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The Milepost Magazine will make your Alcan Highway trip a lot easier. You won't have to wonder if you're going to make it to the next gas station. Or wonder if you should stop for the night because you might not find another motel anytime soon. If you want to know - - How far is the next gas station?
- Is there a campgrounds up ahead to park your RV overnight?
- Is there a restaurant within the next few hours drive?
- How far is the next town?
- Is there a motel, hotel or bed and breakfast within a reasonable distance?
- you'll find your answers in the Milepost Magazine, written specifically for the Alcan and all major Alaskan highways.
Order the Milepost Alcan Travel Guide
The Milepost Magazine was first published when Alaska was still a territory and the Alcan Highway had only been in existence a few years. And it is just as useful today as it was then. When the Alcan opened to civilian travelers after World War II, the 2000 or so miles of rough gravel road with its steep grades and hairpin curves made the trip a long one. And eating dust all day long, day after day, is not fun. It was helpful to have information on gas stations, restaurants and roadside stops.
An Alcan Highway Story from 1947:In 1947, our family friends from Pennsylvania moved to Alaska, driving a Willys Jeep. The Alcan was not yet open to the general public, so they had to pick up a military permit in Edmonton to drive on it. If they had known it was going to take them 7 WEEKS and lots of trouble, they might have stayed home! Leaving Pennsylvania on April 16, they drove to Dawson Creek (the beginning of the Alcan Highway) in British Columbia, by going west to Montana, then north. Numerous flat tires along the way caused delays. (Immediately after the war good tires were unavailable, so they could only buy retreads.) One blowout turned their trailer over, causing all their possessions to fly all over the road. And the wind was blowing so hard, they lost a lot of stuff! Heading north from Dawson Creek, at Mile 147 on the Alcan, the clutch went out and a few other things went wrong with their Jeep. Needed parts were not available and it couldn't be fixed there, so some kindly fellows hauled the Jeep back to Edmonton. That was another 3-week delay. By the time they reached Anchorage on June 7, 1947, they had had numerous repairs and 24 flat tires!
My own parents traveled the Alcan in 1951 with a Buick. It was about a month long trip as we went to Seattle first and made a number of stops on the way. It was possible, even at that time however, to make the trip in a week to 10 days as long as you had no car troubles.Today the roads are much better but it is still a very long trip. Frost heaves often damage the pavement making continuous road maintenance necessary, so there can be unexpected delays. You'll feel better if you know where all the stops are: ORDER your copy of the
Milepost Handbook
before you get started on your Alcan trip.
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