milepost

Reviewed by Susan Frissell

Again, we are reviewing the largest book ever on the Alaska Highway (Denali) and northwestern Canada and its environs (and on any bookshelf), The Milepost. With some updates, the new 2013 version is every bit as comprehensive and invaluable as it has ever been. We reiterate: Anyone traveling to Alaska cannot make this trek without The Milepost in tow. There isn’t anything it does not contain and even with today’s ability to quickly connect to Google, one still needs a good navigation guide such as this.

Since 1949, The Milepost has been guiding visitors and adventurers alike along the Alaska route and up through Canada. This is a trip of a lifetime and I don’t know how my friend and I would have survived without our trusty copy of The Milepost years back. At the time of our trip in 1972, our copy was a 9×12 paperback. Not nearly as voluminous and packed full as today’s edition. Nevertheless, it was a must. I still have my old Milepost, with its dog-eared pages and notes I made back when. I look at it from time to time to jog my memory and take me back.

As its editor Kris Valencia notes, “Traveling the Alaska Highway is worth the price, and the memories are worth the mileage.”

Covering some 14,000 miles of road, The Milepost lists detailed descriptions of all the communities along the route, a mile-by-mile log of all Northern routes and attractions in both Alaska and northwestern Canada. When traveling the Alaska Highway, we found these logs extremely helpful; particularly, when in need of a fuel stop and/or eating establishment. We had our camping sites scheduled ahead of time, which helped, but referred to The Milepost time after time when searching for suggestions about where to stop.

As I did before traveling in Alaska, The Milepost recommends all travelers carefully plan their itineraries ahead of time. For instance, if you are traveling in a good size RV, you will find there are extended parking areas available most everywhere along the way. Travelers can also combine road travel with the Alaska state ferry system and the Alaska Railroad.

Readers and travelers needn’t purchase The Milepost only if they are planning a trip to Alaska. On the contrary, for the armchair traveler alike, The Milepost is just great fun to read and peruse. There is so much contained in this travel planner, it is great reading. You will learn a tremendous amunt about Alaska from what remains “the Bible of the north.”

We can’t recommend it enough.