Slate Creek Inn Coldfoot Camp

... a spongy mass of dead plant material and lichens that insulates the permafrost. Our guide had picked an area where the tundra is just about a foot deep. He put a thermometer (looked like a giant meat thermometer) in the ground; it read 28 degrees. He then dug up a small patch of tundra so we could feel the permafrost below.

The next stop was the all important photo op at the Arctic Circle. A BLM ranger hangs around this wayside to give out circle ...

... who's local and who's not.

She told us that she usually lived in Chena Spring, where there's an ice museum, and recommended us to visit it. (Later we did). She's at Wiseman to help for the summer.
The best thing about Boreal Lodge was its kitchen. There's a small table in the kitchen, so we could cook and enjoyed our dinner without worrying about mosquitos.

That ...

... and headed South on the Dalton Highway in the cold side wind of forty miles per hour, and rain or sleet, making the gravel road very muddy and slippery. It was a very challenging day. The first part of the ride carries you across the massive flat coastal plain, and eventually the road runs into a valley which leads to the Atigun Pass. Today as I approached the Pass the sun came out so I was able ...

... by noon. This was a real stress creator for me as I now wondered what the road conditions would be like. From Fairbanks the Dalton Highway, or Haul Road, runs north to the Arctic Ocean. I decided to start the ride as I was feeling quite good, it wasn't raining and I could get 200 Km of the Dalton completed today, leaving 600 Km for tomorrow. The road is a tease, as it starts out as pavement, then gravel, then pavement, really bad gravel, then muddy in some sections, then pavement, and ...

... fire. Let's hope that lightening never strikes twice (at least in the same 130,000 acres!). In these holes in the Boreal Forest, fields of bright purple flowers thrive in the extra summer light. Finally, we reached the sign marking 66.33 degrees latitude... the Arctic Circle! Low clouds dripping rain surrounded us and we gazed at the tundra and bush stretching to the hills on the horizon. Nothing ...

... weit aber flach huegelig und viiiel Wald! Livengood - Yukon River Dieser Abschnitt nun als Dalton Highway war meist Schotter oder Naturstrasse. Etwas was bei Regen verdammt heikel zu fahren sein duerfte! Ich kann nur hoffen es bleibt trocken... Landschaft Huegelig mit noch immer viel Wald, aber tollen Landschaft und Sichtungsorte der Pipeline. Sehr kurvenreich und sonniges Wetter. Ich nutze beim Yukon die erste von drei Tankmoeglichkeiten nicht. Yukon River ...

... expensive but the oil has made many of the native races very rich as it was found on traditional land. Fairbanks is very cold in winter going down to minus 40 to 60 and in the middle of winter the sun may rise about 11am and set about 1pm. Equally in Summer they can play all sorts of sports starting at midnight and not need any form of artificial lights. The guide said the only people in Fairbanks are those who have to be ...

So not quite the end... I managed to squeeze in another small trip before I left, though I had exams study for and assignments to hand in. I went Dog Sledding, it was a short ride cause it was -30 C and 9:00 am in the morning, but a great experience, always wanted to do it and now I can say I did. We ran with a ...

... langsam würden die Bären aus ihrem Schlaf **wachen und bestimmt einen enormen Appetit mitbringen. Nun standen wir also wied** auf dem Hügel auss**halb des Dorfes, wo die Strasse endete und in den Schlittentrail zum Tozi hinaus üb**ging. Tom, ein Freund aus Tanana, hatte uns noch dort hinauf gefahren und wünschte uns nun zum Abschied alles Gute, als wir uns mit schw** beladenen Rucksäcken auf den Weg machten. Bald g**ieten wir imm** öft** in grosse Schneefeld** und sanken oft hüfttief in ...

... so lange alles normal läuft. Dafür ist es recht anstrengend, da man häufig laufen oder zumindest mit einem Fuss nachhelfen muss. So waren nach diesem Trip nicht nur die Hunde (28 Stück, verteilt auf 3 Schlitten), sondern auch wir ziemlich geschafft. Daneben vermittelte uns Stan noch viel Wissenswertes über das Leben im Busch und besonders den Umgang mit den zusätzlichen Gefahren im Winter, vor allem natürlich der Kälte. Hier im Innern von Alaska, nur ...