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With access that changes by the season, and by snow machine, truck, or ATV, our trips to town are always an adventure! Check out the video below for how we reach our cabin, or read on for more:
Like many who dive head first into adventure, we got smacked with reality pretty quickly. Just because the map says it’s only 15 miles from road to home, does not mean city driving times apply! Our actual travel time is close to an hour, depending on season, weather, tides, and if something breaks along the way. And that’s even IF we can get out at all!
Summer
Because we moved to our off-road haven in summer, we learned how to access our property via beach first. There were a lot of scary and expensive lessons that year! From learning the rules of beach driving to getting caught in the quicksand-like mud multiple times. There were tide tables to learn to read and a whole host of skills to learn about properly towing vehicles.
Winter
Then in winter the beach becomes impassable, filled with slush and huge icebergs, and we switch to the inland pipeline trail. We only used atv’s the first winter, then our truck and snow machines following years. That same hour of travel was much less fun in blowing snow and negative temperatures. Then last year the borough extended the road another 7 miles and cut our winter drive times in half. I was iffy about the road coming out, but now that it’s here (and it doesn’t reach me!) I’ve enjoyed using it.
The In-between
We also have the in-between “shoulder” seasons, spring and fall. It varies year to year, but there is usually a 1-2 week time where we can’t take either option for traveling. Part of living off road is knowing that getting to town isn’t always possible. If the trail turns into a swamp before the beach icebergs have melted, we get a forced staycation.
Living off-road has taught me a lot about patience. There is no rushing to town when living this way, so I’ve learned to enjoy the journey more. And I find myself looking for silver linings more. So what if we get stuck on the beach when we make friends with the people who stop to help us out? A few dings to vehicles here and there have been worth it for all adventure we have out here.
Just more appreciation for the small things I suppose 🙂
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Wow, I had no idea it was like this in Alaska. I loved the way you described the beach and every season. I loved how described the difficulty but how to were positive at the same time. Personally I would love to visit Alaska.
Alaska is such a beautiful place and I feel so blessed to get to live here. If you get the chance to visit I highly recommend it!
The photos are great and showing the travel hardships through seasons and in various vehicles quite nicely. I liked your optimism about enjoying the ride, no doubt that it’s not easy.
Thanks for sharing an insightful article.
I really try to show that its still an enjoyable way to live, even if its tough at times. Glad that came through, and thank you for reading!