In the last post I described the terrible forest fires of 2004.
Here are more photos that Jack took that year. Don’t forget you have to click on them to see them at their proper size.
Scary!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
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I just wanted to share with you this amazing photo Jack took in 2004 when wildfires were raging on the Dalton Highway. Trucks were still moving through but the air quality for drivers was terrible. Smoke combined with dusty dry conditions. This was a non-digital photo that I scanned and ran some enhancing on, to a surprisingly interesting effect.
The Alaska West truck has just driven out of heavy smoke and has a substantial dust trail (click photo to enlarge to proper size). Windy dry conditions exacerbated the fire intensity and level of destruction.
Wikipedia says about the 2004 Alaska fire season:
The 2004 Alaska fire season was the worst on record in terms of area burned by wildfires in the U.S. state of Alaska.[1] Though fewer individual fires formed than in 1989 when almost 1,000 were recorded, more than 6,600,000 acres (27,000 km2) were burned by the approximately 700 fires that ignited. The largest of these fires was the Taylor Complex Fire, which encompassed 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2) and was the largest fire in the United States from 1997 to 2007.[2] The Boundary Fire, Wolf Creek Fire, Chatanika Fire, and a fire that enveloped the Trans-Alaska Pipeline also received notable attention from firefighting services and the media. All together 426 fires were started by humans and 215 were started by lightning.
Map from Wikipedia:
You can see how at least one fire burned right over the Dalton. Even Jack thinks it was a little scary to drive through these fires. You really can’t see the road but for a few feet… he says the drivers call it “driving by Braille”. 🙂
Thanks for reading! More wildfire photos to come.
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Well the season is over and Jack won the load count!
Jack says it was a hectic season. We are now on a month long road trip, heading down to the states. I plan on posting about our adventures when we get a chance. For now, I want to brag about the AWESOME custom bed cover Jack made to keep our belongings safe while we are traveling. It had to be custom because of his fuel tank (he hauls heating oil for our house) and toolbox that is already in the back. Here are a couple of photos of him building it and getting ready for our trip:
The end result:
It looks great and even makes the truck more aerodynamic!
We are all having a great time.
More to come!
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Someone asked a question on Facebook about why the wheelbases of big rigs in Alaska are so long. Jack says they are so long in order to fit extra long loads.
Here is a photo of the long wheelbase being utilized:
Down in the states, the wheelbase would be much shorter on most trucks. In other words, the wheels would be much closer to the body of the truck and this sized pipe would result in more rear overhang, thus needing more permits and a more complicated set up. So to avoid that, the wheelbase has been lengthened, since these kinds of loads are commonplace in Alaska.
Since Jack has a long wheel base he can haul another trailer behind this one, as seen here:
This is the second trailer – it has a load of sheet pile (sheets of metal that are driven into the ground and used for road construction or for bridge construction).
(In the first photo you can see part of the second trailer but it’s hard to make out because there is another trailer of pipe behind it. In the second photo I erased the pipe behind so you can see the load on the second trailer better.)
Here are a few more photos of the Salcha-Valdez pipe haul.
The last piece of pipe being loaded!
Jack is so happy to be on his LAST VALDEZ RUN so he can get back on the Dalton!!
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(Don’t forget, if you need the font size on this page larger for easier reading, press Ctrl +++ at the same time.)
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This musk ox was taking a break pretty close to the road, at least close enough for Jack to get a photo.
Musk ox are herding animals but this guy is a loner. He doesn’t appear injured, but you can see he trampled the snow, probably looking for food, before he laid down for a rest. Maybe he was eating those little twigs sticking out of the snow. Not very appetizing!
Jack sees Musk Ox all the time on the Dalton. He’s never heard of any driver hitting one (unlike caribou and moose who have a bad habit of running out into the road). Good thing, since Musk Ox weigh almost three-quarters of a ton!
Here is a small herd resting near the road back in 2008 when I went with Jack to Prudhoe. If you ever get a chance to drive the Dalton, do it in the fall! It’s unbelievably beautiful.
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