?

It depends! We’re planning on meeting to discuss some time next week. Honestly I think we’re all hoping we can talk each other out of the ferry route. We all really want to do it, but the cost is prohibitive and it just doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the trip.

Thoughts? Feelings? Emotions? What did you have for breakfast today?

HammerheadFistpunch > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 12:37

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“ Accommodations must have hot showers at least every other day”

Im not going to comment on the necessity of this, only that you might find it a very difficult requirement to fill on this trip.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > HammerheadFistpunch 05/02/2019 at 12:39

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It looks pretty doable, but it is what it is haha.

HammerheadFistpunch > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 12:40

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I usually want for a shower (cold, hot...whatever) after about day 4, but in the deserts you get get qui te as manky as other places.

vicali > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 12:54

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J ust my opinion...

Taking a ferry 1/2 of the way <> driving to Alaska. You wouldn’t say you walk ed to AK by si tting on an airplane for 6 hours..

vicali > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 12:55

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Liard counts!

MM54 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 20:12

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Sounds like a good time. I don’t know anything of the area to make useful suggestions, but I did have raisin bran for breakfast.

LastFirstMI is my name > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/02/2019 at 22:49

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It’ll be epic no matter what, so i wouldn’t stress on the details. Keep us updated so I can make even bigger mistakes if/when I make the trip!

I’m actually thinking of ferrying the car on one leg- more likely my wife will go with me if it’s a one-way drive .

WhiskyTangoFoxtrot > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/03/2019 at 12:30

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I’ve driven the AlCan. Take the Ferry!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > WhiskyTangoFoxtrot 05/03/2019 at 12:46

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Oh?

WhiskyTangoFoxtrot > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/03/2019 at 16:21

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The ferry is faster, and less harsh on the back than the AlCan (unless you get seasick). Just be sure to take food with you. You’ll still have to drive a bit (from the drop off point). If you’re in Anchorage stop at: The Bears’ Tooth, Humpy’ s, and the Dimond Mall. They have decent sushi across the street from the mall (building looks like an old pizza hut painted brown ) . If you’re up late (or drunk) and hungry, order Sicily’s Pizza (24/7 pizza delivery).

DarkMinun > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 05/04/2019 at 20:33

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I’ve driven the Alaska highway twice in the last 3 years, my trips were from home (Winnipeg) to Yukon, didn’t cross the border to Alaska but came as close as Beaver Creek. My thoughts:

While paved (or hard surface, technically chip-sealed), the entire stretch of the Alaska Highway in Yukon and much of the Northern BC portion has a very rough surface. You will almost certainly need to change at least one tire, have good tires and at least one (I always brought 2) full sized spare. I lost a tire each trip.

In some locations gas is only available by cardlock, so keep an up-to-date credit card. Most of the cardlocks are open to the public, not just fleet use/truckers. I seem to remember ‘Murica being way behind the rest of the world on chip-and-pin credit cards too, if that’s still a thing keep in mind that you might need a chip card to use them. That being said, if you have at least 500km/tank range, you should be able to avoid the cardlocks unless you decide to change your route and visit Dawson City, the only fuel I could find there was at a cardlock.

The highway (and everything, really) is build on perma-frost and hummocks are common. Anything relatively low (and I mean by farm country standards) has a risk of bottoming out if you hit one too quick. Met a guy last summer who smashed a nearly-new Chrysler 200 or some such machine on a hummock and lost all his coolant.

Yukon is a haven for overlanding and wilderness camping, you’re legally allowed to set up camp anywhere that’s not First Nations Reserve, National/Territorial Park or privately owned land for up to 90 days with no permits etc. So you can basically pull a couple hundred feet off the road and camp there for the night. That said, Yukon government campgrounds are also a pretty good deal at $12 a night and free firewood. It’s cash only (exact change, you put it in an envelope and I think they check the drop box once a week or so). Pit toilets only, no electricity and I can’t remember if they have water.

Upper Liard appears to be your stop for night 9 (10?). You want to drive the extra 10 minutes-ish to the town of Watson Lake, there’s really nothing in Upper Liard but Watson Lake is the biggest hub you’ll get to before Whitehorse. Groceries, gas, tourist info and maps, etc. and hotels. If you’re hotelling that night I recommend spending the extra $30 to stay at A Nice Hotel (that’s their actual name), it’s the only decent place I could find when stranded in Watson Lake for a couple of days waiting on parts. On that note:

You want an at least somewhat reliable vehicle. Most of the communities are small and might have a garage or two, and outside of larger local hubs like Whitehorse parts availability is poor. They can have it flown in, if you want to wait a few days and pay a ton of money. Also, some of the garages are closed Sundays or all weekend, meaning a breakdown beyond what you can fix yourself with what you have can set your schedule back multiple days.

FYI, it’s somewhat of a Wild West out there once you make it past a certain point. More than 1/2 hour out of town there are effectively no speed limits as there’s no one around to enforce them, and the locals tend to go as fast as possible without dying. Rolling a car on a blind corner and leaving it to rot is no big deal, prepare to have your doors blown off by everything from jacked-up bro-trucks to 18 wheelers to old K cars and Ford Tauruses.

I hope this doesn’t sound too discouraging, I absolutely loved it up there and I will be making a 3rd trip at some point, possibly next year as I wasn’t able to make it to my intended destination of Tuktoyaktuk last year.

T h e S i l v e r C i t y G h o s t Town w a s a highli g h t of my trip, I h i g hly recommend checking it out. There’ s n o signage so you may have to po ke around a bit to find it.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > DarkMinun 05/06/2019 at 15:23

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Thanks for the response!  Not discouraging, just good info.  When did you do your most recent trip?