Nathan McAndrew

Summer was all just about over, our summer jobs were winding up and the goodbyes of newly made friends in the spring and summer happened. I was living in a small ski and outdoor adventure town named Canmore, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It’s situated in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Banff is close by, about an hour and a half down the road.

I had a few plans and also an invite on the drawing board, the invitation was from my friend Seb (pictured above & throughout this article). His plan was to head north to the Yukon and up into Alaska in a van he picked up for $800. Seb named him Vince, he was a 5.8L diesel 1976 Ford E150. It was converted into an Ambulance by a mining company somewhere in North America in the 80’s. I packed my things and we set off into the unknown.

A 9,000km journey that took us all the way up to Fairbanks, Alaska. We saw loads of wildlife, the biggest mountains we have ever seen, camped in some incredible places and ate lots of sticky buns (cinnamon buns). Let off fireworks rather close to the US border. To add we also met a fair few interesting characters and also a lot of nice folk. Went hiking and saw 9,000km of country side that was forever changing.

So go and brew some tea, get comfy and let me tell you some of the story of my journey to the Last Frontier.

A few days before we set sail, we decided on making our mark on the rear panel. Later down the road many people saw and most likely wondered why ‘All hail our lizard overlords’ was written on the back. Got to have that personal touch ya’ know. We also collected stickers from the towns we visited.

At the beginning of this journey, I knew there was going to be some incredible places to see and lots to photograph along the way. It was time to move. We were ready and Seb’s 46 year old van was too. The day we left it snowed. In that moment of waking up, opening the door and stepping outside I knew there was a lot more to come, the further north we go.

With our food and equipment list ticked and complete, it was time to hit the road. Two humans with all their belongings start the life of a couple rubber tramps. We said goodbye to some of those still in town from the summer gone and then set off. The first destination was getting onto Icefields parkway. We drove through the heart of Banff and Jasper National Park, the Icelands Parkway is one of the most scenic drives on Earth.

5 hour drive into the unknown we chugged into the sleepy town of Jasper. The town had a special charm and it reminded me very much of Canmore. We decided to set up camp to replace the themostat. Something about the place made me feel like it was very much alive. The mountains in the distance watching us as we explored around jasper. The carpark was home for the night but unfortunatley being a sunday the next morning, no mechanics were open. Monday rolled around and Seb replaced Vince’s thermostat. Conversations of the possible issue if Vince shits the bed early on the trip and/or we get stuck in the middle of nowhere of the Yukon wilderness came about. So the ‘lets cross that bridge when we come to it’ vibe came about and then we were on our way northwest to Prince George.

With a late start in the day we cruised out of Jasper heading North-West to the city of Prince George. We first came across a lot of big hills, that wasn’t healthy for fuel economy. Early into the day we turned off into the Mt Robson carpark.

The hills just got worse, and at that stage we weren’t carrying any extra fuel. After rolling into the outskirts of Prince George we arrived with our fuel level below empty. Brought up a map and we crashed in Walmart parking lot for the night. (Cheers lad’s). The next day we were off, hoping to make as much ground as possible through Northern British Columbia.

Arriving to the Yukon

With two more big days driving, bear sightings and epic campsites, we reached what is the start of the Yukon Territory. We drove for a few hours more through a permafrost pine forest that unfortunately was wiped out by a fire some years ago. Our route was through the valley of what was left of the forest. For as far as we could see there was only the trunks of the pine tree’s left. A scared stick forrest. After driving through all that we finally made it to Nugget City. The City in fact was just single gas station with a mechanic and motel attached on the side. Once a town that mined for gold and jade. It now is the first place to get gas once you cross into the Yukon province.

While we were filling up our tank with rather pricy fuel, a friendly dog ran up to us. I gave the dog company and loaded new film into my camera, as snow was slowing falling and sun was starting to set. Seb went inside and payed the attendant. The guy mentioned that the dog is a decedent of the dog that was on the Seal team 6 mission to take down Osama bin Laden. On our return trip. Whilst Nugget city again we also saw for the first time in my life, the Northern Lights. I have never seen anything like them. It was a beautiful and a stunning show that dances in the night sky. From one side of the horizon to the other, a green pulsating and flickering aurora moves across the sky.

So we finally made it to the Yukon. We spent one morning discussing whether or not we should go further north up into Alaska now or later on. How far north can we go before the snowstorms shut us down? With the time we had available to us, we decided to drive further north. Hoping to get as far north as possible in Vince before we miss the chance to see the beauty of Alaska.

We also visited the town of Watson lake. In the town there’s a sign forest made up by all the travellers that have visited the remote town. Just under the archway, on the back, on the left hand side, the post reads ‘Vince the wonder van, Nate and Seb, 2019’. Almost a right of passage for anyone traveling up through the Yukon. I noticed there were also street signs for Europe and around the world. I have no idea who would be carrying around a street sign from another country with me but it made me wonder.

After making it into the Yukon we received our first taste of the Alaskan highway. Mountains, Tundra and Golden Eagles. Saw a fresh trophy kill and just bare wildness all round. We took on iced up roads, acquired those fireworks I mentioned before and we also suffered a fuel leak. With repairs complete and our fingers crossed that we didn't catch fire, we got back on course.

The capital and only city of the Yukon is Whitehorse. We spent a few days there, so we could hike some trails and restock on some much needed things. As we were starting to gain latitude on the earth, the days were shorter. The sun doesn’t rise as high and we were often finding ourselves waking up later too. It was probably one of the last times we were warm outside before heading further north. After we left the city, the temperature dropped and we saw numbers plummet in the night time. I really enjoyed our time in whitehorse, as cold as it was I knew it was only going to get colder.

Seb and I planned for our next route towards Alaska. The night before we leave, I took some time to calculate how far each gas station is between one another. Vince’s fuel economy wasn’t the best. Meanwhile staring back at me on the map is Mount Logan. Canada’s tallest mountain at 5,959 metres and is the second highest peak in North America after Denali. I’ve read about climbers reaching the summit only to be stuck inside their tents for days, unable to move. Wild two week storms can blow in without warning. With some smaller ascents under my belt I was eager to see a possible goal in the flesh for the future. Upon entering the valley and I couldn’t see anything that resembled the tallest mountain in the country. Unfortunately Mount Logan is too far inland from the road to see on the Alaskan highway. The road follows closely to the mountains so we didn’t get a glimpse of Mt Logan. A little bummed about not getting to view Canada’s tallest mountain but I knew I would be seeing Denali once we get into Alaska anyways. Below is Mount Wallace, still a pretty scene nonetheless.

Arriving at the US border

We were told by locals and fellow Van dwellers in Whitehorse that the border crossing was fairly strict. Once we got close to the border, it was getting dark so we decided to not cross that night. We decided to set up camp by the side of the road and then later on in the night we remembered that we had fireworks still. Unsure sure whether we would be allowed to carry them over. We lit those puppies up, only to be paranoid about every car that passed us thereafter as we were close to the border. In actual fact the border crossing was way easier then everyone put across to us. The officers on duty even joked about our van even lasting our journey in Alaska. Vince may be old but he had a newish engine. Here’s me thinking we were going to get the van searched and maybe even questioned? In the end they gave us a stamp and sent us on our merry way.

The last Frontier, Alaska

From the border crossing we drove through some pretty intense mountain passes, over bridges and drove on some black ice. You don’t really see black ice, you feel it once you start to loose control. Our first taste of invisible death. We turned off the Alaskan Highway and got onto the Glen highway, heading south-west. We hoped to make it all the way to Anchorage the same day but didn’t make the cut. We tried to keep night travel to a minimum as Vince was only sporting one headlight. We drove into Palmer, a little town along the highway just before Anchorage.

We spent some time in Anchorage hiking around the bay and just driving around seeing what existed in the place we were in. Seb and I headed for some rock climbing as it was the first gym we have come across since leaving Canmore. With the rain and cold outside we spent a few days climbing. We were lucky to have met Ian, an American originally from Salt Lake City, Utah. He recently moved to Alaska. He invited us to go and discover Portage Glacier with him. We agreed and set off. Having never seen a glacier up close it was pretty mind blowing climbing through one and seeing what was on display. Climbing over and under large pieces of ice, hearing faint cracks and creaks as we sat in an ice tunnel for lunch and kicking huge rocks off a ledge to watch them obliterate the ice below. Being inside a glacier holds the risk of getting trapped under a mountain of ice or being cut off if the tunnel behind you collapses. Worth it for the views though.

Something surreal and new happened that day and I wont ever forget it. Since that day i’ve been intrigued by the shapes and colours that bounce off the ice. It’s beyond beautiful. I spent most of the day like a little kid with my mouth open and hardly believing what I was witnessing. I’ve always been totally fascinated with the feeling of seeing new things. The feeling of exploring and discovering what’s around the next corner. I’m obsessed with living an unconventional lifestyle and being in a space that is also new and progressive. The journey into the unknown gave me new ideas and visions for my journey ahead. For my future ides of unconventional living spaces and lifestyle. The exploration of ones self in a new environment. I’m forever grateful for the journey.

Into The Wild

After visiting Anchorage and seeing just the tip of the iceberg of what is to do there, we moved onwards. We traveled with great swiftness. Heading further north into the Alaskan wild lands. We covered a huge amount of ground once we left anchorage. Swinging into Denali and viewing the tallest mountain around. Denali is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth. Seeing it as well as seeing it through my lens was a dream and it did not disappoint one bit. With late fall setting in nicely the landscape was bare with snow coverage starting to build up and the colour brown was a favourite pick for Mother Nature.

Fairbanks, Alaska

We arrived into Fairbanks at night without any maps so we sought the warmth of the big golden arches that is McDonalds and got cosy until morning. We spent a lot of time enjoying our victory of making it. We did a few hikes and visited Chena hot springs, hoping to see the northern lights. I didn’t take many photos and admidtly I just forgot. Looking at everything and taking it in was all I needed. I was reading the book ‘into the wild’. Wondering how Chris McCandless felt when he first saw Fairbanks and the area surrounding. I was moved by the passion Chris had for nature and his journey.

Seb and I wanted to visit the magic bus, the spot where the late Chris ‘Alexander Supertramp’ McCandless spent his dream of living in Alaska for 113 days. Unfortunately it wasn’t the right conditions to hike to the bus and we didn’t want to get stuck out there like he did if anything happened. By chasing the dream of being free, chris has inspired me and my work. I look upon his adventure with wonder but also deep sadness. Since reading a number of books about him, such as ‘Into the wild’, ‘Back to the wild’, ‘The death of an innocent’ and ‘the wild truth’ i’ve found that the story now only fills me with sadness. I’ll forever be inspired with his desire to be free and wild in the unknown. The movie adaption of ‘into the wild’ by Jon Krakauer's book will also always remain one of the best films i’ve ever seen. I laughed and cried watching that film. I can only wonder how scared, cold and hungry he must of been before he passed.

Always moving to see his self portraits and handwriting but being in Alaska, with views and being surrounded with the same things he would have saw filled me with even more wonder. The landscape there is unlike anything I’ve played eyes on. If things we different however, no one would even know or care who he is. If Chris never died, he’d just still be free out there. I bet he would be still living his life exactly how he wanted it.

Return

After spending some time in Fairbanks, the decision was made to head to Vancouver. The snow got thicker, money was low but our spirits were forever high. We did it. All 3 of us (Vince always seemed like he was the 3rd person joining us during the trip). We busted out down south, seeing more incredible country side, listening to the road trip playlist we made and driving around being free. Just like the rubber tramps we were. The trip took us a month. We traveled 9,000km and I had the best time of my life doing it.