Winter Alcan drive

Sorry for not getting to this sooner, but I've been busy every since returning to the lower 48. I wish I would have done it sooner while details were still fresh in my mind. Long story short, the drive went without a hitch. Weather, road conditions, and Tacoma all came together nicely for a problem free drive. I made it from Homer to Denver in 4.5 days solo, so lots of driving and lots of driving at night. Temperatures were too low for all nights but one for me to camp in my shell, but I did spend the night back there in Bozeman and it was great as usual. I saw tons of wildlife, stopped at the hot springs in Liard River for a midnight soak alone with a full moon and a couple brews : ) There's really not too much else to say. All the pre-drive work I did on the Tacoma seems to have paid off. The only problem I had was that when it was REALLY cold, the heater blower motor under the glove box started squealing. I was going to deal with it, but after a couple days by the time I got to somewhere that had one it had warmed up and it stopped squeaking. I'm going to buy a new motor to have on hand in case I get it again in March when I drive back up. Here's some photos. I'm happy to answer any questions or comments if I forgot anything. I'll do a better write up on the drive back up there in March. Thanks for all your help in the preparation for this.

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Loaded up and ready to go.

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Either St. Augustine or Iliamna, can't remember. Shot an hour out of Homer
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First morning, enroute Homer-Anchorage
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Morning fog and frost made the drive beautiful
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Turnigan (spelling) Arm. Almost to Anchorage where I had to spend the night because it was Thanksgiving and I had handguns I needed to ship from FEDEX. Enjoyed a solo turkey dinner in town and went to the movies.
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Driving through the Chugach range outside of Anchorage
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Ice road truckin'. This stuff was a dream to drive on compared to pothole filled slush like in spring. 4HI and 70 mph without a care in the world.
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Night ice road truckin'. Only had like 5 hours of daylight to work with and was driving 12-15 hours/day. = night driving.
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Another beautiful morning!
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Yeah, I'm getting a motel. No bed camping in that shit.
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Yet another great morning.
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Montana skies
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Made it safe to my friend's beautiful cabin in the mountains outside Denver.
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And a few days later, made it to Salt Lake. I think the total mileage was just over 5,000.

 

This is a powerful example for me. Somebody 100% depending on their tacoma for safety/ possibly their life. (- 25 F)

 

Sweet. I've been to Alaska 12 times ( all flying ). I need to drive it one day,
Homer is,fun - love it there.

Thx for sharing the pics,

Lol I didn't know the temp gauge goes to minus temps. I've had it to 124 in Phoenix on the the other end of the scale.
Az

 

Gorgeous photos. I'm jealous of your trip...and the pending one you have later this year.

 

That's a little dramatic. Every time you approach a red light at an intersection and have to stop you're relying on your vehicle. :roll eyes:

I guess if you're not used to longer drives in remote environments it can be a big deal.

 

That's like saying that every time I fly I rely on my engine so it's no different if I'm flying in bad weather over inhospitable terrain than flying in good weather over great landing areas. I absolutely was trusting my life in my tacoma much more on this drive than to the grocery store. Cold temps and very little traffic meant that if I went off the road and was injured and not easily seen from the road could easily have meant the difference between life and death.

 

Made this drive a while back....before the tacoma. Need to redo it someday.

 

Comparing the risks of stopping at a red light with the op's trip is ridiculous. In those temperatures, if that truck were to die or not start, things could get ugly VERY quickly. OP, thank you for understanding my comment.

 

looks awesome!

 

Cool, man!

 

I like the Montana skies pic.