Day 5
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – I wake early after eight glorious hours of uninterrupted sleep. We'd spent the night at Pike's Lodge on the Chena River, a large, timber lodge featuring stuffed polar bears, and the mounted heads of moose and muskox. In the corner "Lucky Duck" – a mallard drake in a glass box will tell your fortune for only two bits.
We've got a long drive ahead of us – 572 kilometres – and reports of snow later in the day.
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| Photo: Lesley Wimbush |
Fortunately, the deep cold snap seems to have lifted. It's funny, after experiencing the brutality of below forty, most of us scarcely blink at the current 20 below, strolling to our vehicles with jackets swinging open, toques and gloves stuffed into pockets.
The van we'd left behind had been restored to good health and our convoy was once again intact. Once out of Fairbanks, it doesn't take long before most signposts of civilization become scarce and we're once more alone with the endless peaks and valleys. Day after day, mile after mile – the rugged mountains and windswept tundra have lost none of their appeal.
Surprisingly – our long wheelbase van is getting better fuel mileage at 12.6L/100 km than the short wheelbase's 13.4L.
We're continually yielding to the huge rigs that rush by us in a flurry of rocks and swirling snow, enormous freighters carrying supplies of all kinds to the far reaches of the Prudhoe Bay oilfield. It's always a tense moment, particularly on the narrow passes and we all exhale in relief when they're gone.
We're nearing the end of our journey when it happened. A tractor trailer forced to jam on its brakes to avoid hitting an illegally turning pickup truck, lost control and hit an Econoline van, sending it careening into one of our group.
The van was totalled, the driver only slightly injured. Our Sprinter suffered front-end damage – but fortunately our colleagues were fine and we decided to continue. A very close call indeed.
We're buffeted by fierce winds as the temperature steadily rises as high as -4. Apparently the Denali range is known for chinooks that can cause as much as 20-30 degree temperature changes within hours.
Unfortunately, the falling snow has obscured another view of Mt. McKinley.
As we pull into Anchorage, we're grateful that our long journey has come safely to an end.
But the haunting beauty of Alaska has imprinted itself on my soul – and I hope that someday I'll return to this harsh yet beautiful place.
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