I've never really feared a highway quite like this one. The stories are what get you. The Dalton Highway is stuff of legend. There are many tales.
This highway is 500 miles of straight wilderness with only one gas station outpost at a place called "Coldfoot" half-way through. There are dead cars rusting on the sides of the road, too expensive to collect like the bodies of fallen climbers on Mt. Everest. You enter the food chain, as you strike out into Grizzly and even Polar Bear Country. You pass over the highest mountain pass in Alaska, the Atigun Pass, through the Brooks Range and once on the other side, it's too far north for trees to grow. You don't know it, but you've passed the last tree. You face the tundra as far as the eye can see, a vast permafrost "wetland-desert".
I've been dreaming of riding this highway by motorcycle for 7 years. It's the reason I purchased the motorcycle I have. It's the reason I've driven in this direction for 4 weeks. You have to quit your job for a commitment like this, and I have. I've gone as far as I can go North. Canada, too, has an arctic access highway but it's a little more populated and, not to brag but-- it's a little farther south on the Arctic shoreline.
The Dalton is harsh. When it's paved (and it is paved in strange sporadic areas), there are warped divots and pot holes. When it's dirt, it could be slippery mud, washboard, or just plain soft sand. Semi drivers kick up rocks as they pass you, battering your windscreen and headlights. The road itself is sprayed with calcium chloride to keep the dust down and helps keep the road intact with the year-round swelling and shrinking of the permafrost. The chemical forms a mortar-like coating all over your motorcycle which I hear is permanent.
The calcium chloride stains are like a badge of honor- one look, and those who know, will know.
This motorcycle "did the Dalton".
Fewer and fewer are travelling The Dalton these days. It's further from the mainland US to reach than Canada's Dempster highway to the Arctic. To get to the actual Arctic Ocean here in Deadhorse, you need to pay $69 dollars to take a bus through the oil field city to the coast. I'm not sure if it's because they need to do background checks for terrorism purposes-- oilfields and refineries were designated Homeland Security hotspots in the post-9/11 era. I'm not really allowed around a lot of different spots around here. Out of the thousands of seasonal workers in Deadhorse, only dozens like me arrive as tourists.
On the Canada / Dempster side, I hear it's much more of a cultural experience. You can peruse shops, speak with Native Inuit locals, and even drive right up and camp on the coast next to a large [ARCTIC OCEAN] street sign. It's a lot better for the cameras.
Okay I've droned on enough. There will be more on this soon. I'm waiting for my bus to the coast and I have a little free time to try out some more social media tactics to get my name out there.
Meals are included here and I have been pushing to get my money's worth. I'm also showering well and doing laundry. I'm also going to ask if there's a pressure washer around here I can use on Lechuza. The motorcycle hasn't had a proper wash since I left Minneapolis. I'm curious to see what washes off.
JT - 8/3/2022