Getting Started - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 16

Driving Conditions
You will hear horror stories told about the roads in the far north.
“S hredded five tires in one trip.”
“Can't do it without a four-wheel drive.”
“Takes 2 days to travel 200 miles.”
Give me a break! Granted, we did have brand new 6-ply truck tires. But we never had a flat
and we traveled all the legendary roads to hell and back. Apparently there was a time when
shale was a widely-used road surfacing material. Why anyone ever thought this would be a
good idea I cannot imagine, because shale splinters into knife-edged shards.
Today the shale has been largely replaced. We only noticed it for an hour or two on the
Dempster Hwy near Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Although we never needed them,
we carried two spares on rims and I would again. Approach the north with respect and some
good thick rubber, but not fear.
Traveling the Dalton Hwy to Prudhoe Bay, we experienced the north's version of monsoon-
style rain. This “highway” is 782 km /485 mi of dirt. They treat it with magnesium chloride
to keep the dust down but when it rains, this turns the mud into a slick and slippery gumbo.
Hopping out at a rest stop my feet slipped out from under me, just as if it were ice. That said,
the van never lost traction and we don't have 4 WD.
A very dirty van came off the Dalton Hwy!