All season tires are summer tires.
Snow tires are snow tires.

Get some Blizzaks, incredible snow tires! I ran all season mud and snow most of my life in the winter, then I bought a set of Blizaks and was blown away at the difference. I have them on both my truck and car. Its worth switching.

Grew up in Alaska, lived in New Hampshire and now live in Michigan, snow tire believer.

Michelin X-ice are great tires also but are usually in car sizes only.

Kurt

Foreflight for the Road?

Anyone have any suggestions for an app that will let me plan my route and have distances/times between legs similar to what Foreflight can do so when I get distracted and stop somewhere I hadn't planned I can easily figure out where my next stop should be? Thanks.

Barnstormer wrote:Foreflight for the Road?

Anyone have any suggestions for an app that will let me plan my route and have distances/times between legs similar to what Foreflight can do so when I get distracted and stop somewhere I hadn't planned I can easily figure out where my next stop should be? Thanks.

Google maps is pretty accurate. For leg to leg. Wish they would let you input stop points in between though.

A1Skinner wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:Foreflight for the Road?

Anyone have any suggestions for an app that will let me plan my route and have distances/times between legs similar to what Foreflight can do so when I get distracted and stop somewhere I hadn't planned I can easily figure out where my next stop should be? Thanks.

Google maps is pretty accurate. For leg to leg. Wish they would let you input stop points in between though.

Google Maps, at least for iPhone, now lets you add intermediate stops to a route. Once in route mode with the phone guiding you, click the search icon in the top right corner of map area and it'll let you choose from a couple categories of places or simply search for a stop. I just tried it to make sure I wasn't making stuff up and it allowed me to add at least 2 intermediate stops, not sure what the upper limit is though. Definitely not optimized for a multi-point trip, but still has value to add.

It would be much nicer if it just had multiple input fields like the browser version does. For my motorcycle trips where I use GoogleMaps on a RAM mount for directions, I normally make the full "preferred" route on the computer, print it off, then input the waypoints one at a time onto my iphone for turn-by-turn. Like I said, not ideal.

-asa

Barnstormer wrote:Foreflight for the Road?

Anyone have any suggestions for an app that will let me plan my route and have distances/times between legs similar to what Foreflight can do so when I get distracted and stop somewhere I hadn't planned I can easily figure out where my next stop should be? Thanks.

Is the Milepost still being published? In the pre-computer days I found it absolutely invaluable for planning stops for work or ferry flights up and down the AlCan.

Gump

EDIT: Sorry, didn't read back far enough to see it already mentioned.

GumpAir wrote:

Barnstormer wrote:Foreflight for the Road?

Anyone have any suggestions for an app that will let me plan my route and have distances/times between legs similar to what Foreflight can do so when I get distracted and stop somewhere I hadn't planned I can easily figure out where my next stop should be? Thanks.

Is the Milepost still being published? In the pre-computer days I found it absolutely invaluable for planning stops for work or ferry flights up and down the AlCan.

Gump

EDIT: Sorry, didn't read back far enough to see it already mentioned.

Just looked in the App Store for iPhones etc. Milepost is available as an app! Free, even.

Cary

My wife gets them online, Carrs has them also. One of the best travel aids for Alaska!!
DENNY

My Alaska Highway trip, Texas to the Kenai Peninsula. I took hundreds of photos but here are just a few that are interesting to me.

New Mexico. I love New Mexico and am always excited when I see my first Pronghorn (lower right). The Pronghorn is not an antelope nor is it a goat, it is a Pronghorn and the only animal in its family. Capable of running to near 70mph. Why so fast? Because when all the continents were connected the Cheetah, which runs at around 65mph, lived in North America.


The 250,000 acre TO Ranch in Raton New Mexico. I shot a nice elk on this ranch a few years ago.


I love Colorado, just not eastern Colorado, flat flat flat so just wasn’t inspired to take pictures.

Near Casper Wyoming. Once again the countryside is getting interesting. Saw hundreds of Pronghorn and Mule Deer.


Montana, and I still don’t feel like I’m driving to Alaska.


Montana/Alberta Customs.
I crossed at Sweetgrass, the same place I cross when flying this trip. Canada customs, as usual, was great. Very friendly.

Alberta, well, flat flat flat. And windy windy windy. I imagine my farmer friends love country like this, but me, well not so much so no pictures. Really would like to attend the Calgary Stampede some day though.

British Columbia. Now things really start to get pretty.

Dawson Creek, Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway. Spent the night here and had the finest tasting food of the entire trip at the Alcan Smokehouse.


This is their version of Gumbo and it was both different and outstanding. This is absolutely a must stop.


Loved the murals painted on the buildings, here are a couple.

British Columbia. Do you notice a theme with the roads on this trip so far.


First Caribou seen.


Big Horn Sheep


Bison. Saw hundreds over a period of about sixty miles, and enough buffalo chips to know that there are actually thousands of these magnificent beasts..

Yukon. Even prettier then British Columbia. If I didn't live in Alaska I might live here.


By now a day off was needed and Whitehorse was a the place. Spent the day seeing the only “city” in the Yukon.


The Yukon River in Whitehorse.


Ended the day off in the Takhini Hot Springs. Really nice to soak in the springs.

And just when you think it can’t get any prettier then the Yukon, but does. Alaska.

This is outside of Tok and it wasn’t until about 15 minutes down this road before I realized I missed my turn and was headed to Fairbanks. Oops.


Okay this is better, now headed to Anchorage. (BTW, do you notice the condition of the road.)




Through Anchorage and into the Turnagain Arm. Across is the Kenai Peninsula and home.


Low tide and ice in the Turnagain.


On the Kenai Peninsula, almost home now.


The Kenai River and I’m thinking “I can land there”.


And Home.

To sum up the trip.


The lowest high temperature on the trip was 45 degrees, the highest 65 degrees. Never did need those Icelandic studded snow tires I purchased, had mounted and balanced, and carried in the pickup bed.


Quite the different weather from three years ago when I flew the SQ2 down from Alaska the same time frame and had highs of minus 4 degrees until I got to Montana.

Only been home for five days and this is what the runway looks like now.


Excited for it to dry out so I can do what I live here for, fly and fish.

A highlight of the trip was deciding to grab lunch in Fort Nelson, get on Yelp and decide to eat at the Gourmet Girl Cafe, and lo and behold there is our own UpNorth and his wife having lunch. Think about the odds. Had I not got delayed in Amarillo because of a car accident, and had we not got delayed in Denver because of a car accident, and had a million other things not lined up perfectly we never would have been in the same restaurant at the same time.

I’m glad I flew this route before driving it, made it more interesting to see places I knew from the air. Glad I drove this time but don’t have an interest in doing it again. It’s a really long drive. Nine days which includes the day off in Whitehorse. The SQ2 is much faster, and that’s saying something.

Glad to hear the rest of your trip went well Phil.

When I looked over and saw you sitting there, I knew I should know you from somewhere, just couldn't place where. Then I looked out and saw the pickup. I said to my wife, I bet that truck has Texas plates. Sure enough!

It was good to see you and have a quick visit. Plan for an overnight stop next time you are through.

Rod
UpNorth

Glad to see you had a great trip Phil! Also glad the roads were good for you. We had a blizzard here the last few days and ended up with close to a foot of wet snow, roads have definitely not been fun. Glad you made it through before then. I should've given you my contact info, you drove right past our hangar just out of Hythe, and I'm in Dawson Creek every day for school. Would've been great to meet up.

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

Just finished the Southbound trip myself. Definitely found the snow in Dawson, some of the worst I've ever driven in (heavy slush).

Glad you made it back up, Phil! I fly from Anchorage to King Salmon every week for work, I'll have to drop in on my way home some Friday evening.

Hey Phil,

You may want to get those Texas plates of your truck ASAP!

Great to have you back!! Snow is going fast so one or two more weeks and most strips will be open. Hope to see you up at Birchwood soon.
DENNY

Thanks guys.

UpNorth wrote:Plan for an overnight stop next time you are through.

Will do.

A1Skinner wrote:Glad to see you had a great trip Phil! Also glad the roads were good for you. We had a blizzard here the last few days and ended up with close to a foot of wet snow, roads have definitely not been fun.

David, yea didn’t plan on sunshine and clear roads but sure enjoyed it. I’ll PM you with my contact info and please give me yours so we can meet up.

TradeCraft wrote:I fly from Anchorage to King Salmon every week for work, I'll have to drop in on my way home some Friday evening.]

That would be great. You are welcome any time. Strip should be good by the first week of May.

G44 wrote:Hey Phil, You may want to get those Texas plates of your truck ASAP!

:-)

DENNY wrote:Hope to see you up at Birchwood soon.

I should be there on May 2nd or 3rd to pick up the SQ2.

I’m germ tubing it back to Texas on April 24 or 25 to do a STOL Demo on the weekend at Hondo. Then germ tubing it back up on May 2nd.

Glad the trip went well!