Arctic Ocean Expedition: March-April, 2007

Scott Brady

Founder
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We are in the final weeks of preparation and planning for the trip and have started our planning blogs (will post soon) and extensive modifications to the truck.

You can read more on our initial planning HERE

The truck and trailer will be on display at the International Sportsmans Expo in Phoenix, March 9-11. I will be there most days too.

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p1michaud

Expedition Leader
Heading North

expeditionswest said:
Our Route:

Please take a look at the schedule and see if you can say hi along the way. It would be great to meet-up with ExPo members during the trip.

Scott,
It's a bit too far West to meet up with you guys, but you have some marathon driving segments planned! One that caugh my eye was this one:

March 30, 2007

Depart- Whitehorse, Yukon Territories
Arrive- Prince George area, British Columbia (Camp)

1097 Miles


Is that correct? You guys will be on the road for nearly a full day! :yikes:
Looks like a blast. Looking forward to the mod frenzy updates...
Cheers :beer:,
P
 

Scott Brady

Founder
p1michaud said:

1097 Miles

Is that correct? You guys will be on the road for nearly a full day! :yikes:

Look at it as SCORE training. :rally_guys:

Seriously though, with two solid drivers, 1,000 miles is manageable (500 miles each) and we have our camp with us and can stop and rest if required.
 

flywgn

Explorer
All I can say, Scott, is that Diana and I are looking forward to our trip to mainland Mexico (first time as far south as Zihuatenejo) but are TERRIBLY disappointed that we will not return to Idaho until 3/18. We had looked forward to opening a can of Spam® for you two. :chowtime:

By the time we return you and Chris will be ice-climbing. "ICE-CLIMBING!!!" :rappel: (...w/out ice). Just be sure there are no :oops: ... .

Know you'll keep us all in touch during the trip and we're looking forward to those updates. We'll be in Baja for the end of March and first part of April, but a couple of neighbors have satellite internet, so we'll be checking.

Allen R
 

mountainpete

Spamicus Eliminatus
Scott,

Dinner at the Drake in Canmore on Saturday March 17th? http://www.thedrakepub.com/index.php

Not sure if you are planning on comming through Calgary by the route, but you might just have to. The northern section of the Forestry Trunk Road between Kananaskis and Crownest Pass will still be closed and Highway 40 between Highwood junction and Fortress Junction.

However if you want a long, but really see the sites route, let me know. And by sites I don't mean the city :elkgrin:

Pete
 

Pskhaat

2005 Expedition Trophy Champion
p1michaud said:

1097 Miles

Is that correct?

I don't think 1000 per day is that bad at all, honestly. Granted the miles listed are way up north so that may be a different matter.
 

mountainpete

Spamicus Eliminatus
expeditionswest said:
Look at it as SCORE training. :rally_guys:

Seriously though, with two solid drivers, 1,000 miles is manageable (500 miles each) and we have our camp with us and can stop and rest if required.

You're right - with two drivers that is totally manageable. I've done Calgary to Prince Rupert with two drivers many times - 17 hours and over 1500 km.

Beyond the usual winter driving caution, there is something else you should know about. That route is notorious for having a psychological affect on drivers - especially HWY 16 west of Prince George. The road is designed in a way that there is a huge amount of bush on each side of the road - many times with drop offs. Large sections "look the same". People who go on the road for the first time often comment that it feels like you are just going past the same things over and over again.

Also the bush on side of the road has claimed a lot of lives - and lots of vehicles. I have NEVER driven through there without having to stop and help someone who went into the bush. The scary part is that unless you actually see them go in, you may never know it happened. One June going though there we noticed some recently broken trees and what looked like a "path". We turned around to find a car hidden in the bush - fortunately the person was only slightly hurt and we were able to get a cell phone call out to the police.

I guess the message that I am trying to get at is keep the driver fresh. Don't be afraid to trade off every hour or less. The stretch looks innocent, but it's claimed a lot of victims.

Pete
 

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
pskhaat said:
I don't think 1000 per day is that bad at all, honestly. Granted the miles listed are way up north so that may be a different matter.
These two fellas will be able to do it. We'll often do PHX-DEN, DEN-CHI or STL-DEN in a day.

But like Scott points out it might be optimistic to plan on a 1K day during winter. This past Xmas got caught trying sneaking in under a weather system. We hit the second blizzard squarely in Burlington and the last 200 miles took easily twice as long. So we assumed a 13 hour day for ~800 miles, which turned into a 16 day. It's not entirely impossible that a 1K day means literally a 24 hour driving session. For example, there's been plenty of times where we'll do stretches of road with chains affixed. Like we've done the stretch of 287 from Dubois to Jackson, I-70 from Burlington to Hayes, etc. This keeps you moving but at a much reduced speed.

I do think it might be optimistic for the time of year, but they'll be plenty prepared if conditions go bad and so pulling off and setting up a hasty camp isn't gonna be a problem. Winter driving is probably something you guys down in AZ don't often think about, eh?
 

Pskhaat

2005 Expedition Trophy Champion
DaveInDenver said:
AZ don't often think about, eh?
Nope :) But I can't tell you how many nasty 1000+ mile I-80 & I-90 trips I've done from Nov->Mar through storms and conditions where we really should have stopped/stayed home.
 

p1michaud

Expedition Leader
On the wintery roads...

expeditionswest said:
Look at it as SCORE training. :rally_guys:

Seriously though, with two solid drivers, 1,000 miles is manageable (500 miles each) and we have our camp with us and can stop and rest if required.

True indeed as others have mentionned, if the weather agrees!
Good luck and happy trails!
Cheers,
P
 

chet

island Explorer
Scot by the map it look like you plan on coming onto Vancouver Island? If so I will gladly meet up with you.
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Thanks for the concerns guys. We can easily stop, or push miles into the next two days.

Chris and I have a rule that if you feel tired, you are and it's time to switch, no questions asked. If you are both tired then you stop and rest. If you both have total confidence in each other and that you wont push it, then you can rest easier.
 

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