Alaska Summer 2022

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by spock12

It’s a long time until April of next year, maybe if the government would stop pushing everyone to get vaccinated I could talk my wife into getting vaccinated.

Why didn't she just do it on her own months ago? Some need a push.

[spock12]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Why didn't she just do it on her own months ago? Some need a push.

DW may not ever get vaccinated and unless I go to Alaska I won’t. When you go by all means take your time, who could have ever imagined that something like this would have happened. If you go take your time because you may not ever get the chance to go back. I was stationed in Alaska in 72 and part of 73 at Delta Junction, at Ft Greely. I went back on base and everything had changed but one thing, the Army tested a nuclear power plant and it was still there, it was deactivated before I was stationed at Ft Greely. Ft Greely was the army’s Artic testing base. I came home in 1973 during the gas shortage and drove my car, the Alcan then was 1100 miles of gravel road. The road is paved now. We met some really nice Canadian’s.

[VC63]

I want to thank everyone who shared their experience and suggestions about their Alaska trip. We will follow all the prevailing rules for each government so we can cross the boarders without any problems. Enough about that.

I do have a couple of more questions about the trip. We will most likely do some boondocking as it seem easy to do along the route and a way to save some money and it sounds like a lot of fun.

For those of you have done it. Did you have solar or use a generator? I have a Genny in the motorhome that will power everything. I only have 200 usable amp hours on my lead acid batteries. Do you think that would get me through a day or two. I am thinking about upgrading to 3 100 amp (300) hour lithium before the trip. If I do solar what would you all suggest as a minimum amount I would need. We don't full time and at most would be a couple of days off grid.

In Alaska I figure we will mostly run our lights RV refrigerator, water pump and water heater sparingly. We may watch a couple of hours of TV if it is available. I do think there will be a lot of TV in the boonies. We may bring some DVDs and a player. I figure I can charge cell phones and my laptop while we are driving.

I am thinking a 2000 watt inverter should do the trick. As for the solar panels I am wondering if I can use 2 200 Amp suite case type, 400 total . I really don't want to put panels on the roof.

I don't want to spend 5-10 grand on a solar system that will only be used every once and a while. Your experience thoughts and ideas are appreciated.

I would also like to hear more about places to go and things to see as well as places to stay.

Thanks again

[JHinman]

VC63, it depends on how your rig is set up, and how you want to use it. Give it a try for a few trips and see before you start making changes.

I had a trailer that ran mostly on 12-volt power and propane. Even the TV was 12-volt. The heater fan was the biggest power draw, and 100 amp-hours would see us through a very cold night. We did not use the TV.

If you are running a 120-volt fridge you may need more power. I have no experience with them, but am under the impression they take a fair amount of power.

I am a big fan of lithium ion batteries for people who dry camp. They are expensive, and if you rarely are off grid they may not be worth it to you.

For my camping, 400 watts of solar is probably enough. The suitcase style can be placed to maximize access to sun, but only when you are parked. A little inverter generator (2000 watt range) may take care of your charging needs.

Describe your rig and you can get better input. All of the input will be just suggestions, though, as different people have different needs.

[Nrbsr]

We went with a 25ft bumper pull in 2019. Before we left I bought two new group 24 batteries and had a 3100w Champion in the back of my truck. All our overnights and our 10 days at Denali were dry camping. We never had any problems with the batteries. On the road our batteries would be full when we stopped for the night and when we were stationary we might run the generator for a couple hours to keep things topped off. We ran our refrigerator on propane and never turned it off, most of our cooking was done on a portable gas grill. We got about three weeks on a 20lb tank of propane. You might just as well leave your television home.

We crossed at Sweetgrass MT, went to Dawson City and took the Top Of The World highway to Tok. The wife said if we were going to take the TOW road on the way back she was going to fly home. The trip between Jasper and Banff was the most scenic of our whole trip.

Currently I do have 300w of solar on my rig but we didn't have it on our trip and didn't find any need for it.

[spock12]

I have 4 6 volt Trojans in my Cedar Creek plus a 1,000 watt inverter. I have a residential refrigerator and it will run 4 days on battery power. In Alaska it was mostly 30amp but 15amp too, we didn’t run the air conditioner now we did use the propane furnace but you could always find propane. There was lots of places to pull off the road and spend the night. In Canada they had federal parks where you could camp at and always dry camping. If you made reservations ahead of time you could find campsites in Denali National park. I know Seward AK had a city campground. I don’t know anything about solar as DW does not like to dry camp. You can spend as much as you want or as little as you want. Fuel is the biggest cost, the trip for us was about $10,000 dollars. It doesn’t matter where you are at you have to eat. We live on a budget, in 17 our budget was $500 bucks a week and the number of weeks we stayed gone was 14 weeks from North Carolina and back. In 14 weeks if we are at home we spend the same as if we were on a trip, so the trip only costs us about $3,000 bucks. Like I said fuel is the only thing you can’t cheap out on. One campground in Canada was 15 bucks but I paid over $200 bucks to fill up my truck. It’s a fun trip. We had no tire trouble, the only trouble was poor quality def fluid and that light went away. I would like to take the trip next year as I have a 2021 GMC 3500 DRW Denali and I have warranty on my truck plus I have a 100gal fuel tank and the tank is bolted to the bed of the truck. That tank will save me some money on the ride through Canada. Should I go I won’t make reservations 6 months ahead but just the next day, maybe the campground in Fairbanks once I get to Tok or Chicken. From Tok to Chicken is one bad road, I thought I was going to have to put the truck in four wheel drive and I wasn’t pulling the camper. Guess what only two gas stations and both high, the only good news was the gas was higher than the diesel. The only bad thing was we didn’t get to see our granddaughter for 3 months. Go and have fun you may never get the chance to go again

[ByeTheWay]

Been to Alaska twice in the RV. Boondocked the entire time; Canada, Yukon, Alaska.

As for places to visit in Alaska: Dawson City (visited the set for the National Geo "Gold Rush Show" Chicken on 4th of July, Fireworks & Local Pot Luck Fairbanks University Museum Anchorage River trip, Soldotna combat fishing for Salmon and shopping, Homer Halibut fishing, Valdez just because. Plus Denali NP.

My advice is to talk to the locals, they know where unique places are. That's how we got to visit the Gold Rush site with pictures standing next to Big Red. You can also catch the mail flight to Bettles Lodge which is about 100? miles north in the Arctic Circle. Flew out of Fairbanks. They even flew our dog in the main cabin, for free. Go Whale watching and walk on a Glacier and/or from a tour boat watch Glacier Calving. Alaska sells a 2 for 1 coupon book which was $100 on our last visit, but gives you half off most tours. They can be hard to find, but most grocery stores have them.



Watch our for Bear, Moose (which I'm told kill more people than bear) and Mud Flats, which act like quick sand. People have been stuck and drown when the tide comes in.


Alaska is a great Trip, Enjoy!!

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by ByeTheWay

Alaska sells a 2 for 1 coupon book which was $100 on our last visit, but gives you half off most tours. They can be hard to find, but most grocery stores have them.

I'd highly recommend ordering the TourSaver 2/1 book before the trip so you can plan a little before getting there. You don't have to make reservations early.... a few days prior is good enough for most. If you click on this link you can see a list of all the attractions you can use the book. I'd recommend two glacier tours - one out of Valdez and the other out of Seward. Both are completely different.

https://www.toursaver.com/

[vseasport]

You guys are getting me revved up. Wish we could leave now, but the warden is going to make me wait until next summer.

[vseasport]

A couple of questions for those who have been there.

I see the 2022 Mile Post won't be out until March. Will it pay to wait and order the latest before our trip?

How do our friends north of the boarder feel about harvesting your own fire wood while boondocking? Would a chain saw come in handy and are there any restrictions from bringing one?

[Hpozzuoli]

I can’t comment on anything you asked about because I have never done the trip. I did however, want to commend you on a great trip. Leaving from Florida and going to Alaska is a huge trip. Best of luck and safe travels.

[twogypsies]

The Milepost doesn't change from year to year so getting an older version is just fine if you want to study it over the winter.

We used the Milepost for reading about the history as we traveled. We each took turns reading aloud while the other was driving.

It also has good maps.

I'm not sure about a chain saw or regulations as we didn't carry one.

If you stay in the Yukon Provincial Parks they supply free firewood. Their campgrounds are very nice.

[JJColorado]

In 1994 I got out of the Navy, I drove up to Alaska to Valdez and eventually to Fairbanks and left the state in 2000. While I lived there I came across a very nice and huge place to camp, fish and hunt. It was called Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction Ak. It's an active military training area but most of the time nothing is going on. The reason I am bringing this place up is that it is a great place to boondock camp with incredible views of the mountain range and lots of wildlife. You have to be a veteran or active duty to enter the training area though. My wife and I loved camping there with our Mitchell truck camper and listening to the various ducks flying overhead and fishing in the numerous lakes which our dogs loved too! If anyone is passing by here on the Richardson Hwy in between Valdez and Fairbanks, you will be not be disappointed in stopping here.

Apparently you have to log into an ISPORTSMAN account to have access to the area where I used to have to go onto Fort Greely Army Base in Delta Junction to register, so now it is easier. My wife and I live in Colorado now but we often recollect on some real fond memories from camping there. Many times, we never encountered another person which is crazy because it's well over 100,000 acres. Sometimes a military police would come and check our permits for being there but that's not a big deal. Not sure how much it's changed in over 21 years since our last visit but check it out for some relaxation. Also, the Denali highway is an incredible drive that will make you feel very small with all the towering mountains around. I hope it helps and blesses someone.

Here is some information on the area:

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static-s...lly07Final.pdf

Donnelly Training Area
All recreational users on U.S. Army Garrison Alaska lands 16 years of age or older must register for an account with isportsman and obtain a Recreation Access Permit (RAP) and sign in to the USAGAK isportsman system before recreating. The RAP is free and good for 2 years. You can check in the day of or the day before your outing for up to 14 days and no check-out required. A RAP can be obtained online via the USAGAK ISPORTSMAN website.
All areas that are determined open for recreational use may be closed temporarily during periods of military use. Recreational areas are areas that are open to all types of recreation, including off-road vehicles (ORVs). Off-Limit and Impact Areas are restricted to public access and use year round.
How to Gain Recreational Access to USAGAK Training Lands:
1. Obtain a Recreation Access Permit (RAP) You can obtain a RAP on this web site by selecting Register on the blue menu bar at the top of the home page. When you register you will be obtaining your RAP at the same time.
2. Check-In through isportsman You may check-in through this website by selecting Checkin on the blue menu bar at the top of the home page , or by calling the automated phone system 877-250-9781. When checking in with isportsman, please remember that you must have a valid RAP, and that you will not be allowed to check in to areas which have been closed due to Army training activities.
Visit USAGAK ISPORTSMAN for more information.
FORT GREELY MAIN VISITOR'S CENTER
Phone:
(907) 873-3663 DSN (317)
Hours of Operation:

[Islndgrl]

I suggest leaving the chainsaw at home
BC requires a permit and you would have to check the Yukon
Wood should not be transported between districts and campsites usually provide firewood free or for a fee. Also, always check for fire bans.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/i...rewood-permits
I can't say for Alaska. Enjoy your trip