IN PROGRESS:Heading North

[The Roadie]

It is indeed.

[navigator]

I'll admit I'm not much of a geography buff but has Teebes even been into Alaska yet or is that a later phase of this trip?

[teebes]

In Inuvik, NWT Dawson City was retro fun. Met a couple members of the show Gold Rush unexpectedly, really down to earth guys.

Some quick pics while I have a decent connection. Not a lot of sleep last night, local kids seem to have no problem playing outside past midnight. Hard to blame them when it's light out. Planning to stick around another day or until the bugs drive me away. Unfortunately not much hiking or other activities beyond plane tours - might try one this evening that heads up to Tuk.

Planning to head towards Chicken, AK via Top of the World Hwy next. Not sure if I want to run the Dalton now, will wait and see how fuel prices and the weather look when I get there. Bit of random damage about a mile outside of Fort McPherson, but nothing major. All in all the trip has been really smooth (knocking on wood).

Lots of comments and attention about the truck / setup (lot of GMC trucks up here, btw). Ran into an Expo Portal member when camping at Eagle Plains, he had a HF setup and was picking up folks on a repeater in California. Something to consider for next time (though I think I need another license).



Miles upon miles of old mining tailings along the road leading into Dawson. Some of these have been here for 100+ years


Overlooking Dawson City


Forest roads






Oh, if anyone wants to scour junkyards in Northern Alaska for replacement glass, that would be swell. Otherwise I've found a couple donor vehicles driving around that I'll keep an eye on

[HARDTRAILZ]

Nice pics. Sucks about the window.

[bartonmd]

Cool! Sucks about the glass, though! How did that happen?

Mike

[Mudwheelin]

I was just reading through this thread. Sounds like a great trip. If you happen to pass through Calgary AB, let me know. And btw there's nothing wrong with cowboys drinking and smoking a joint here lol. And we don't actually say "eh" that much. At least I dont anyways lol.

[navigator]

please tell us someone broke the window and it wasn't like you slammed it shut and it hit a piece of gear and shattered into a million pieces in your hands.

[NC_IslandRunner]

Maybe it was the Yeti!

[The Roadie]

Arrived at water!

[fishsticks]

Polar Bear Dip perhaps?

[Trail X]

Arrived at water!

Was just looking at his route... he must have gotten a snorkel installed!!

Maybe the sat pictures are old... or there's some sort of ferry... or the GPS is really off at that latitude?

What an adventure! I told the wife I was jealous... she said she wasn't... and that was that.

[teebes]

The window broke while driving, the craziest thing ever. I had actually slowed to let a truck pass, was slowly getting back up to speed and then BANG. Next thing I knew a 85lb dog was in my lap shaking like crazy - glad I didn't drive off the road. There was no big bumps in the road or other noises dirctly before. I'm wondering if the pressure in the cabin got a bit high due to the laundry vents on the side getting wet/muddy/sticky? Maybe a rock from my tires bounced back from the trailer while the pressure was high inside the cabin? Luckily I was a mile outside of a town and easily made my way back without too much dust/rain getting inside. Quickly pulled out some trashbags and rhino tape from the trailer and was on the road in about twenty minutes. Its still holding strong after hundreds of miles of dust, grime and rain.

And then....... I made it to Tuktoyaktuk, NT. I took a tour from Inuvik via Cessna to Tuk, then a local shuttles you around and shows you various things about the village, their culture, the old oil business, etc. That means I made it to the Arctic Ocean (like the air temperature, the water wasn't that cold). Loads of fun though, really wish you all could be up here as well. In reality, its been hard to slow things down and take it all in. Inuvik was a little weird so after a few days in the AC, I'm now back in Dawson City and thinking about staying till Monday. Weather pending, will get out to more mines and try to find some real offroad trails beyond the forest roads.


Latest post on the blog, from about a week ago about the first time I made it to Dawson:
http://expeditionrated.com/dawson-city/

Sneak peak at a couple photo's from Tuk. Go ahead, guess:




P.S> Counted three Envoys and two trailblazers up North. GMC line rules across all of our platforms. However, only a single 360 vehicle I noticed while in Tuk - Trailblazer

[Trail X]

Sounds like you're having a great time Greg. Enjoy it while it lasts! As you said in your post, slow down and take it all in!

[The Roadie]

Checked in.

[dvanbramer88]

This dude covers distance like nobody's business.....

[The Roadie]

Near Anchorage now.

[NC_IslandRunner]

So jealous!

[The Roadie]

NOW I'm anxiously waiting an OK message:
http://news.yahoo.com/wind-storm-knocks ... 49740.html

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An unseasonably early wind storm pummeled Alaska's largest city and surrounding region, toppling scores of trees and leaving thousands without power for hours.

Some areas around Anchorage recorded hurricane-force winds, while winds in lower elevations were clocked in at 40 to 60 mph during the storm, which blew intensely between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said.

[HARDTRAILZ]

Hope he was not affected

[The Roadie]

If he wasn't hurt or his equipment damaged, he may be volunteering for rescue or clean-up.