Though Alaska's Dalton Highway is open year-round, it should be driven only between late May and early September when there is virtually endless light, the temperatures are pleasant and the road is usually free of ice.
A four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended but not necessary (I didn't have one).Take a good spare, a tire-repair kit, jumper cables, a first-aid kit, camping gear, food and waterproof clothing. Don't forget bug spray and a head net.
Gas and food are available only at Yukon Crossing (at mile 56), Coldfoot (mile 175) and Deadhorse (mile 414).
If you're careful, hauling extra gas is not necessary, nor is camping - rustic hotel rooms are available at the Arctic Acres Inn in Coldfoot, (907) 678-5201, for $125, and at the Arctic Caribou Inn in Dead-horse, (907) 659-2368, for $175.
Getting your vehicle to the Dalton is a nuisance. Rental agencies don't allow their cars on the road, and the drive from Seattle is more than 3,000 miles.
It's best to put your vehicle on a ferry from Bellingham, Wash., to Haines, Alaska, then drive the 750 miles to the start of the Dalton.
Call the Alaska Marine Highway (800) 642-0066, a state-run ferry service.
Better yet, you can take a three-day, two-night bus tour from Fairbanks along the Dalton, including overnight stops in Coldfoot and Deadhorse, a tour of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, and an airplane flight back to Fairbanks.
Princess Tours runs 40-passenger luxury buses for $720 a person; (800) 835-8907.
Northern Alaska Tour Co. conducts a similar trip in 10-passenger tour vans for $600; (907) 474-8600.
A guidebook, "Alaska's Wilderness Highway," is available from Epicenter Press for $10.95; (800) 452-3032. For more information: Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau (907) 456-5774.