North to Alaska - The Ultimate Road Trip

Driving by car to Alaska had been a personal dream since my childhood. In the summer of 1986, circumstances permitted me to take this trip. Living mostly out of the back of a pickup truck with occasional nights at motels, we spent an incredible 56 days on the road, a tour de force of the American - and Canadian - West.

This series will present my journal of that trip in one week increments as shown on the map at left. Many of the places visited will have their own pages with more information and photos. For example, visit our pages on the Gates of the Arctic and Denali National Park.

Weeks 7: From the Alaska Peninsula to the Alaska Panhandle

August 11, 1986. We arranged for the fish to be processed and express mailed home. (The fish didn't taste nearly as good as when fresh.) Then we continued on to Homer, land's end on the peninsula, and home for the halibut fleet. With the rain still coming down, we didn't feel like paying $200 to go halibut fishing. Instead we bought some fresh cooked dungeness crabs on the pier and then a couple bottles of wine in town. We then went to the local campground and consumed both in the pouring rain. The crab and wine were both superb, and after a couple glasses of wine it seemed that sitting at a picnic table in a downpour enjoying crab and wine was a pretty cool thing to do.

August 12, 1986. It continued to rain hard on and off all day so we headed back to Soldotna and the developed campground near town so we could shop and do laundry. We made dinner out of some of the silver salmon from the Kenai - one of the tastiest pieces of fish I ever ate.

August 13, 1986. We returned to the guide's house (see August 10th) for another try on the Kenai River. He offered to take us out again for $20 and all the beer he could drink. Fair enough. He is very much a recluse, and I think he is just looking for a little company.

It was sunny for the first time in weeks but a weather front had passed through, and it was cold and raw and very blustery. This is usually very bad fishing weather and sure enough, there was very little action.

August 14, 1986. We fished again in the morning - same results - then had to hit the road to make our date with the Alaska Ferry in five days. We returned to Anchorage to pay for the ferry ticket, and ate at the superb Chinese restaurant again. We drove some more and then stopped at (yet another) Moose Creek Campground.

August 15, 1986. We continue on towards Tok and the Alaska Highway. We pulled over at the Gulkana River bridge to take a "fishing break". There weren't any other fishermen around but the sun had just come out and the weather became unusually warm. It seemed like a good omen. Sure enough, we caught five beautiful sockeye (red) salmon (photo, above right) in about two hours. Plus, we caught a view of the Wrangell Mountains with their 16,000+ peaks. At Tok, the folks at the local KOA helped us freeze and process the fish for shipment home. We took some to the local salmon bake, and they agreed to prepare us a dinner with our own fish! Magnificent! A great day after all the weeks of bad weather!

August 16, 1986. Got a late start as we had to finish packing the fish. Then a day of driving. Autumn is definitely in the air, and the trees are starting to turn colors. We leave Alaska and re-enter the Yukon. It starts to cloud over again, and the rains came while we were in the middle of preparing dinner. Poured again the whole night!

August 17, 1986. We reached new heights in misadventure today. We stopped at the Dezadeash Lodge and offered the proprieter $50 to take us out on Dezadeash Lake to troll for lake trout. He shows up at the dock with a tiny boat and an egg beater of a motor. Insane! The lake is huge and rough but we go anyway. About a mile from shore his motor starts stalling out constantly. Meanwhile (of course) the clouds are building up, the gusts are creating huge waves, and there is a monster of a squall line in the distance! It was an agony getting back to shore. We arrived just ahead of a monster storm. It poured again all night, and we stayed at the lodge (we use the term "lodge" loosely). The owner did prepare us a free meal in exchange for a piece of our salmon.

August 18, 1986. We pushed on the short distance to Haines where we will catch the ferry. Near the top of the Alaska Panhandle, Haines is in a beautiful fiord surrounded by steep snow covered mountains (photos, above and right). In the photo above, note the glacier in the center. The famed Glacier Bay National Park is on the other side of this mountain range.

We set up camp at the beautiful Chilkat Lake State Park. The lake is connected to the sea by a short river (photo, left). Hence there are numerous fish species - such as salmon, trout, dolly vardon - and the place is popular with fishermen. However after the Dezadeash fiasco, the fishing bug is fading, and I go picking berries instead. We sightsee around the beautiful, quaint town, and our last night in Alaska brings clearing skies and some nice views.