From My Alaska Journal: A Trip to Prudhoe Bay

Sometime back in early summer 2022, while we were actively searching for a van, but before we purchased, we began talking with friends about a late summer 2023 van trip to Alaska. The discussions we had that summer came to fruition a year later, when we pulled out of our driveway on July 31, 2023. We were off to Alaska with a rough plan, a handful of camping reservations and very little experience in executing a multi-week trip. John and I were a bit nervous the first days driving across country and a cracked windshield in Wentzville, MO almost turned us around, but we preserved and arrived on schedule to meet our friends in Dawson Creek, BC, Canada at Mile 0 of the Alaskan Highway. We had no idea at the start of the trip, what an amazing adventure we were in for, but every single day, Alaska surprised and thrilled us!

The trip covered 12,000 miles over 53 days. We drove the Alaskan Highway to Fairbanks then headed north to Prudhoe Bay. From there we drove south, to the coastal villages of Homer, Seward and Valdez, then into the magnificent Wrangell-St. Elais mountains to visit the quirky town of McCarthy and to explore the historic copper mine of Kennecott. When the time to turn toward home arrived, we began our slow journey via the fire ravished Cassiar Highway and on to Jasper, the Icefields Parkway and Banff.

Misty, mountains spread across our view every day. The longer we traveled the more of fall’s golds and reds seeped into the foliage. We often stopped to gaze at impressive glaciers, milky blue, braided rivers, ocean bays, small, rugged historical towns and even an occasional starlit night. Rain followed us for many days, somedays for only an hour and sometimes all day long. Our days were mostly grey and moody, but we were treated to bits of sunshine here and there. We must have made 100’s of stops along the way, to look at this or that that caught our eye or some mention of something in our guidebook.

This post is about driving the Dalton Highway, better known as the Haul Road (I use these terms interchangeably). It is also about spending 18 hours in Prudhoe Bay. The Haul Road and Prudhoe Bay were always on the top of my Alaska list, my husband, not so much. He had good reason to be concerned with the road conditions and a very new van. Nevertheless, I loved the drive with the incredible views of Gates of the Arctic-Brooks Range Mountains to the west and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east. Prudhoe Bay was unlike any place I have ever been.

The drive to Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) felt brutal at the time we were on the road; through we later learned the road to McCarthy was much worse. Every time we hit a hidden pothole or drove across a stretch of deeply grooved gravel or were sprayed with a mix of sludge by an oncoming, fast moving 18-wheeler, John muttered under his breath. Short sections of paved road provided him with false relief that maybe the next stretch of road would be better, but no, the road did not improve. That is, until the last 50 miles of this 440-mile trek, where mostly smooth pavement led us into Deadhorse. This was my dream, my bucket list item and yet here was John, behind the wheel, navigating the worst road either of us had traversed.

The Dalton Highway or Haul Road was built as an access road during construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Completed in 1974, the road’s main purpose is to provide freight hauler access to the pipeline, the oil fields and to the buildings that provide gas, food and services to the Prudhoe Bay community. For us tourists, driving the Haul Road is all about bragging rights.

With exposure to severe weather conditions including frequent freezing and melting, the road has been difficult to maintain. Smoothing and re-graveling the surface is an on-going project as is shoring up the rock walls along the road to alleviate or clear slides, also caused by the freezing and melting of water. At the time we were traveling, several sections of road were being relocated due to deteriorating conditions, so we spent a fair amount of time traveling behind a pilot car as some construction sections had been reduced to one lane.

With all the negatives, driving to Prudhoe Bay is spectacular. As I said above, the Brooks Range Mountains lie to the west of the Haul Road and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the east. As with the mountains, the Trans Alaskan Pipeline is a constant roadside companion, sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left but rarely underground. To bury the pipeline would require insulating the pipes, which is necessary to prevent permafrost melt. Since the cost of insulating 800-miles of pipes is prohibitive, the pipeline remains mostly above ground. While the environmentalist in me balks at the disruption to migration habitats and the on-going dangers of a leak, the driver in me understands the need.

The writings below are mostly from my journal while in Prudhoe Bay. If you are on facebook with me, you will have read most of this. While I have added little new information, not all of the pictures are the same.

From My Journal, Day 21 (August 20, 2023)-Thoughts on Prudhoe Bay

“While dipping my toes into the Arctic Ocean was my main motivation for the rough, mostly gravel, pothole laden trek up and back on the Haul Road (Dalton Highway), I admit to some fascination with Prudhoe Bay. Like many people, Prudhoe Bay came into my consciousness in 1989 with the 11.3-million-gallon Exxon Valdez oil spill. I was a buyer at Venture Stores in St. Louis at the time and Prince William Sound seemed so far away. Shocked by the pictures splashed across the TV screen, I watched the disaster unfold and wondered, what is this obscure place, Prudhoe Bay, where the spilled oil originated?

Fast forward to August 17, 2023, when my less than happy husband is driving our nearly new van on a 990 mile trek from Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay then back, just to answer that question and to give me the opportunity to experience a tiny piece of the Arctic Ocean. Story spoiler, we made it.

Today, as I write this, (August 20) we are thick into the worst of this rainy, mucky mess, on our way back to Fairbanks. Our van no longer feels new and shiny, but we are no worse for the wear. The scenery on this journey of 440 miles is not so different from the Alaska I have traversed before, only on this trek, a challenging road runs through it and a pipeline runs beside it. (Note: I have backpacked in Gates of the Arctic twice, 2001 and 2015).

On first glance, it is hard to grasp the scope of the oil producing complex of Prudhoe Bay, some 213,500 acres in size. The community within the complex is known as Deadhorse. I am sure there is a story about that, but I do not know it. Much of the complex is not accessible to the average tourist like us unless, they have booked the Arctic Ocean Shuttle Service, and will be escorted through the oil fields security to get to the Arctic Ocean.

In case you are interested, rooms at the hotels go for $215/night for tourists. We understand food, lodging and flights to and from Prudhoe Bay are including in a worker’s compensation package. John and I ate dinner at the Aurora Hotel on Friday night, for $22/person. Friday was hot dog-hamburger night and like all meals, served buffet style. I covered this most unhealthy meal in this post, along with some other unhealthy Alaska eats.

There are no grocery stores or bars or anything that make up a typical community, but Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) is indeed a community. Housing, in the form of austere, Russianesque (my word) rectangular buildings either stacked several blocks high or laid out side by side, provide lodging for the 5,000 employees. I assume this is the most cost and environmentally effective way to build. The housing options also include several very basic hotels, and if space is available, tourist can stay there too. Most of the buildings are blue, yellow, red or green. Tanning beds are available to workers to help with seasonal depression during the long, cold, dark winter.

We booked our shuttle to the Arctic Ocean for 8:30 am on Saturday, August 19. We scrambled a bit to figure out which one of the many non-descript buildings housed the office for Arctic Ocean Shuttle but our gps lent a hand. The office was of course, in the back of the building with the only sign in the back too. Up the steps and behind the double doors is a lobby with baskets of little blue booties to cover one’s shoes.

Five or six people we had met at various stops along the Dalton Highway were on the tour as well as 4 couples we had not previously met. Once the tour group had gathered in the office, our shuttle operator directed us into a small bus and off we went. With passenger names and driver’s licenses in hand, our guide cleared us through the guard office at the secured gates of a major oil field and onto a little “beach” on the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic waters are cold but not initially unbearable, ice is still a couple of miles offshore. Winter is coming to the area quickly though; the first dusting of snow is expected any day.

Some of our fellow passengers were wearing bathing suits under their clothes and took the full polar plunge. Under our rain jackets, we were wearing sweatshirts and down jackets. The air temperature was cold, and rain was dripping.

We rolled our pants legs up to our knees and waded in. The water was surprisingly shallow for quite a distance out; the ocean bottom was sandy between our toes. The longer our legs were in the water, the more conscious we became of the chill. When the cold became uncomfortable, we reluctantly made our way out of the water and dried our feet with a tour provided towel. For the balance of the short tour, we walked the shore of the Arctic Ocean, looking at pebbles (instead of shells) and pieces of driftwood. What an experience!

We, along with Bob and BJ, spent our only night in Deadhorse-Prudhoe Bay, camped on a gravel bar overlooking the Sag River with Prudhoe Bay just over our shoulder. We were boondocking, as RV’ers would say. The evening was pleasant and the sleeping good. We left Prudhoe Bay on Saturday, just after our tour. Not much else to see or do in a community that really isn’t a town. Prudhoe Bay has been a very different experience for us and one that, for all the long hours and rough driving, I am glad we undertook.”

Over the next few months, I will share additional stories from our trip. Meanwhile, it’s a beautiful fall day and I think I will go outside and enjoy the weather.

Beverly