A Viking’s Walkabout – Day 16 Part 2

Coldfoot to Deadhorse, Alaska (… the penultimate leg…)

After over a week in forests and clouds, the sun and the bare hillsides have an impact.

Road conditions are much better here.

Pump Station 4 in the distance.

The sign and turnoff for Pump Station 4.

Snow on the ground from the recent storm.

A helicopter ferrying in construction materials for a crew working on the pipeline.

The Brooks Range in the distance across the North Slope tundra.

Despite being marked as a dirt road on my map, the last 50 miles of the road into Prudhoe were in better condition than almost any U.S. highway I drove in the 48 contiguous states. Here a huge turnout free of potholes with plenty of room for hunters and trucks. I’m the only one here.

War Bus! Cleaning the rear windshield wiper and the tail lights.

The tundra flies past and the Arctic Ocean is just over there.

Deadhorse! The end of the drive, and almost to the goal. You cannot drive to the Arctic Ocean and must take a tour bus. That comes tomorrow.

Lodging in Prudhoe is in “Camps.” These camps are similar to, but larger and more modern than, Coldfoot Camp. Some are open to the public, and some are just for specific companies. I stayed in the Brooks Camp, which is more like a luxury moon base than any place I will probably ever visit again.

Cleanliness is paramount here. Either remove your shoes and put on house slipper or put on booties over your boots after cleaning them. The mud turns to a very fine dust when it dries. Keeping it out is key.

The rooms are nice and clean. All the drawers and doors have these cool toggles that can be padlocked. Hey, I’ve got a bunch of extra padlocks! I’m not too worried, but let’s use the amenities… Lock. Oh. Wait… My keys are in the cabinet… That’s OK, I have a spare… Oh, that’s in the cabinet too.. Oops.

So here is the noob going to the front desk. “Hey, I did something silly and locked…” Before I could finish the guy at the front desk laughed and said, “Hey, Ritchie, grab me those bolt cutters.” And then to me, “Happens all the time,” and he hands me the bolt cutters.

30 seconds later…

I learned or was reminded of a few important lessons: (1) Always check your pockets for your keys; (2) You’re in a place full of very capable people; (3) Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes very capable people make the same silly mistake you just made; (4) Ask capable people for help; (5) Padlocks won’t secure anything in the real world, especially around capable people; and (6) People won’t usually make fun of you (to your face) even when you’re really silly.

The laundry in Brooks Camp was large. It’s segregated into two sets of washers and dryers. To the left goes fuel and oil soaked clothing, and to the right goes everything else… I did another load of wash up here because I had dust and mud on my clothes again.