Friday, August 10, 2012

For all you fans of the Alcan blog we are alive and well, and well on our way to an Alaskan adventure. It’s our 7th day august 10th and we are bivouacked at the Klondike River Lodge at the start of the Dempster (Dumpster) Highway. It’s the start of or our trek to the Arctic Circle, the sigh at the start of the hwy states “one lane 30 kms (30 miles)” all gravel for 240 miles to the Arctic Circle, we will post photos. The trip has evolved into the longest parade in history. People have come out in droves to greet us and open up their facilities to us and witness us reenact the ALCAN convoys of 1942. They are a testament to this achievement. Mac the driver and owner of the 1942 Willys Jeep we are traveling in, is relishing in this adventure. As a young man of 13 in early 1941 he and his dad sold everything they had and travel via the tramp steamer (SS Baranoff) to Alaska to follow their dream in the final frontier in the territory of Alaska.
The scenery is spectacular, we and members of our convoy have seen animals native to the Yukon including Bison, Bears, wolfs and Wolverines.
Traveling at between 25 and 40 mph in an open jeep offers an experience you can’t explain you just enjoy it.
We have had mostly great weather. However in and open jeep and a tent the rain make you appreciate sunny skies even more.
Mosquitos, YES!!!! They are getting bigger and hungrier but leave Mac alone, as we move north. We in the Yukon now and we hear stories of a legion of monster vampire crossbreed mosquitos that awaits us in Alaska.
We will be in Dawson City in a few days, we will try to update again when we arrive the WiFi here is low tesh. We apologize for the lack of entries the last couple of days but this resembles a military event, up at 5am, First Gear at 7am, hurry up and wait then get in late, setup camp then a drivers meeting, dinner dishes, breakdowns. Tomorrow we head to Eagle Plains on 200 miles of dirt roads. Its 7:30pm and the sun is still high in the sky and will not set until 10:00 tonight and 10:45 tomorrow night as we camp within 30 miles of the Arctic Circle.

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