{"id":1824,"date":"2017-05-26T08:10:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-26T08:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/?p=1824"},"modified":"2024-12-13T13:04:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T13:04:30","slug":"riding-alaskas-dalton-highway-ice-road-trucking-before-the-freeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/riding-alaskas-dalton-highway-ice-road-trucking-before-the-freeze\/","title":{"rendered":"Riding Alaska\u2019s Dalton Highway: Ice Road Trucking Before the Freeze"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1824\" class=\"elementor elementor-1824\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31c60529 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"31c60529\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6fd8e206 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6fd8e206\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-774a9036 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"774a9036\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Riding Alaska\u2019s Dalton Highway: Ice Road Trucking Before the Freeze<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-310f0eb e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"310f0eb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b2762f1 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b2762f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We got to be Ice Road Truckers fans at my house, driving the Dalton with every episode. But I never thought, \u201cWow! I want to do that!\u201d Sometimes, we\u2019d joke about going to Coldfoot, just to cross the Arctic Circle, not that I had any idea what Coldfoot was like, or why you\u2019d want to get that far and just stop. On the other hand, the idea of those 400-plus miles from Fairbanks to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay tucked itself away waiting for the right trigger. Like most of my trips, this one just came to me. I went in August when autumn had come to the Dalton and it was frosty in the Arctic.<\/p><p>See \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/alaskas-dalton-highway-introduction-and-practicalities\/\">Riding the Dalton Highway: introduction and practicalities<\/a>\u201d too!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e064edb e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"1e064edb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ccce624 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3ccce624\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2158f92b elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2158f92b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Dalton Highway \u2013 Just My Cup of Labrador Tea!<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-530df192 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"530df192\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-49e407ed elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"49e407ed\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Dalton Highway \u2013 the Haul Road \u2013 is not for people who close their eyes when they get scared, so I looked for the best way to get to Prudhoe Bay without having to drive myself. I booked a three-day, two-night ride with 1st Alaska Outdoor School. There were three of us passengers \u2013 me along with seasoned world travelers, caravaners and campers Ulrike and Bernhard from Germany \u2013 and Matthew our guide and driver, an old hand at driving the Haul Road who had also worked at the oil fields.<\/p><p>Over four hundred miles each way of two-lane dirt and gravel, potholes, washboard and steep grades. Fifty mph at the fastest. And there\u2019s the special mud. Our driver Matthew told us the state puts calcium chloride on the road in summer to keep down the dust, but when it rains \u2013 and we had some drizzle and rain \u2013 the calcium chloride turns the road into thick goo. It was like thick dun-colored cake batter and it stuck to everything it touched.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c07ec e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6c07ec\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15c923cd elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"15c923cd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"378\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Special-Dalton-mud.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1827\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Special-Dalton-mud.jpg 378w, https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Special-Dalton-mud-295x300.jpg 295w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5bb2bc1 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5bb2bc1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Special Dalton mud\n<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ba693dc e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"ba693dc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e501f82 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e501f82\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Dalton starts just under 90 miles north of Fairbanks, following the Alaska Pipeline, which is the road\u2019s reason for existing. The road was built for pipeline construction and then to serve the oil fields. Except for the old gold mining town of Wiseman (population about 14) the couple of places you can sleep started out as man camps during pipeline construction. As you approach the Dalton, you see the sign HEAVY INDUSTRIAL TRAFFIC PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Then, ALL VEHICLES DRIVE WITH LIGHTS ON NEXT 425 MILES. There\u2019s a pullout near the start, a photo op, and a place to mark your real beginning. A beautiful truck pulled in for a stop, all chrome and orange. We talked to the driver\u2019s wife who was along on the trip to keep him company. It\u2019s dangerous, takes all your attention, but gets boring making that 800-plus mile roundtrip day after day. On a steep haul a little farther along, the guardrail was smashed. Matthew said that four days earlier a truck had gone over the side. Driver was OK. Truck totaled. Wrecks happen and don\u2019t always turn out as well for the driver.<\/p><p>A mere 80 or so miles later we crossed the legendary Yukon River. We stopped at the riverbank camp (good to know: flush toilets) and walked down to the river. I put my hand in. Silty and cold. Wide and fast. This is it, the mighty Yukon. Before the bridge that now carries the pipeline and trucks, I understand that truckers drove down the bank on a steep road to a ferry. It doesn\u2019t bear thinking about. Then, mountains, ridge after ridge into the distance. Birch trees. Chilly. We stopped at another pullout and met a man riding the Dalton on his Kawasaki. His riding partner\u2019s bike had broken down \u2013 we had seen it going south on a pickup truck earlier. He talked to Ulrike and Bernhard about his German heritage and said he lives and works in Peru\u2019s Amazon jungle. A man who relishes extremes.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-060bf32 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"060bf32\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a43fa0 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6a43fa0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f7e2f73 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f7e2f73\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Arctic Circle<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e43db8f elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"e43db8f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4fc686b elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4fc686b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>And finally, not yet half way to Deadhorse, the Arctic Circle \u2013 the most popular photo op on the Dalton, I expect \u2013 and then Coldfoot Camp. Sleeping at Coldfoot is possible. There\u2019s the old man camp. But Ulrike, Bernhard and I spent the night in Wiseman after dinner at Coldfoot Arctic CircleCamp truck stop. Along the way we met a couple from Hong Kong who were in Alaska for a long stay and driving the Dalton themselves. There are so few places to stop that we saw them three times. The last time, we ate together at Coldfoot, feeling like old friends now.<\/p><p><strong>Wiseman.<\/strong> Wiseman (population about 14) had been a gold-mining town around turn of the 20th century. It had stores and a post office that opened in 1909 and closed in 1956. The old post office is half sunken into the ground, which happens when you warm the permafrost. Ulrike, Bernhard and I shared the 2-bedroom Koyukuk cabin. We made tea and shared provisions in the morning before heading back south a few miles for hot food at Coldfoot. There was no food ahead for us for 240 miles if we kept going north.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d1ae9a e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"7d1ae9a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5ad830d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"5ad830d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"378\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Arctic-Circle.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1828\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Arctic-Circle.jpg 378w, https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Arctic-Circle-295x300.jpg 295w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72d26aa elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72d26aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">In the Arctic Circle<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e053846 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e053846\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de188f0 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"de188f0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ef4945a elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ef4945a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">On to Deadhorse, Day 2<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f832c79 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"f832c79\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e95d39f elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e95d39f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Koyukuk River was speeding around tight curves in its shallow bed. Fog hung across the road that morning. Koyukuk, then towering rock formations, the pipeline with golden birch and dark spruce in the middle distance, mountains beyond. We entered \u201cthe world\u2019s largest municipality,\u201d the North Slope Borough, and stopped at a pullout at Chandalar Shelf, a long, tortured grade cut into a mountainside, to view the mountains and peer over the steep unguarded drop off. It looked like thousands of feet down to me. Could have been. While we were stopped, a single semi slowly climbed the mountain. We took pictures. Spoiler alert \u2013 it was the same truck I rode in the next day!<\/p><p><strong>Atigun Pass.<\/strong> If you watched Ice Road Truckers, you\u2019ll remember the Atigun Pass. A cut through the Brooks Range that reaches nearly 4,800 feet, a muddy (or icy), winding steep grade. The Brooks Range is a northern extension of the Rocky Mountains, the continental divide here in northern Alaska. Peaks reach 7,000 feet. The first sign as we started up into the Pass: \u201cAvalanche area next 5 miles. DO NOT STOP.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6c85ccf e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"6c85ccf\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-85bdb80 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"85bdb80\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"378\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Hauling-up-the-Chandalar-Shelf-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1830\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Hauling-up-the-Chandalar-Shelf-1.jpg 378w, https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Hauling-up-the-Chandalar-Shelf-1-295x300.jpg 295w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7045933 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"7045933\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Hauling up the Chandalar Shelf\n<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6e04a7 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e6e04a7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-effdf27 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"effdf27\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ce96d65 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"ce96d65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08378d9 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"08378d9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A trucker I met told me that he thought other places were more dangerous, because the highway department was all over Atigun Pass, but the Pass is dangerous and dramatic. That day in August, there was only a little snow on the mountains but it was cloudy, foggy and windy. Then, when we came down from Atigun Pass, we were on the North Slope. By now I\u2019d lost my sense of time. Driving and driving, wilderness. The different length of day, different quality of sunlight. The Arctic! In what seemed like afternoon, the land had flattened out and we reached the Franklin Bluffs, colorful cliffs of iron-rich rock and soil. All around us there was standing water \u2013 water has no place to run off and isn\u2019t absorbed because of permafrost. So it stands in wetlands as far as you can see. It was clear at Franklin Bluffs, but as we came to the coastal plain, cottony fog the color of unbleached muslin surrounded us. And there was road construction under the cover of fog. Floods had washed out parts of the roadway earlier in the season. Visibility was poor. We waited behind a mud-covered SUV carrying a metal canoe for a pilot car to take us through the construction. \u00a0Dump trucks unloaded gravel. Graders worked it into the new road. Finally, Deadhorse Camp, the end of the highway. It had taken a long time to get here, and then it hadn\u2019t. How to measure?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-462c810 e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"462c810\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-02728c9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"02728c9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"378\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Welcome-to-Deadhorse.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1831\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Welcome-to-Deadhorse.png 378w, https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Welcome-to-Deadhorse-295x300.png 295w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-da77cd3 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"da77cd3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Welcome to Deadhorse<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7b395a8 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7b395a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7683a79 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7683a79\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>The Arctic Ocean<\/strong>. We drove through Deadhorse, an amorphous settlement, permanent population in single digits but with a temporary population of several thousand, more or less as needed. It\u2019s an agglomeration of oil field contractors, supply warehouses, extra oil platforms, miles of pipelines. Our rendezvous for the ride to the Arctic Ocean shore was at Deadhorse Camp. We\u2019d be riding across the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and that required a security check. We gathered around tables in the Deadhorse Camp kitchen to have our documents viewed and recorded. Once on the way, pipes, mud, gravel, fog, tangled driftwood logs, 4x4s, wooden crates and other detritus. It was not beautiful. Here, the ocean is technically the Beaufort Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. So let\u2019s just say Arctic Ocean. It was choppy, cold and silty as the Yukon. I showed a picture to a friend with Scottish family. \u201cYou could be in Scotland,\u201d he said, \u201canywhere.\u201d Nothing about it yelled \u201cArctic,\u201d but I knew I was there.<\/p><p>We had our mid-day meal at an engineering company cafeteria. Was it lunch? Was it lunchtime? Food was healthy, good and plentiful. Someone reminded us that it all came up on a truck. There were strict rules to help keep things healthy. Shed your muddy garments. Wear booties. Always wear vinyl gloves to serve yourself from salad, soup or dessert bars. There were boxes of vinyl gloves all around the cafeteria. We were bright and warm, the building elevated from the ground. It was like a temperate colony on a hostile planet. A man named Michael looked around and said to us, \u201cwelcome to all that this is!\u201d We laughed.<\/p><p>After lunch, a quick stop at Deadhorse Camp where Ulrike and I went upstairs to find the rest rooms (more flush toilets). Like at the cafeteria there were absolute rules at the Camp. Absolute. Park your muddy boots and wear booties. The entry ways were a mess with coats, boots and mud on rubber floor runners, but upstairs where there were the sleeping rooms and toilets, it was pristine. The rules worked. We also shopped at the Prudhoe Bay General Store but didn\u2019t buy. This is the only place in Deadhorse to get necessities, clothing, household goods, greeting cards, souvenirs \u2013 a real m\u00e9lange. Then we headed back south. You\u2019ve been there and then you leave, just like that. There\u2019s nothing for a tourist to do. We left Deadhorse at 7 PM. It seemed like afternoon.<\/p><p>Back on the road, the fog had become denser, the wait for the pilot car longer. It was 35 degrees and windy. The person who held the stop sign in front of the traffic was dressed in an unbendable thickness of clothes, bunny boots and a yellow safety costume on top. While we waited we tried to guess the person\u2019s gender. I argued that it was clearly a woman. So our driver Matthew got out, had a smoke, and chatted with the person, who turned out to be a guy from Nome who wants to do this a couple more years and then go to Belize. And as we left the coastal plain, the sky cleared with broken clouds. Brown, copper, cerulean, gray; fireweed and shrubs. Naked mountains deep rose gold in the sunset. Many miles still to go back to Wiseman for our second night. Somewhere along the way, Matthew said he thought he could detect aurora by the glow in the clouds. We found out the next day he was right. We got to Wiseman around 2 AM.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-153636b e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"153636b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-184a5dd e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"184a5dd\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dfb3cda elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dfb3cda\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Day I Rode in a Truck \u2013 My Kenworth Ride from Coldfoot to Beaver Slide, Day 3<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-be1f30f elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"be1f30f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d559e36 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d559e36\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>I\u2019d intended never to mention Ice Road Truckers because that\u2019s exactly what a tourist would do. But I couldn\u2019t keep quiet. I knew the names of the toughest stretches of road and waited for each to come up on our trip. I felt quite expert. We stopped at Coldfoot for breakfast (where else?) our third morning and Matthew asked if I\u2019d like to meet a trucker who drives the ice road (and the mud, dust and everything else road). That was cool. And while we chatted with a bow hunter out for caribou (it being season opener), the trucker, Scotty, asked me if I\u2019d like a ride in the truck. What do you think? Of course! And that\u2019s how I got my ride to Beaver Slide, after which we met up with my group at a pullout. We talked about hunting in Alaska, the climate, the road, fires, accidents. The Arctic Circle. Scotty said he didn\u2019t want to burst anyone\u2019s bubble, but the Arctic Circle is at Connection Rock, not the sign. But there\u2019s a better view from the sign, he added. Riding some of the deep dips along the roller coaster section of the Dalton was somewhere between exhilarating and terrifying.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1e81f4e e-con-full e-flex wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-child\" data-id=\"1e81f4e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9ed2aaa elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9ed2aaa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"378\" height=\"385\" src=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Truck-Riding.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1835\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Truck-Riding.jpg 378w, https:\/\/lineontravel.com\/website_6fa5d958\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Truck-Riding-295x300.jpg 295w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 378px) 100vw, 378px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-eb1352d elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"eb1352d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h6 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The truck ride ends<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d84ee37 e-flex e-con-boxed wpr-particle-no wpr-jarallax-no wpr-parallax-no wpr-sticky-section-no wpr-equal-height-no e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d84ee37\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-89407a2 elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"89407a2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Trucks accelerate going down for momentum to get up the other side. At Beaver Slide I felt like, as I looked down, the road was so steep that I couldn\u2019t see the bottom of the hill. \u201cWhat happens if you don\u2019t get up the other side?\u201d I asked. \u201cThen you\u2019re stuck down there like a rat!\u201d It\u2019ll block traffic and you\u2019ll need a tow, I\u2019d add from something besides an ordinary tow truck.<\/p><p>As for life on the road, Scotty said, our lives can depend on each other out here. There are some real SOBs but most everybody is fine. I asked whether the TV series was realistic. Yes, but sometimes it\u2019s more \u201creal\u201d here than they could show, he said. He thought the competition thing on the show was just intended to keep up viewer excitement, and they didn\u2019t focus enough on the drivers. Thinking about it, watching the series, I did get to know a little about a few drivers, but he was right. It\u2019s a dangerous, beautiful, boring, exciting and lonely lifestyle. We even talked about arranging for me to ride the Dalton in winter. I haven\u2019t pursued that. Maybe I do better on mud than ice.<\/p><p><strong>Trip date:<\/strong> August 2015<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Riding Alaska\u2019s Dalton Highway: Ice Road Trucking Before the Freeze We got to be Ice Road Truckers fans at my house, driving the Dalton with every episode. But I never thought, \u201cWow! I want to do that!\u201d Sometimes, we\u2019d joke about going to Coldfoot, just to cross the Arctic Circle, not that I had any idea what Coldfoot was like, or why you\u2019d want to get that far and just stop. On the other hand, the idea of those 400-plus miles from Fairbanks to Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay tucked itself away waiting for the right trigger. Like most of my trips, this one just came to me. I went in August when autumn had come to the Dalton and it was frosty in the Arctic. See \u201cRiding the Dalton Highway: introduction and practicalities\u201d too! The Dalton Highway \u2013 Just My Cup of Labrador Tea! The Dalton Highway \u2013 the Haul Road \u2013 is not for people who close their eyes when they get scared, so I looked for the best way to get to Prudhoe Bay without having to drive myself. I booked a three-day, two-night ride with 1st Alaska Outdoor School. There were three of us passengers \u2013 me along with seasoned world travelers, caravaners and campers Ulrike and Bernhard from Germany \u2013 and Matthew our guide and driver, an old hand at driving the Haul Road who had also worked at the oil fields. Over four hundred miles each way of two-lane dirt and gravel, potholes, washboard and steep grades. Fifty mph at the fastest. And there\u2019s the special mud. Our driver Matthew told us the state puts calcium chloride on the road in summer to keep down the dust, but when it rains \u2013 and we had some drizzle and rain \u2013 the calcium chloride turns the road into thick goo. It was like thick dun-colored cake batter and it stuck to everything it touched. Special Dalton mud The Dalton starts just under 90 miles north of Fairbanks, following the Alaska Pipeline, which is the road\u2019s reason for existing. The road was built for pipeline construction and then to serve the oil fields. Except for the old gold mining town of Wiseman (population about 14) the couple of places you can sleep started out as man camps during pipeline construction. As you approach the Dalton, you see the sign HEAVY INDUSTRIAL TRAFFIC PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Then, ALL VEHICLES DRIVE WITH LIGHTS ON NEXT 425 MILES. There\u2019s a pullout near the start, a photo op, and a place to mark your real beginning. A beautiful truck pulled in for a stop, all chrome and orange. We talked to the driver\u2019s wife who was along on the trip to keep him company. It\u2019s dangerous, takes all your attention, but gets boring making that 800-plus mile roundtrip day after day. On a steep haul a little farther along, the guardrail was smashed. Matthew said that four days earlier a truck had gone over the side. Driver was OK. Truck totaled. Wrecks happen and don\u2019t always turn out as well for the driver. A mere 80 or so miles later we crossed the legendary Yukon River. We stopped at the riverbank camp (good to know: flush toilets) and walked down to the river. I put my hand in. Silty and cold. Wide and fast. This is it, the mighty Yukon. Before the bridge that now carries the pipeline and trucks, I understand that truckers drove down the bank on a steep road to a ferry. It doesn\u2019t bear thinking about. Then, mountains, ridge after ridge into the distance. Birch trees. Chilly. We stopped at another pullout and met a man riding the Dalton on his Kawasaki. His riding partner\u2019s bike had broken down \u2013 we had seen it going south on a pickup truck earlier. He talked to Ulrike and Bernhard about his German heritage and said he lives and works in Peru\u2019s Amazon jungle. A man who relishes extremes. The Arctic Circle And finally, not yet half way to Deadhorse, the Arctic Circle \u2013 the most popular photo op on the Dalton, I expect \u2013 and then Coldfoot Camp. Sleeping at Coldfoot is possible. There\u2019s the old man camp. But Ulrike, Bernhard and I spent the night in Wiseman after dinner at Coldfoot Arctic CircleCamp truck stop. Along the way we met a couple from Hong Kong who were in Alaska for a long stay and driving the Dalton themselves. There are so few places to stop that we saw them three times. The last time, we ate together at Coldfoot, feeling like old friends now. Wiseman. Wiseman (population about 14) had been a gold-mining town around turn of the 20th century. It had stores and a post office that opened in 1909 and closed in 1956. The old post office is half sunken into the ground, which happens when you warm the permafrost. Ulrike, Bernhard and I shared the 2-bedroom Koyukuk cabin. We made tea and shared provisions in the morning before heading back south a few miles for hot food at Coldfoot. There was no food ahead for us for 240 miles if we kept going north. In the Arctic Circle On to Deadhorse, Day 2 The Koyukuk River was speeding around tight curves in its shallow bed. Fog hung across the road that morning. Koyukuk, then towering rock formations, the pipeline with golden birch and dark spruce in the middle distance, mountains beyond. We entered \u201cthe world\u2019s largest municipality,\u201d the North Slope Borough, and stopped at a pullout at Chandalar Shelf, a long, tortured grade cut into a mountainside, to view the mountains and peer over the steep unguarded drop off. It looked like thousands of feet down to me. Could have been. While we were stopped, a single semi slowly climbed the mountain. We took pictures. Spoiler alert \u2013 it was the same truck I rode in the next day! Atigun Pass. If you watched Ice Road Truckers, you\u2019ll remember the Atigun Pass. A cut<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[88,86,87,89],"class_list":["post-1824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-alaska","tag-1st-alaska-outdoor-school","tag-alaska-arctic-travel","tag-driving-the-dalton-highway","tag-ice-road-truckers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Riding Alaska&#039;s Dalton Highway: Ice Road Trucking Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Experience the thrill of Ice Road Trucking on Alaska&#039;s Dalton Highway. 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