Best time to travel on Dalton Highway - Prudhoe Bay Alaska

[Jcorrea]

I hope to ride from Prudhoe Bay south to Fairbanks, Alaska on the Dalton Highway this summer.  I'm looking for suggestions/recommendations on the best month to ride this stretch.  I thought late July August might find fewer mosquitoes but have read reports of problems in traveling later in the season (August) with gnats and no-see-ums, more rain, and forest fires.  Any comments on best time to travel this stretch. Thanks, Cowdoc 

[litespeed]

E-mail Tom Snyders, "The Bicycling Comedian", at  bikecomedy@aol.com. He rode Prudhoe Bay to Key West a number of years ago. He is pretty good about giving advice. His interesting web site is http://www.bikecomedy.com/. I met him a few times on the east coast many years ago. We were going the same way and kept meeting.

[BrianW]

I haven't ridden the Haul Road, but have driven it and also have spent a good bit of time in Alaska. Weather-wise, July is likely to be your best bet that far north, as the likelihood for not-so-good weather is stronger in early June and late August. You'll have mosquitoes all summer, I'm sorry to say, although they aren't *quite* as bad in August (it's all relative, though).

Be sure to wear high-visibility clothing to alert the drivers on the road to your presence, as in dry spells the dust can kick up and decrease visibility.