Subject: My Day 2 – Arctic Expedition
I never realized birds were this noisy! Down below me from my camping vantage point I spot roughly 25 hot spring bathers spread out amongst the seven soaking pools. The birds are now louder than all those folks combined. They are singing their beaks off; perched high atop ancient cottonwood trees where I am now camped.
Early this afternoon I arrived at Crystal Hot springs Water Park & Campground (Honeyville, Utah) and just in time to witness the Bathing Beauty Contest. This one is the first they’ve had in over 50 years to celebrate their 100 year anniversary. I got here in time to become a visiting judge; so far, the seven contestants all appear to be under the age of 21; unlike their last contest fifty years ago.
This morning I left Mystic Hot Springs (Monroe, Utah) where I soaked, camped, and soaked some more before hitting the road. Hot Springs seem to come in all types of varieties. There is definitely a night and day difference between these two. Crystal Hot Springs chooses to harness the water and then place it in well controlled pools with some user friendly amenities thrown in. Mystic chooses the more almost authentic hippie like approach with a bit of run down – let me move this pipe over here or there to either cool you or heat you back up approach.
One does take some chances at Mystic Hot springs as the water I am told starts out at 169 degrees and then before cascading down several hillsides is harnessed by taking the duct tape and bailing wire approach via open and broken PVC pipes. The cast iron bathtubs stuck to the hillside do make for some fantastic pictures; if you can look beyond the rough walk path and debris spread throughout the area to include an abandoned cement pool, various school buses that serve as makeshift lodging, ancient worn and torn down Mormon log homes, and graffiti panel trucks.
If you are a mineral hot springs connoisseur you would be interested to know that Crystal Hot Springs ranks in at 46,093 dissolved solids in parts per million making this water extremely clear and much sought after. The other famous hot springs throughout the world in places like Greece (38,396); Chile (13,462); Germany, Russia, Japan, Canada don’t even begin to come close. The next one recommended to me by a hot springs connoisseur is Norris Hot Springs in Montana. We’ll see.
This morning when I woke up the first thing I did was to look after my trusty jeep steed. So far it’s brought me here without any trouble whatsoever – getting about 18.888+ mpg using synthetic oil. There really wasn’t much to do other than straighten up the inside similar to what you do at home. At times traveling down the road really did feel like I was steering a little ship. At other times my little ship felt more like a Sherman tank; especially when passing multi-trailered semi’s doing 75 mph. I even saw several signs posting a speed limit of 80 mph. There does not appear to be a speed limit problem here in Utah.
My little jeep (2002 Wrangler X) is both low and high tech. Low tech because it is a five speed manual transmission with the same design from the past that can practically go anywhere. The slight lift and expedition gear seem to make it more of a real head turner. The inside compartment is now also high tech due to the Magellan GPS 7” screen; the affixed Flip It Video Camera and GoPro video. I now realize I am carrying four GPS’s. One that is part of my Droid smart phone; the Magellan, the Nuvi that inputs waypoints, and the Garmin 76CX that I used while hiking.
On my way to the Mystic Hot Springs community bathroom I spot a new REI tent on the lawn and a BMW motorcycle near it. In no time Café Racer and I are talking expeditions. He is in the process of making a documentary currently titled the Café Racer project. I believe his real name is Randy from the state of Washington. Café Racer is now making his way back up to Washington after making his way down to California.
Before I left Café Racer interviewed me about expeditions in general; hiking the Pacific Crest trail and the Arctic Jeep Expedition. He asked some really great interviewing questions that you don’t get from average Joe American who if he has to ask “why” anything you say would still no makes sense.
See you on the trail!
Trawlercat
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day 1 Arctic Jeep Expedition
Subject: My Day 1 – Arctic Expedition
Day 1 - At around 11:00 a.m. I chose to depart Los Angeles and steer my little ship (Jeep Wrangler X) the four hundred or so miles northeast to the anticipated hot and windy city of Las Vegas. Nevada – the first state line I cross. Vegas will be my day one lodging stop. I say ship because driving this lifted Jeep new All-Terrain big 33” tires on the freeway doing at times 80+ mph sometimes does feel like I was aiming her instead of steering her. The cross winds didn’t do much to throw her around because she seems about as heavy as a Sherman tank.
Maybe I’ll check the steering gearbox later on as she did wander a little more than I liked. My engine light is still on but, that’s only because I swapped out an exhaust emission part called a DCP solenoid. Now don’t make me out to be a mechanic as what I did just sounds more complicated than it really is. I really like the way engines are now. All you have to do is plug in a small computer that you can buy for about $50.00 to a port just below the steering wheel and turn the engine on. In no time flat she tells you what ails her. The computer flashed a code P0455 which told me she had a small leak in the emission system. $70.00 later in parts it is now repaired; however, the code reader said it would cost something like $10.00. Since the code had not yet cleared itself by this morning I plugged her in again and cleared the code myself.
The first goal upon arriving to Vegas was to get fed and rested. Rested from what you might think – unlike my recent hiking experience on the Pacific Crest trail where I started walking from the Mexican border towards the Canadian border – I didn’t walk to Vegas. I drove here but, this driving does get you tired. Mostly though I think it was my eyes. Since the windows of the Jeep are heavily tinted I didn’t wear sunglasses and so the bright glare must’ve put a strain on them.
My visions of jumping in the Jacuzzi quickly vaporized when I realized it was possibly 110 in the shade when I got to Vegas. A nice cold Sam Adams felt more appropriate and so I topped it off with a large shrimp combo of scampi, fried shrimp, cooked shrimp. Tuscany’s Forest Gump version of all you can eat shrimp.
Let me warn you that the on-line Vegas hotel specials are deceiving. Sure, the hotel room was $20.00 plus tax making the total about $23.00 but, who said anything about a RESORT fee? Since anyone can come off the street to use this place (except for the pool and fitness room fully equipped with some weights and one stair stepper) where’s the resort? Hidden fees! Yes.
Last night I woke up from a nap and felt I needed a real fishing pole. Not just the rusted, salted over rod and reel combo that I was now caring in the Jeep. Before I left Outdoor Sportsman World it stayed behind. Someone probably picked it up, refurbish it to almost new like condition and probably catch way more fish than I ever did.
I am now the proud owner of a trout spinning reel combo. There were way more choices than I expected and so I felt intimidated as to what to purchase. My packaged combo came with a prepackaged plastic box that contained everything but the fish. You have your bait, your hooks, your knife for cutting your fish and your string line for carrying trout from the river to your camp fire.
So far in this expedition there is no team yet, just me. I don’t yet know who the Expedition Leader of the trip is as I haven’t yet met him. Like the “trail” we all go by road names vs. real names. My real name is Ralph but my trail, road, Jet Ski; ocean etc. name is still Trawlercat.
My Day 2 will be on the way to Mystic Hot Springs and camping; about 260 miles from Las Vegas. Did you know that Nevada has more hot springs than any other state? I’m about to visit one of those hot springs that looked way cool in the photo. Let’s see if that is the same in real life.
See you on the trail!
Trawlercat
Day 1 - At around 11:00 a.m. I chose to depart Los Angeles and steer my little ship (Jeep Wrangler X) the four hundred or so miles northeast to the anticipated hot and windy city of Las Vegas. Nevada – the first state line I cross. Vegas will be my day one lodging stop. I say ship because driving this lifted Jeep new All-Terrain big 33” tires on the freeway doing at times 80+ mph sometimes does feel like I was aiming her instead of steering her. The cross winds didn’t do much to throw her around because she seems about as heavy as a Sherman tank.
Maybe I’ll check the steering gearbox later on as she did wander a little more than I liked. My engine light is still on but, that’s only because I swapped out an exhaust emission part called a DCP solenoid. Now don’t make me out to be a mechanic as what I did just sounds more complicated than it really is. I really like the way engines are now. All you have to do is plug in a small computer that you can buy for about $50.00 to a port just below the steering wheel and turn the engine on. In no time flat she tells you what ails her. The computer flashed a code P0455 which told me she had a small leak in the emission system. $70.00 later in parts it is now repaired; however, the code reader said it would cost something like $10.00. Since the code had not yet cleared itself by this morning I plugged her in again and cleared the code myself.
The first goal upon arriving to Vegas was to get fed and rested. Rested from what you might think – unlike my recent hiking experience on the Pacific Crest trail where I started walking from the Mexican border towards the Canadian border – I didn’t walk to Vegas. I drove here but, this driving does get you tired. Mostly though I think it was my eyes. Since the windows of the Jeep are heavily tinted I didn’t wear sunglasses and so the bright glare must’ve put a strain on them.
My visions of jumping in the Jacuzzi quickly vaporized when I realized it was possibly 110 in the shade when I got to Vegas. A nice cold Sam Adams felt more appropriate and so I topped it off with a large shrimp combo of scampi, fried shrimp, cooked shrimp. Tuscany’s Forest Gump version of all you can eat shrimp.
Let me warn you that the on-line Vegas hotel specials are deceiving. Sure, the hotel room was $20.00 plus tax making the total about $23.00 but, who said anything about a RESORT fee? Since anyone can come off the street to use this place (except for the pool and fitness room fully equipped with some weights and one stair stepper) where’s the resort? Hidden fees! Yes.
Last night I woke up from a nap and felt I needed a real fishing pole. Not just the rusted, salted over rod and reel combo that I was now caring in the Jeep. Before I left Outdoor Sportsman World it stayed behind. Someone probably picked it up, refurbish it to almost new like condition and probably catch way more fish than I ever did.
I am now the proud owner of a trout spinning reel combo. There were way more choices than I expected and so I felt intimidated as to what to purchase. My packaged combo came with a prepackaged plastic box that contained everything but the fish. You have your bait, your hooks, your knife for cutting your fish and your string line for carrying trout from the river to your camp fire.
So far in this expedition there is no team yet, just me. I don’t yet know who the Expedition Leader of the trip is as I haven’t yet met him. Like the “trail” we all go by road names vs. real names. My real name is Ralph but my trail, road, Jet Ski; ocean etc. name is still Trawlercat.
My Day 2 will be on the way to Mystic Hot Springs and camping; about 260 miles from Las Vegas. Did you know that Nevada has more hot springs than any other state? I’m about to visit one of those hot springs that looked way cool in the photo. Let’s see if that is the same in real life.
See you on the trail!
Trawlercat
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
All Packed and Ready to Go!
Subject: All Packed Up & Ready to Go
Its amazing how we always manage to fill up the amount of space available. If my 2002 Jeep Wrangler X was a four door I'm sure that I could find a few other goodies to pack up.
Here is what is in there: Top left is the Big Agnes. I slept in the little Agnes while on the Pacific Crest trail and it is just about the right size for one adult. The Big Agnes is big enough for Ozzie, Harriett and the rest of their family too!
Top middle: My ULA backpack. This pack is just 20 ounces. It is now loaded with everything I carried while out on the trail. I hiked for 600 miles coming off the trail every 3 or 4 days to clean up, eat good resupply and stay in a hotel. If I find a good trail - I'll take it thats why the pack is coming along.
Top right: Five gallon water can plus a bucket with poop bags and more.
Bottom left: Jeep Box with spares
Bottom left: Duffel with camping gear i.e. blow up Coleman, chair, table etc.
Bottom right: North face waterproof bag full of all my left over resupply food - mountain house, snacks etc. About a one month supply.
Trawlercat
Planning Stage - Alaska Arctic Jeep Expedition
Subject: Planning Stage - Alaska Arctic Jeep Expedition
I've been off the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for almost two weeks now. The Pacific Crest trail is a 2655 mile trail that begins at the border of Mexico and ends just 5 mile into Canada at a place called Manning Park, Canada. I hiked to the 702 mile mark (Kennedy Meadows) before taking what I thought at the time to be a short break to let the snow melt; that's when I received an email wanting to know if I was still in for the Arctic Jeep Expedition trip. While home I managed to sprain my back while rowing a boat (dinghy) and lifting our six month old chocolate lab (Lucy) out of the front (bow) end of the boat.
When I read the email it took me about two minutes to make the decision to go - with obviously support from my Logistician wife Patti; so, now comes the fun part - Planning!
Here is a SOMEWHAT rather brief description of the trip:
Trip total distance 8000 miles round trip give or take a few hundred miles or so. The Dalton Highway was apparently made famous by a trucker show called the Ice Road Truckers. This road is just 200 miles up on the Denali Highway; the original road to Denali National Park.
There are ONLY two roads in North American that cross the Arctic Circle. What we expect to see are snow covered mountains, clear wilderness streams, Glacier National Park in Montana and Canada, the Icefields Parkway the glacier capitol of the north. Towns with names like Coldfoot, Tok, Chicken, Eagle, and White Horse.
Since I am a member of the Jeep Expeditions group in Arizona (you can visit our web page at JeepExpeditions.org) we expect to depart Phoenix on or about 1 July 2011. Members of our club are also departing from California, Oregon and possibly a few other states . Our plan is to converge on the Icefields Parkway in Canada. From there we will travel to Dawson Creek taking the Alaska/Canada (ALCAN) Highway into Alaska and Fairbanks. This can be called the unofficial halfway point of our trip where we plan to service our vehicles before heading off to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean via the Dalton Highway.
From our farthest point north at Deadhorse, we plan to proceed to Denali National Park. The main group will leave Denali for Dawson Canada via Tok, Chicken and Eagle where we will start the Dempster Highway part of our trip. Note: This is the only road in Canada that crosses the Arctic Circle. This road is 600 miles of dirt, mud, gravel as we push on to Fort McPherson and Inuvik Canada.
When we hit pavement again, we will make our way to the Vancouver area then down thru Washington, Oregon and California visiting a number of National Parks and Monuments along the way like Mt St Helens, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Monument and more.
Presently there are six in our group. More to follow on each one of them at a later date.
Day 1 is as follows: Meet at the McDonalds located at N33 47.889 W112 08.136 on or about Hwy 17 - Phoenix.
Day 1 - Phoenix to Fillmore UT- 496 miles
Day 2 - Planned stop at Golden Spike National Historic Site in Brigham City Utah - Camp at KOA or Super 8 Motel Dillon, MT 496 miles all Interstate Hwy.
Day 3- Camp at KOA in West Glacier Montana, Glacier National Park drive around 296 mile - 355 Half Moon Flats Rd. West Glacier Montana 59936 - 1.406.387.5341 or 1.800.562.3313
Day 4 – Head to Canada and Banf. Camp on Icefields Parkway on available Campground approx miles 297 to 350
Day 5 – Explore Icefields Parkway - meet the rest of the group in Jasper, Camp at Wapiti Campground in Jasper 93 miles
Day 6 - Head to Dawson Creek and the beginning of the Alaska Hwy. Super 8 Motel $141 AARP or Mile O Campsite $25 - 326 miles
Day 7 – Fort Nelson and Ramada – 280 miles
Day 8 – 320 miles to the Watson Lake area. Camping at Nugget City Campground - Km 1003 Mm 650
Day 9 – 325+ miles to Champagne , Camping at Otter Falls RV & Campground west of Champagne
Day 10 – 323 miles to TOK Alaska ! Golden Bear Motel and RV Park (one of two motels with WiFi in Tok)
Day 11 - 200 miles to Fairbanks – Super 8 Motel - all afternoon for oil changes, tire rotation, etc.
Day 12-14 – Head up the Dalton Hwy to Deadhorse, AK and our most northern destination. Experience 2 hours of night and the breathtaking northern lights. Camp on Galbraith Lake Campground on the way up, open on the way back.
Day 15 & 16 – Denali National Park - Denali Rainbow Campground, Motel and Mall - WiFi motel $150 camp $25RETURN TRIP - Dempster Hwy Group (color blue)
Day 17 Denail/McKinley, AK to Tok Alaska via Denali Hwy. Camp at the famous Sourdough Campground in Tok, AK
Day 18 Tok to Chicken, AK, a side trip to Eagle, AK with final destination Dawson City, YT, Canada Gold Rush Campground
Day 19 Dawson to the Dempster Hwy past the Arctic Circle to River Rock Campground 304 miles
Day 20 River Rock Campground YT to Inuvik NWT the northern most point of any road in Canada. Back to Ft McPherson for the night 293 miles Camp or Hotel (hotels approx $200 per night)
Day 21 Leave Ft McPherson for Hwy 2 and the end of the Dempster. 344 miles Camp in the vicinity of of Hwy 5 & 2
Day 22 Dempster to Haines Jct Yukon Territory - Camp at Nugget City Campground, Watson Lake - 566 miles - We can camp earlier if need be for less miles but camps are spread pretty far apart on this stretch
Day 23 Haines Junction Yukon Territory to Telkwa, British Columbia 529 miles Camp at Ft Telkwa Campground
Day 24 Ft Telkwa British Columbia to Lac La Hache British Columbia 411 miles Camp at Big Country Campground
Day 25 Lac La Hache, British Columbia to Ft Langley, British Columbia 275 easy miles Camp at Ft Langley Campground
Day 26 Ft Langley, BC to Mt Hood National Forest via Vancouver & Mt St Helens 329 miles - Optional via Mt Rainier National Park. Camp at Campground at Mt Hood
Day 27 Mt Hood to Crater Lake National Monument via Redmond, Bend & Newberry Volcanic National Monument. 293 MilesCamp at Crater Lake RV Resort
Day 28 Crater Lake to Red Bluff, CA via Lava Beds National Monument, Mt Shasta, Lassen Volcanic National Park, VolcanicScenic Byway 380 miles. Restful night at Days Inn Red Bluff, CA $49-$69
Day 29 The Sprint Home - Red Bluff, CA to some point around the I-5/I-210 interchange 491 miles
Day 30 The Last Leg to Phoenix - LA to Phoenix via I-10 407 miles.
The route will be reversed from Fairbanks with the same night time stops as on the trip up. Part of the group who will be taking the ferry back from Anchorage to Bellingham, WA.
So there you have it. Stay tuned for what should be some pretty reliable postings.
See you on the trail!
Trawlercat
I've been off the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) for almost two weeks now. The Pacific Crest trail is a 2655 mile trail that begins at the border of Mexico and ends just 5 mile into Canada at a place called Manning Park, Canada. I hiked to the 702 mile mark (Kennedy Meadows) before taking what I thought at the time to be a short break to let the snow melt; that's when I received an email wanting to know if I was still in for the Arctic Jeep Expedition trip. While home I managed to sprain my back while rowing a boat (dinghy) and lifting our six month old chocolate lab (Lucy) out of the front (bow) end of the boat.
When I read the email it took me about two minutes to make the decision to go - with obviously support from my Logistician wife Patti; so, now comes the fun part - Planning!
Here is a SOMEWHAT rather brief description of the trip:
Trip total distance 8000 miles round trip give or take a few hundred miles or so. The Dalton Highway was apparently made famous by a trucker show called the Ice Road Truckers. This road is just 200 miles up on the Denali Highway; the original road to Denali National Park.
There are ONLY two roads in North American that cross the Arctic Circle. What we expect to see are snow covered mountains, clear wilderness streams, Glacier National Park in Montana and Canada, the Icefields Parkway the glacier capitol of the north. Towns with names like Coldfoot, Tok, Chicken, Eagle, and White Horse.
Since I am a member of the Jeep Expeditions group in Arizona (you can visit our web page at JeepExpeditions.org) we expect to depart Phoenix on or about 1 July 2011. Members of our club are also departing from California, Oregon and possibly a few other states . Our plan is to converge on the Icefields Parkway in Canada. From there we will travel to Dawson Creek taking the Alaska/Canada (ALCAN) Highway into Alaska and Fairbanks. This can be called the unofficial halfway point of our trip where we plan to service our vehicles before heading off to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean via the Dalton Highway.
From our farthest point north at Deadhorse, we plan to proceed to Denali National Park. The main group will leave Denali for Dawson Canada via Tok, Chicken and Eagle where we will start the Dempster Highway part of our trip. Note: This is the only road in Canada that crosses the Arctic Circle. This road is 600 miles of dirt, mud, gravel as we push on to Fort McPherson and Inuvik Canada.
When we hit pavement again, we will make our way to the Vancouver area then down thru Washington, Oregon and California visiting a number of National Parks and Monuments along the way like Mt St Helens, Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Monument and more.
Presently there are six in our group. More to follow on each one of them at a later date.
Day 1 is as follows: Meet at the McDonalds located at N33 47.889 W112 08.136 on or about Hwy 17 - Phoenix.
Day 1 - Phoenix to Fillmore UT- 496 miles
Day 2 - Planned stop at Golden Spike National Historic Site in Brigham City Utah - Camp at KOA or Super 8 Motel Dillon, MT 496 miles all Interstate Hwy.
Day 3- Camp at KOA in West Glacier Montana, Glacier National Park drive around 296 mile - 355 Half Moon Flats Rd. West Glacier Montana 59936 - 1.406.387.5341 or 1.800.562.3313
Day 4 – Head to Canada and Banf. Camp on Icefields Parkway on available Campground approx miles 297 to 350
Day 5 – Explore Icefields Parkway - meet the rest of the group in Jasper, Camp at Wapiti Campground in Jasper 93 miles
Day 6 - Head to Dawson Creek and the beginning of the Alaska Hwy. Super 8 Motel $141 AARP or Mile O Campsite $25 - 326 miles
Day 7 – Fort Nelson and Ramada – 280 miles
Day 8 – 320 miles to the Watson Lake area. Camping at Nugget City Campground - Km 1003 Mm 650
Day 9 – 325+ miles to Champagne , Camping at Otter Falls RV & Campground west of Champagne
Day 10 – 323 miles to TOK Alaska ! Golden Bear Motel and RV Park (one of two motels with WiFi in Tok)
Day 11 - 200 miles to Fairbanks – Super 8 Motel - all afternoon for oil changes, tire rotation, etc.
Day 12-14 – Head up the Dalton Hwy to Deadhorse, AK and our most northern destination. Experience 2 hours of night and the breathtaking northern lights. Camp on Galbraith Lake Campground on the way up, open on the way back.
Day 15 & 16 – Denali National Park - Denali Rainbow Campground, Motel and Mall - WiFi motel $150 camp $25RETURN TRIP - Dempster Hwy Group (color blue)
Day 17 Denail/McKinley, AK to Tok Alaska via Denali Hwy. Camp at the famous Sourdough Campground in Tok, AK
Day 18 Tok to Chicken, AK, a side trip to Eagle, AK with final destination Dawson City, YT, Canada Gold Rush Campground
Day 19 Dawson to the Dempster Hwy past the Arctic Circle to River Rock Campground 304 miles
Day 20 River Rock Campground YT to Inuvik NWT the northern most point of any road in Canada. Back to Ft McPherson for the night 293 miles Camp or Hotel (hotels approx $200 per night)
Day 21 Leave Ft McPherson for Hwy 2 and the end of the Dempster. 344 miles Camp in the vicinity of of Hwy 5 & 2
Day 22 Dempster to Haines Jct Yukon Territory - Camp at Nugget City Campground, Watson Lake - 566 miles - We can camp earlier if need be for less miles but camps are spread pretty far apart on this stretch
Day 23 Haines Junction Yukon Territory to Telkwa, British Columbia 529 miles Camp at Ft Telkwa Campground
Day 24 Ft Telkwa British Columbia to Lac La Hache British Columbia 411 miles Camp at Big Country Campground
Day 25 Lac La Hache, British Columbia to Ft Langley, British Columbia 275 easy miles Camp at Ft Langley Campground
Day 26 Ft Langley, BC to Mt Hood National Forest via Vancouver & Mt St Helens 329 miles - Optional via Mt Rainier National Park. Camp at Campground at Mt Hood
Day 27 Mt Hood to Crater Lake National Monument via Redmond, Bend & Newberry Volcanic National Monument. 293 MilesCamp at Crater Lake RV Resort
Day 28 Crater Lake to Red Bluff, CA via Lava Beds National Monument, Mt Shasta, Lassen Volcanic National Park, VolcanicScenic Byway 380 miles. Restful night at Days Inn Red Bluff, CA $49-$69
Day 29 The Sprint Home - Red Bluff, CA to some point around the I-5/I-210 interchange 491 miles
Day 30 The Last Leg to Phoenix - LA to Phoenix via I-10 407 miles.
The route will be reversed from Fairbanks with the same night time stops as on the trip up. Part of the group who will be taking the ferry back from Anchorage to Bellingham, WA.
So there you have it. Stay tuned for what should be some pretty reliable postings.
See you on the trail!
Trawlercat
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