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NORTH |
TO ALASKA .
__ by Ginnie Beardsley
It is unfair to say, as some

have, that the Alaska High-.
_ way was laid out by a couple

of drunken engineers on a

lost weekend. The truth is.

that the locations of the
tortuous route from — nor-
thern British Columbia to
Alaska was determined ‘by

the need to build the high-
- way as quickly as possible.

— and that meant following
the. river valleys and

avoiding. the mountains -

wherever possible.

_The highway was the
response of I
States Army to what was

seen as the threat of a:

‘‘hack-door’’ invasion

through Alaska in the
Second World War. United

States Army engineers,

‘sleeping in tents in weather

that dropped as low. as
_minus 55 degrees C., laid out
the 1,523 mile (2,451

-tkilometre) route that would

give access to Alaska by
road,

. Contractors followed,
bulldozing the very basic

- Toad in sections of about 50

‘miles (80 kilometres) toa

“contract, and making . ‘it.

barely passable with hun-

- dreds of “cats”. Trucks in
- their thousands brought ‘in.
life’s and construction’s

necessities, and the highway
_was, incredibly, finished in
October, 1942, eight months
after it was begun.

he United .

ROAM AT HOME

A TRAVEL BRITISH COLUMBIA FEATURE |

Quite a few improvements
have been made in the 35,
years since the highway was

uilt, when bridges con-
sisted simply of pilings with
planks laid across, but. the
Alaska Highway is still an
adventure road. The high-
way starts at the Mile 0 sign
on the wide, wide streets of
the pleasantly prairie town
of Dawson Creek; is paved
as far as a place called

Blueberry just beyond the
‘oil centres of Taylor and

Fort St. John; is good but
gravel for the rest of its
miles in British Columbia
and the Yukon. From the

Alaska border to its end at »

Fairbanks, the highway is
paved.

The Peace River country,
where the highway has its

start, is characterized by~

wide views of golden

grainfields . and big.

sweeping river vistas.
Major population centres
are few, but centres offering

lodging, food and gas are

situated strategically,

frequently at scenic lake or
‘sites. Campsites |

river ba
are even more frequent, for

this is campers’ country.

Like any gravel road, the

Alaska Highway offers the
-hazards of flying rock, dust

conditions when -dry and

soggy sections when wet,
and severe wear on tires. It.

is advisable not only . to
observe the speed limit but

aiso to carry various spare :

parts for. your vehicle; |

especially if it’s a foreign
make. Although the pioneer
spirit still prevails, the days
of construction when huge
numbers of ‘spare parts

were kept in stock and a .

bottle of whiskey. which sold
for five dollars in Fairbanks
and 40 in. Whitehorse would.

‘get you’ anything are long .

gone.”

During the construction,
truckers were told to drive
100 yards behind the vehicle

‘jn front and to keep your.

lights on. The reason?
Easier to find if you dropped
through the muskeg or not-
quite frozen ice of a hidden
lake. Even now,. it’s still.a
good idea, since it keeps you
visible in flying dust. ;
- The high. points of this

‘adventure’ trip? Fort

Nelson, Mile 472 with its

- mineral licks and attendant
game, fishing at Sikanni —
Chief. River, ‘Suicide Hill’
(once a real problem for -
‘truckers, but now a pleasant

diversion in otherwise flat

_ country), and Liard River —
Hot Springs. -

.

Last. stopping place in

British Columbia is: Lower _

. Post — and there’s no Upper
Post. ‘Then the: adventure -
road. goes‘on to the Yukon
_and even

Alaska. ©

(This Roam -at Home’

tually all the way to

article is.one of a series
vided by Tourism British ,

a

“QB. imports 13 white wines under
+ $3; Ontario has 80. Why?

Q—In B.C. where imports are fewest,
~ __ domestic wine costs the most. Why?

“aca @ Book Attorney-General
-Gardom should read beforehisim: -
minent and long-promised Liquor
Act changes... .” ~~. _

| davis Whitney, Vancouver Province | . -

taken a load off his soul.” —

. . . —tealie Paterson, Vancouver Sun a os
OnSaleat
+ +The Terrace Herald,

Here’s the answer! |

4... author Roland Morgan has || o
- . wiped ‘the froth from his ps and - |