“There is one word of advice and caution to be given those intending to visit Alaska for pleasure. If you are old, go by all means. But if you are young, wait. The scenery of Alaska is much grander than anything else of the kind in the world and it is not well to dull one’s capacity for enjoyment by seeing the finest first.“
National Geographic Society President Henry Gannett, Member of the 1899 Harriman Expedition to Alaska
National Geographic Society President Henry Gannett, Member of the 1899 Harriman Expedition to Alaska
When I was young and all was possible I wanted to take a motorcycle trip across this great country to see all there was and to visit Alaska. Well, like many young dreamers, it’s a dream that went unfulfilled.
I’ll be turning 50 in a couple of years and have decided that dreams can come true – my successful photography business is proof of that, so it’s time to put a long time dream to the test of reality.
I’m going to Alaska!
The initial thought was to do this on a motorcycle of course, and I did ride for 15 years and worked as a motorcycle mechanic for over 10 years, so it was a logical way to plan to go. But I’m not interested in camping on the ground for the trip or rich enough to afford hotels every night, or crazy enough to drive it straight through or some approximation of that. I do want to stop and see the sights – Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Mt Rushmore and lots of other stuff – and of course take a few thousand pictures.
But going by car, well, that’s too civilized. I am a fan of the adventurers of yore that endured hardships on long treks and I don’t want to go in all that air conditioned comfort, not that I want to walk it either, like I’m sure many did.
My compromise is to take my Jeep Wrangler, naked. For those that aren’t into the Jeep Thing, that means the Jeep has no roof or doors. And for accomodations I’ll take our 1966 Apache Raven pop up camper, just about the smallest, simplest camper ever made (Apache did make one smaller model).
Now to me this is a big adventure, a trip of a lifetime. I figure it’ll take 6 weeks and cost about $14,000 in all. Fourteen grand? Yeah, the Jeep isn’t ready for a 12,000 mile odyssey and it gets about 12 mpg so gas is a cost to consider, as is a larger gas tank – it’ll go about 150 miles then it runs dry. I’m not sure how frequently the place gas stations on the trans-canada highway, but as I said, I’m not interested in walking to Alaska. It’s not got a trunk or roof so security of a few things need to be considered. Food for 6 weeks won’t be cheap either – I may be camping but I’m not cooking morning noon and night. Touristy things never come cheap, and I’ve got to have some souvenirs of course. Plus taking 6 or 7 weeks off of work isn’t cheap – my boss doesn’t give me paid vacations. LOL
So as I update my Grand Tour plan I’ll post updates here for those that want to follow along.
Step one on the Jeep is a new carburetor, then tires/wheels that are more suited to long distance travel than the 6-ply mudders that are on there now. I need to get the hitch finished and some wiring, plus the engine has an issue…like it needs a new one I believe, something that’s not a big concern around town but it’s an issue that I don’t want to deal with in podunk, iowa.
