Part I – From Alaska to the ‘Lower 48’
Part 1:
After seeing that there were Canadian members who didn’t get to participate in the last TRS banner event, and getting feedback from members that they would be willing to tackle another challenge, the idea of going from the furthest northern U.S. point (Alaska), to the furthest southern U.S. point (Key West, Florida) was born.
As difficult as the last adventure was, this one is going to be much harder. Alaska doesn’t have the greatest highway system. Deadhorse Alaska would be the furthest point north, but the road there isn’t easy. The furthest north you can really go by decent highway is Fairbanks Alaska. The trip from Fairbanks to Deadhorse is about 495 miles. Most of it is by the Dalton Highway, which is a gravel supply road. Just getting the banner out of Alaska and through Canada will be a huge task.
04/16/2012:
On April 16th 2012, a new TRS banner was sent to forum member crbnunit (Jeff) in Achorage Alaska. The banner went to Alaska first so that they would get it in the spring, and it would have spring and early-mid summer to get through Alaska and Canada. As the year passes, it will be moving towards a warmer climate and will hopefully keep moving. If it starts in Florida, it will likely get stuck/stranded in Canada during the winter.
The path that the banner takes is up to the members. It has to move in a direction that will be able to keep it moving with member participation.
The banner was mailed out with instructions and a permanent marker. Members have been asked to sign the banner with their name, location, and date. They are also asked to take photos of the banner and the exchange from member to member, and post it in our forum HERE.
In a 14-month period, the first banner went from the Atlantic Ocean, to the Gulf of Mexico, and ended at the Pacific Ocean. How long will this adventure take?
05/09/2012:
crbnunit met up with Lima Bean and AK907GIRL so they could sign the banner.
(Forum member ‘crbnunit’ with the new banner)
(Forum member ‘AK907GIRL’ and her dog Kali)
(Forum member ‘LIMA BEAN’)
crbnunit, AK907GIRL, and Lima Bean
crbnunit handed the banner over to ‘AK907GIRL’ (Caitlyn), who then took the banner from Anchorage Alaska to Fairbanks. This first leg is going through 100’s and 100’s of miles of remote wilderness. (357 miles)
05/11/2012:
On May 11, ‘AK907GIRL’ met with ‘Original_Ranger84’ (Nick from Fairbanks) on the way to Fairbanks. ‘Original_Ranger84’ is our furthest most northern member to sign the banner.
(Forum member ‘Original_Ranger84’)
‘AK907GIRL’ returned to Anchorage and gave the banner to ‘LIMA BEAN’, who returned it back to ‘crbnunit’.
05/30/2012:
On May 30th, ‘crbnunit’ had the banner signed by forum member ‘uss_essess’.
(Forum member ‘uss_essess’)
06/03/2012:
On June 3rd, ‘crbnunit’ and ‘LIMA BEAN’ flew the banner to some back country air strips in Alaska. It’s important to know that aircraft is a major method of transportation in Alaska due to the remoteness of the area, lack of highways, and overall size of the state. Because of the uniqueness of Alaska, and the fact that planes are a common method of transportation in Alaska, Alaska is the only state that the banner could be flown in. However, the banner was not permitted to be flown out of Alaska to stay true to our challenge.
(Forum member ‘LIMA BEAN’ {left} and ‘crbnunit’ {right})
(Forum member ‘crbnunit’ dipping the banner in glacier water)
Here’s ‘crbnunit’ holding the banner in water with The mighty Knik Glacier in the background. The water the banner is in fell upon the earth as rain and snow when Wooly Mammoths roamed this part of the continent and beyond. All the mountains you see in the photos and video at one time were under miles of ice and snow.
(Forum member ‘LIMA BEAN’ on an iceberg)
(Check out this video!)
06/30/2012:
On June 30th (Saturday), ‘crbnunit’ and ‘LIMA BEAN’ flew to Tok Alaska. There they met up with the Canadian members ‘thatbluecar’ and ‘Mountain Mike’.
(‘crbnunit’s plane and the blue Ford Edge the Canadian crew rented)
(An Alaskan cookout)
(Forum members ‘thatbluecar’, ‘IusedtohaveaRanger’, and ‘MountainMike’)
(Forum members ‘LIMA BEAN’ and ‘iusedtohavearanger’)
06/31/2012:
On June 31st they drove from there to the Delta Junction to see the end of the Alcan Highway, and the Alaska Pipeline.
Read ‘crbunit’s’ comments about the trip, and dealing with military airspace HERE.
Alaska mileage is pretty significant for as few members and signatures as they gathered. It’s estimated that the banner traveled 1,200 miles or so for vehicular travel, another 328 miles for the flight to Tok, and probably about 300 miles just tooling around in the plane. Total cost for fuel alone to get it to Tok and back is $476.34 and a flight time of 6.86 hours.
(Suspended crossing of the Alaska Pipeline running from Prudo Bay to Valdez)
(Forum members ‘MountainMike’ and ‘thatbluecar’ in front of a suspended section of the Alaska Pipeline)
07/01/2012:
On Sunday (July 1st), The Canadian crew dropped ‘crbnunit’ and ‘LIMA BEAN’ back off at the plane and took off to the ‘Top of the World Highway’ and into Dawson City for the night. Dawson City was the site of the great Klondike gold rush in the late 1800’s so the banner visited yet another historic site on its journey.
(Forum members ‘thatbluecar’, ‘IusedtohaveaRanger’, and ‘MountainMike’)
(Outside of Teslin British Columbia Canada)
(Alaskan Highway bridge outside Teslin, Yukon Territory Canada)
(Rancheria Falls, Yukon Territory Canada)
(Forum Member MountainMike at the Sign Post Forest – Watson Lake, Yukon Territory Canada)
(TRS was here……..)
(MountainMike’s Ranger in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory Canada)
(Forum member ‘MrRangerSir’ (Ray) signing the banner near Dease lake, Yukon Territory Canada)
(Forum members ‘MrRangerSir’ and ‘MountainMike’)
(MountainMikes Route Map – Approximately 1,988 miles (3,200 KM’s))
07/28/2012:
On July 28th, ‘MountainMike’ passed the banner on to ‘MrRangerSir’ (Ray) at Dease Lake, Yukon Territory Canada.
08/01/2012:
On August 1st, ‘MrRangerSir’ delivered the banner to ‘Sasquatch_Ryda’ in Terrace British Columbia Canada.
08/03-04/2012:
On August 3/4, ‘Sasquatch_Ryda’ took the banner to Red Rose, BC for some trail riding.
(Forum member Sasquatch_Ryda’s Ford Ranger)
(Forum members ‘Sasquatch_Ryda’ {Ryan}, ‘2caseB2’ {Dallas}, and ‘sweetsride’ {Kris})
(Red Rose, British Columbia Canada)
(Forum member ‘2csaseB2’ {Dallas} and his Bronco II)
(sweetsride)
(Forum member ‘Sasquatch_Ryda’ signing the banner)
09/05/2012:
On September 5th, the banner went back to ‘MrRangerSir’ in Smithers, British Columbia Canada.
(Forum member ‘Sasquatch_Ryda’ and ‘MrRangerSir’)
09/09/2012:
On September 9th, ‘MrRangerSir’ met with ‘Wahlstrom1’ from Edmonton Alberta Canada.
(Forum member ‘Wahlstrom1’ and ‘MrRangerSir’)
09/16/2012:
On September 16th, ‘Wahlstrom1’ had the banner signed by Brendan and Nathan in Saskatoon
09/17/2012:
On September 17th, ‘Wahlstrom1’ went to Red Deer and then Calgary so ‘alwaysFlOoReD’, ‘TEE REV’ and ‘–weezl–‘ could sign it.
(Forum member ‘Wahlstrom1’ posing with ‘alwaysFlOoReD’s Bronco II)
(Forum member ‘Nathan’)
(Forum member ‘alwaysFlOoReD’)
(Forum member ‘TEE REV’)
(Forum member ‘–weezl–‘)
09/17/2012:
On September 17th, ‘–weezl–‘ took possession of the banner.
09/24/2012:
On September 24th, ‘–weezl–‘ met with ‘K.Strong’ so he could sign the banner.
(Forum member ‘K.Strong’ signing the banner)
09/26/2012:
On September 26th, ‘–weezl–‘ got the banner signed by forum member ‘basshead’.
(Forum member ‘Basshead’ signing the banner)
10/08/2012:
On October 8th, ‘–weezl–‘ passed the banner on to ‘hockeyryan’ from Vancouver, British Columbia Canada.
Forum member ‘–weezle–‘ racked up about 1,646 miles (2,650 KM’s) with the banner.
10/28/2012:
On October 28th, the banner crossed the border in to the lower 48 (US) states. There, Forum member ‘hockeyryan’ met ‘JFA_Spyderman’ and gave him the banner
(Forum members ‘JFA_Spyderman’ on the left and ‘hockeyryan’ on the right)
‘JFA_Spyderman’ took the banner home to Whidbey Island, Washington. The banner has made it’s way safely in to the lower 48 states. The travel was long and hard to get out of Alaska, through Canada, and in to the ‘lower 48’, but our members made extreme sacrifices and accomplished it.
The map above should REALLY put this in to perspective. The yellow line is an approximate representation to the area / distance the banner has traveled. The banner has almost covered 1/2 the distance it needs to go.
To see more information and photos of this adventure, and get up to the date information, click HERE.
Continue with this adventure by clicking HERE.
Links:
TRS Banner Across North America – Alaska to Key West Florida – Part 2
TRS Banner Across North America – Alaska to Key West Florida – Part 3
TRS Banner Across North America – Alaska to Key West Florida – Part 4
Interested in the previous Banner Across America:
TRS Banner Across America Part I
TRS Banner Across America Part II
TRS Banner Across America Part III
TRS Banner Across America Part IV
