Fairbanks to Deadhorse return - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 157

Day two on the Dalton and the weather is much improved. The roads have dried out and we
make it up and over the Atigun Pass with no difficulty. Cannot help noticing, however, the
chewed up mud holes where the big rigs were spinning their wheels yesterday. The pass it-
selfissteep anddeep,theturnsaresharpandthecostofscrewing upisahigh-speed plunge
thousands of feet down the cliff.
This area, the heart of the Brooks Range, is resplendent with peaks topping 7,000 feet.
Even further north we are enchanted by the Franklin Bluffs, creamy sandstone cliffs richly
painted in the orange/red/brown hues that herald the presence of iron deposits. Situated on
the east side of the Sagavanirktop River, they are named for Sir John Franklin. In 1847 this
explorer disappeared while searching for the Northwest Passage.
Many parts of the Dalton have been characterized as being roller-coaster like. That is cer-
tainly true and I held my breath plenty. But there are other sections where you travel for
hours through gently undulating terrain.
Some of the unique geographical features of the far north include rounded hills called pin-
gos. These hills may be covered in foliage but they actually have an ice core. Thermokarsts
are pretty; pools formed when the permafrost was melted by fire or climate change. Pond
grasses, small shrubs and dwarf species of willow and birch gather round the edges of these