North to Alaska!

[InterBlog]

Knock wood, I've never had any trouble getting into Canada with food, but I don't bring things like raw eggs or fresh fruit. I do bring hard boiled eggs and pre-scrambled eggs. And I don't bring salad fixings. When they ask me about food, I say "Cooked and preserved foods only, no fresh items."

I don't know what the rules are, but on that point, I don't bother to look them up. It takes me four days to drive to the Canadian border from Houston, and by that time, I've eaten all my grapes.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Food is naturally more expensive in Canada but it’s more expensive to be fully prepared to camp and have to throw it all out. I leave fresh food behind and try to time it so we have to shop right when you come across the boarder on day one. Remember the exchange rate is in our favor right now too. It does change daily but it’s about 20% in our favor so think of it like you’re getting 20% off all prices that you see printed. Obviously do your shopping in major cities, don’t wait until you get to your camp sight.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by BigSxyWhtGuy

Food is naturally more expensive in Canada but it’s more expensive to be fully prepared to camp and have to throw it all out. I leave fresh food behind and try to time it so we have to shop right when you come across the boarder on day one. Remember the exchange rate is in our favor right now too. It does change daily but it’s about 20% in our favor so think of it like you’re getting 20% off all prices that you see printed. Obviously do your shopping in major cities, don’t wait until you get to your camp sight.

We are crossing over in Glacier NP, so shopping will have to wait a few days. We can adapt though.

[BigSxyWhtGuy]

Yup. Adapt back to college years! This was my pantry when we crossed over.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by BigSxyWhtGuy

Attachment 311524

Yup. Adapt back to college years! This was my pantry when we crossed over.

Looks like you have all the food groups covered. I remember surviving on white bread and Mcdonald coupons on the weekend!

[InterBlog]

Here is the EXACT wording on Canada's e-declaration, but this applies to air travel. It is very broad, but I've never seen them worry about cooked food on the ground. It's only what can potentially transmit a parasite that concerns them.

[Titus]

Question 3 above is a bit misleading. Not all of the listed items are prohibited (per their other website), so I am not sure why they ask about them.

[Titus]

Tincamper (and others). We did not want to drive all of the Alaskan Highway both ways and was not sure about the road conditions of some of the alternative routes. So we are using the AK marine highway system (i.e. ferry) to get from Haines to Prince Rupert (6 hrs Haines to Juneau, 30 hrs Juneau to Prince Rupert). We are doing a two-day stopover in Juneau to do some sightseeing there. Once in Prince Rupert we will take the Yellowhead highway and go through Jasper and Banff Nat'l Parks. Would you like to trade itinerary ideas? I have 5 pages that I have put together as a rough guide to where/what/when for our trip. PM me if interested.

[jcl]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Re-activation of this thread reminded me of the issue of crossing the border with certain devices in one's possession.

Here FYI is my latest love note to Canada Border Services Agency. There is nothing in the law that says this type of measure is required, but my intention is to make their job easier and also to provide a type of affirmative defense for myself in the event that I'm searched.

Historically, I've tried crossing the border with legal devices that had no explanation attached to them. However that still arouses suspicion because they don't know whether I'm knowingly importing an allowable device, or whether I'm actually ignorant of the law and I just got lucky with my choice of device, in which case I may be ignorant of the law in other areas, if only they went looking for more. At times this has proven to become a time-sink. Better to just offer the information pro-actively.

I took my device, wrote out an explanation as to why it is legal in Canada, and bound that love note directly to the device such that they'd have no option but to see the note in the event of a search.

The process is not to hide devices in your vehicle with a note, but rather to respond to the questions from the border officer. The trouble with hiding things and not declaring them is that you can be fined, and potentially have your vehicle seized, for violating the rules if you make a poor judgement. Tell them what you have when asked. Doing otherwise invites much more trouble.

Knives are fine, if they have a fixed blade, in general. Recall that the border web site notes that that is not a complete list, so they can make judgements if a device appears to be a weapon. The very fact that there is a note attached saying why you don’t think it is a weapon suggests you acknowledge the possibility.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Titus

Question 3 above is a bit misleading. Not all of the listed items are prohibited (per their other website), so I am not sure why they ask about them.

They tend to be a bit more confrontational to air travelers. They're used to culturally-diverse people trying to smuggle in smoked rhinoceros and monkey brains and the like, so they cast a wider net.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by jcl

... The very fact that there is a note attached saying why you don’t think it is a weapon suggests you acknowledge the possibility.

The note is for air travel, where my possessions are inspected in my absence. Certainly, answer all questions directly, if you happen to be present when they are asked.

The note does serve in the style of an affirmative defense - not that a defense per se is needed, because no literal offense was committed. But it saves them having to look stuff up, tells them this is not my first rodeo, etc.

My love note even includes a drone pic of the land that I own, so that it is clear I'm not talking about hypotheticals (in this area of regulation, Canadian law places vastly more emphasis on intentions than American law does). I own land that borders a massive untouched conservation set-aside (similar to a National Wildlife Refuge here in America). People in such environments travel with knives, and typically with other bushcraft implements also.

Edit: I have both Pre-Check and a different TSA security clearance (foreign trade zones), plus I'm licensed to carry a handgun, plus I'm a naturalized citizen. I've had more background checks than I can remember. I can't for life of me figure out why I tend to draw attention, other than, I've sometimes wondered if they sniff the RFID in my TSA ID and they figure they better be thorough with me or else maybe I'll report them for being potentially lax (?). I dunno.

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by Titus

Tincamper (and others). We did not want to drive all of the Alaskan Highway both ways and was not sure about the road conditions of some of the alternative routes. So we are using the AK marine highway system (i.e. ferry) to get from Haines to Prince Rupert (6 hrs Haines to Juneau, 30 hrs Juneau to Prince Rupert). We are doing a two-day stopover in Juneau to do some sightseeing there. Once in Prince Rupert we will take the Yellowhead highway and go through Jasper and Banff Nat'l Parks. Would you like to trade itinerary ideas? I have 5 pages that I have put together as a rough guide to where/what/when for our trip. PM me if interested.

I’d be interested in seeing your list. We aren’t that organized and only have a rough plan.

1. Drive to Montana
2. Cross into Canada
3. Drive to Alaska
4. Go home.

We will most likely drive the Alaska Highway up and the Cassiar to Washington and then back home.

[M and R]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

One tip for you Alaska bound travelers that I got from a close friend who was a Fairbanks resident. Look for fuel when your tank gets to half. That advice is good for travel in any remote area. Several times in Alaska I pulled into a station but could not get fuel. Either the supply truck had not yet arrived or the power was out.
Safe travels - it is a trip of a lifetime!

Great advice. We made our eighth trip last summer. We planned fuel stops with a new Milepost. We also carried two five gallon cans of diesel. At a planned fuel stop the diesel pump was inoperable. Add five gallons, continue. At the next stop we were told the Milepost was wrong. They have not had diesel for several years. Add five gallons, continue driving. At the next stop we fill tank and both five gallon cans. We did not need the canned fuel again, but comforted knowing we had it if needed.

[Titus]

Were your fuel availability problems on the Alaskan Highway or one of the other, less traveled, roads?

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Titus

Were your fuel availability problems on the Alaskan Highway or one of the other, less traveled, roads?

My fuel problems in 2014 were on interior Alaska paved roads, not on the ALCAN highway.

[Alex AVI]

Originally Posted by Tincampers

I’d be interested in seeing your list. We aren’t that organized and only have a rough plan.

1. Drive to Montana
2. Cross into Canada
3. Drive to Alaska
4. Go home.

We will most likely drive the Alaska Highway up and the Cassiar to Washington and then back home.

Are you there yet? If you are taking requests - please take before & after pics of yourselves & AI (and hopefully you are willing to share the effects of a trip of this magnitude to both man/woman & machine) BON VOYAGE and Best of Luck in the journey

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by Alex AVI

Are you there yet? If you are taking requests - please take before & after pics of yourselves & AI (and hopefully you are willing to share the effects of a trip of this magnitude to both man/woman & machine) BON VOYAGE and Best of Luck in the journey

Not yet. We will be leaving in one week. Pictures and tales at tincampers.us.

[Mansderm161]

Would love to go. Interested in projected costs. Also since I'm a solo traveller, would like to find a couple of people to mini caravan with. I'm pretty easy to get along with! Can you travel with pets?

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by Mansderm161

Would love to go. Interested in projected costs. Also since I'm a solo traveller, would like to find a couple of people to mini caravan with. I'm pretty easy to get along with! Can you travel with pets?

Yes, you can travel with pets. You just need their immunization records.

Not sure on what our costs will be, obviously fuel will be the largest expense. I expect we will spend somewhere north of $10k.

[Titus]

I would expect that fuel will be our largest cost (~$2000?). We do not care for commercial RV parks so I expect our camping costs to be ~15-$20 per day (~$20x 40 days=$800). Commercial CGs would double that. And some people just use the AI as the travel vehicle and stay in a hotel every night ($$ more). We eat mostly simple meals in the AI ($10 pp x 2 people x 40 days = $1200), but going out to eat 1x per day could add $20 pp or more. We will do a lot of day-hiking and plan a few boat rides and other tour-type things (eg. Gold Dredge #8 in Fairbanks), and those costs add up quickly. Museums range from free to $10 per person. We are taking the ferry from Haines to Juneau to Prince Rupert and that costs about $1700 (incl. a cabin).
Tincampers estimate of north of $10,000 seems high for what I think we will do in our 40 dayish trip but it would not be hard to reach that cost; a couple of flightseeing trips and/or fishing trips would get us to that level. We are fortunate to not have to worry about costs, but our tastes do not run on the expensive side of things either.

I cannot see us traveling in a caravan. The number of stops would go up by 50% and the time taken at each stop would go up by 50% (waiting for your turn in the bathroom or at the fuel pump) and we would have zero interest in stops that others in the caravan would think is a must-do. Finding a campground with space for 1 for the night vs 2, 3,4, etc.