Getting Started - Alaska and Points North: Tips and Tales from the Road - page 17

This gumbo dries into a black cement that won't “wash” off with a hose. You have to stick
a tire iron into it then hit the iron really hard with a hammer. Over and over again. It's bru-
tal. You think I'm exaggerating? I'm not. Did not seem to damage the paint job though.
Except for the shiny steel steps which turned really dull, the van looks as good as it ever
did.
Give yourself plenty of time. The distances are vast and the severe winter weather causes
frost heaves that turn some roads into roller coasters. Watch for little orange flags - the
road crews use them to indicate particularly bad potholes or frost heaves. The crews are
constantly at work. Someone will tell you a particular road was absolute hell. You'll drive
down a month later and it's been freshly paved. That's the north.
I expect it's all relative to your own experience too and your tolerance for rougher roads.
We love the wild places that gravel takes us into and we've driven a fair bit in Africa and
Central America where no one fills the potholes, ever. In comparison, most of the roads in
the far north are paved and in good condition so for us, driving there was unremarkable.
But I ran into one woman, pulling a big trailer, who described the conditions on the Stewart
Cassiar as “ nightmarish .”