Two Weeks On The Dalton

After two weeks and two thousand miles of the Dalton Highway, it is time for a little R&R.

The Ice Road Truckers show on the History Channel is doing thirteen episodes this season on the Dalton and several of the truckers that I have met are featured on there. The road is not the worst that I have ever driven but you had better know who and what's around you on some of the blind corners. The conditions can change quickly and there's not much room for error. Most of the traffic that you encounter is usually bigger than the bus that I'm in and at times we have to get off the road entirely for an oversized load from fifteen to twenty one feet wide and weighing up to one hundred sixty thousand pounds.

It's a four hundred fourteen mile adventure from the Elliott Highway to Deadhorse and most of it is gravel. The beauty of the north slope and the wildlife make this the trip of a lifetime though, it is almost impossible to describe it, you simply have to see and experience it to understand.

I have to make a quick run down to Skagway next week before heading back up to Prudhoe Bay the following week, it will seem strange to drive on the pavement all the time.

This summer is going by so quickly.