Month: February 2016

Thursday 18 February

A long 15 hour flight from Dubai to Seattle. We were happy to leave Dubai. Too decadent for us. Our Emirates flight headed due north and we flew over the top of the world, over the North Pole! Arrived in Seattle on time and a big rush to connect with our domestic flight to Fairbanks. We had only 90 minutes in which to clear immigration, find our luggage, clear customs, get to the domestic terminal and board. We got to the departure gate just as they were boarding. Phew. An uneventful 4 hour flight into Fairbanks and snow and ice. It was a balmy -14◦C on arrival. The warmest winter on record! We checked into our hotel at 6pm local time. No restaurant or bar in house and Fairbanks is not built for pedestrians. A can of diet coke and take away Chinese delivered to the room sustained us.

Friday 19 February
Headed to the offices of the Northern Alaska Tour Company in order to hotfoot to Coldfoot (thanks Mary!), and our bus ride 9 hours into the northern interior of Alaska. We departed at 10am and the temperature was -25◦C. Our driver/guide, Joe, introduced himself by assuring us that he was not one of those guides who talked all the time. He did not draw breath for the next 9 hours. We learnt all about his childhood, his schooling, his early jobs on the Alaskan Pipeline, his marriage, his work as a school teacher, many of his students, his wife’s work as a school teacher, his son’s work as a miner, and a little about the landscape through which we were driving. We drove through semi-arid desert, which averages 10” of rainfall per year. Unlike our desert however, this one was completely snow covered. Lots of trees, Paper Birch (Betula meoalaskana), Black Spruce (Picea mariana), White Spruce (Picea glauca) and Willows (Salix alaxensis). The tree heights depend on whether or not they are growing on permafrost, with some of them being only about 2 feet tall and 60 years old. It’s amazing to us that trees can survive on permafrost at all. Other trivia for today:
Only 1% of all visitors to Alaska visit the Arctic Circle (that makes us members of the 1% club)
the male moose (bull) loses his antlers every winter
most roads in the interior of Alaska are built on permafrost and sink after 5 years, due to the heat of the road. So more asphalt is laid and more corrugations develop and so the cycle continues
the Alaskan Pipeline is largely built overland because of the permafrost
caribou have hollow hair which helps with insulation
Alaska has a permanent dividend fund from the royalties of the oil. The current balance is $bn56 and every single resident of Alaska (including children) receive a dividend cheque each year, in 2015 it was $2650

We made several stops en route to Coldfoot, all cold, some nearly unbearable. Most of the route was via the Dalton Highway, built in 1974 preceding the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline and opened to the general public in 1980. It travels from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. The most memorable stops were on the frozen Yukon River (yes, the 3rd biggest river in USA – after the Missouri and Mississippi – was completely frozen), at what our verbose driver called the Enchanted Forest where all the trees are frozen and it looks like something straight out of Disneyland, and at the Arctic Circle. The enchanted forest was the coldest spot of the day at -26◦C plus wind chill factor through the roof. We could only stand outside for a few minutes before jumping back on board the heated bus.
We arrived at Coldfoot, 70 miles into the Arctic Circle at about 7pm. It is only one of two truck stops between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay, the other being Deadhorse, and in the 2010 census showed a population of 10. Coldfoot consists of a Roadhouse serving truckies meals almost exclusively limited to burgers and fries, a post office and some overnight accommodation which are converted pipeline construction camp quarters. Very basic but warm and comfortable. No wi-fi, no cell reception, no TV!

We were, of course, in pursuit of the Aurora Borealis (the northern lights) and so a group of 7 of us trekked out at 10.30pm up the Dalton to the village of Wiseman (population 12) in the hands of our new trusty guide Dave. We sat in a warm hut and waited. And waited. And waited. But the lights didn’t show. We gave up at 2.15am and slunk back to our quarters.

Saturday 20 February
At 11am we headed out with a small group of 5, and Dave, to the northern end of the Brooks Ranges. We came within 50 miles of the Arctic Ocean. Beautiful scenery, we passed through the trees into barren arctic tundra. The notion of ‘whiteout’ became a reality. In the vehicle we climbed the Anaktuvuk Pass (anaktuvuk means “the land of many caribou droppings”) and we were photographed at the top of the pass where it was -35◦C but the wind chill factor read -43◦C! It was cold. The only wildlife we saw was a Dall Sheep and the Ptarmigan bird (silent P). Returned at about 4pm, had a sleep and then another variety of hamburger and fries for dinner before heading off again at 10.30pm in search of the aurora. Another long and cold night but we experimented with taking arctic photos in the moonlight and stamped our feet warm (ish). Cherrie spotted a green light rising over the northern horizon. It looked to me to be a weak follow spot with green gel but with whoops and cheers the group emerged from the cabin to see the Aurora Borealis, but a very weak show and only for a couple of minutes. Ah well, we always knew that we mightn’t see it, and we have had the most wonderful time in remote Alaska. We hung around until 2.30am in the hope that the show would return but alas no.

Sunday 21 February
11am dog sled ride. What fun, being pulled by a team of 8 hard working huskys around a 5 mile trail through the trees. Lots of poo and wee stops for the dogs, who we are assured love to pull overweight Australians around. At 1.30pm we were to be picked up for the short ride to the air strip and our flight back to Fairbanks. We were kept waiting until 3pm when we were transported to the ice strip, where we stood in the elements for half an hour waiting for the pilots from Coyote Air to arrive! Cherrie loved the flight, Christine prayed all the way. Fairbanks positively balmy with a temperature of -6◦C.

Monday 22 February
Current temperature 1◦C. The locals are literally in tee-shirts, delighted at the warm conditions. Global warming truly is a reality here, although the cars still need to be plugged into heaters overnight. We have decided to fly into Seattle tonight rather than tomorrow morning, giving us two full days there.  We are pleased that this is the warmest winter ever experienced in Alaska…not sure we could have coped with much lower temperatures.

So, farewell from Alaska.   It’s all a bit of a fog (especially to Cherrie)

Some of you have been known to call me Moderation Dunstan. Perhaps with a tinge of irony. However, after 24 hours in Dubai I can confidently tell you that such a non de plume is rubbish. There is no excess like Dubai. We are now about to board for a leisurely 15 hour flight to Seattle and a quick connection to Alaska Airlines for a further 2 hours which will take us into the heart the 49th state and Fairbanks. Tomorrow, to the Arctic Circle.