We returned last night from another adventure...a 900 mile round trip to Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse on the Dalton Highway, also known as the "Haul Road" due to the heavy truck useage supplying the oil fields. We left Saturday morning, spent the night in the old mining town of Weisman, stayed Sunday night at the Arctic Caribou Inn in Deadhorse then drove all the way back to YOW at the Olnes Pond campground.
But let me start with Olnes Pond. Sharon, our friend from the Milepost had ssuggested it given our pecuniary nature...we didn't want to spend any more money than necessary in campground fees! Olnes Pond used to be a state campground but has been closed for some reason and is therefore free! About 20 miles north of Fairbanks, our site is right on the Pond and absolutely gorgeous.
The Dalton Highway is similar to the Dempster...a combination of both paved and dirt. We much prefer the dirt as the paved is subject to frost heaves which makes it very wavy whereas the dirt only has occasional pot holes. There's nothing flat about the Dalton...it's either uphill or downhill so thank heavens for the pac brake.
There's only one gas station along the Dalton at a place called Coldfoot Camp...the price? $5.89. Also in the Coldfoot area is the outstanding Arctic Interpretative Center, designed by a combination of the National Parks Service, BLM and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The displays are excellent backed up by lots of resosurces.
The Boreal Lodge in tiny Weisman, our home for Saturday night, consisted of a 4 bedroom lodge with two bathrooms (meaning we had to go outside to use it and shared them with 5 other people) and a shared kitchen. Weisman is totally off the grid so the Boreal Lodge is as well...supplied by a combination of solar panels, wind turbine, 2 diesel generators and a paddlewheel generator. But it was perfect for what we needed. We walked around town for about an hour...beautiful and totally charming. Most of the few homes are log, most dating back to the very early 1900s. The Koyukuk River runs along side the town...ice-y cold and a wonderful source of fish.
The North Slope is a vast area of gently rolling hills in wonderful fall colors of gold and red, braided rivers, and many bow hunters. We only saw a few caribou and the area is so wide open we have no idea how a hunter could sneak up on a caribou! Besides, we saw no antlers in any of the trucks so I don't think they did!
At the end of the North Slope and 3 miles from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields is the supply town of Deadhorse. Very industrial in character, the hotels are lodging for the workers in the oil fields and, originally, the builders of the Dalton. Nothing fancy here...just the basics of two twin beds, a dresser, two small tables and a bathroom...private! I'm glad we brought our own foam pillows and down comforters! The restaurant was also basic but decent.
We signed up for the Prudhoe Bay tour which was fascinating. Lots of facts to share: 1) the oil fields provide 20% of the U.S. oil needs, 2) the fields are 40 miles x 15 miles in size, 3) the operation runs 24/7/365 in 12 hour shifts with workers working 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. 4) salaries range from $50K-$200K, 5) there's a zero tolerance for both alcohol and drugs...and they mean zero, 6) once workers get themselves to Anchorage, everything is paid for...jet transportation, food, housing, clothing and equipment.
The following may surprise some of you. In terms of the environment, the area is clean and very wildlife friendly (the original pipelines were built quite close to the ground which interrupted caribou migration but they've been raised and there's no problem...in fact the caribou herd has increased 7 times since the highway and fields started to a current population of 30,000). All construction is done in the winter when ice roads can be used: buildings and wells are set on special pads to protect the tundra and permafrost. When the oil fields are depleted (estimated at about 50 years), everything man made will be removed and all sites will be re-seeded with native grasses and shrubs. Based on all we've seen, we both still strongly believe that the future must focus on development of alternative energy but that all North Slope oil, currently 17 fields, should be harvested and that includes ANWR.
Our long drive back (11 hours) began in cloudy, misty cold and we were afraid we'd never see the Brooks Range. But as we crested Atigun Pass, the clouds and mist were replaced by glorious sun and blue skies. Spectacular views were everywhere, the mountains above timberline enveloped in the reds of bear berry along golden ground cover. Below timberline, we found deep green spruce and bright gold aspens framed by sparkling rivers and streams. This is definitely an area we'd like to return to with some sort of camper (the road is definitely not YOW friendly!).
In the next few days, we plan to travel back to the Yukon, this time at Circle, a native village. After that we'll be exploring the Denali area.
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