{"id":7232,"date":"2017-01-01T08:10:23","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T15:10:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=7232"},"modified":"2019-04-23T22:14:37","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T04:14:37","slug":"dingo-of-the-midnight-sun-crossing-the-yukon-river-finger-mountain-the-arctic-circle-8-13-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=7232","title":{"rendered":"Dingo of the Midnight Sun – Crossing the Yukon River, Finger Mountain & The Arctic Circle (8-13-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 14 & Day 15 (Part 1) of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rain, rain, rain!\u00a0 It had been raining most of the night, and it was raining now, harder than at any time yesterday.\u00a0 It was so early, Lupe was still conked out.\u00a0 Dark clouds hid the mountains and the Worthington Glacier, where Lupe had such a great adventure yesterday.<\/p>\n

Clearly,\u00a0the Carolina Dog’s\u00a0luck at the Worthington Glacier wasn’t going to be repeated again today anywhere near the S Alaskan coast.\u00a0 A week of rain was in the forecast.\u00a0 Time to head inland.\u00a0 Maybe it wasn’t so wet there?\u00a0 As soon as the G6 was ready, Lupe and SPHP drove N on the Richardson Highway, hoping to drive out of the weather before reaching Glennallen.<\/p>\n

About 10 miles before even reaching Glennallen, SPHP pulled into the parking lot for the\u00a0Wrangell – St. Elias National Park & Preserve<\/strong><\/a><\/span> visitor center.\u00a0 It was still raining, but not as hard as before.\u00a0 The\u00a0clouds weren’t as dark, either, although they still blanketed the entire sky.\u00a0 Lupe waited in the G6, while SPHP went into the visitor center to see if they had a near term weather forecast for this\u00a0part of Alaska.<\/p>\n

SPHP interrupted\u00a0three\u00a0idle\u00a0rangers chatting\u00a0among themselves behind the information desk.\u00a0 Did they have a weather forecast?\u00a0 Rain for the next 10 days, and more after that, responded a\u00a0bored female ranger.\u00a0 Alaska’s best days\u00a0of the summer of 2016 were history now.\u00a0 It was just going to get colder and darker, she said.\u00a0 What about farther N,\u00a0did they have a forecast\u00a0for\u00a0Fairbanks? \u00a0Even colder and darker, there she replied.<\/p>\n

SPHP returned to Lupe in the G6.\u00a0 Sorry about the wait, Loop!\u00a0 That was a complete waste of time.\u00a0 No specifics, other than more rain is expected.\u00a0 The ranger\u00a0didn’t care, and knew next to\u00a0nothing.\u00a0 Any lame brain would know that it would get colder and darker as summer fades to autumn in Alaska.\u00a0 Maybe we will find out something in Glennallen.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hah, fat chance!\u00a0 At the Glennallen visitor center at the intersection of the Richardson and Glenn Highways, the story was almost the same.\u00a0 At least the lady at the information desk exhibited some energy and interest, but all she said was that it was raining in the entire state<\/em><\/strong> of Alaska, and had been rainy for weeks.\u00a0 She too, expected more rain, but had zero specifics.\u00a0 What about the weather in Fairbanks?\u00a0 Yup, raining there too, she insisted.<\/p>\n

Gah, she had no clue either!\u00a0 Alaska is a vast territory.\u00a0 It was hardly possible it was raining in the whole state.\u00a0 Still, it left SPHP wondering what to do.\u00a0 Should Lupe go farther N hoping to find\u00a0better weather, hang around here for who knew how many days waiting for the rain to stop, or just give up on Alaska all together, and go back to Canada and the Yukon?<\/p>\n

Leaving Alaska now\u00a0would be a shame!\u00a0 Lupe had come all this way, and had so many\u00a0Alaskan adventures on her list of possibilities!\u00a0 SPHP left the building pondering the situation.\u00a0 A man followed SPHP outside.<\/p>\n

The man introduced himself as the owner of Alaskan Quest<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, based in Fairbanks.\u00a0 His name was Kent Kaiser.\u00a0 He had overheard\u00a0the conversation.\u00a0 Kent said he had just come from Fairbanks.\u00a0 Although it had been unusually rainy this summer there, it was sunny when he left Fairbanks this morning.\u00a0 Better yet, 10 more days of sun were in the forecast!\u00a0 SPHP thanked Kent for the tip.<\/p>\n

It was all SPHP needed to hear.\u00a0 Loopster, good news!\u00a0 You’re heading N!\u00a0 <\/em>After gassing up the G6, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0continued N on the Richardson Highway.<\/p>\n

The weather didn’t improve.\u00a0 The farther N Lupe got, the harder it rained, and the darker the clouds became.\u00a0 Not a speck of blue sky appeared anywhere.\u00a0 Lupe went past high mountains, a forlorn, dreary-looking\u00a0Summit Lake, and big rivers.\u00a0 Some of the creeks were out of their banks.\u00a0 SPHP began to wonder.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W from the Richardson Highway N of Glennallen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eventually, though, conditions did improve.\u00a0 The rain slackened, then quit.\u00a0 A tiny speck of blue appeared in the sky to the N.\u00a0\u00a0The blue spread, as Lupe and SPHP neared Delta Junction.\u00a0 By the time Lupe and SPHP stopped at a McDonald’s in North Pole to share a couple of cheeseburgers, a glorious pale blue sky stretched from horizon to horizon.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP reached Fairbanks, which turned out to be an attractive city.\u00a0 Fairbanks wasn’t Lupe’s actual destination, however.\u00a0 The decision to come N meant she was going all the way to her most northern peakbagging objectives.\u00a0 As far N as Lupe was already, she wasn’t even close to them yet.<\/p>\n

It was already\u00a0evening, as Lupe left Fairbanks heading NE on the Steese Highway.\u00a0 Less than 15 minutes later, at Fox,\u00a0SPHP\u00a0turned N\u00a0on the Elliot Highway.\u00a0 Traffic faded away to almost nothing.\u00a0 The Elliot Highway was paved and in great shape.\u00a0 It went through densely forested territory, repeatedly climbing high ridges only to descend into\u00a0successive big valleys farther N.<\/p>\n

By the time the sun went down, there were clouds in the sky again, but they were thin and non-threatening.\u00a0 Lupe was almost to a much anticipated turn.\u00a0\u00a0A little beyond Livengood, there it was!\u00a0 SPHP made the R turn.\u00a0 Almost immediately, this new road turned to gravel.\u00a0 SPHP wondered what Lupe was getting into.\u00a0 The road went up a hill.\u00a0 At the top was a sign next to a long gravel pullout.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0had made it to\u00a0the start of\u00a0the Dalton Highway<\/strong><\/a><\/span>!<\/p>\n

\"Sunset<\/a>
Sunset from the Elliot Highway, 8-12-16.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches the start of the Dalton Highway near Livengood. 414 miles away, the Dalton Highway ends at Deadhorse, near the Prudhoe Bay oil fields and the Arctic Ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Lupe was at the Dalton Highway sign, a semi-truck appeared from the N.\u00a0 The driver stopped the long truck at the pullout.\u00a0 The truck was absolutely filthy, caked with dirt and dust.\u00a0 The driver got out.\u00a0 With the truck still idling, he used a wire brush to scrap the dirt off all the lights on the truck.\u00a0 The driver checked on a few other things, then drove away.\u00a0 Five minutes later, another semi-truck came out of the N.\u00a0 The same thing happened.<\/p>\n

Good grief!\u00a0 Would the G6 be able to stand up to the Dalton Highway?\u00a0 Was Lupe going to be able to get anywhere close to her peakbagging objectives?\u00a0 Tomorrow would tell.\u00a0 It would be here soon enough.<\/p>\n

The next morning, SPHP was concerned.\u00a0 The sky was cloudy, not clear.\u00a0 The\u00a0Dalton Highway\u00a0was dry, though, so Lupe fearlessly,\u00a0and SPHP wonderingly, started N in the G6.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on the Dalton Highway early on 8-13-16, Day 15 of her Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation. The sky was overcast, and fog hung in some of the valleys.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dawn<\/a>
Dawn from the Dalton Highway, 8-13-16.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP drove slowly, even though the Dalton Highway was in better shape than feared.\u00a0 No sense on taking any chance of damaging the G6 way up here in northern Alaska!\u00a0 Up and down.\u00a0 Lupe crossed\u00a0many hills, valleys and ridges.\u00a0 Sometimes the Alaska oil pipeline was in view.\u00a0 Several sections of the road were paved, which was encouraging.\u00a0 Lupe was making progress.<\/p>\n

At mile 55, Lupe reached her first objective along the Dalton Highway.\u00a0 It wasn’t a peakbagging goal.\u00a0 Lupe was about to cross the famous Yukon River<\/strong><\/a><\/span>!<\/p>\n

\"Crossing<\/a>
Crossing the Yukon River on the Dalton Highway. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crossing the bridge only took a minute or two. \u00a0Lupe was N of the mighty Yukon River!\u00a0 On the E side of the Dalton Highway was the Alaska oil pipeline, and a little visitor center.\u00a0 Time to get out of the G6 to see what there was to see, and celebrate Lupe’s crossing of the Yukon River.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the Alaska oil pipeline, N of the Yukon River! Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Information display near the visitor center E of the pipeline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the N bank of the Yukon River. Photo looks downstream (W) toward the Dalton Highway bridge Lupe had just crossed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The visitor center wasn’t open yet.\u00a0 SPHP looked at a few of the displays outside.\u00a0 Lupe went down to see the Yukon River.\u00a0 She saw\u00a0the bridge on the Dalton Highway she had just crossed to get N of the river.\u00a0 Interestingly, the Alaska oil pipeline is attached to the underside of the bridge.<\/p>\n

A gas station with a single pump was on the W side of the Dalton Highway.\u00a0 $5.50 per gallon.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t buy any.\u00a0 The G6 had plenty.\u00a0 Still, it was taking a chance.\u00a0 No matter what the price at Coldfoot, SPHP would have to buy some there.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP went down to the Yukon River again, this time W of the bridge.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the Yukon River W of the Dalton highway. The river was murky and gray, not exactly what SPHP had expected. Photo looks downstream (WSW).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Dalton Highway bridge over the Yukon River from the NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Almost as soon as Lupe left the Yukon River heading N, the\u00a0Dalton Highway became damp, soft, and\u00a0a little muddy.\u00a0 Once again, SPHP became concerned, but\u00a0before long\u00a0the road improved.<\/p>\n

Slow and easy, 30 to 35 mph,\u00a0Lupe and SPHP continued N.\u00a0 The Dalton Highway wound around, going up and down big hills and ridges.\u00a0 Often it was possible to see many miles toward distant mountains seemingly far beyond the reach of civilization.\u00a0 The scenery was vast and remote.\u00a0 The truck traffic on the Dalton Highway became almost the only source of reassurance that it wasn’t crazy\u00a0for Lupe to be way out here.<\/p>\n

About an hour N of the Yukon River, the highway passed very close to the summit of Finger Mountain<\/a><\/span> (2,202 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 This was just too tempting.\u00a0 With only 30 feet of elevation gained required to claim a peakbagging success way up in N Alaska, Lupe had to stop!<\/p>\n

A short nature trail went up Finger Mountain.\u00a0 Lupe followed it.\u00a0 The top of the mountain was a collection of rounded boulders.\u00a0 Lupe got up on some of them for a look around.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The summit of Finger Mountain from the Dalton Highway. Too close and easy for Lupe to resist! Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe up on the boulders at the top of Finger Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NW at the vast Alaskan landscape from Finger Mountain. Olsons Lake is the largest pond seen on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Loopster<\/a>
Loopster up on Finger Mountain, Alaska! Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Lupe<\/a><\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the things SPHP found amazing everywhere Lupe went in Alaska was how strikingly colorful the little tundra plants were.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

N of Finger Mountain, there was a long stretch of paved road.\u00a0 Instead of deteriorating as it went N, as SPHP had feared, the Dalton Highway was getting better!\u00a0 Overall, the Dalton Highway wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the descriptions SPHP had read online implied.\u00a0 On the other hand, maybe that was just because\u00a0the gravel sections weren’t\u00a0muddy right now.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe along the Dalton Highway a little N of Finger Mountain. The Alaska oil pipeline snakes N on the W side of the highway. More importantly, notice the lovely stripe on the road. Yes, it was paved here! Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Half an hour N of Finger Mountain, Lupe\u00a0came to\u00a0one of the most\u00a0important non-peakbagging objectives of her entire Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 At mile 115 of the Dalton Highway,\u00a0intrepid explorer and adventurer Lupe\u00a0reached the Arctic Circle!<\/p>\n

\"Intrepid<\/a>
Intrepid American Dingo Lupe at the Arctic Circle!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe’s adventures in the Arctic were about to begin!\u00a0 Back on the Dalton Highway again, Lupe and SPHP continued N another 60 miles to Coldfoot.\u00a0 SPHP’s gamble paid off when gasoline for the G6 was a measly $4.59 per gallon,\u00a0a significant savings over the $5.50 per gallon they wanted at the Yukon River.<\/p>\n

At the Coldfoot gas station, Lupe made friends with a couple of motorcyclists from Huntington Beach, California.\u00a0 Alfredo Gonzalez, a riding academy instructor for Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, and his friend, Sam, both showed an interest in Lupe.\u00a0 They were riding BMW motorcycles, and were on their way back S after\u00a0having gone\u00a0all the way to Prudhoe Bay.<\/p>\n

\"Sam<\/a>
Sam (L) and Alfredo Gonzalez (R) from Huntington Beach, California with Lupe at the Coldfoot, Alaska gas station. Sam and Alfredo were on their way back S from Prudhoe Bay on their BMW motorcycles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It turned out that Sam and Alfredo were talking about possibly taking another motorcycle trip going through the Dakotas in 2017, so SPHP invited them to stop by and visit Lupe at home in the Black Hills.\u00a0 Maybe Lupe will get to see Sam and Alfredo again!<\/p>\n

Sam and Alfredo said good-bye to Lupe and SPHP.\u00a0 They were ready to head S.\u00a0 Lupe was going the other direction.\u00a0\u00a0Excitement was mounting –\u00a0it\u00a0wouldn’t be long now!\u00a0 Another 25+ miles N of Coldfoot, Lupe would see the most famous mountain along the entire Dalton Highway.\u00a0\u00a090 miles into the Arctic, Lupe\u00a0was here to climb it today!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe 200 miles N of the start of the Dalton Highway, and 90 miles N of the Arctic Circle, approaching famed Sukakpak Mountain in the Brooks Range. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from Lupe’s 2016 Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska Adventure Index<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, <\/span><\/em>Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 14 & Day 15 (Part 1) of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska. Rain, rain, rain!\u00a0 It had been raining most of the night, and it was raining now, harder than at any time yesterday.\u00a0 It was so early, Lupe was still conked out.\u00a0 Dark clouds hid … Continue reading Dingo of the Midnight Sun – Crossing the Yukon River, Finger Mountain & The Arctic Circle (8-13-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[726],"tags":[704,105,721,106,719,26,720,104,11,718],"class_list":["post-7232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2016-canadian-rockies-yukon-alaska","tag-alaska","tag-american-dingo","tag-arctic-circle","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-of-the-midnight-sun","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-finger-mountain","tag-lupe","tag-peakbagging","tag-yukon-river"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/IMG_1966.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7232"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22441,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7232\/revisions\/22441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}