Allentown to Skagway

A Brief Summary of our drive to Alaska –

We left Allentown Thursday July 18, and arrived in Skagway, Alaska Friday, August 2. The 4,000 mile trip took us through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, N. Dakota, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and finally, Alaska.

Bison beside the Road

Mountain Goats Crossing the Highway

The trip was as beautiful as it was challenging. Being up close and personal with the wildlife (bison, moose, mountain goats and sheep, porcupines, and bears) was fun, and in particular, the drive from Fort Nelson, BC to the Yukon border was one of the most spectacular drives I’ve ever taken. Highly recommend this drive, especially around the Monchu Lake region. The drive down from Carcross to Skagway past Lake Bennett was also indescribably beautiful.

Monchu Lake

The challenges were all mechanical. I had just had a rebuilt engine put into the Suburban, and although it ran well in town, once we hitched up the RV and really put her to work, several significant issues emerged. Fuel leaks, coolant leaks and exhaust leaks were “overlooked” by the crew who did the rebuild and installation, and we lost two full days (and a great deal of money!) getting most of these issues resolved – 500 miles from PA. Arghhh…

We lost an oil cooler line north of Chicago, and the high pressure oil sprayed everywhere – engine bay, side of the truck, the trailer, everywhere. Although dangerous, I was able to make a roadside repair and continue onward. But from then on – even after scrubbing the truck and the trailer – everything was covered in inky black motor oil. Just leave your clean clothes at home…White shirt for Shabbat? Hahaha

We wound up needing four new tires on the travel trailer, as each one blew serially. But by far the biggest issue we had to deal with was overheating. The GM 6.5 liter turbo diesels have a rep for overheating, but in the 12 plus years I’ve owned "The Beast", I never really had much of a problem with overheating – until this trip. Then I understood.

First, it became clear after the first day or two of driving (during the 105^o heat wave of ’19) that the air conditioning in the truck couldn’t be used if we hoped to keep the engine cool. Luckily, we had a room air conditioner, so once in Toledo we mounted the generator to the top of the Suburban and ran the 120V a/c unit off the genset. Clever solution makes for a happy crew. And the a/c in the RV works like a dream. (As we wended our way north and west, we found ourselves needing the a/c less and less of course.)

The drive is very mountainous, and we were pulling a heavily laden 27’ travel trailer with a heavily laden Suburban. We were lucky to do 60 mph on the straightaways and 20-25 on the inclines. The Alaska Highway has several really long inclines, climbing straight up for over 8 miles or more. Steamboat and Summit Mountains were absolutely brutal. On three or four occasions, the temperature and pressure build up in the cooling system got to where the coolant reservoir hose forced itself off the reservoir fitting, dumping all the coolant onto the road, EVEN running the heaters full blast, and even after I double clamped it. (Always treat Boyle's Law with due respect!) FINALLY I had the  seichel (common sense) to open the cap and relieve the pressure on the system. Of course it boiled over a few more times, but we only lost a gallon of coolant each time instead of four.

But we overcame those challenges and others, and B”H we made it to Alaska. The truck looks like its been to Bosnia and back haha, a real war veteran…

There are no intercity roads south of Skagway in Southeast Alaska, so the plan was to take the State-run ferry first to Juneau and then to Hoonah Island, where the boat is. Only…we were informed that, for the first time since 1977, the Inland Ferrymen’s Union went on strike, so there would be no ferries until further notice. Ah, perfect.

Chasdei Hashem (thank Gcd for small mercies), the ferry strike was settled as we were pulling in to Skagway, but the first ferry wouldn’t be until Wednesday, August 7. As I write this, we are spending time in Skagway, waiting for the ferry tomorrow.

Skagway is an interesting place. It sits on a fjord and is surrounded on four sides by mountains with glaciers. Because it was the jumping off point for prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898, they’ve recreated the town to resemble a Gold Rush village. There are five or six cruise ships in port at any given time, so from May to October, the town is crawling with tourists.

And – wonder of wonders – I discovered (after Shabbat unfortunately) that there are a handful of Jews here in Skagway, running one of the tourist attractions!! We went over to make friends – and in the finest tradition of my Bubby & Zayde, A”H, we left them with an Abeles & Heyman salami, since they haven’t seen kosher meat in months.

We spent our first Shabbat on the road with my sister Gabi and B-I-L Mike Mallin, who were, as always, the most wonderful and solicitous hosts. Shabbat #2 was spent at a quiet RV Park in Saskatoon, and our most recent Shabbat was spent in here Skagway.

We will actually first see the boat Friday afternoon, when we drive off the ferry in Hoonah. But no worries – at these latitudes, Shabbat doesn’t come in until 10:00 PM or so.

Then the real adventure begins.