Overlanding Around The World
The craggy Rockies are but a distant memory as the Bends head north through Canada and on to the famous Dalton Highway
The Bends discover Canada and Alaska’s spectacular landscapes and abundant wildlife
WE FOLLOW the backbone of the Americas, the Rockies, north toward the Canadian border. We have a perfect high pressure with crisp blue skies to go with the mountain vistas. However, after one of the easiest land border crossings of the trip, the landscape soon flattens out.
The prairies and farmland of south central Canada is in stark contrast to what we have become accustomed to over the past few weeks. So we spend one night in Calgary before heading west toward the comfort of the mountains again.
Our plan for this part of North America is to follow the range as far north as possible through some of the remote parts of Yukon and Alaska, before heading down again to start our pan-america journey to Argentina. The Rockies were formed a good while ago when the Pacific tectonic plate slid under the North American plate and caused somewhat of a ripple and it has been a wonderful geological feature to follow in the Land Rover.
After visiting four mountainous national parks in Canada, we continue to follow the peaks and lakes north-west to Dawson Creek, a small town most famous for being Mile Zero of the Alaska Highway. We pose for the obligatory photo with the sign at the start and graffiti it with our sticker alongside many others who have journeyed this famous old military road.
We hit the tarmac with vigour and enjoy the company of
the wildlife. In one day, we see a total of eight black bears, herds of mountain goats, ten caribou, one moose and a lynx.
After 1182 miles on the Alaska Highway, we finally reach the US border into Alaska, the last frontier. This land of rich natural resources was purchased by the US government in 1867 from Russia for $7.2m, which works out at about two cents an acre. Since then, explorers and prospectors have found game and gold as well as oil and gas – and the Russians only sold it to America to stop us Brits having it.
As fuel is a lot cheaper in the US, we hold on until we cross into Alaska before we fill up. We have about 100 miles left in the tank, with three fuel stops over the next 60 miles. What could go wrong? The problem is, we are travelling off season, where businesses take the opportunity of limited tourist traffic to carry out maintenance and repairs. At the first petrol station the pumps are being fixed, the second one is closed and the third has no diesel. It's 60 miles to the next town and we only have 40 miles left in the tank.
If we drive really conservatively, we reckon we might – just might – be able to roll into the next town, but it’s hardly an ideal situation in a Puma-engined Defender where if you run out of fuel you have to bleed the fuel system.
While we are contemplating our options, the owner of the petrol station calls around the community to see if anyone has any spare diesel lying around. He tracks down the local school bus driver who has his own supply of diesel and is able to spare a dram. He takes us to his workshop and pumps out 20 litres of diesel for us. This is our first taste of Alaskan community spirit and somewhat of a recurrence. When in remote areas the people just seem more willing to help out and we are truly grateful that this continues with the native Americans in far north.