The Steese Highway connects Fox, just to the north of Fairbanks, with Circle, 161 miles away on the Yukon River. The road offers pristine rivers, 3 mountain passes and two quirky towns which owe their existence to gold mining.
It wasn’t the most relaxing start to our Alaska adventures: Aerlingus failed to deliver one of our bags to Seattle and three days later it still hadn’t arrived in Anchorage. A quick whisk around the thrifty shops and outfitters restocked us somewhat and we headed north out of town on the Parks Highway.
It was a hot sunny day and soon after Trapper Creek we spied the 20,310 feet white heights of Denali ahead. America’s highest mountain is frequently lost in the clouds but now she lay in her full magnificence, so much so that we camped at the Denali View South Viewpoint to fully appreciate the view.
My body clock was still messed up, so that I awoke at 3.30 am and thought I would catch sunrise on the mountain, only to find that it had preceded me by 30 minutes.
I walked to the upper viewpoint, senses alert for bears in the quiet of dawn. The skies were clear and the mountains serene with the silver threads of the Chulitna River below and there was a real sense of wilderness about the place.
Later, as we breakfasted below, a moose with two gangly young in tow emerged and walked through the car park – they really are the most ungainly of creatures.
The Alaska Range continued to enthrall us as we continued north to Fairbanks, where we discovered we would have to delay our Prudhoe Bay trip – a washout caused by the melting spring waters had closed the road for 3 days at the 315 mile point.
DAY 1
We decided to divert onto the Steese Highway instead for a couple of days, heading north out of Fairbanks to Fox where it officially begins. Opened in 1927 it provided access to the Circle Mining District and the Yukon River. The first 81 miles are bitumen and we trundled along smoothly, checking out the Felix Pedro Historical Monument (16.6 miles).
Felix was the prospector who discovered gold in 1902 so starting the rush. Plaques give a background to the gold mining. $1.8 million was taken from the Fairbanks gold fields between 1903 – 1910 when gold was worth $17.73 an ounce.
Wending along the Chatanika River, we ascended to Cleary Summit (2,233 feet) which was the first of three summits we would cross. It is a popular aurora viewing spot.
Suddenly we came upon a rather incongruous large red and white rocket: apparently the university-owned Poker Flat Research Range has fired 350 rockets since 1969 in their studies on the upper atmosphere. It it the most northerly range in America.
We were still jet lagged and decided to stop at 4 pm at the Chatanika State Recreation Area. The river access area at the far side of the camp site had some wonderful wild camping and we slotted into a secluded spot right beside the river.
DAY 2
Other than scenery, there is not an awful lot to look at along this road, so we thought we had better check out the Davidson Ditch historic pipe which was built in 1925 to carry water to float the gold dreges.
Simon dryly remarked: ‘Its riveting!’ looking at the rusty rivets holding it together. Now liberally peppered with bullet holes, it ceased working in 1967 after a flood flattened 1 km of piping.
The bitumen ended at the 80 mile mark and the road climbed steadily on good gravel to Twelvemile Summit at 3,190 feet. Caribou herds migrate through here from late July.
We followed the river with glimpses of old gold mining activity. Eagle Summit was the next stop, the highest of the 3 summits en route at 3,685 feet and a fairly desolate area of rolling lichen covered hills, many still sporting scattered snow patches. However spring flowers were seizing their chance and there was a splash of colour here and there.
It is the start of the Pinnell Mountain National Recreation Trail which wends 27 miles along the alpine ridges to Twelve Mile Summit. It is one of the few maintained and marked trails in Alaska with a couple of shelters en route – it looks as if it would be a nice one.
20 miles further we reached Central, a straggly village (population 38)of abandoned vehicles and the basic Skookum roadhouse. Unfortunately the old hot springs lodge was closed.
The gravel road continued, tyre tracks occasionally showing where people had drifted into the soft sides. Military jets in the sky above created strange patterns. A few taller trees showed the absence of permafrost.
We stopped at the Birch Creek Boat Launch where dog roses and mosquitoes flourished under an old suspension bridge.
The final 15 miles to Circle led through spiky birch trees and dark ponds beside the road.
Circle was the end of the road, it’s presence announced by untidy scattered houses with stuff-that-will-come-in-useful-one-day backyards.
It was hard to think that Circle had once been called the ‘Paris of the north’, with more than a thousand residents between 1894-6 – there are now 42. It was built to service the gold rush on nearby Birch Creek in 1893; the early miners thought it was on the Arctic Circle, hence the name – it is actually 50 miles south.
The H.C. Company Store looked as if it had been around a while and had the floodmarks to prove it. It was closed but an obliging boy emerged from a nearby house and turned the petrol pump on for us.
Finally we reached the parking area above the huge Yukon River, which runs for some 1,980 miles, rising near Whitehorse in Canada and flowing to the Bering Sea below Nome. A large grassy strip shadows the river which run slow and wide. It is serene and beautiful and Circle is one of only 3 places in Alaska where the road touches the mighty Yukon.
We picniced on shady tables and then explored the Rasmusson House, a 1909 log house in faded red livery. A broken cart stood outside but the door was open so I entered into a dusty realm of old furniture. A huge kitchen dresser still held crockery and the once grand drawing room with it’s big windows had a fine pine rocking chair.
Rickety stairs led to up to bedrooms; a chest stood open with bundled clothes, a box room had a library, music sheets and an empty banjo case. There was a fine view of the Yukon from the balcony.
Photographing outside, a man pulled up and insisted on giving us a guided tour so we went over it all again. We then entered a new community hall looking for photos of the great 2023 flood but failed to find any.
He pointed us to the pioneer cemetery, first left after the post office as we left town and another bizarre place. The white picket fences had fallen and faded, the forest rapidly taking over.
The headstones were gone or largely illegible, although I found one to Dolly O’ Brian, born ‘about 1867’. Dolly died exactly 30 years later and her wooden obelisk had sadly collapsed.
It was time to return and this time the Circle District Historical Society Museum in Central was open and well worth the $1 entrance fee. There was a gallimorphry of stuff from around the area with big metal mining machines displayed outside. The friendly girl also gave us their WiFi code which was useful as the area has no reception of any kind.
We stopped at Eagle Summit for coffee and then carried on to Twelvemile, camping in an open area just under a nearby hill. An ATV track left for Fairbanks but we had an undisturbed night with beautiful views.
DAY 3
In the brightness of the morning we decided to do a short walk on the Pinnell Mountain Trail, which left on boardwalks from the summit car park.
Tors loomed above us and in an easy half hour we had reached the first ridge. Looking over the other side we were mobbed by mosquitos, seemingly a hazard everywhere in Alaska summers.
The views were expansive, a wild area of rolling mountains and burgeoning flowers. It would look very different in winter. We retraced our steps and headed on: the Dalton Highway was open again and we were off to Deadhorse!
NOTES
The road is good bitumen and gravel and presents few problems. Fuel is available in Central and Circle. Wild camping is allowed everywhere, otherwise there is lodging at the Skookum Roadhouse and a B&B in Circle.
We found the Milepost Alaska Travel Planner very useful. It has detailed mile by mile descriptions and can be bought in any bookshop for $44.
