Uncategorized | Alaska Divide

August 24, 2024August 24, 2024

Current situation on the Dalton Highway

It’s raining on the Dalton Hwy and snowing at the Atigun Pass. Bernarda is waiting in Coldfoot for better weather. She reported this morning: “It was a disaster on the road. Totally mud road. I’m not going any further until it stops raining. I am in the camp in the room.”

Rodrigo is now 40km before Deadhorse. In Cantwell Rodrigo continued on the George Parks Highway to Fairbanks and skipped the Denali Highway. We have no information so far now, what the reason was. But missing such a big part of the route and go over to lead the race needed to disqualify him.

Along the route on paved stretches riders have to deal with lot of gravel and other things from trucks on the shoulder. At the begin of the Elliott Highway Andy got stopped by a cut in the rear tire. It took a while to find the reason of the blowout. At first no damage of the tire was visible and a new innertube was damaged after some 100m’s too. Walking back to the general store in Fox, disassembling the tire from the rim, cleaning everything, turning the tire inside out made the problem visible. A tire patch did not helped much and a ride on the oncoming remote 800km, mostly dirt roads and lots of potholes on the paved sections looked like not very wise in this weather. Since already 2 days Andy could not charge the USB devices by dynamo hub. So charging the rear lights would be already a challenge. And rear light is mandatory on the Elliott and Dalton Highway also at daytime.

The lady in the general store in Fox said: “I’m here since 46 years and we never had such a wet summer. It’s raining now since 8 weeks”.

Photos from the Dalton Highway by Bernarda.

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August 18, 2024August 18, 2024

Andrew Shanahan from Alaska

Andrew signed up only 2 weeks ago. The Alaska-Divide is his training ride for the 2-Continents Adventure starting September 22nd in Irun, Spain end finishing in Sidi Ifni, Morocco. This will be Andy’s first bikepacking race. But Andy is not unexperienced. He worked as bike and outdoor guide in Alaska where we met him the last 2 years on the Denali Hwy during the race. So he will have some advantages as he knows every stone on the route. Anyway, it will be the first time for him too, on the Eliot and Dalton Hwy.
And the best, his bike is a piece of art. The fender he made from plastic he found on the road.

The race starts August 18th, 6am:
https://alaskadivide.com/tracking-2024/

August 7, 2024August 7, 2024

Fairbanks Bus 142

After graduating from Emory University in Georgia in 1990, McCandless traveled across North America and eventually hitchhiked to Alaska in April 1992. There, he entered the Alaskan bush with minimal supplies, hoping to live simply off the land. On the eastern bank of the Sushana River, McCandless found an abandoned bus, Fairbanks Bus 142, which he used as a makeshift shelter until his death. In September, his body, weighing only 67 pounds (30 kg), was found inside the bus by a hunter. McCandless’s cause of death was officially ruled to be starvation, although the exact circumstances relating to his death remain the subject of some debate.
In January 1993, Krakauer published an article about McCandless in that month’s issue of Outside magazine. Inspired by the details of McCandless’s story, Krakauer wrote the biographical book Into the Wild, which was subsequently adapted into a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn, with Emile Hirsch portraying McCandless. That same year, McCandless became the subject of Ron Lamothe’s documentary The Call of the Wild.
(source: Wikipedia)

The Fairbanks Bus 142 you find today in the “The Museum of The North” at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.

We found other interesting objects along the route to Fox near Fairbanks and we changed the route this year to the “Steele Creek” road and the “Old Steese Highway” to Fox.

August 6, 2024August 6, 2024

Disconnected from the world

On long stretches the Alaska-Divide route is still any mobile network coverage. The truck drivers on the Dalton Highway use old fashion CB radio. Years back a CB radio network was setup along the route of the Dalton Highway. Along the Denali Highway no network neither.

The map shows, that about 60% of the Alaska-Divide route is disconnected from the world.

July 29, 2024July 29, 2024

Only 2 days left and only 2 slots left

We have only 2 slots left for the this years Alaska-Divide and two days remain for registering. For this incredible adventure we offer only 10 start slots. The Alaska-Divide is for experienced outdoor enthusiasts only. No mobile connection. Extended stretches without any resupply. Respect the nature and on the Dalton highway especial, respect the difficulties the truck drivers have to handle on this remote, demanding dirt road to Deadhorse. There are not many trucks you may see, but you may realize what skills the drivers need. Ramps and downhills of almost 20% followed by a sharp turn. Enjoy the remote beauty and silence on the Denali highway. Respect the Alaskan wildlife. Deal with extrem weather conditions.

So far riders from Alaska, New York, San Francisco, Vancouver, Guatemala, Slovenia and Switzerland registered.

Are you still reading?
To register you have to answer a few question first:
https://alaskadivide.com/registration-for-the-alaska-divide-2024/

Another incredible adventure in Africa to the Sahara desert will start 6th of October in Tangier Morocco: https://Morocco-BikeAdventure.com

Photos: from the Alaska-Divide 2023

July 28, 2024July 28, 2024

Photos from the Denali Highway

Photos from the Denali Highway and Maclaren River Lodge from the Alaska-Divide 2023. The Denali Highway connects Cantwell with Paxson at the Richardson Highway. It is called the most beautiful panoramic road in Alaska.

Only 3 days left to register for this years edition:
https://alaskadivide.com/registration-for-the-alaska…/

July 13, 2024

Alaska-Divide starts 18th of August

The Alaska-Divide starts 18th of August.

Registration closes August 1st 2024, 23:59 AK time. In the registration process you first have to answer 14 questions about the Alaska-Divide route.

https://alaskadivide.com/registration-for-the-alaska…/

Photo: Alaska-Divide 2023, Daniele Modolo on the Dalton Hwy

January 17, 2024January 18, 2024

Important update AD 2024

We are no longer accepting direct registrations for this year’s Alaska-Divide.

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the extraordinary wilderness along the route from Anchorage to Deadhorse, spanning Hatcher Pass, the Denali Hwy, and the Dalton Hwy – the most northern and perilous highway in North America.

This exploration is your initial step toward registering for the 2024 Alaska-Divide.

Once you have successfully completed our QUESTIONNAIRE form, we will provide you with the link to access the registration form.

https://alaskadivide.com/registration-for-the-alaska-divide-2024/

Photo: Denali Hwy, rider Irena Sosinska, AD2023

November 26, 2023November 26, 2023

Last Cafe for 75 miles!

If you pass by the McKinley View Lodge in the evening, don’t ignore the sign. You will hardly make it to Cantwell before the shop there closes.

Next edition starts August 18th 2024
Registration: https://alaskadivide.com/registration-for-the-alaska-divide-2024/

Photos from the Alaska-Divide 2023:
Radislav and Bernarda at the Lead Dog Coffee in Willow, which is also part of the Iditarod trail.
Continue on the route from Willow to Cantwell; traffic is minimal to none. If you see any vehicle, it’s most likely a truck transporting goods.