The Dempster is gravel almost all the way - well, not really gravel
but freeze & thaw shale spears. You'll know what I mean when you get
on it. It's still worth the trip. Check with the store just west of
the junction and ask about the river crossings, because they are
sometimes closed for weeks when the floods come.

The rest of the highways are mostly paved now, with 1/2 of the Cassier
even paved with asphalt.

The Top of The World from Dawson City to Tok had a lot of torn up
pavement with long gravel sections the last time I was on it in 2002
but they were working on it on the Alaska side. I still didn't use any
type shields on the truck or trailer and had very little chip damage
and only needed to wash the rig twice on a 3 month trip. I did slow
way down when meeting other vehicles in the gravel sections though.

Tom J.

No comments on the highway, but we taped outdoor carpet to the lower
front of the fiver and that worked well to prevent rock chips. Cheap, too.

We towed our 23' TT from Ontario to the Yukon and Alaska last summer and in
2003.  We purchased the trailer new in 2002 and after a trip that year to
Vancouver Island, involving a lot of gravel logging roads, noticed we were
getting a some "dings" to the front, lower, aluminum skin.  We came up with
the same solution Janet used - bought some cheap outdoor carpet at Home
Depot and fastened it to the lower front of the trailer using the existing
trim screws and some heavy-duty duct tape.  It wasn't pretty but it did the
job.  We waited until the start of the Cassiar highway before we installed
it.

There looks to be a push on to finish the paving of the Cassiar.  This year
it seems at least 70 - 80% paved and was being actively worked on.  A great
drive.

We were on the road for 3 months.  One month was spent in Alaska basically
poking in all the corners of the Kenai Peninsula.  Also went up to Denali.
We bypassed Fairbanks and took the so-called Denali Highway (#8) east from
Cantwell to Paxson then to Delta Junction and back to the Yukon.  A
fantastic drive, if slow.  About 135 miles, gravel, most of it at about
35mph.

Other than that all the highways we were on in Alaska this year were paved,
other than areas under consruction.  That's a costant condition in both the
Yukon and Alaska.  The winter of 2005 must have been tough as #1 south of
Tok was extremely frost-heaved.

We haven't done the Dempster but would like to.   If we go we will probably
leave the trailer in Dawson City and bunk down in the cap on the bed of the
half-ton.

Brian