Welcome to the long awaited, long planned and once postponed summer in Alaska! We left Nevada on Mother’s Day (5/12) with the intention of spending some time in the Canadian Rockies along the way. That said, we moved quickly through Utah to Idaho Falls, ID to the most glamorous of campsites:
FYI, Cabelas parking lots are far superior to Walmart parking lots as they close at 9 and are infinitely quieter. Moving on, we continued north through Idaho into Montana and then back into Coeur d’Alene, ID to set up camp at Vantage Point Brewing Co., our Harvest Host campsite for the evening.
Great beer and an awesome Monday night wing special!
We crossed the border into Canada the next day and continued on to Cranbrook, BC, the first town of any size. After visiting a local bank for some funny (Canadian) money, we repaired to Fisher Peak Brewing Co./The Heid Out for a much needed planning session.
Really cool bar and some great beer. Had a great time chatting with the locals!
We continued on to Invermere, BC and camped in the downtown municipal parking lot while exploring the downtown area. A little early in tourist season but some cool shops nonetheless. The only bummer was that the one local brewery closed at 6!!!!!!
We moved into Kootenay National Park the next day and hiked the Juniper-Sinclair Canyon Trail. Nice up and down leg stretcher with some surprise guests along the way.
We also visited Marble Canyon, a short hike with some very cool info stops showing how far the falls have moved over the past 12,000 years.
We continued through the park into adjoining Banff National Park with a side trip to Banff, Alberta. Crowded and very touristy, we backtracked north to Lake Louise, AB and actually paid for a campsite for the evening! Our route takes us through three contiguous national parks. Camping in anything other than official campsites results in a ticket requiring a court appearance!
We continued north the next day on the Icefields Parkway to Jasper National Park. Best part was the stop at the Columbia Icefield and the snowstorm that ensued!
We made a stop and hiked the Sunwapta Falls Trail. Short hike with spectacular falls.
We also visited Athabasca Falls. Shorter hike and spectacular views.
We continued on to Jasper, AB and had a much needed planning session at Jasper Brewing Co. Great beer and hockey on every TV! Jasper is neat town with a great downtown.
Anyone planning a trip to Alaska has undoubtedly been advised to purchase The Milepost travel planner. It gives detailed mile marker by mile marker information on all routes to and in Alaska. The route that I have been detailing is one of four to Alaska that is laid out in the guide. At this point in the trip, we have a problem. Wildfires in northeastern BC have closed 250 km of the Alaska Highway. We decided to head west on the Yellowhead Highway (named for a blonde fur trader) and camped in the luxurious roadside rest stop for the night. Would have loved to camp in Jasper but the town is part of the national park.
We continued the next day through Prince George, BC with a stop for resupply (beer) and ultimately camped at a remote boat ramp on the Bulkley River in Hazelton, BC.
We picked up the Cassiar Highway the next day that would take us north to the Alaska Highway. The Cassiar is very remote and, like the Alaska Highway in places, is narrow and replete with frost heaves/potholes. Keeps you alert! It’s also great for wildlife viewing. We saw 8 black bears, 2 reindeer (caribou,) 1 bald eagle and the biggest porcupine I’ve ever seen.
Driving these roads generally requires you to top off your diesel when you have the opportunity. As you might imagine, the prices aren’t the best. We were able to camp at an awesome rest stop on the Cottonwood River.
We picked up the Alaska Highway the next day and moved on to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. A planning session immediately commenced at Yukon Brewing Co. Great beer and had a great time talking with fellow travelers. We decided to stay two nights and watch game 7 of the Oilers/Canucks series at Boston Pizza.
We contnued north the next day, stopping to hike the Spirit Canyon trail. Nice leg stretcher with spectacular view.
We moved into Alaska later in the day, camping at a roadside pullout. The last 50 miles of road in Canada was in terrible shape.
I’m sitting in Auntie Helena’s Coffee Shop in Tok, AK as I write this. My plan is to try to update you every two weeks or so, otherwise this thing tends to get away from me.
Stay tuned!
Nice views, travel planning sounds delicious, stay safe and have fun.