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Post by ladybugkids on Feb 7, 2010 2:26:34 GMT -9
There are a couple of decision points for folks who need/want to shorten up the trip or lengthen it. 1. Once at Tok on the return, one can continue NW to Delta on the Alcan to pick up the Richardson, or take the more direct route to Gakona and on down to Glennallen. As reported by Greg, the Delta option adds about three hours of drive time plus a bunch of caching time. If the weather is nice, don't miss the Donnelly Dome Earthcache and physical cache. 2. At Paxson, take the Denali Highway to Cantwell and earn the Earthcaches PedalPushin put out there are few years ago as well as some physical caches. 3. Skip the ferry from Haines to Skagway by driving to Whitehorse and dropping down to Skagway. This does set one up for an out and back rather than a Haines Jct/Haines/Skagway/Whitehorse/Haines Junction Loop. 4. Add at least two, probably three days to the return trip by running north from Whitehorse to Dawson, taking the ferry across the Yukon River, and returning to Tok via the Top of the World Highway with detour possibilities to the Dempster Highway (add four more days) and/or Eagle. Nabesna is worthy of a trip all by itself with lots of access points to hiking into the Wrangell Mountains from the Nabesna Road. So, lots of options. Greg has laid out one nice itinerary with firm dates for the Chilkoot Trail. Pull out the maps and look at the possibilities. The Alaska Milepost (available at Sam's Club, Borders, Barnes and Noble, and other locations) is a great reference for this trip. Be sure to take a look at the Alaska Borough and Census Area Challenge Cache and plan your caching accordingly. Ah, to have unlimited time off and youngsters who would tolerate that much time in the rig. I could easily spin this trip into a three- or four-week epic.
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Post by alaskanimp on Feb 7, 2010 13:20:26 GMT -9
akbaldbob and I are in. Santa Claus brought both of us camping gear and freeze dried food just for this trip of a lifetime. We already have passports and just need to see how much time Bob can get off from work. Now that we have the dates we'll start to work on that. Tuesdays after 5pm for a meeting works great for both of us too. Thanks for organizing this gentlemen! Really looking forward to this adventure! AlaskanImp
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Post by omgcrew on Feb 7, 2010 18:57:55 GMT -9
After being part of the last trip I want to do this again. I am looking forward to the meeting. As of right now my plan is to fly to Juneau and take the ferry to skagway and hike the trail. Train back to skagway then ferry to Juneau and fly back to Anchorage. This means I would miss one of the best stops of the trip which is Whitehorse. I have bowling on Thursday nights so I hope the meeting is on another night.
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Post by lemurlad on Feb 8, 2010 18:39:00 GMT -9
This is where I found a bunch of information about getting a passport for the trip. travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.htmlThere are now 3 Post Offices in Anchorage, one in Eagle River, and one in Girdwood that you can apply at. You can also fill out the application on line and print it out; a great idea if your handwriting is atrocious like mine. They are saying 4-6 weeks for regular service from today, and it's $75 for a passport book, $20 for a wallet card, and $95 for both of them. The site is pretty well laid out if you have any questions.
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Post by Forum Admin on Feb 11, 2010 11:05:00 GMT -9
This is where I found a bunch of information about getting a passport for the trip. travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.htmlThere are now 3 Post Offices in Anchorage, one in Eagle River, and one in Girdwood that you can apply at. You can also fill out the application on line and print it out; a great idea if your handwriting is atrocious like mine. They are saying 4-6 weeks for regular service from today, and it's $75 for a passport book, $20 for a wallet card, and $95 for both of them. The site is pretty well laid out if you have any questions. The best P.O. is at Strawberry and Northwood (2200 Strawberry Rd). They have the best hours, i.e. all day.
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Post by tinman4x on Feb 11, 2010 17:18:45 GMT -9
Lisa @ the Strawberry Rd PO is awesome. Very efficient and pleasant to deal with, a rare trait in the USPS these days.
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Post by FrostG1anT on Feb 14, 2010 12:40:03 GMT -9
There will be a planning meeting at Guido's Pizza on Tuesday, February 23 at 5:30. This is Dutch treat. Please RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount for reservations. If you are interested in this trip you will want to be at the meeting. We are looking to secure all trip reservations in the coming weeks.
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Post by omgcrew on Feb 14, 2010 13:41:00 GMT -9
I will be there.
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Post by alaskanimp on Feb 22, 2010 8:41:35 GMT -9
We'll be there. AKBaldBob & AlaskanImp
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