north! to alaska! go north, the rush is on. | Squat the Planet

north! to alaska! go north, the rush is on.

I

inky

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anyone got a good idea for the route between seattle/vancouver and homer alaska?

the ferry is so fucking expensive unless i want to just go to juneau, and i have no experience hitching in canada, and still couldn't make it on roads to homer.


i'm thinking trying to get a deckhand fishing boat job for a one way trip would be my best bet. anyone have any other ideas? i hear theres a grainer barge that i could get on, but i've heard no more about that than its mere mention.
 
I

inky

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hmm
i've craigslisted a few ride in the pac-nw and they've always been ridiculous (there was this one crossdressing sex worker/rape counselor...from australia...)but i've never really thought of one crossing borders. thats a good thought though.


how long are the barge rides? like, weeks?
 

Shade

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hitch from bellingham , wa to white horse British cloumbia, then get a ride to denali, AK then its easy to get to homer from there, thats what i did , enjoy the spit in homer hahaha
 

kai

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hitchhiking in Canada is a breeze.

take the alaska highway..it starts in fort st. john or fort nelson, it's rugged and the bugs will consume you alive so keep that in mind, it's wild country.

i have spent the last 3 years hitching in canada and never had a problem, I've been picked up in the middle of the night on top of a mountain pass in the middle of nowhere with no lights.

there's a few towns to avoid however and depending on what route you are taking you will want to avoid hanging out in them cause they are ridiculously hard to leave!

the main one to try to avoid in South BC is Hope. lots of horror stories although the only time I have been there I was out in 15 minutes so it can go both ways.
 

Labea

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PM me if/when your going to be in anchorage, we've got an fnb here and good dumpsters and few camps dt... this summer looks promising...

ArrowInOre said:
But I hear the weed is great, so I hear mind you , so I hear.......

=)
 

kai

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you can ride freight all the way up to fort st.john/fort nelson or chetwynd areas as well and if you get all the way to fort st.john you are right at the beginning of the alaska highway
 
5

5ifth

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homer is a cool town - fishing on the spit was fun
you also should check out talkeetna

hitching in alaska is much more accepted than here in the lower 48
 

wokofshame

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on an interesting note the First Nations run a passenger RDC (rail diesel car) on the ex-bc rail line from somewhere around PG north to a town called minaret. it's completely free and financed by the 1st nations, although i'm not sure how to get from minaret to homer .

PS yeah widerstand, i am a landlubber too. being at sea scares me to death. weed helps tho.
 

kai

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god forbid...you could sell your soul there MURT and stick your thumb out on the side of the road and *GASP* hitchhike to Homer...I recently read a zine actually about a dude who biked from Prince George to Homer. Is Minaret further north then Fort Nelson, cause it's possible to ride that far north...albeit probably not reliable.
 

iamwhatiam

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i used to live in SE Alaska and have ridden the ferry between Bellingham and Ketchikan many times. Yes it is expensive (even more so in the summer) but the incredible scenery and good company you encounter on the ride there makes it worth it i think. you can pitch a tent on the back of the ferry and there are always people playin music and smoking really good herb on board.

i've hitched thru british columbia once. it is one of the easiest placest i've ever hitchhiked. but it was -40 F. when i went - so i wouldn't recommend it in the winter. :)

don't know about takin a barge there. never known anyone who's done it. maybe you could hitch a ride with a fishing boat goin that way?

have fun!
 

dirtyfacedan

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hitchhiking in Canada is a breeze.


the main one to try to avoid in South BC is Hope. lots of horror stories although the only time I have been there I was out in 15 minutes so it can go both ways.

If you do get stuck in hope, (end of the freser Valley, Vancouver, and can be a tough spot) it's best to walk northwest across the bridge, out of town, to Hwy !, and hitch north, (if going south, to Vancity..use hwy 1, on the southeast side of town). When going north to go to Prince George, get off in Cache Creek, and hitch north again. Truckers mostly here, and often good company.

As far as I know you can ride frieght from Vancouver, BC up to prince george, then hitchin will be hella easy.

The Everett/Edmonton CN (from BNSF@Thornton) goes north through Thornton yard, and up through Kamloops. (Once a day i think). Beware, Thornton is a busy place, keep your head clear, and ready. As far as i know, there is also a train that goes to Prince George (PG), but i can't remember when, or how often, but the same idea as the Everett/Edmonton. Either way, get you north, and on your way.

on an interesting note the First Nations run a passenger RDC (rail diesel car) on the ex-bc rail line from somewhere around PG north to a town called minaret. it's completely free and financed by the 1st nations, although i'm not sure how to get from minaret to homer .

Good on the First Nations in Minaret for taking charge on that...and trust MURT to know about it! The last Budd Passenger service on the Mainland of BC. There used to be good service all along the former BCRail Line, untill our corrupt BC government sold the line to CN. The current corporate minded government is still trying to deflect the whole sale of the former public owned railway complete with bribes, insider knowledge, intimidation, and public office/private lobbyist conflicts, (fuck you Eric Bornmann, you and yer little puppet brother. I always knew you as a selfish fascist, since those high school years, down at the Beatty Street Drill Hall), and is largly doing a good job, as the consolidated corporate media is on side. The Tumbler Ridge Sub in northern BC, used to be Electrified only, untill the still reigning premier of BC, decided to Dieselize the line, to make it an easy sell. Ironically, the Electrified locomotives moved coal, on it's way to port, to be shipped to china to feed the machine. No coal comes out of there anymore anyways. I was lucky enough to ride a short run on a red carded 6004, on it's way to Tacoma to be scrapped. For more infor on the Illegal sale of the BCRail line, see this here.
http://thetyee.ca/News/2008/12/29/Railgate/ (non-corporate Journalism)
 

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