Alaska Highway, Yukon, Yukon Territory, Yukon Territory Canada, river, trees, water, mountains

Back Down the ALCAN

6 July 2018

6 a.m. Alaska Standard Time

Depart Anchorage, Alaska

8 July 2018

5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time

Arrive Rocky Point, South Dakota

Miles Driven: 3,144

Total hours: 57

Total sleep hours: 2.5

I even took the long way.

I awoke at 5 a.m. Alaska Time and said my goodbyes. The woman I left was in tears; I felt like a piece of shit. However, life itself demanded my move back down to the Lower 48.

By 6 a.m. I was on the road. The summer previous I drove “North to Alaska” on the ALCAN. This summer…the trip back down.

I took my time on the ALCAN the first time… but now was aiming for speed. I could not wait to see my beloved state that I have called home for so long…South Dakota.

I did not take the short route out of Alaska via the Glenn Highway and the Tok Cut-Off…I drove all the way north to Fairbanks and then headed southeast.

Why?

Because if I did not drive the entirety of the official Alaska Highway I would be disappointed in myself for the rest of my life. Yeah…that is a “me” thing.

The official end of the ALCAN is in Delta Junction, just southeast of Fairbanks.

The drive last summer was mostly cloudy with mist. This summer I was blessed with clear skies and sun, allowing me to see all of the distant scenic beauty.

“Mile 1422 – End of the Alaska Highway,” the signpost read. Only 1422 miles to go…and then some.

On some of the straightaways I drove 100 m.p.h.

I was thankful that the Canadians let me pass through the border in less than 45 seconds.

Numerous grizzly and black bear, wood bison, and mountain goats scattered the Yukon Territory roads.

My first night of driving, I saw the sun move close to the horizon, and then loop around me in the everlasting dusk, returning to its previous spot high in the sky.

That was possibly my last time seeing the “midnight sun.”

Around 3 a.m., I pulled over on the side of the road and slept for an hour. Each passing semi-truck violently shook my car and startled me awake.

That afternoon, I stopped for gas at a small lodge in British Columbia.

In the bathroom, I sat down on the toilet, closed my eyes, and leaned my head against the wall.

I saw the redness in my eyes move fast before me; I could see every vein. I moved through it as if zipping through a wormhole in some outer space movie. It was fast and never-ending. I did not know where I was being transported.

I nudged myself awake and realized I was still sitting on the toilet…possibly hallucinating.

I gazed into the mirror. My tired eyes had no more white in them.

I took out my contacts and wore my glasses for the remainder of the trip.

Another day passed somewhere but unsure when.

A little past Edmonton, Alberta, I stopped again and slept for 30 minutes.

I was thankful for the relative flatness of the fields and prairies in Saskatchewan compared to the twisting and turning roads of Alaska, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia.

At 4 a.m. near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, I stopped for one last hour of sleep.

I slept hard.

I woke up at 5 a.m. and at 5:01 a.m., I watched the sunrise over a small lake.

Time for the final push.

South of Regina, Saskatchewan, a large pickup truck veered off the road, hit an approach, flew precisely vertical in the air, and then made a perfect landing on all four tires in the ditch. I, along with another vehicle, stopped to make sure the man was OK. He was. The other man at the scene called emergency services and we waited until their arrival.

I crossed into the state of Montana at the Raymond Port of Entry.

From there, I traveled east into North Dakota, and proceeded south on US Highway 85.

An enormous amount of fatigue began to set in.

3 hours away.

2 hours away.

I could hardly keep my eyes open. They burned.

I drank two Red Bull’s and two Starbucks Mochas.

Then my heart started to beat rapidly; it could have exploded out of my chest.

A smile of relief came across my face when I saw the Black Hills of South Dakota.

92 degrees Fahrenheit when I arrived. No shower or cleanliness during my trip.

Need the cold water around me…

I drove to Rocky Point, set up my campsite, and then swam in the cool, clear waters of the lake.