Seattle to Anchorage ?

Dooley · 05-08-2015, 09:02 PM

Anybody traveled this route lately? I haven't been on that road for 40 years and i wasn't really paying attention to what was going on !!!!

Anyway looking for road conditions ? Price and availbility of deisel ?
How much is paved now ?

Any thoughts or insight would be great .
thanks

Festus2 · 05-08-2015, 09:44 PM

Dooley -
Since you will be driving through BC for a considerable part of the trip, you might want to know what diesel prices are like here.
At this time, the prices of diesel varies from about $1.31 per liter to around $1.04/liter.
Prices are higher in and around Vancouver and seem to decrease as you travel north.
Don't forget these costs are per liter - not per gallon - so be prepared for a bit of shock. One thing in your favour is the conversion of the American dollar to Canadian but it won't make up for the higher price of fuel.
Diesel is as available here as it is in the US but again, more costly.

(You'll have to do all the conversions from liters to US gallons and also factor in the exchange rate in our dollar).

The highway through BC would be paved all the way I believe but you'd have to confirm that. You can Google highway information and get all the details.

Dooley · 05-08-2015, 09:46 PM

thanks

notanlines · 05-09-2015, 03:20 AM

Dooley, we just drove the highway last May and June. It is paved the entire distance, of course plan on a couple of miles here and there for construction. Diesel in Dawson Creek is $4.40 per US gallon right now. I think White Horse is close to that also. We had no problems buying fuel along the way, but there simply isn't the tourism of the 70's and 80's. You will find many, many Mom and Pop restaurants closed. Enjoy your trip and let us hear about it when you get back.

notanlines · 05-09-2015, 03:22 AM

And one more thing, Dooley. Contact Festus about your planned trip through BC to Seattle. This province will give Alaska a run for the money where scenery is concerned. He can give you a couple of highways that are simply not to be missed.

Desert185 · 05-09-2015, 06:35 AM

Get the travel book, "The Milepost", from www.milepost.com. It will describe the entire route with POI, etc. From Seattle, the Cassiar Hwy is a much shorter route than taking the Alaska Hwy. It begins near Smithers, BC and intercepts the AK Hwy between Watson Lake and Whitehorse.

If you like pierogies, Louise's Kitchen in Smithers is a must stop. Best I've ever had.

Dooley · 05-09-2015, 08:09 AM

Thanks for the info , unfortunately this won't be a camping trip but just a quick move to home for the summer , then in the fall we can take our time when we return to the lower 48.

Bought a new Alpine 3510 RE and have been doing a month long shake down in Washington, few things CW has to fix and as soon as thats done we are beating feet home. Been realy pleased with it , somebodey forgot to put the screws in the slider pad for the kitchen slide out and of course now the whole slide has to be removed and reinstalled , see how that goes !!

My wife is retired and she will bring the unit home and I will be at work .That damn four letter word!!!

tirnanah · 05-09-2015, 09:45 AM

Let me know if you want any more information... My dad and I both brought our trailers back from Seattle last year (I have a travel trailer, he has a montana 5th wheel). He came up the alcan, I came back up the Cassiar. Even the Cassiar is 100% paved except for the last 20 miles or so on the north side. Plan on taking your time between Destruction Bay and the Alaska Border. That part of the road is always bad, but I will give them credit, it was a LOT better on the trip back then on the trip down.

Another tip is don't go up I-5 to cross the border, go over to Blaine/Surrey crossing. Almost always much faster and easier to get through that one then the peace arch...

Doug

Dooley · 05-09-2015, 09:48 AM

Any steep grades or problem areas other than that potion by Destruction bay ?

tirnanah · 05-11-2015, 08:29 AM

No steep grades in that area, unless they have dug up the road trying to fix it again. They had one side dug down far enough that I was worried about getting the trailer back out of it, but it handled it just fine. My dad came through about 2 weeks later then I did coming back and he said it was smooth and level again...

Note that we went down the last week of May last year, and both of us launched our trucks off of frost heaves that we couldn't see until it was too late (and his is a 9000 lb dually, and I swear all 6 wheels were off the ground), so take your time and be mindful. We were very glad we didn't have the trailers on going down... Depending on when you come up, it might be better it might be worse...

Figure out how far you can go on fuel, and make sure plan your fuel stops, especially if you are coming up early. We carried extra fuel, and I had to use one of my cans once because the fuel stop we expected to be open wasn't...

Dooley · 05-11-2015, 08:46 AM

We are going to put 15 gallons in jerry jugs in the back of the PU just in case . Thanks
Also Cassiar or the Alcan Hwy ? I was told the Alcan? I was told that the Cassiar is more scenic and windy and the Alcan is more of a direct and better road .

Desert185 · 05-11-2015, 10:16 AM

Look at a map. The Cassiar is a shorter distance from the Seattle area. The Alaska Hwy (not officially called the Alcan anymore) goes east quite a distance.

The wind you're probably referencing is in the Kluane Lake area of the AK Hwy north of where the Cassiar joins the AK Hwy (big lake=big wind).

Once again, get a Mile Post. It covers everything for the trip.

Pmedic4 · 05-11-2015, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tirnanah

Note that we went down the last week of May last year, and both of us launched our trucks off of frost heaves that we couldn't see until it was too late (and his is a 9000 lb dually, and I swear all 6 wheels were off the ground), so take your time and be mindful. We were very glad we didn't have the trailers on going down... Depending on when you come up, it might be better it might be worse...

This wasn't me, but a close friend just emailed this to me, about their return drive home. BTW, they drive a Prius - so not like a off-road type of vehicle:

" ... we drove from Haines Junction, YT to Glennalen, AK. A mostly sunny day got up to 55 degrees but most of the morning was in the 30's. The roads were good except for the 100 miles from Kluane Lake to Beaver Creek YT. Frost heaves makes it a challenge. They post flags or cones where the pavement has buckled so you know where to slow down most of the time. Some sections that were straight allowed us to see as many as 5 flags. The mountains of the Wrangel - St. Elias Range were incredible. The sun was bright and the air was clear. Mt. Sanford and Mt. Drum seemed to be right next to us.... "

This was from last week, on May 5,6. They made the 430 miles in about 12 hours. They are 'Birders', so lots of stops along the way.

Dooley · 05-11-2015, 11:01 AM

Yeah just ordered the mile post off Amazon, we use it all the time but our last one was about ten years old . Lots of good info for sure ,but nothing like the last weeks travelers remarks . I meant to say that the Cassiar was more of a whindy road,and The Alcan was a lot straighter of a road .

Desert185 · 05-11-2015, 01:23 PM

The Cassiar has curves, but is probably not any more curvy than the AK Hwy. It does intercept the AK Hwy west of Watson Lake and cuts some driving distance off from taking the AK Hwy, so maybe the net result is less curves. If you had to drive Hwy 5 in CA or Hwy 80 west of Salt Lake, you would want curves.

My primary motivation for taking the AK Hwy would be Liard River Hot Springs and their campground. Other than that, the Cassiar would be my choice as it means going through Smithers and pierogies at Louise's Kitchen.

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