Once you feast your eyes on this tome, you’ll have more than admiration for the editor. This is a monumental undertaking, including all that’s necessary to make this trek by vehicle. The editor starts out by providing a How To section for using The MILEPOST, a key to highways in the MILEPOST, a welcome to the North Country and travel planner. Major attractions in such towns as Anchorage, Fairbanks, Denali National Park, etc. are featured, and accommodations, hunting and fishing information, and alternative modes of travel are also included.

Before leaving for Alaska in 1972, we hadn’t decided whether we would attempt to return via the Highway or take a car ferry. Little did we know that if one chooses to return by car ferry, reservations must be made far in advance; like a year in advance! So, we drove back. But this turned out to be a good thing because we would have missed so much. My traveling partner and I spent two years planning our trip. I don’t recall now how or where we discovered the MILEPOST, but I suspect it may have been mentioned several times by those who had gone before us. I subscribed to Alaska Magazine for several years before our trip so was familiar with this much-needed Bible for road travel in Alaska.

It would be easier to tell readers/travelers what the MILEPOST does not provide rather than what it does. There is little left unsaid. The MILEPOST provides for travelers–and has since 1949-- a mile-by-mile description of all major highways and roads in Alaska and northwestern Canada. The information is detailed, including cities, communities, national parks, forests, various attractions, as well as information on different modes of transportation.

Whether you’re traveling the Highway by vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle or on foot, MILEPOST gives the reader a blow-by-blow of what to expect, what to avoid, and what not to miss. There are campgrounds, motels, businesses and service stations, all there to offer the traveler food, supplies and a place to lay your head. The MILEPOST folks also offer suggestions about what to see, where to stay, the capitols, highest and lowest points, square miles, terrain, state trees, flowers, birds and motto. There isn’t anything you won’t know, or haven’t acquainted yourself with in Alaska and the NW Territories of Canada after perusing the MILEPOST.

Throughout the MILEPOST are advertisements for various merchants and attractions that provide a little extra information. A calendar of events is included, as is camping do’s/don’ts, and information you need to know when crossing the border. The editor even provides a chart converting liters to U.S. gallons, gas prices during the previous year’s summer months and a gas cost in U.S. dollars chart. What the traveler needs to know about automobile insurance is covered, as are the subject of tires, gasoline, temperatures, and winter driving.

Before we embarked on our Alaska adventure, we had gone over our MILEPOST again and again and learned what to expect when traversing the Alaska Highway, which in 1972, was mostly gravel. We had heard horror stories about crossing the Highway so we purchased screens to cover the cars headlights, and had the gas tank covered to prevent any holes. Luckily for us, we encountered only one flat tire the whole trip, and spun off the gravel road once when trying to keep an eye on a bear. We considered ourselves fortunate considering we’d met a handful of travelers who had their share of mishaps.

Constructed in 1942 during WWII, the Alaska Highway followed existing winter roads, old Indian trails, rivers and "sight" engineering, according to the MILEPOST. The Highway begins in Dawson Creek, BC at Mile 0 and ends in Fairbanks, Alaska, milepost 1221.8. Here it becomes Alaska Route 2, continuing 200 miles to Delta Junction (mile 1422), the official end of the Alaska Highway. The Highway is asphalt surface and there is ongoing repaving and improvements made throughout the year. There are still sections of loose gravel which require driving at lower speeds.

The MILEPOST is sprinkled with all sorts of pictures, of scenic vistas, maps, campgrounds and motels. This way the traveler can see what they’re ordering up, whether it be a campground choice or place to eat.

The MILEPOST is a must for anyone contemplating a trip to Alaska, particularly by Highway. It’s the Bible for all that embark upon this once-in-a-lifetime journey. Don’t leave home without it. You can find the MILEPOST in bookstores or on line at www.themilepost.com.