It recently came to my attention that the Alaska Highway, otherwise known as the Alcan is now completely paved. I feel a little sad about that.
The Alaska Highway was built during World War II by the US Army, though most of it is in Canada. It used to be an unpaved highway through British Columbia and the Yukon Territory ,over 1500 miles of it.
For years there would be talk about paving it,but the discussion would always end when it would come down to who was going to pay for it. The U.S. would say because most of it was in Canada that the Canadians should pay for the paving,and the Canadians would tell the US: "You built it,you pave it." I'm glad a war didn't erupt between the US and Canada over this dispute. As far as I was concerned,they could continue disputing who was going to pay for it and leave it unpaved because in my book,the Alcan was the spot for the great North American Adventure.
First of all,how many highways have a book dedicated to it? The Milepost was a mile by mile guide for the Alaska Highway,and was considered a must have if you planned to travel it. It was especially important to know where the gas stations were. Back before it was paved,the Milepost told you things like expect your windshield to be cracked,and shut all your vents if you were travelling during the summer because the dust could clog up all the vents in your car. Right away,this tells you that the Alcan was not for the casual traveller.
You also know you'll be travelling through some of the most breathtaking landscapes on the planet.mountains lakes and small forests. We were going to need some of that landscape to view as we were both still shaken up following our incident at the Canadian border. Trent said "I'm never going to smoke marijuana again!" I thought we both could have used some after our scare and near bust.
Every so often a person comes into ones life for a very short period of time but in one's ways and actions becomes memorable for the rest of time. Such is the case with Doug Shand. In 1974 almost every hippie had some sort of hitchhiking adventure whether it was by hitchhiking or picking a hitchhiker up.
We picked up Doug in Lethbridge Alberta. He had hitchhiked from Winnepeg where he lived and was heading to Tok Alaska. We were giving him a huge boost as we go through Tok on our way to Anchorage. Doug had a reserved wit about him as he shared with us stories of living in Winnepeg. David and I were both glad we picked up Doug. Doug even got Trent out of his no marijuana pledge
In Dawson Creek BC,the beginning of the Alaska Highway,we were informed that it had been raining heavily along the highway and by the time we reached Fort Nelson BC,the highway could be closed. We were told to proceed at our own risk. We sure as hell weren't going to turn around,so forward we went with plans on arriving in Anchorage in a few days.
We got to Fort Nelson. By the time we arrived,the rain had stopped,but the rain had done its damage and the highway was washed out. At the time,the population of Fort Nelson was barely 1,000. Close to that many people were stranded there. I don't know it was like for the retirees riding in their Winnebagos,but for us college aged kids,this was like a 3 day party!
The General Store quickly ran out of food we witnessed the Canadian government airlifting food into Fort Nelson via helicopter.Everyone stranded was given food vouchers. Rainbow Family-like food camps quickly sprouted,and at night,the bar never seemed to run out of beer.
Doug loved pointing out the difference between the beer guzzling Americans looking to get drunk and the Canadians sipping and enjoying the moment.
The local high school offered shelter but no alcohol or marijuana was allowed in so David Doug and myself made it work crashing in the station wagon
Finally,the road dried up and there was going to be a convoy leading out of Fort Nelson. David,Doug and I tried to be at the head of the pack by hiding the car in the tall bush before the convoy was to begin,but the Mounties busted us and sent us to the middle of the pack. Just days before,this road was mostly mud..now it was kicking up dust. You knew why the Milepost told you to close your car vents now. Our windshield got cracked shortly after the convoy got started. The reason we attempted to get ahead of the convoy was to avoid what we knew would be excessive dust caused by so many vehicles travelling this road at the same time. There was so much dust,we could barely see the car in front of us when the convoy came to a sudden stop. Story goes is some animal cut in front of the convoy. We stopped before hitting the car in front of us,but that didn't stop the cars behind us smashing into us. For whatever reason,we found ourselves as part of a 30 car pileup. None of us were hurt,but the car was in pretty bad shape.
Doug chose to leave us at this point. He had to get on and knew nothing about cars and didn't feel he could help us. David and I knew nothing about cars either,but somehow by tinkering with wires,we got the car started,and in a speed adled not turning the car off even when filling it up ride we made it into Anchorage two days later. The 1964 Ford Falcon Stationwagon died upon arrival at the Alaska Methodist University parking lot.
For a moment after arriving in Anchorage I said to myself I'll never drive the Alcan again..but soon enough another chance to drive it came again. This time in early winter. But that story is for another time..
No comments:
Post a Comment