At the DeCorso’s cabin we had decided that we would defiantly hike the famous Stampede Trail to the magic bus. We had heard mixed things about the trail especially from Alaskan locals who saw many foreigners risk their lives to cross the Teklanika River in their pilgrimage to the bus. Some Alaskans felt that foreigners came unprepared and unaware of the risks involved in the hike. In summer there is the swift flowing Teklanika to cross and in winter there is sub zero temperatures and changeable weather. It was rapidly transitioning into spring during our time in Alaska but we had been assured that the river was still frozen so as long as we were prepared for the cold we felt we could do the hike safely. We made a deal; if the river wasn’t frozen we wouldn’t be crossing it, no way were we wading through swift hypothermia inducing water.
With that, we settled into the DeCorso’s cabin for the weekend and planned to head out on Monday. Following the Stamped Trail we would continue south to Anchorage before looping back around to Fairbanks for the final push north to Deadhorse.
Over the weekend we made a few trips to into town for food and supplies as well as preforming a service on the Dodge in the car park of the Walmart. Lucky we did because it needed a top up of pretty much everything. Brake fluid, power steering fluid, engine oil and coolant. Back at the cabin it was really nice to have our own space and kitchen rather than intruding on someone else’s place and it was all amazingly free! Mark and Michelle usually rent out the cabin for $172 (NZD) per night but as they didn’t haven’t any bookings they offered it to us fellow overlanders free of charge! We did feel a little bad about this though as we know the diesel in the heater wasn’t free nor was the water from the tank that was filled once by a water truck while we were there. I welled up at the DeCorso’s kindness when they flat refused our offer to pay for our stay.
Over the weekend we made a few trips to into town for food and supplies as well as preforming a service on the Dodge in the car park of the Walmart. Lucky we did because it needed a top up of pretty much everything. Brake fluid, power steering fluid, engine oil and coolant. Back at the cabin it was really nice to have our own space and kitchen rather than intruding on someone else’s place and it was all amazingly free! Mark and Michelle usually rent out the cabin for $172 (NZD) per night but as they didn’t haven’t any bookings they offered it to us fellow overlanders free of charge! We did feel a little bad about this though as we know the diesel in the heater wasn’t free nor was the water from the tank that was filled once by a water truck while we were there. I welled up at the DeCorso’s kindness when they flat refused our offer to pay for our stay.
As always we had a few house keeping jobs to do so we spent Saturday on the computer, I even applied for a job back in New Zealand and we finally booked our flights home. On the 23rd of May, just over six weeks away it would all be over. We also purchased Scouts crate online that he would fly to NZ in and had it sent to our friends in LA. Having the crate sent to LA meant that we would definitely be driving back to LA rather than flying. We just hoped the Dodge would make it, Alaska isn’t known for its kindness to vehicles. We also had a big clean out of the Dodge and got rid of a few things we wouldn’t need or be taking home with us. It was great to be able to get all this done while Scout roamed free outside with the other dogs. He would disappear sometimes but with a few loud whistles he would always come hooning back.
On Saturday evening we went over to the DeCorso’s house for a drink and learnt more about Mark, Michelle and their six children, as well as their two dogs. We heard all about their road trip through South America with their big Ford van and trailer during which they too had been humbled by the generosity of strangers and the open friendship’s travellers often form. As well as this the DeCorso family had lived in Mexico for a few years. We were highly impressed that they managed to raise six well rounded kids and at the same time travel all over the world. Though Mark did say Michelle was an expert budget flight finder. Michelle also told us a bit about her work with remote native Alaska villages and the daily struggles of their lives. Though we were surprised to learn about the Alaska Permanent Fund which is an investment account set up by the state in 1976 to which oil companies pay 25% of their profits. This compulsory payment is designed to benefit all Alaskans with the knowledge that the oil will not be around forever. Each year a Permanent Fund Dividend is paid to every Alaskan who has been a resident for more than one year. In 2008 the dividend was a record $2,069 but usually averages around $1,100. While at Mark and Michelle’s I also spotted a map book of Alaska and had a look through it for a topography map of the Stampede Trail. I found one and asked if I could photo copy it but no fuss Michelle insisted we tear the page out and take it with us, so we did. Both Mark and Michelle had a few words of warning about the Stampede Trail as well as a heap of advice for things to see and do around Anchorage afterwards.
On Sunday morning we organised the stuff we would need for the trail and I went to the laundromat down the road to do some washing. As I sat there waiting for the machine cycle I wrote some blog and contemplated the coming end of the trip. It had been a mammoth journey with many highs and lows and now here we were so close to the end, what would happen next? With the washing done and the Dodge spick and span Will went into town alone to do some jobs. This was always a bit worrying… I never knew what he might come back with. This time it was three McDonalds apple pies and a DVD about duck dog training. We spent our final evening at the cabin watching the dog training DVD or “dog TV” as we called it. Even Scout found the DVD quite captivating especially the trainer who kept exclaiming “atttta boy” or “good dawwg” in his heavy southern drawl.
On Monday the 7th of April we woke to a few inches of fresh snow and dark cold skies, in the warmth of the cabin it was easy to believe we would also be warm on the Stampede Trail so we stuffed our packs full of all the gear we would need including survival blankets, hand warmers, and plenty of trail snacks. We then made a final stop at Walmart before heading out in the late afternoon. The sky looked ominous and the forecast was for more snow the next day with clear weather following that; nothing we couldn’t handle.
On Sunday morning we organised the stuff we would need for the trail and I went to the laundromat down the road to do some washing. As I sat there waiting for the machine cycle I wrote some blog and contemplated the coming end of the trip. It had been a mammoth journey with many highs and lows and now here we were so close to the end, what would happen next? With the washing done and the Dodge spick and span Will went into town alone to do some jobs. This was always a bit worrying… I never knew what he might come back with. This time it was three McDonalds apple pies and a DVD about duck dog training. We spent our final evening at the cabin watching the dog training DVD or “dog TV” as we called it. Even Scout found the DVD quite captivating especially the trainer who kept exclaiming “atttta boy” or “good dawwg” in his heavy southern drawl.
On Monday the 7th of April we woke to a few inches of fresh snow and dark cold skies, in the warmth of the cabin it was easy to believe we would also be warm on the Stampede Trail so we stuffed our packs full of all the gear we would need including survival blankets, hand warmers, and plenty of trail snacks. We then made a final stop at Walmart before heading out in the late afternoon. The sky looked ominous and the forecast was for more snow the next day with clear weather following that; nothing we couldn’t handle.
It was a 2.5 hour 116 mile drive to the start of the trail which then leads up a wide valley surrounded on three sides by Denali National Park. The roads were wide and straight and we cruised along at a reasonable speed despite the snow coming down. We were still going quite a lot slower than the big 18 wheelers who would fly past us. Our tyres were badly worn though and I cautioned Will to slow down a couple of times. With the lack of traffic and wide straight roads Will had been making use of the cruise control, after slowing down to pass through a small settlement that included only a lodge with a pub and a gas station, Will then then hit resume again back on the straight. Heres where everything went wrong. After maybe 10 seconds of accelerating the Dodge decided it wasn't doing so fast enough and so down changed into third gear... Instantly on the icy road the rear wheels let go doing about 50mph (80kph). Will did his best to correct the massive slide we were rapidly going into, one way then the other, nearly had it then no instantly it became obvious we were heading off the road - sideways - still doing nearly 50mph. Next thing everything went dark and the world went into slow motion as we impacted the snow. We didn’t realise immediately but the Dodge had performed a complete roll and then and end over flip landing on the drivers side facing the way we had come on the opposite side of the road. So yes we had rolled the Dodge… but we were both wearing our seat belts and were totally ok - Scout too!
With some extreme luck we had came to a stop in about 1m of snow and barely 1m from the tree line, no doubt the snow had helped to slow us down and cushion our landing. The once spick and span truck was now an absolute disaster more resembling the inside of a tumble dryer. Will tuned off the idling engine then paused for a quick selfie before waving ok to a passer by who was following us and saw it all happen. His name was Mike and he helped me force open my door which was currently facing skywards and thus very heavy. We then climbed out and surveyed the damage, everything on the roof had been torn clean off and the remnants littered the snow around us. We picked up a few things grabbed our phones and wallets then hopped in with Mike who offered to take us back to the lodge to call a tow truck. There we two tow truck numbers on the wall in the lobby of the lodge and we called the one recommended by the waitress. Then we called Mark DeCorso and told him what had happened, he offered to help in any way he could but we knew he had his own stuff to do so we told him we were ok. It was just nice to know we had someone there if we really needed them. Mike took us back to the stricken Dodge and with nothing more he could do we waved him on his way with a big thank you! It was about 7:30pm and freezing cold but we collected the contents of our roof into a pile of stuff and I managed to climb back into the Dodge to get some gear while we waited. Without insurance we just hopped the tow truck arrived before the police did.
While we were waiting another car likely rubber necking at us careered off the road right in front off us and came to a stop with its bumper into a small tree. We stood dumbfounded for a second before running over to check that they were ok. The occupants were a native Alaskan father and son who were perfectly fine and didn’t seem all that worried. Hearing we had already called a tow truck they hoped they could get a locals discount as they said they only had $40 to their names. Their car was still drivable but was stuck in the deep snow. Half an hour later the welcome sight of the tow truck guy came into view. It wasn’t a tow truck as we had been expecting, instead he had a big american pickup with a 4WD tractor on the back of a huge trailer. Will and the guy started by attaching our famous green tow strop to the belly of the Dodge then linked that to the winch cable which was around a tree on a pulley, meanwhile I filmed them and my fingers froze. A few seemingly wheel buckling moments later and the Dodge was righted! Will started her up and despite a fair bit of oily smoke the Dodge roared into life. Our Dodge had triumphanted against the odds once again! In the blue twilight the tow guy then cleared a path through the snow with his tractor and then with much effort dragged the Dodge back onto the road. We wasted no time paying the guy then shoving everything into the Dodge and strapping the stuffed ski box onto our now slightly concave roof. The father and son had also been pulled out so we crammed into the Dodge and limped off happy to have come away from the incident so lucky.
We made the decision to return to Fairbanks and put the Stampede Trail on hold. Driving incredibly slowly with all four eyes on the dark road we made our way back to the DeCorso’s cabin, Scout rode shotgun on my lap as the back was chokka. We arrived after midnight and Mark came to see how we were before we all headed to bed. The next morning we set to work cleaning up the Dodge, we started by taking everything out and giving it a vacuum and wipe out then we pored a few jugs of hot water into the door jams to melt away the compacted snow that was stuck in them. We then put a heater in the Dodge for a few hours to melt the remaining compacted snow as it was a balmy -10 outside. The C pillar having taken the brunt of the roll was bent a little so we had lost some head space above where we sit in bed and the drivers side mirror had been ripped off. Without a rear vision mirror we needed the side mirror so we made a list and drove into town to get some glue and other things. Back at the cabin Mark lent us his heat gun and some tools. Will heated up the plastic before setting a clamp tight over the epoxy’d repair. Waiting for it to dry we sorted through all of our stuff and asked Mark if we could leave everything we wouldn’t be needing at the cabin until we passed back through on our way back to LA, without the roof box it was almost impossible to fit everything in otherwise. We also called our parents and told them what had happened, they took the news well and after seeing the photos they were just glad we were ok. We also put some photos on Facebook and received many comments about the dangers of using cruise control on icy roads, in fact the next day we even saw a sign warning about it, go figure.
The mirror fix worked a treat and with our packs still ready to go we set out the following day to begin the Stampede Trail second time round.
Rochelle & Will
The mirror fix worked a treat and with our packs still ready to go we set out the following day to begin the Stampede Trail second time round.
Rochelle & Will