Detour #03: Alaska Highway, USA
Big. Massive. Gargantuan. Epic. Nope, words just aren’t good enough to describe the unbelievable size of the Alaskan wilderness. You need to see it for yourself.
The Alaska Highway runs from Dawson Creek in British Columbia, Canada to Delta Junction in Alaska – a not inconsiderable 1,400 miles. The Highway was built in World War II to enable the Americans to fend off a Japanese invasion. It was a monumental feat of engineering, employing 18,000 men over an astonishingly short eight months, in some of the most inhospitable terrain the world has to offer.
In the winter temperatures drop to minus 60 centigrade making the road almost impassable except to the most rugged four-wheel drive vehicles. In summer, when temperatures soar to 30 degrees, you’ll want a car with powerful air conditioning. The road is hypnotically straight and summer is the roadworks season – they’re trying to make it even straighter – so the biggest challenge is retaining concentration. Especially since there’s just so much spectacular scenery to gawp at.
Wide open spaces with nothing but permafrost soil and fir trees give way to massive mountain ranges. Fast-flowing rivers named after gold prospectors feed enormous lakes, frozen for most of the year. Sheep Mountain is home to thousands of gambolling lambs, but there’s plenty of less cuddly wildlife in these parts. Grizzly bears roam the region along with moose, caribou and wolves, whilst the mosquitoes, gnats and other flying bugs are bigger and meaner than blackbirds. Thankfully there’s always a plentiful supply of Jungle Formula at the many roadhouses and campsites along the way.
Words James Mills Twitter | Instagram
Photography Bryan Goff / Unsplash
Roadbook
Class: Epic drive
Name: Alaska Highway, HWY 97, 1, 2
Route: Dawson Creek to Delta Junction
Country: USA
Distance: 1,400 miles