We Did The Dalton, But The Dalton Nearly Did Us!

Well, here we go on a 4 day return trip along the 414 mile Dalton Highway, a mixture of gravel, mud & some tarmac.
This is the reason for the road, the Trans Alaska Oil pipeline which runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, some 800 miles of engineering brilliance completed in 1997 http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/TAPS/PipelineFacts.

The first day is fine & the road is not difficult so our confidence improves, you have to watch out for the 18 wheelers which can travel very fast particularly down hill.
The drivers are however very courteous & always move way over to the other side of the road as they pass, Trucks are King here!!!

The scenery is however fantastic with the huge open spaces combined with picturesque lakes & wooded hills.

Lunch is at the 'Hot Spot' cafe just after the Yukon river crossing, we deserve one of their famous 'Big Burgers', thanks ladies that was great!

A stop at Finger Mountain requires the helmets to remain on, mosquitoes are big & plentiful.

We have now crossed the Artic Circle so another landmark is ticked off with an appropriate stop.

The vistas improve as we approach the Brooks Mountain range along with the ever present pipeline.

Our stop is at Wiseman a small community established in 1908, we stay in a small cabin run by a German couple who live here all year, they are pretty self sufficient with Moose & Bear included in their diet.

Antlers of prey killed for food lay around the house & they also home educate their two children, no mobile phone signal here!!

If you are up this way this is a great place to stay, they are also open in the winter with great views of the Aurora Borealis.

Day 2 begins well but this section of the road to Deadhorse is much tougher with some roadworks plus very sticky & slippery mud, It's not raining but they wet the road to keep the dust down particularly where they are working.

The views through The Atigun Pass however make it all worth it (well almost!).

At around 90 miles from our destination things take a turn for the worse, I decide to put my heated jacket on but drive off with my Krieger Belt on the back of the bike, after 60 miles I realise it's missing. Oh s*** no pasport or camera!!

I turn around & re-trace my steps and close to the location where I stopped I find John also going away from Deadhorse but he does have my bag, a kiss is in order.

Some cyclists going the other way had found the bag & passed it onto another biker who then gave it to John, BIG, BIG thanks to all of them as I never had a chance to speak to them myself.

The problem now is that we had both used extra fuel & I could not get to our destination running out with 6 miles to go, luckily John made it & returned with a cannister of gas for me.

There is no shelter here on the road & it's not the place to break down as you chill very quickly, fortunately my wait was only 40 minutes.

We reach our Hotel around 8.30pm, all the buildings at Deadhorse are removable including the accommodation made from portacabins. 

This is a dry town but we did bring a couple of beers with us to celebrate, it could have been such a different story!!

Deadhorse is a work-site & the amount of temporary buildings & plant is amazing, all the standing water cannot soak into the ground due to permafrost but does evaporate in summer.

Before we start back along the highway we take a short bus trip to Prudhoe Bay itself & the Arctic Ocean, you can't go on this road by yourself due to security with the oil wells & processing plants.

At the Arctic Ocean we can get off the bus, we would have gone for a swim but the sea is frozen, we walk & lay on it instead.

Shortly after leaving Deadhorse we came across 2 guy's from Texas who were riding their horses to Mexico for charity, they do however have an RV & horsebox for support as they can only travel about 60 miles a day www.ridefororphans.org.

What a difference a day makes, the road seems much easier, it's still muddy & we have some light rain but we also have more grip, don't expect to travel this road however & keep clean.

The last leg begins after a night in Coldfoot Camp & the number of bikes travelling the route seems to be increasing, this is also the main half-way fuel stop.

This road is a great ride but you have to expect a variety of road conditions as well as changes day by day depending on roadworks & the weather.

We reach the end & take a last picture at the sign that marks the start, we can now say we did the Dalton!!

Next stop the jet wash, beer, food & bed.