Will and I had always been inspired by the movie ‘Into the wild’, sure it had some dark moments but the true story of Chris McCandless unrelenting search for freedom and adventure had always struck a cord with us. We had both seen the movie several times, most recently in Turlock around christmas though neither of us had read the book. After doing extensive research we were under no illusion about the risks involved in hiking to the magic bus (Chris McCandless final resting place). We weren’t going there in the hopes of some life changing do or die journey like some of the people we had read about, our Pan-am journey was thrilling enough as it was!     

We set out at 8:30am on the 10th of April having slept in the Dodge the night before at the trail head. The weather was clear and calm but still so cold you couldn’t stand around for long and as we made our way the crisp dry snow crunched and squeaked underfoot. The trail it turned out was not a single route in fact there were multiple tracks running through the trees and we could see that some had recently been used by dog mushers and snowmobilers. We followed what seemed like the main track and at a crossroads we checked the phone GPS and followed the one that seemed to head in the most likely direction. Later we broke out onto an expansive open plain within a valley of snow capped mountains. We could just make out the formidable peak of Mount McKinley - also know as Denali - in the background. It felt like we were in a scene from the movie as Caribou grazed ahead of us. Scout soon got wind of them and was off on the chase, we let him go knowing he would never come close to catching up with the well healed Caribou.

Just before midday we arrived at the first river crossing, the Savage. We had not received any warnings about this river so were surprised to find that rather than being frozen solid there were large sections of open flowing water. It would be a certain death trap to try and cross the chilly open water especially due to the heavily overhanging snow banks on either side. After heading upriver a little bit we found a 20m wide section of ice that was still apparently frozen. We assessed the situation while Scout played unconcerned on the ice bridge. We had had little experience with spring ice but knew of the inherent dangers. It was decided that I being the lightest would carefully cross first. The ice seemed to have a surface layer overtop of the base layer and this thin surface layer was cracking underfoot making us both nervous. We jabbed the ice with our ski poles and everything seemed ok so dispersing my weight by crawling on all fours and pulling my pack on a rope behind me I made the crossing; and it was absolutely fine! The photo of me doing that still horrifies my Dad though. Will followed similarly behind with no drama and we continued on. Interestingly there were no footprints or tracks on the other side of the Savage…

About an hour later we arrived at the notorious Teklanika River but crossing that was no problem as far as we could see it was still frozen solid in both directions. There was a bit of surface melt and at one point you could hear the water rushing by underfoot as we crossed a bit of a dip before reaching the far bank but again it was fine. With the river crossings over we stopped for some lunch and I some snow angel making. As well as his lunch Will ate more than his share of the white chocolate and macadamia cookies but we still had plenty of food. After lunch we continued on but with our legs becoming tired and our packs becoming heavy we stopped several times to have a snack and just take it all in. Though we couldn’t stop for long without getting cold and shivery. It was ten minutes since our last stop when Will suddenly realised with a shock that he had left the camera behind hanging in a tree. There was nothing to do but drop our packs and go back for the camera. Without our packs we felt light but somehow more vulnerable and we joked about what we would do if we met a bear or wolf.

Back at our packs we pushed on a bit longer but our energy had dissipated. We decided to make camp when we saw a small frozen lake around 5pm. The flat surface of the lake was an ideal spot for the tent. We cleared the snow and put up the tent, Will even used the ice axe to make some holes for the pegs and by adding a little water he ingeniously froze them in place. Darkness wouldn’t come until after 11pm but a deep cold unlike any we had experienced before was setting in quickly, even Scout with his thick coat seemed to be feeling it. We gathered up some branches and lit a fire about 20m from the tent while heating up our ready made Walmart dinners on the cooker. Scout crashed out by the fire and we tried to keep warm but the thin dry sticks burnt almost as fast as we could put them on. We enjoyed a thick sugary hot chocolate for dessert then packed up our things. We didn’t have a bear canister to store our food like we had had in Yosemite so we put our food into a trash bag and slung it as high as we could into a tree. Unfortunately the spruce was rather bendy and our food only ended up about six foot off the ground which I’m sure a bear could reach, but it would have to do it was 7:30pm and time for bed. 

Last time we had sept in the tent with Scout he was much smaller and it was a lot warmer so it would be an interesting night. Will and I both squashed fully clothed into our sleeping bags and were quite comfortable laying on our 2 inch thick thermally insulated Therm-a-Rest's, however because our Therm-a-Rest’s are mummy shaped and taper at the foot that left a gap in the middle of us at the foot end. We put Scout there on a jacket but by the amount he was moving around he was still feeling the cold coming up from underneath him. At some stage in the night Will jammed shivering Scout into his sleeping bag, it was a super tight fit but both were toasty warm. A few hours later Wills discomfort out weighted the warmth and he kicked Scout out. I felt sorry for Scout so let him sleep basically on top of me for the rest of the night. Even in the tight space with all the clothes we had on and Scout on top the freezing cold eventually crept through us and no one had any real sleep.     

It was even harder getting out of bed in the morning, yes it was cold in the tent but it was much much colder outside. The need to pee finally got us both up but each of our boots had frozen solid and were almost impossible to get on. After much frantic grunting, pulling and twisting we finally had them on. For breakfast we had cereal with milk powder and sugar added to some hot water creating a warming hearty meal. After breakfast we packed up but before we could get going we both had to do some boot readjusting now that they had thawed out and become more malleable. I changed into a thick woollen pair of socks to try and warm my feet up while Will tried taping hand warmers to his frozen toes. It was almost 11am by the time we set out but we had walked two thirds of the 32km trail already so there was no rush. About 30 minutes later we started seeing some large paw prints only this time there were no sled tracks with them; so we could only assume they were wolf tracks! The prints were huge, at least three times that of Scouts. We kept an eye out but didn’t manage to spot any wolves. Later in a small valley with a hill on one side and trees on the other we came across some bear prints, it was exciting following them along the same path we were on but soon they turned off into the trees. We kept our eyes peeled and realised we had never before in our lives been so excited by foot prints but we didn’t see any wildlife just some other moose and snow hair prints.

It felt like we had been walking for yonks and our shoulders were feeling the strain, the bus surely couldn’t be too far away we hoped; but according to the map it was still a distance further. In this remote patch of Alaska we felt nervous anticipation as we entered a tightly wooded area knowing that this would not be a good place to meet a wild animal so we tried to make as much noise as possible by clapping and talking out loud. With the map now indicating we were very close we had the camera rolling as we rounded a bend and finally caught sight of the bus, my first reaction was amazement followed by a little sadness at the condition of the bus. It was littered with hundreds of bullet holes and a number of the windows had been smashed out. Some people had even cut down young green trees halfway up their trunk right outside the bus. We had a quick check to make sure there weren’t any bears sleeping inside then went in for a look. Despite the buses dilapidated state we could feel the history that surrounded us. Back outside we had a late lunch and made a plan. No way were we spending another night in the tent when we could be inside the bus with the fire roaring even if this was the same bed Chris McCandless had passed away in. We gathered wood a few hundred meters down the nearby frozen river cutting only old dead trees and hauling them back to the bus where Will split them into smaller logs. We also found a clean patch of snow and collected it into a rubbish bag so we would have clean snow available to melt for water. Next we hung up our sleeping bags outside in the sun to let them dry out a bit. With the work done I took some time to look around inside the bus.    

There we signs of the people that had visited everywhere, from names written in black vivid all over the walls to to amount of food that had been left behind to ensure that no one again would go hungry there. There were several log books where people had expressed their thoughts on Chris and his story as well as sharing their own story of how they came to the bus. Many talked about their trouble crossing the Teklanika River while others had come on snowmobiles, ATV’s, rafts or even mountain bikes. We were surprised to read several entries where the person had brought no tent at all. There were also some messages from Chris’s sister about her thoughts on Chris, the bus and the choices he made. The place did have a sense of wonderment about it I thought to myself. While looking around I had a bit of a clean up and collected a bag of rubbish there was a fine line between leaving things behind that could be useful to others and leaving behind trash. I was just starting to read the first few pages of a copy of ‘Into the Wild’ that was lying around when I see Will walking around naked outside! He called out that he had just had a wash with some warm water and was now ready for some fresh clothes and some dinner. The cheek of him, literally! 

While I cooked dinner Will lit the fire and we sat warm and comfortable in the bus with our socks, clothes and boots sizzling as they dried. After dinner we both wanted to read the ‘Into the Wild’ book so we started reading chapter for chapter aloud to each other. There were many things in the book we didn’t know about such as the moose hunters who discovered Chris’s body 32 days after his death had actually driven their jacked-up pickups across the Teklanika river then continued on ATV to the bus. We also questioned Chris’s keenness to live on such little food, the book talks about how Chris prided himself on how long he could live on a simple bag of rice. We read the book by the fire well into the evening and it was almost midnight before we decided to go to bed. Will closed the bus door as securely as he could and had an arsenal of weapons beside him including an ice axe, an axe and bear spray, but still it was a little spooky being there with most of the windows out instead covered by old tents and tarps which flapped in the breeze. 

I had always wanted to see the Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis but we usually went to bed before it was dark and you needed a clear night to see it. But here at the magic bus all tucked up in bed we looked out the one unbroken window up at the dark, clear night sky and finally saw the unbelievably majestic, dancing green of the Aurora. It wasn’t bright judging by some of the photos we had seen previously but we couldn't have been in a more fitting location. We watched it grow a little brighter and flicker before disappearing and leaving a fait green hue across the sky then suddenly it was back again always moving mesmerising us as we fell asleep warm and cosy with Scout beside the fire. 

An hour or so later we were both woken bolt upright by Scout barking ferociously at something like we had never heard him bark before. I tried to ignore it and think of the many things other than large wild animals that could have spooked him. Will however was on edge and had to check things out with the flashlight before laying back down. Strange sounds filled the air but we were tired and sleep came eventually with Scout having retreated under the bed but still growling lowly.

In the morning we knew there was no time to muck around, we planned to walk the full 32km back to the Dodge that day rather than spend another night in the tent. We discussed the nights event over breakfast and Will will always tell the tale more exciting than I will as he’s convinced Scout was barking at something in the woods. After breakfast we packed up and as we were about to boil our second pot of water for drinking when the cooker ran out of gas. Conveniently others had left a propane cooker there so we got that going and despite the long walk ahead I crammed the bag of rubbish I had collected into my backpack. Given all the empty bug sprays and other rubbish lying around I could have easily collected ten bags more so we suggested it to others in the log book. Almost ready to leave we couldn’t help but write our names on the wall before heading outside to get ’the’ photo. The last photo ever taken of Chris was one he took of himself sitting outside the bus, it was later found still undeveloped in his camera along with a number of diaries from his multi year journey. Our photos wouldn’t be quite the same as his was taken in the summer but we got pretty close.  

With one final look we left the bus at 10am and set an early strong pace. We made it back across the Teklanika River no problem and soon came across two guys on fat bikes. These are snow bikes with super fat tires to help float on the snows surface. Their tires were also studded so they could keep traction on the icy patches. They told us they were biking to the bus and also that one of them had fallen part way though the ice bridge over the Savage River. They didn’t seem too worried about it so neither were we as we pressed on. At 3.30pm we arrived at the Savage River and while it did have more surface melt it was still pretty solid and we both walked across it feeling no need to crawl this time. Even though we took a shorter route through the wide open plain the last 10km seemed to take forever! We were exhausted and stopped frequently. Finally just before 7pm we made it back to the trusty Dodge. We were too dirty, tired, hungry and cold to face a night in the Dodge so we hit the road towards Anchorage in search of a Motel. We used the Mile Post guide book to look at a couple of places but they were all too expensive, so we drove a bit further and settled on a $90USD room at a simple lodge. We took all of our dirty gear into the room and smuggled Scout in under Wills yellow down jacket, then spent the next hour cleaning and sorting out everything as well as putting on a few loads of washing. By the time we had finished the place hardly resembled a motel room, we had the tent strung up to dry along with our sleeping bags and other jackets as well as all of our gear. I then indulged in a steaming hot shower while Will went in search of dinner. He returned with a takeaway burger, chips and lemonade from the restaurant and we finally had the chance to relax on our individual queen beds! Will was soon asleep and I followed not long after. 

Our magic bus trip had been everything we hoped for exciting, inspiring, difficult, yet successful. It will become just one of thousands of tails we will retell in the years to come about this trip but defiantly one of the special ones. 

See you on the road to happiness…

Rochelle & Will     

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.

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. 

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 

So we had driven approximately 60,000km over 16 months through15 countries but finally we would be starting the famous Alaska Highway! Here the road would lead us onto the final destination of our trip, Alaska. It was both sad and exciting, would the Dodge actually make it all the way after all this driving? Only time would tell... 

On Friday the 28th of March we woke up in the Walmart car park of Dawson Creek and set out to explore the town and learn more about the historical Alaska Highway. First up we found the Northern Alberta Railway Park home to the Mile 0 Cairn, the Visitors Centre and the Dawson Creek Station Museum. Unfortunately for us the Visitors Centre and the Museum were closed as we were a few weeks away from the official start of the tourist season but we still got our photo of the famous Alaska Highway sign despite the sun direction making it tricky. Afterwards we had a quick look around the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, we didn’t think much of the art work but as we were leaving we discovered their collection of photos from the construction of the Alaska Highway hidden in the stairwell. It was amazing to see all the old equipment they used and the treacherous conditions they worked through. Eager to learn more we turned to The Mile Post (a detailed guide book we had brought about all of Alaska and northern Canada's highways) and it recommended a stop at the Alaska Highway House in the centre of town. We drove over and found it was closed for lunch. We were torn between wanting to wait for it to reopen and leaving to start the highway. We contemplated what to do over some left over pizza and before long the doors were reopened. We were really glad we stayed in the end as the displays were second to none, the film very informative and the staff incredibly friendly. Here’s a little of what we learnt about the construction of the Alaska Highway:   

The Alaska Highway or the Alaska-Canada Highway (or ALCAN) was ploughed through in only eight months during 1942 for the purpose of connecting the contiguous United States to Alaska through Canada. This was to enable the delivery of supplies via road during World War II. The highway was originally 2,700km (1,700mi) long but as of 2014 it has been reduced to 2,230km (1,387mi) due to constant reconstruction that has rerouted and straightened a number of sections. Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway starts at the crossroads of several other highways in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada and runs north west through the vast Yukon before crossing into Alaska and ending at Delta Junction where the highway connects with other established roads in the United States northernmost state. 

From Dawson Creek we headed north and 76km later arrived in the small snowy town of Fort St. John. The Mile Post guide book recommended a visit to the North Peace Museum so we popped in and for a small donation we had a look around the quaint old fashioned museum with little individual displays depicting scenes of days gone by. Before long we were back on the road and then as the afternoon progressed into the evening we started looking for a place to camp. Will spotted a side road off a road that lead to a oil rig site and found a spot to camp. We promptly got stuck in the snow on the unploughed road but before we made too much noise trying to turn the Dodge around we went for a walk in the hopes of spotting some wildlife as the sun began to set. Will being ahead was fortunate enough to spot a large moose next to a pump shed but it escaped my eyes. Back at the Dodge the sweaty work of shovelling snow and then putting on snow chains kept us nice and warm while our dinner cooked and before long we were fed and tucked into bed. 

On day two of our Alaska Highway traverse we put in a few more miles before stopping in at the famous Trappers Den Wild Life Emporium on the outskirts of Fort Nelson at mile 278.4 (448km). Hailed as a "unique Northern Gift and Souvenir Shop owned and operated by a local trapping family” we had to have a look. Inside we found all sorts of things from intricately carved antlers and $800 wolf furs to humongous snow shows and hunting attire. Will brought his Dad a book about big game hunting in the Yukon and we took a few photos before moving on. 

In Fort Nelson we were in need of a wash and some lunch so we cooked up a feast of Brad and Julie's left over pulled pork in the car park of the rec centre before heading in for a soak in the hot tub and a shower. We wanted to announce to the world of Facebook that we were on the Alaska Highway so went looking for the regular free wifi and power point inside the Rec Centre but couldn’t find either. We could solve the wifi problem by linking the laptop to the 3G on the iPad but we still needed power. I think I forgot to mention that the inverter died a little while back. We think a fuse burnt out given the strong burning smell coming from it one day (amazingly a fire was one thing we still hadn’t had to deal with from the Dodge). Back outside walking to the Dodge we realised we could easily plug in the laptop! In fact there were plugs everywhere out here because everyone had to plug their vehicles in to keep them warm in the cold weather! After making our Facebook post we mucked around the closed Fort Nelson Heritage Museum across the road to give Scout some time outside then continued on.

As we drove we kept our eyes peeled in the hopes of spotting another moose or any large wildlife. I was driving and suddenly Will yells “MOOSE!!!!”. Like every other tourist dose but that the guide book says explicitly NOT to do I vaguely checked there was no traffic behind me before slamming on the brakes and reversing back up the road to hang out the window and look at the moose. That lasted a few seconds before it bound into the cover of the trees. Scout thought it was all very exciting and was starting to learn to look out the window in the same direction we were to see what was going on. Later at Mile 357.5 (575km) The Mile Post description of “fabulous hot cinnamon buns” had us stopping in at Tetsa River Services and Campground to try a cinnamon bun for ourselves. Despite the price we weren’t disappointed, the huge sticky cinnamon buns were to die for and we brought another one (which was enough for us both) and some bread for the next day. 

An hour later at 8pm it was still as bright outside as it was in the middle of the day so we pulled over to stretch our legs and have a play on a picturesque frozen river. We slid around for a bit and revealed in the beauty of it all before continuing. Around 10pm at mile 442 just past the Northern Rockies Lodge we spied an old moose sitting in the snow and moments later we found our first Bison also just sitting in the snow by the road. A few miles further and just shy of the Liard Hotsprings we pulled into a rest area and tucked in behind some big skip bins for the night. It was well past 11pm when the sun finally set and it got cold fast. We made sure we wrapped ourselves up warm and Scout too, even though he didn’t seem very impressed by his new bed time outfit which included an old T-shirt and a neoprene vest we had brought him from Sportsmans Warehouse. 

On Sunday we woke to clear blue skies and after a quick breakfast we pulled into the renowned Liard Hotsprings. We weren’t the only ones looking to get an early morning swim as we saw several people had spent the night in their vehicles there. Some also with their dogs but without the luxury of two thick sleeping bags nor tinted windows so everyone could see them in their slumber. We nipped down the icy board walk and got changed in the changing sheds as quickly as possible in the freezing cold. The relief was immediate as our toes burned in the heat of the thermal waters. We were in what is known as Alpha pool, there is/was a Beta pool too but after two tourists were attacked and killed by a black bear in 1997 the board walk to Beta pool was removed and in 1998 50 bears in the area were culled. We pushed the bear attack to the back of our minds and took in our postcard perfect surroundings. One side of the pool had been tastefully developed with wooden changing sheds on a deck and wooden steps leading into the pool, while the other side of the pool had been left undeveloped and natural. The floor of the pool was a nice clean gravel and there were several strategically placed concrete benches in the pool to sit on. The hair on our heads may have been frozen but we were toasty warm as we chatted to an older couple who had a few hundred travel stories from back in the day to tell us. Even a few from good old NZ. Back at the Dodge in a fresh set of clothes we had some lunch; meanwhile Scout attempted to chase a squirrel that kept escaping up a tree and taunting him with its chatter.  

We drove on a bit further until we discovered a local heard of bison meandering down the highway. Again like tourists the world over we stopped in the middle of the road for a gawk and a few thousand photos. We must have seen about 100 all up they were such amazing animals. Some right in the middle of the road totally unconcerned by the trucks rolling past them, while others were using their huge powerful heads to move snow and uncover the tufts of grass underneath. As we were driving Will and I were wondering what the heck the ploughed track was on the side of the road, it certainly wasn’t fit for vehicles. Then we put two and two together and realised that it had been ploughed to try and encourage the bison to walk on the ploughed track rather than on the highway. It was good in theory but only worked about half the time. We were also told how you had to be very careful when driving at night in bison territory as they keep their heads lowered so their eyes do not reflect in the headlights like the eyes of other animals do. We still had a lot to learn about driving in Alaska and now as I write this from back in NZ I can say its taken me a while to remember that I’m unlikely to hit a bison or deer while driving at night here!  

Around 7pm we entered the remote Yukon province and half an hour later at mile 612 (984km) we arrived in the town of Watson Lake. The main attraction of Watson Lake is the Sign Post Forest. Started back in 1942 by Private Carl K. Lindley who put up a sign giving the name and distance to his home town. The attraction now boasts over 100,000 signs and covers several acres. We didn’t have a pre arranged sign to add to the mix and we racked our brains trying to think of something in the Dodge we could part with and scribe our names into but came up with zilch. Instead we had to settle for a look around, in doing so we found quite a few other signs from New Zealand and other far away places. We would have hung around in Watson Lake until the next day if the Northern Lights Centre had been open, but as I mentioned before we were still a few weeks away from the tourist summer season so we pushed on until we came to an unused quarry up a steep hill. Our camp spot was well hidden from the road but not the icy wind so after cooking dinner we went straight to bed. 

Day four on the Alaska Highway began with a trip to Rancheria Falls at mile 695.5 (1119.3km). The guide book said it was a 10 minute walk but the trail was covered in a meter of snow. Will put on his snow shoes and rather than struggle behind him I decided to put on my skis which... also resulted in me struggling behind him argh! The skinny board walk didn’t help either! I tried some skijoring by holding onto Scouts lead but the snow was too deep for me to slide easily and so it didn’t work. Eventually we made it to the frozen waterfall and had some salami and cheese on crackers at the lookout before returning to the Dodge. A few hours later we passed through Teslin Lake and crossed the Nisutlin Bay Bridge which is the longest spanning bridge of the Alaska Highway. It has a grated surface so you can see the water underneath you as you drive across, pretty cool and very beautiful.   

By 6pm we were almost in Whitehorse but we were afraid if we went into town then we wouldn’t find a place to cook dinner so we pulled into a recreation area and boat ramp on the shore of the still frozen Yukon River. As we drove in we noticed a guy in a beat up old Toyota Tacoma shovelling snow from underneath his tires parked just out on the ice. We were quite experienced at getting stuck ourselves so knew he must have been stuck. We offered to give him a tow back onto the gravel which he greatly accepted. Good deed done we cooked up some one pot wonder for dinner while Scout entertained himself out on the ice with an empty plastic milk bottle. Later that evening we arrived in the town of Whitehorse and headed to where else but the local rec centre. It was super busy for a Monday night and the place was filled with mix of rather interesting people that made us hit the showers soon after arriving. Afterwards we drove down to the Walmart to camp the night. 

Wills Facebook post sums up the next morning pretty well "It's been a productive morning... Ran out of milk so had MacDonald’s for breakfast, went grocery shopping and now doing some laundry. Off to the Whitehorse library soon for some power and internet time.” We spent the whole day the the library before going to meet Dan Greg creator of wikioverland and website http://theroadchoseme.com for a beer. Dan had driven the Pan-Am over 2009-2010 in his Jeep Wrangler and was now in the early stages of planning a trip across Africa. We had a few beers and some food while swapping travel tales. Once again we were shown how travel can turn strangers into friends in moments and we hoped to see Dan again at Overland Expo in Arizona. We were currently toying with the idea of driving back to LA after making it to Deadhorse as then we would have a vehicle in LA to get around in, we wouldn’t have to ship all of our stuff home form Alaska and we could take the Dodge over to Arizona for one final hoora at Overland Expo. We had just been invited to attend the expo as VIP travellers meaning free entry to the event and a chance to catch up with a few good friends from the road. Will and I were also contemplating walking the Stampede Trail near Denali National Park (Alaska). The problem was that there was a river crossing to overcome in order to make it to the famous magic bus. We had heard that the river was still frozen but we were a bit unsure, spring was rushing closer everywhere. Even the length of daylight was increasing by a huge eight minutes per day. In the end Dan convinced us to hike the trail, he had hiked it himself at the start of his Pan-Am trip and rated it as one of his highlights. We loved the film ‘Into the Wild’ based on the true story of Chis MacCandless journey of self discovery that ended at the magic bus so decided we had to make the trek ourselves. After saying good bye to Dan we returned to Walmart for the night and saw a few other RV’s there too.

On Wednesday 2nd of April we for some crazy reason declined the offer of a shower at Dans work asking only to fill up our water tank. Filling up our tank had become a real hassle as all the outside taps had been shut off for the winter (to keep the pipes from bursting when the water expands as it freezes). After filling up the tank we strolled around the river frontage and had a look around the huge old SS Klondike paddle steamer on display. We also did some retrieving training with Scout and he was really starting to get quite good at it. We had these things called bumpers that we would throw for him to retrieve and then get him to come back and sit beside one of us then give the bumper. He had it about 80% down depending on the amount of other distractions. A bit like writing this blog I sit down to write it and then a whole hour goes by and I’ve been so distracted by other things that I’ve only written a few lines. 

We spent the rest of the day driving north and stopping to look at whatever caught our eye in the endless landscape of the Alaska Highway. Sometime in the evening we stopped off at another old quarry up on a hill just because we could. We had brought some cheap CD’s from the Walmart back in Whitehorse so we had some sing along country music from Luke Bryan pumping and Will was hoofing the bumpers way into the quarry for Scout while we both danced around. The trip was nearing it’s end and we had almost made it, we were happy and there was nothing more to do than live in that very moment. Life on the road was close to the ultimate freedom. 

We should have camped there that night but there was still so much light left in the day we pushed on. A few hours later we past the town of Beaver Creek, a quick look at the Mile Post guide book revealed we were quite close to the border and while desperately looking for a place to camp we accidentally left Canada. We hadn’t anticipated crossing the border that day, the Dodge was a mess for one so before officially arriving in Alaska a few miles away we bulldozed down a snowy road to another abandoned quarry. Only this time we got properly stuck in the snow. My elation from earlier in the day was quickly fading as we got to digging ourselves out and hoped no one would tell us off for being there. Like things always seem to have a way of doing, it worked out fine and we slept the night there undisturbed. Then with the chains on in the morning Will worked the Dodge hard and it slowly grunted back up the snowy incline to the road.  

In the morning we brushed our hair and tried to make ourselves look less like homeless people who lived in their car. We weren't expecting any problems at the border so it came as a surprise when the border officer said we could only enter the USA for two weeks as the six month visas we had spent so much time and money getting apparently included our time in Canada. We had spent 3.5 months in the US and 2 in Canada so according to their rules that was 5.5 months of our 6 months gone. We had interpreted the visa wrong and were under the impression we would receive another 6 months when we entered Alaska. I was devastated but Will wasn't having a bar of it. He parked the Dodge and went inside to see what was what. The border guy laid it all out to us while his female colleague stood at her office door-way and agreed with him saying there was no way we could get an extension. Will pleaded our case, being mainly that we had to go back to the US so we could export Scout home with us and he had to be 9 months old before we could do that. It was difficult to convince her because we hadn't yet booked our flights home but eventually she came around and after making some phone calls we were granted an extension giving us until the 23rd of May to be out. Phew!! The other option we had thought of was to take the Alaska marine (ferry) highway back to the US as then we wouldn't have to leave the US again. This would work but we would then be marked as overstayers and have difficulty if we ever returned to the US. 

Border dramas over we took some photos and a short film of us with the ‘Welcome to Alaska’ sign before moving on. Later in the town of Tok at mile post 1279 (2058km) we stopped in at the public library for some wifi. Most importantly we needed to contact Michelle DeCorso an ex overlander who had been posting on the overlanding Facebook pages with offers of a free place to stay in Fairbanks. I had already been in contact with her during the previous months and by the sounds of it we had struck it perfect as their cabin that they usually rent out to holiday makers was unoccupied so they offered to to us for free! We were pretty excited to be staying in a real Alaskan log cabin! 

With The DeCorso's ready for us that evening, we took the chance to call Wills family for a catch up then popped across the road at the Liberians recommendation for a gander inside Burnt Paw Gifts and Cabins. They had all sorts of treasures and Will and I ended up purchasing an Ulu or traditional Alaskan knife, one for his family and one for my brother. Of course a week later we saw them in another store for less than the price we'd paid. But you can’t win them all.

Mile post 1387 at Delta Junction marks the end of the ALCAN highway so with a nostalgic feeling about finally having completed this epic highway we pulled in to get a photo with the sign and reflect on the last weeks adventures it was 9pm on the 3rd of April. The evening was drawing out but the excitement of being in Alaska kept us going the last 150kms to Fairbanks. After getting lost a few times and knocking on one wrong door we eventually found the DeCorso’s snow covered property and were warmly welcomed into their cosy cabin. It was heaven and the biggest place we had had to ourselves in ages. We had to be careful to conserve the tank water and keep the diesel heater on low but we both jumped at the chance to have a long over due hot shower then promptly hit the hay.  

Rochelle & Will

PS: We have been back in New Zealand now for over 4 months and both are back working full time. It's certainly a change from life on the road but we feel fortunate to have found jobs again so easily. As I write this blog and relive the trip of a lifetime it’s 4:33am and I've got 3 more hours of my night shift at work at the hospital to go…