The Highway from Hell

To be clear, the whole Alaska Highway isn't hellish. Just the part between Tok, Alaska and Destruction Bay, Yukon, but even this small section was a nightmare. When one lives in a vehicle, damaging the vehicle might render one homeless! For someone who is chemically sensitive and housing options are scarce, this is to be avoided at all costs. I did NOT want to drive back on this highway! I even called the Alaskan ferry system to find out about ferries from wherever to wherever. I didn't even care! I was told by the very nice customer service agent there aren't many, well, only one from Valdez to Bellingham, Washington. I exclaimed, "I CAN DO THAT!" Then she said they are reserved up to five months in advance. There is no sleeping in vehicles and no access to vehicles during the sailing. I could reserve a cabin, sleep on the deck, sleep in the solarium on a tent or in a chair in the passenger area. Could I tolerate their cabins? Could I sleep next to smelly people on the deck, solarium or the passenger sitting area? I doubt it. She had one available spot on August 15th due to a cancellation with a cabin for about (can't remember exact price) $2600. It would take three and a half days. I was tempted especially since that cabin had a private shower, but I decided I did prefer the freedom to drive.

I woke up at 4:00am ready to tackle the highway from hell. I figured getting there early on a Saturday morning there would be little traffic and I could drive as slowly as I liked. This worked out well. Most of the traffic was going to Alaska, much more in fact than two weeks ago. Most of the time I had the highway to myself. That made it only a tiny bit better as I didn't have as many trucks passing me throwing dirt, gravel and dust all over Big Blue.

This is what the highway looks like before they start mangling it with really bad patch jobs. Even their patching methods are shoddy.

For sixteen solid Alaskan miles this is what it looked like with flagging stops and pilot truck guidance:

When the semi-trucks or large trucks passed me, the dust was so bad I couldn't see the road. Motorcycles were treating it like some off-road adventure challenge. Still, they went the speed limit of 70kmh (50 mph) regardless of the dust, gravel, potholes, cracks and rollercoaster bumps!

For 220 Canadian kilometers, this is what it looked like:

For about 100 yards it was pavement drop-off then gravel covered potholes and cracks, dust, and dirt. Then one mile of bad highway, alternating with another 100 yards of van-abusive "gravel patches". FOR 220 KILOMETERS!

There were times I went 10 mph, never more than 40 mph. Thankfully few people were on the road that early and if they came up behind me, I pulled over and let them pass.

Part of the highway had been repaved. It was wonderful!

East of Destruction Bay the highway wasn't too bad with occasional gravel patches and some potholes.

I'd like to think one day it'll all be fix and lovely like the above photo, but every winter the permafrost damages the highway so it's an ongoing challenge for Alaska and the Yukon to keep up with the destruction. I was told by visitor centres with the wildfires, they don't have the resources.

I survived to tell the tale...not my idea of a good time!