Something a little different this time. In this thread, I will try to pick out some of my better photos from the Dalton Highway/Haul Road and post them with just the date and time taken, as well as the approximate location, and leave out the "ride report" dialogue. These won't be in any particular order, just as I happen to run across them in perusing and sorting through various photo folders. That means there will undoubtedly be duplicates, as I have reached the stage in life where I can hide my own Easter eggs. Having seen many noteworthy photos from other riders over the years, I would like to invite others to post their own photos in this thread as well so that future travelers can see what it is (in addition to being the farthest north they can ride in North America) that makes people come up here, accept whatever challenges the road and weather might present, and go back home feeling that they actually enjoyed the ride. Now for the photos. July 4, 2008 2:00 PM At the top of Beaver Slide. looking north toward the Arctic Circle (just out of the photo in top right) - July 4, 2008 6:30 PM Along the Dietrich River, around Mile 230. One of my favorite stretches of the entire Haul Road - June 6, 2007 11:30 PM A toklat grizzly sow at the side of Ice Cut. She had a yearling cub with her so I didn't wait for her to get any closer - June 6, 2007 10:30 PM Somewhere on the coastal plain - a bull caribou with antlers in the velvet - July 4, 2008 11:30 AM Looking south at the end of the pavement at Mile 49.5 as two riders get to the end of the third-from-the-last stretch of gravel southbound - July 1, 2010 5:00 PM Colleen Lake at Deadhorse, still about 1/3 covered with ice - July 4, 2008 7:00 PM Chandalar Shelf, a roughly 3-Mile wide elevated plain between the headwaters of the Dietrich River and the bottom of the climb to Atigun Pass. August 8, 2008 2:30 PM Roller Coaster Hill - the south side, with a motorcycle descending - May 29, 2010 11:00 AM Looking downstream under the Yukon River bridge at Mile 56 - July 1, 2010 7:00 AM Mountains on the west side of the Atigun River catch the morning sun's rays - July 11, 2009 11:00 AM The fireweed this year and in 2008 was exceptionally brilliant. Taken around Mile 31 - July 2, 2010 2:30 PM The road and the pipeline seem to go on forever, with foreboding clouds towering over the Brooks Range mountains ahead - July 4, 2008 7:00 PM From halfway up the steep climb to Chandalar Shelf, this is the view toward the headwaters of the Dietrich River, which is just a small stream at this point - A break, with more to come.
Must have just missed you by a day or so. Funny how I have read about people reaching down to touch lake Collen thinking it was part of the ocean. When the ocean is miles from there. At least I know why (besides security) you can't see the ocean on your own now. If there were no private roads, you couldn't walk the distance to the ocean over the swamp and muskeg. The skeeters would eat you alive.
Cool thread Here we go: July 30th, 2008 leaving Deadhorse, going south, approaching Brooks Mountain Range
June 7, 2008 1:30 AM East of Galbraith Lake, with the fog finally below me and the sun hitting the north side of peaks along the Atigun River valley - July 4, 2008 1:00 PM From the overlook above Mile 86.6, all the traffic that could be seen from that vantage point - July 4, 2008 5:30 PM Sukukpak Mt provides a scenic backdrop for a remarkably clean KLR - May 30, 2009 1:30 AM Two-thirds of the way to the top of Atigun Pass, snow-covered ice brings the climb to a halt - May 29, 2009 7:00 PM A brief rainshower has the deck of the flatbed climbing Roller Coaster Hill matching the mud on the road - July 4, 2008 8:30 PM With beautiful weather over the 4th of July weekend, people were camped the length of the Haul Road, like this family at Kuparuk River - August 9, 2008 1:00 PM With Franklin Bluffs providing a backdrop, these muskox graze between the Sag River and the Haul Road - May 29, 2010 2:30 PM Grayling Lake, at Mile 150, always seems welcoming - July 3, 2010 11:00 AM Just outside the Arctic Circle Sign wayside the view to the south shows the long climb of Beaver Slide - July 4, 2008 9:30 PM Near Mile 313 the Sag River skirts low hills as it flows north past Pump Station 3 -
We were traveling pretty slow - at least for me - as we were aiming to get as many good shots as we could on this trip. Thanks for adding one of yours, but I know you have lots more great ones from up there.
Great! You've got the idea. But what's that white stuff on the ground? This was taken in July, right? PS: That orange sign signifies the distance on the pipeline to Pump Station 1, but if you subtract 2 miles from that number you get the distance to Deadhorse by road as well.
Yup, July 30th. Actually, I checked the date again before I posted. Should have seen the stupid look on my face when the "white" mountains came into view on our return trip
August 8, 2008 7:30 PM A few miles south of Coldfoot, a rainbow in the Koyukuk River valley plants the pot of gold squarely on the Trans Alaska Pipeline - July 4, 2008 2:30 AM The early morning sun on the north side of these Brooks Range mountains and tundra slopes paints a scene of peace and serenity - May 30, 2010 5:00 PM The Dietrich River curves gently to the south to flow past the west end of Sukukpak Mt - July 1, 2010 6:30 AM From the tight switchback at the bottom of the south climb to Atigun Pass this valley runs back up into the Endicott mountains - July 1, 2010 6:00 PM The newly erected Aurora Hotel, on the shore of Colleen Lake, provides a stark contrast to the industrial appearance of the rest of Deadhorse - June 30, 2010 8:00 PM From about Mile 185 some of Wiseman's buildings can be seen on the opposite side of the Koyukuk River - May 30, 2010 10:00 AM A cloudless sky and near-perfect lighting help Slope Mt stand out against the bare, rolling tundra - July 4, 2009 6:00 AM Just north of Fort Hamlin Hills Creek the fireweed has taken over much of the surrounding terrain, much to the delight of this photographer - June 7th 2008 2:30 AM Looking back down at the Atigun Vally from the north side of Atigun Pass, with the sun shining up the valley out of the north sky - July 4, 2008 3:00 PM Taken from Mile 160 looking north toward Coldfoot - the pipeline snakes southward across the boreal forest-covered terrain, bound for tidewater at Valdez -
I've got hundreds of pics. Just going through them is work, but nice work. I didn't post this one yet though. Once you've ridden the Dalton and seen the surrounding desolate country nothing else comes close. I really think this is the best ride I've ever done.
June 6, 2008 9:30 PM A young caribou cow watches to see if I constitute a threat, from which she is prepared to bolt and run - July 4, 2008 7:00 PM On the Chandalar Shelf, approaching the last ascent to the top of Atigun Pass - June 30, 2010 2:30 PM Looking east from the Galbraith Lake campground across the lake at the upper end of Atigun Gorge - July 2, 2010 1:00 PM From the "Last Chance" BLM wayside rest stop at Mile 354.5, looking out across the vast tundra where the Brooks Range foothills meet the Arctic Coastal Plain - July 4, 2008 7:00 PM About halfway up the steep climb to the Chandalar Shelf, innocent looking in good weather, but terrifying to many riders when it's wet - July 4, 2008 7:30 PM North of Atigun Pass the highway remains in the Atigun valley, following the river as it winds downhill toward Atigun Gorge - July 5, 2008 1:00 AM Twenty-five miles south of Deadhorse, with the sun shining directly south out of the northern sky, my shadow speeds ahead, anxious to get somewhere else - May 2010 Looking southward from the Chandalar Shelf at rain clouds threatening a deluge down in the Dietrich valley - July 2, 2010 4:30 PM Sukukpak Mt is never the same two sightings in a row, and is always photogenic, especially in the afternoon sunshine - July 4, 2008 12:30 PM More of the fabulous fields of fireweed seen in 2008, this one at about Mile 83 -
Thanks for sharing your pics. I'm in Deadhorse right now and will be heading back tomorrow. Can I use your pics and say I took them? Other than a few moose I haven't seen a lot of critters. But Atigan Pass and the Brooks Range makes the ride more awsome than I could have ever imagined. The toughest part of the Dalton seems to be where they are doing road construction. Otherwise it was in good shape (not that I have a reference point). Thanks again, Gary
Wow Alcan Rider, those pics are awesome! It was your pics like those that made me want to do the ride this spring! A few humble entries from my one and only trip up and back. [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] Near finger mountain. [/url][/IMG] In the pass [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] Down into the flats [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] its 0230 hrs [/url][/IMG] 0300 hrs just outside deadhorse. twenty eight degrees and windy, it was 81 at the circle sign! [/url][/IMG] Silly I know but these guys were everywhere getting warm on the road when I left Prudhoe. [/url][/IMG] Arctic Fox? [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] We had a staring contest. I kept looking around for his buddies but never saw another one. [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG] Lots of these fast straits! [/url][/IMG] And fun fun fun when the road slicks up! [/url][/IMG] [/url][/IMG]
Sure, why not. Other riders get to see the same scenes I do, just not always at the same time, or with the same light. Glad you've enjoyed it. It's more than the destination, isn't it?
Thanks for posting those. You've got some really great photos there. The ones you shot into the sun are particular favorites of mine, like this one - But the evening shadows in this one are really beautiful too - If you have some more, bring 'em on.
