Alcan 2012

Sub'd, still dreaming about this drive one day

 

So, last time I did the drive my headlights got chipped/sandblasted pretty badly. Wasn't good.

Went to CarQuest in town today, looking for some kind of vinyl film/shrink wrap that I could put over them. Girl behind the counter said they didn't have any...

But - she did use that "window insulating film" when she drove the highway last year; said it worked excellent.

So, off to Wal-Mart I went, picked up a package of "Duck Brand" Window Insulating Shrink Film". Total purchase $9.50.

Grabbed a heat gun off the boat and went to work.

Did two layers of film - pretty pleased with how it came out, seems actually fairly resilient to chips/rocks/schmeg. I'll post some pictures tomorrow if anyone is interested.

T-Minus 4 Days!

 

The Alcan is on my bucket list.

 

Well, the day is almost here!

Depart Kodiak on the M/V Kennicot, leaving the island at 22:30 tomorrow night, and arriving in Homer around 10:30 AM Sunday morning.

Then, it's off to Anchorage where I'll meet up with my Dad and get a hotel room for the night. Monday morning 08:30, have an oil change/Spiral Cable TSB/Safety Check at Kendall Toyota.... Then I'm bound.

Going to pick up a few things in Anchorage:

Tire Repair Kit (wish I had thought ahead and ordered the ARB kit)
Compressor
Heated seat cushion

Spent the better part of Thursday painting my camper topper. Something about the British Racing Green didn't quite flow with Silver Streak. Also, re-wired the 3rd brake light on the camper topper as well.

Stay tuned, I'll update everyone tomorrow with some new pictures. Savoring my last Alaskan White Beer, off to bed shortly.

Jake

 

Safe driving Jake

 

SWEET!!

I read the entire last thread you did...hopefully you'll post a lot of pictures. Some of the shots you took we're background worthy...and that's saying alot...lol

Good luck, and stay safe...

 

Have a safe trip Jake, look forwards to reading and pics

 

sub'd for the great adventure

 

Well, made it to Anchorage - smooth driving and no issues.

Unfortunately, can't find my camera SD Card; took it out to upload the pictures of the day to TW and now it's missing...dammit!

So, standby to standby everyone. Pictures should be uploaded by tonight. Or, if I decide to be lazy and don't look for my camera card, they will be up tomorrow...

 

woot.

and standing by, think i’ll have some

 

looking forward to the picts,
But more anxious to see it in person in a few weeks!

 

Sub'd. Safe travels Jake!

 

Well guys, looks like I can't find my camera card. Well, I say that now - I'm sure that it will turn up the instant that I buy a new one. That seems to be the way those things usually work...

The ferry was an uneventful crossing; rode the M/V Kennicot to Homer, which took about 10 hours. Woke up after a quick nap and was in Homer! Drove the truck off the ferry, got gas an coffee and started off to Anchorage to rendezvous with my Dad.

Mostly uneventful drive to Anchor-Town - took about 4.5 hrs. Road conditions are pretty much excellent, with no snow or ice. Yet. Only saw one accident, just outside of Chugach National Forrest: car missed a turn and ended up down an
embankment, looked as though everyone was alright.

Did dinner and a beer last night at the Glacier Brew Pub. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the city, excellent food and great beer!

I have to say, it's weird being around more than the same 50 women in Kodiak. You guys down in America have it all! Trying not to do too much staring... I knew that they existed somewheres...

Just sat down in the lobby of Kendall Toyota. Apparently, the Spiral Cable TSB will take about 3 - 4 hours. WTF. Was going to have the gear oil in the diffs changed as well, but at $90/axle I think that I will have to pass. Plus, I'll be flushing them in a few months when I regear and lock front and rear...

Today's to do list -

ABS TSB
Oil Change
New Battery (Really want to go with an AGM - the Exide Orbital looks like the winner)
Tire Kit/Compressor

I guess that's it for the time being - I'll keep looking for that camera card.

Thanks for following guys, I'll throw in a picture just to keep it interesting...

 

Sitting at my laptop at the Westmark Hotel in downtown Anchorage; enjoying the bottom half of a growler of Kodiak Island Brewery's "Sarah Pale Ale". Life is good!

Ran around like a mad-man today, got quite a bit accomplished - but managed to stress out about some other things as well. Really wish that I had pulled the trigger on a set of new rear leafs before departing Kodiak. I've got sag! Think that a set of OMDs are in order once I get to Seattle.

Started the day by getting the Spiral Cable TSB done at Kendall Toyota. Forgot how clueless some of the dealership techs can be.

Met up with Ben (Benbacher) - picked me up at the dealership and took me for a cruise around town. Thanks Ben! You're truck is going to look awesome!

Picked up a Trail Gear tire repair kit at Underground Off-Road for $22, Custom Truck right up the road wanted $80 for the same exact kit!

Then, set out to find a battery. It was a quest.

Let me provide some background information:

Had the original Toyota lead-acid battery in the truck (6 years old). Never had any issues with the battery other than a few slow starts on cold mornings. Although, from all of the research on TW it seems as though 6 years is absolutely borrowed time on an OE battery. Given the fact that it's about -15 F in Tok, AK right now; I didn't want to find out the hard way that it was time for a new battery. Well, maybe I was just looking for an excuse to get a kickass AGM battery....

Ended up going with an "X2" (Deka) Deep Cylce AGM from Batteries Plus. Excellent service, the owner of the store even gave me a new J Clamp for the battery tray. No complaints, truck started right up. Time will tell. I can provide some more specs. on the battery if anyone is interested.

New wipers - Bosch Icons. Those are pretty much self-explanatory.

New SD card. Sorry guys, looks like the pictures from day one are lost... Really not missing anything, pretty much all pictures of snow and mountains, anyways.

Tomorrow it's off to Tok. Or Whitehorse. Or Haines Junction. Not used to having a co-pilot. He's my dad. Naturally, he's in charge.

Really seriously contemplating selling my rig for a V6 Access 4 x 4 once I get down to Seattle. Completely on the fence right now. Make me an offer?

Here's a couple off the new camera card. More to follow after tomorrow's drive.

New battery...


Sticker on the front of my ARB bull bar. Yes, got a few compliments at the dealership...

 

safe journey!! i loved the original thread..

 

Safe travels!!! this drive is on my bucket list

 

Safe driving Jake, enjoy.

 

Holed up in the Hotel Westmark in Whitehorse. Made it!

Wanted to get the long shot from Anchorage to Whitehorse out of the way, I'll be staying here for another night. Why not? Wanted to check out the city last year, but didn't have the time.

Well, TW; I've got something that I need to get off my chest.

I clipped a ptarmigan just outside of Tok. I suppose that vaporized would be a better term to use.

It was either swerve to avoid him (or her), then most likely end up in the ditch. Or, second choice was to mercilessly peg the little ptarmigan. I chose the latter. Poor little guy probably never knew what was coming. The only real carnage was some feathers lodged in the right front coil spring, and a broken zip tie on the right side front fender liner. No big deal. Was worried for a few seconds that I may have taken out the ABS sensor, but luckily it was perfectly fine.

Excellent weather and road conditions for the majority of the drive today - I'm amazed. Clear skies and good roads were a welcome change from the last time I did this stretch of the drive. Got some excellent views of the Matanuska Glacier, which were entirely breathtaking.

Aside from meeting an ambulance trying to race across a one lane bridge, while I was occupying said lane - the drive to Tok was relatively (minus ptarmigan incident) uneventful.

Stopped in Tok for gas, then it was off to the Canadian border. Got to the border, there were no guards. Although, the Canadian's are clever enough to have a big sign that read "Do not honk your horn. We know you are here.". Needless to say, a border guard eventually checked our passports, etc and we crossed the border.

Saw about 10 vehicles for 350 miles. Weird.

Road conditions are more or less the same, with some pretty heavy frost heaves and icing conditions about 150 miles south of the border. We were treated to an amazing display of Northern Lights for the last 3 hours into Whitehorse. Pretty freakin' incredible!

Just have to say, these driving lights are making the drive SO much better. Yes, they're Chinese. Yes, they light up the night. I can only imagine what the Lightforce HIDs must be like.

That's about it for now - going to grab some lunch and see what Whitehorse has to offer. Hopefully, I'll get to sample some of the night life this evening.

I'm out.

Jake

 

Having a tough time getting a good wireless signal in the hotel room...

These were uploaded at low - res, let me know if they look alright.

Jake

 

Like I said, these are low - res.. I'll try and swap them out with full resolution when I get a chance.