Alaska to Patagonia - when?
 

I`m looking to ride from Anchorage (via Prudhoe bay) to the southern tip of South America next year (funds permitting!) and taking at least 6 months. I would really appreciate some idea of the best time to go to get the most favourable weather conditions in the north and south, but I don`t want to rush the trip as it could be the only time I get to experience it. Any thoughts/advice would be much appreciated.

Not really sure what you're asking. No doubt you're already aware that you want to hit summer on both ends of the trip; winter in Patagonia would be miserable at best (assuming you're on a bike), and winter on the North Slope would be death-defying. Mid-summer north (July) to mid-summer south (January) gives you six months....but what about getting to Alaska and getting back from Patagonia? Is that included in your six month frame? If so, you're really talking about doing the trip twice, which in six months will indeed involve some hurry---not to say frantic, dawn-to-dusk riding in less-than-ideal circumstances.

Personally, I like Alaska and the Yukon in late summer and early fall due to the rapid dropoff in the two worst local pests: biting insects and giant, lumbering RV's. But that means missing the midnight sun, if this is a consideration, and it leaves you in a bit of a hurry to get south in time to enjoy summer there. Fall in Central America means rainy season with the possibility of hurricanes, and this will also put you on Ruta 40 during the worst of the summer winds (although this last is hearsay, not personal experience, and I'll be happy to be corrected). There's not really any ideal schedule; they all come with tradeoffs.

In the end, six months isn't near long enough, but neither is two years, really. Do you want to stop to wander around on foot for a while in Denali or the Brooks Range (a world class experience fer sure)? Take side trips to the Galapagos or Antarctica? Hit Carnival in Brazil? Explore the Amazon lowlands, where avoiding rainy season is generally recommended? One way to plan a trip is to pick a couple of these major goals and schedule around them. That's more or less the way I do it.

OTOH, if the whole point for you is racking up a lot of miles and watching the stamps accumulate in your passport, you could certainly make it there and back in six months in the absence of major mechanical or health issues. It's a valid approach, although one I don't happen to share.

Hope I've said something useful.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the input. I guess I wasn`t exactly clear! I intend to ship my bike from London to Anchorage and to ship it back fron Buenos Aires. You`re right about a tradeoff in terms of times. If I want to be in Alaska for the summer (June ish) and be in Patagonia for summer (Dec/Jan) and I`ve only got one chance at doing it, then I`m a bit limited? If I take my time wandering down North and Central America (which I would love to do) I don`t want to get caught out in the South by the worsening weather. Do you know what the earliest and latest times are (weather wise) to attempt a trip like this?

Thanks

I am watching for replies on this as I also plan to do the same trip ( but not for another 3 years) If you check out travellers stories a guy called Graham Shee left in July and still decided not to do the last few miles to Prudhoe bay because of the risk of snow! I think Lois Pryce flew into Anchorage at the end of April but didn't head North and there are photos of her camping in the snow and she speaks of freezing cold nights.

My guess so far is that if you want to hit to hit all the right weather windows you may need to do it in less than six months. Alternatively you could go earlier in the year and accept that you might not make it all the way North.

I will be interested to see what others say and what others have done

Chizz

I get it now: you're thinking 6 months to make it from Anchorage to Deadhorse, then to Ushuaia for New Year's Eve and back to B.A. I guess that's seven months all told.

My expertise, such as it is, is mostly in the arctic and subarctic. I'll be headed to South America for the first time this fall--probably in far too much of a hurry and departing later than I had hoped! I suggest you listen to what others say (on threads which come up here pretty often and on blogs) about South America.

June is a good time in the far north. One negative is that you won't see the aurora borealis because it'll always be light, and the lack of darkness will fascinate but in the end irritate you. The light itself is amazing for photography and just hanging around admiring the scenery.

The main drawback in my mind is the bugs, which will be more or less peaking: bring a headnet, bugproof clothes and a degree of patience. There is nothing really comparable to the experience of being surrounded by hundreds of miles of mosquito and blackfly-producing muskeg while you try to carefully and methodically fix a flat tire or clear a speck of dirt out of your carburator!

But then again, the worst bugs I've ever seen were in Labrador, not Alaska. Sometimes it all works out ok.

About the weather: you can't guarantee good weather. It might snow in the Brooks Range or on the Slope any time of year....but mostly it doesn't and won't. Much of the arctic is actually desert, swampy muskeg notwithstanding. You can't let the possibility of snow drive your scheduling or you'll never get there, but mostly June/July/August is fine. With all that daylight, overheating is more of a problem in the interior.

I've almost always seen snow as well during September when I've been in the Northern Rockies (Jasper, Banff, northern Montana, sometimes Wyoming), so be aware of this if you're taking the scenic route south.

In my longwinded way I'm really saying that yeah, if you're in Alaska during June and are content with missing a lot (but seeing plenty) along the way, you'll have no trouble making Ushuaia for New Year's. Lots of people do, and lots of those who do are blogging throughout. Do what they do!

One final caution: people who are selling books or for other reasons trying to present themselves in heroic terms will tend to exaggerate the difficulties they face. That's what we all respond to--the heroic journey we always intended to take, in which demons are confronted and from which we emerge victorious and full of wisdom. This is all well and good, but if you're trying to get a sense of what it'll really be like you need to take it all with a grain of salt. Real adventure, in which we are tested to the ultimate, are very rare: mostly we're merely cavorting around with our ATM cards and the latest in German or Japanese engineering at our disposal. Even when it's hard, it's not actually that hard.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Thanks Guys! Very enlightening!

Dont want to hijack this thread, but I´ve a question about one part of this route. I´m actually planning to ride the southwestern parts of US, as well as Mexico in just a couple of months from now.....

If it turned out we had some more time, before having to get back home (which would be great!), we might want to head some way south from Mexico. Maybe even all the way through Centroamerica to Panama, but we want it to feel like a holiday, and shipping out of Panama looks difficult plus I hear the borders over there can be a headache, so it is uncertain how far south we´d go.

My question is, how is the weather normally in tropical south Mexico & Central America at the end of September & during October?

I understand it will be the rainy season in the northern tropics, and I´ve got some experience of it from Asia, enough to know that it certainly is something to consider, and when it rains really hard, it may not be much fun to travel on a bike. And even if you wont get cold, you will miss a lot of the scenic places, too, if its very cloudy and gray most of the time.

So, if we presume the weather patterns dont turn upside down, would we be looking at a very wet (and constantly wet) trip riding from Mexico to Panama between Sept 30 - Oct 30?

I am asking and planning a trip through the same areas and came across this.
www.horizonsunlimited.com/country.weather
Hope it helps
Bill

Deadhorse to Ushuaia
 

Hope this puts your mind at rest.
Left Deadhorse July 12 mosquitos as far as Cold Foot great weather to Costa Rica then rain(but not the worst)through to Panama mid to late September,then great weather all the way to Ushuaia for Chistmas,bit windy in Patagonia shipped from Buenos Aires January14 back to UK.All boarder crossing fine but just have your wits about you in Central America but not a problem,hope this helps it a fantastic trip so go for it.
John Cox.
coxmorganoverland.co.uk

This is a really interesting thread. I'm planning on doing a very similar trip next year. Ship to Alaska in late July, ride south to central America for November time.

I assume that June-Aug is a good time to go to Alaska (posts above seem to agree) However, I'm interested in what people say about travelling through Central America in Autumn - Oct - December. Will it really be that bad?

I've niked through Chile and Argentina and did the Route 40 in January. Very very very windy. I would have thought trying to get from Alaska to Ushuaia in 6 months is possible, but perhaps trying to do too much in a short time. There is so much to do and see in South America.

PS What bikes are poeple doing this on??

Good info folks! Hi Lonesome George - I`m likely to be riding a 650 Dakar (looking for one right now) and you`re right about 6 months being possible, but I also agree about not rushing it. The more I think about it, the more I would like to take 12 months (it will probably be a once in a lifetime trip - no point compromising just to tick off countries), but it does mean getting the timing (weather wise) just right. If I intend to fly out of BA around June what would be the best time to get to Ushaia - avoiding the worst of the winds?

Weather wise you really need to be down in Ushuaia anytime between November and February. Later than that and it will be getting cold. At a push you could leave Ushuaia late Feb and move up through Patagonia into early March and perhaps head into northern Argentina. I did a three week bike trip around Uruguay, souther Brazil and Northern Argentina in July and the weather was Ok.

Buenos Aires will be cold in June, but as I said if you went north of there and came back in June to ship the bike that would be OK. Any reason your shipping back from BA? 'Cos you could keep going north past BA and ship back from somewhere like Riop I guess which would be warmer in June.

I've spent 4 years living in South America (Argentina and Colombia) and just think that you may be trying to bite off more than you can chew to get from Alaska to Patagonia in 6 months. Of course, the great thing about travewlling, by bike, on your own, is that plans can change. You may well find that you can and do make it down to Ushuaia in time, but even if you don't there are other poalces to go. if you find that it's getting to February and you are still i, say, Peru, then you can head inland into Bolivia, Northern Argentia, Pargauay and Brazil, then down to BA for June.

Patagonia is absolutly fantastic, but it is an extreme and harsh place. Not the kind of place to go when the weather is against you. I cannot overstate the power of the wind down there, you are totally exposed to it 24/7. Its bad enough when its warm.

But, I guess, my best advice would be not to get too hooked up in minute detail of your plans. They will change anyway. Just have a plan to head down into South America and if you have time, go all the way and if you don't then go somewhere else. You won't be able to do it all i one trip in one year anyway.

I just can't decide what kind of bike to use. I currently have a Tiger 1050 which I love but I don't really think is suitable for a trip like this. Certainly in central America and Africa there won't be any Triumph dealers (and I know nothing about bike maintanence). So I'm thinking something Japanese would be better - a Honda Africa Twin perhaps (By the way i did my south American biking on a Transalp, very good machine)

Thanks for the input George - very useful especially since you live in South America. I`m now seriously considering taking a year out to do this trip and I really want to include Alaska and Ushaia. My thoughts were to set out June (ish) next year and return around the same time starting from Anchorage. Do you think that`s putting too much pressure on me to get to Patagonia before the weather turns nasty? If I reach the south by Jan/Feb time I still have 3/4 months to bimble around before flying back. By the way, I just thought BA was the best place to ship back to the U.K.!

Also need to add, I know nothing about bike maintenance too! But intend to do a 10 week basic course before I leave - I guess I`ll have to learn fast, which is why I won`t be taking my 1200 GS!

Just a thought for you Brits shipping bikes to Anchorage ... really, wow, how much does that cost these days?

Might think about shipping into Vancouver or Calgary Canada and riding the 2400 miles to Anchorage, double your pleasure with a round trip.

Shipment from London to Vancouver costs $2000 USD with motorcycleexpress.com. I have no affiliation with the company but I did use them for shipment from Toronto and Lisbon and was happy, and out of curiosity plugged London > Vancouver into their online calculator.

British Columbia > Yukon > Alaska is a spectacular ride, enjoy! :thumbup1:

Mark