I moved to Alaska in 1997, but until 2020 I had never set foot north of the Arctic Circle. In 2020, I embarked on the final two years of my educational career as a principal in Point Lay, Alaska. That is another story, one I am hard at work on. However, crossing the Arctic Circle at thirty three thousand feet and staring down at the meandering Yukon River and the blunted peaks of the Brooks Range while impressive was a let down of sorts.
So since I returned home for good in February of 2022, I have been planning a trip up the Haul Road to cross the Arctic Circle properly and see the Brooks Range from the ground level. I had hoped to do that this fall and search for caribou, but a windfall of dog boarding business kept me home. When an unexpected cancelation opened up a five day window without dogs, I packed up the truck and hauled it to the Haul Road.
The Haul Road as it is known colloquially in Alaska has an official name: The James W. Dalton Highway. No one calls it that instead using either the familial Haul Road or The Dalton. It is too bad for Mr. Dalton who was an interesting man in and of himself and a leading engineer on the Distance Early Warning (DEW) Line radar system from the Cold War and which incidentally had its termination in Point Lay. I guess that’s also for another post.
In simplest terms, the Haul Road is called that because its primary purpose is for hauling equipment and materials to the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay. The road and pipeline were built in the mid seventies and you can drive the complete 412 miles from Livengood to Prudhoe if you are so inclined. However, be aware the main purpose of the road is still for hauling gear and for good reason was featured on several seasons of the Ice Road Truckers show.
In order to limit the hunting along the entire length of the road there is a ten mile wide corridor (five miles on either side of the road) that is only open to bow hunting with no motorized access. So to get a caribou I would have to hike in from five miles in across country without trails and then if successful haul the hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds of caribou back out. Needless to say, I’m not entirely disappointed that I did not shoot a caribou and I’ve got a year now to improve my archery skills.
Still, the drive and the adventure was one I will have to repeat. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the drive. Stay tuned for more specific details in the near future.
