We are having the absolute worst winter in Alaska this year. I am currently looking at green grass outside my office window. Haven't been out snow machining or skiing once this year. That said, I decided to look in Seattle as well when shopping for the new truck. Ended up finding the exact setup I wanted in Seattle vs waiting for 6-12 weeks here in Alaska. Figured it would be a good opportunity to fit in a fun trip while waiting for snow.
Anyhow, long story short, I got on a plane after New Years, picked up the rig in Bellevue, WA, drove to Bellingham, WA, got on a ferry, sailed the Inside Passage to Haines, AK, drove through British Columbia and the Yukon to Alaska and ended up in Anchorage. Overall, super fun trip and I would highly recommend. I want to do it again (in the summer) and take more time.
WARNING: No offroad photos and hope you understand.... offloading is a bit limited this time of year.
Loading the 4Runner into the belly of the ship:
All tucked in tight and ready for the trip north (scared me how close they put all the cars):
Alaska Marine Highway ship in Ketchikan, AK during a layover:
Snowy first day on the ship. Limited visibility passing by Bella Bella, BC:
Cleared up after leaving Ketchikan, AK and was a really beautiful sunset:
Last day on the boat, ran into some gnarly weather. Cold north winds blowing down Lynn Canal. Heavy freezing spray. Felt good to be on a big boat:
Off the boat in Haines at 1 pm. Only 400 miles to go before stopping for the day:
Crappy iPhone photo once I passed into Canada and crossing White Pass. Icy, 40 mph winds and temps dropping into single digits:
Got dark and cold after that. Truck feels sluggish at this temp and gas mileage goes way down (15.5 MPG according to computer):
When I arrived at the cabin in Tok, AK the northern lights were awesome. This is the best photo I could get because I could only stay outside for 20 minutes or so at -42°F and fiddling with camera buttons makes the fingers cold! Don't have my engine block heater installed yet, so I had to get up every few hours to start the car for 20 minutes.
Next day broke cold and clear. Was a great drive between Tok and Glennallen because the ice isn't too slippery when the temps are that cold. Sunrise wasn't until about 10 am and the sun stays really low on the horizon this time of year.
Mt Sanford (16,237 ft) on the left and Mt Drum (12,011 ft) on the right:
Hard to get a good photo of a dark car with dark wheels when the sun stays this low:
The last leg of this trip offered great views of the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountains:
And last photo I took, about 40 miles before hitting civilization... following an older 4Runner down the highway:
Overall a great trip. Love the new car and love the wild and open country I got to sail/drive through. Next time I want to take more photos and take a lot more time to explore side roads.
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