Alaska Part 2

6/20/24 - Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m really here.!!!!!

And on Solstice no less, Wow.

😆😆😆😆😆

I entered the park around 10 am and began the drive to Tek Campground. It was still clear this morning and so it was a beautiful drive. The road turns to hard packed gravel, that is incredibly smooth. The speed limit is 35 mph, but I could have easily gone much faster;  I didn’t. Some of you are calling bullshit, but it's true, I really wanted to cruise, but kept it slow, to enjoy the scenery and out of respect for that fact that the rig belongs to Michelle. 😇

You can’t drive past the Visitor Center or so, unless you hold a reservation and permit for Tek campground. After a few miles I came upon a check point on the Savage River. They checked my pass, told me all the rules again and sent me on my merry way. The pass is only good for one trip in to Tek and one trip back to the exit.

I was able to obtain a nice level, private campsite on a corner, next to the river. The river bed is 200 yards or so wide, but the water only flows in a narrow channel a good distance from my site. It’s a braided river so the channel can change day to day, and is never bank to bank.

I went for a five mile round trip walk on the road, there aren’t any designated trails here. The road seemed very safe from bears and moose, since I wasn’t closed in by brush. I did however play music. That’s away from the wilderness experience, but beats the heck out of surprising a bear or a moose.

There is one very different feature at here at Tek Campground. They do not have bear proof steel boxes at each site, there are a couple of food storage buildings in the campground, with open shelving to store food etc. safely. One shelf is mark free stuff. 

This place draws an assortment of campers, from all over the lower 48, I met a couple from NH. There are also an assortment of campers, tents, vans, bumper pull trailers, fifth wheels, large motorhomes, even a huge Entegra luxury coach. I can’t believe they drove that out here. let alone got a site they could fit in. The sites are all reserved, but not assigned, you just grab one upon arrival.

Logistics

Some of you will find this boring but I know a few will ask, plus this blog is as much for me to detail my adventures, as it is a sharing, so bare with me or just stop reading and enjoy the pictures.

I rented a Alu Cab camper mounted on a 2015 Toyota 4WD Tacoma extended cab TRO Off Road truck, from Alaska Overland Adventures located in Anchorage. Michelle is the owner and great to deal with. You can check out her website for details and pricing at alaskaoverlandadventures.com. She provides much of the basic camping stuff. The unit I rented is nicknamed “Mac” and includes a 13 gallon fresh water tank, 2 lb propane tank to run the propex furnace, a comfortable bed, 200 watts of solar, an All Cab 270 degree awning, and a separate house battery.

Then there are add-ons if you want them. When all was said and done with the fees, taxes and add-ons, I was just under $7000, but that includes a refundable $1,500 damage deposit. I don’t plan to damage it. The truck even came with an Alaska State Parks annual decal, which has saved me $10 in day use fees to date. Thanks Michelle.

Michelle didn’t cheap out on any of the equipment, it’s pretty much top of the line overlanding stuff. I have a bat wing 270 degree awning which wasn’t cheap, the alt-cab is way more, but now that I used it, I was I had sprung the extra $$$ for it on my rig.

I think I have out over 400 miles on the rental unit to date and it runs great and was immaculate when I picked it up. I am a bit concerned that I may not be able to get it looking that good when I return it. Michelle currently has two units for rent, the other is a roof top tent, on a truck.

I flew non-stop from Denver to Anchorage, on Alaskan Airlines. It was a five hour flight and no doors blew out, Round trip was $940, plus $70 for two bags. There was no additional charge for checking a firearm and ammo.

Except for Tek campground, I have not paid for a campsite. I drove into one RV park just outside the Denali NP last night and they wanted $66, ouch, of course if you read the 6/18/24 post you know I elected to drive south 9 miles and boondock. 

I did ship an Amazon order to Michelle, so I wouldn’t run the risk of being over weight and she was gracious enough to let me do that. 

My float trip on Willow Creek was with Fish Hound Expeditions, owner is Adam. Pricing is similar to the lower 48. Cost me just about $400 plus tip. Alaska annual fishing license without and special salmon permits, $100. They supplied all the gear, flies and lunch. I opted to use my own waders and boots.

I think for one person, it’s almost a wash compared to driving up here, obviously, two people could do it cheaper driving up depending on the camper and number of days of paid camping on the way up. It’s definitely cheaper than flying, renting a car and staying in motels or cabins. I’m very happy I did it this way. I miss my rig, but I don’t miss the 6000 mile round trip drive alone.

If I plan another trip with someone, I may compare the cost of a ferry at least one way with my own rig.

That’s it, I probably bored everybody except Scott. :)

Pilots say any landing you walk away from, is s good landing. Up here my motto is, any day I don’t get stomped by a Moose or eaten by a bear is a good day. 

Thursday, I take the bus to as far as it can go, due to a major rock slide it does not go to Wonder Lake. The road will not re-open past the slide until 2026 or 2027. 

Tight Lines and safe travels