Milepost

[dawn.glenn@ns.sympatico.c]

Does the Milepost change much from year to year? I am thinking of ordering the 2012 edition so I can read it over the winter in preparation for our 2013 trip. Would this be ok or should I really wait for the 2013 version. When will 2013 be released??

[Gardyloo]

Does the Milepost change much from year to year? I am thinking of ordering the 2012 edition so I can read it over the winter in preparation for our 2013 trip. Would this be ok or should I really wait for the 2013 version. When will 2013 be released??

No; I regard publishing a new one every year as a gimmick. Even if you get one a few years old, IMO not enough has changed in the interim to warrant shelling out for a "current year" version. I can see some from the 2008 - 2009 vintage going for a buck on Amazon.

 

I'm sure the 2013 edition will be released sometime this autumn.

[agabbymama]

Check out your library and see if they have a Milepost, before purchasing one. I bought a new one (I think I paid $25 or $27 ???). Ended up throwing it in the trash, as it didn't give the information in the sequence I wanted it. When we decided to do the cruisetour, I threw the Milepost out.

 

While it does tell you what's along the way, it doesn't give you costs of hotels, so you still have to call or email. I would have done better to get Murray's guide as we wanted to go from Skagway up to Whitehorse and Dawson City. Then from Eagle Alaska, to Tok to Fairbanks to Denali to Anchorage.

 

The districts don't go in sequence so we were constantly having to flip from one section to another, then back to another, etc. Total waste as far as I was concerned. JMHO. Others on this board thinks its great.

[mapleleaves]

As a DIY traveller, I find the Milepost invaluable. I've only bought used editions .... the names and locations of towns are highways don't change! Some vendors may have gone out of business and new ones may have opened, but otherwise, an old book works great. I'm currently using a 2008 edition I bought on Amazon for $5.

There is a section for each hwy which makes it very easy to follow as you look at your itinerary. For instance if you're driving from Anchorage to Seward, it tells you the milepost # along the Seward Hwy where you will find a hotel, campground, gas station, or scenic viewpoint. At # you might see goats on the ridge, or mile # you might see belugas. The on-line version is extremely limited but it gives you an idea:

http://www.milepost.com/highway_info/seward_highway

If you're doing a cruisetour you don't NEED it. A good map would suffice, altho, it might be nice to identify what you're driving past.

[BubMunkeyBles]

Depends what you need it for. We drove a good part of the ALCAN and updated ones can be important in regards to gas stations (we usually just filled up whenever we could though). The 2012 didn't get released until February or March... I remember because we started driving in March and I was worried about getting the new one in time.

[PennyAgain]

I don't throw out Mileposts. Even older ones have some use especially to have a copy in each car when in Alaska.

 

They are not much use for people on cruise tours.

 

As advised above, the basic stuff in Alaska doesn't change much from year to year.

 

That said, I now have iPhone and iPad apps that cost a great deal less than Mileposts and are very interesting and useful.

 

However, for Alaska I make sure that my apps do not require WiFi to be useful.

[WatchHill]

When we did an eight day pre-cruise road trip to AK, Milepost became our guide. Prior to the trip I read about the areas in which we would be driving, highlighted items of interest and packed the volume in my carry-on. Since there were four adults on the trip, we took turns reading as we drove from ANC to Denali, taking advantage of the suggestions along the way. We discovered "hidden gems" one would never experience on a canned cruise-tour. Whoever was driving was informed of frost heaves and passing lanes with time to anticipate driving conditions.

 

Our trip took us to Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Copper & Kenny Lake and back through ANC to Portage. We even used it to supplement our drive from Skagway to White Horse. We found it very easy to use and could never have done the trip without it.

 

Finally stopped at the Post Office in Ketchican to mail it back home. Hint: As I took pictures, my sister noted the photo number in Milepost so when I put together the 500+ pictures, there was some degree of accuracy in describing the pix.

 

Darcy

[PennyAgain]

Darcy, fantastic idea about numbering photos and noting them in your Milepost.

 

I wish we had our earliest Mileposts but such is life that when needed they became toilet paper!

[PennyAgain]

Eleanor, the great thing about Alaska travel is that there are many options. Having been a bus guide and having driven a zillion miles in Alaska (more or less) I am very independent.

 

Each to her own.

[agabbymama]

Eleanor, the great thing about Alaska travel is that there are many options. Having been a bus guide and having driven a zillion miles in Alaska (more or less) I am very independent.

 

Each to her own.

 

Absolutely PennyAgain,

 

That's what makes travel anywhere so wonderful, there are plenty of different options, to please everyone. I'm not a very adventurous person. While I want to see and experience new places, I don't usually go on my own. Had I driven that zillion miles that you have, I might look at it differently!