Alyeska pipeline

   / Alyeska pipeline #21  
Yep, and one of my brothers was one of those truckers.:laughing: When they were building the pipeline, he drove a car hauler taking 4-wheel drive pickup trucks to the north end of the pipeline, and also hauled some drill bits up there. But he and I made the trip from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay and back July 4, 5, & 6, 1991, in his F Super Duty truck. Of course we did see some wildlife, but not as much as my brother had expected because they said it was unusually warm and lots of the wildlife had moved back to higher ground.

We were running without radios and the transports would come down in convoys of three at well over 80 mph using both sides of the road. If you met them in the corner, it was wild. We were planting instruments in the ditch and when you heard them coming you had to take cover or risk getting nailed with a rock.

They didn't like us much... Lol
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #22  
I learned to unscrew the spout, put a funnel into the tank and just pour it out. Quick, fast and easy!!!!

I've done that too but it's messy unless you're very careful. I normally use a funnel to get gas into my log splitter etc. I've also used a self starting siphon to get gas into the truck, no mess but slow. I'd rather have a long enough spout to get it started into the tank first then tip and pour. Until I get a better fueling arrangement with a pump setup, getting fuel into the tractor is gonna be a real PITA. I don't know why they put the fuel cap way up on top of the hood like they did. There doesn't appear to be a worse possible spot to choose. First ya gotta lift the can up onto the tractor, then climb up, then pour the fuel into the tank over the top of steering wheel. Using a funnel for that would likely result in pouring diesel all over the tractor. Plus the cans aren't vented making it all the worse. The kit I found comes with a vent too.
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #23  
Atigun Pass, Brooks Range, Dalton Hwy.

Atigun Pass Dempster Hwy..jpg

Pipeline near Happy Valley Alaska. Note Caribou under the pipeline. If you walked a hundred feet off the hwy the ground was littered with thousands of antlers.

Alaska Pipeline Seismic.jpg
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #24  
We were running without radios and the transports would come down in convoys of three at well over 80 mph using both sides of the road. If you met them in the corner, it was wild. We were planting instruments in the ditch and when you heard them coming you had to take cover or risk getting nailed with a rock.

They didn't like us much... Lol

We had to fly everywhere via bush plane, BLM mostly. There were no practically no roads to anywhere back then. I spent the 73 and 74 seasons up there all over the place. The skeeters were fearsome and if it wasn't for the skeeters it was the white socks, no-seeums and deer flies chewing your hide. You'd pray for wind because that was the only real relief from the bugs. There was great hunting and fishing though. You could just about walk out into a herd of caribou, put a gun to ones head and pull the trigger or lay a fly out on a lake and a 20" lake trout would gobble it up inside of 5 minutes. We did get tired of eating out of cans after a bit. It was strictly bush camping most places. When we got to come into Anchorage for a break once in awhile, we'd sure stink up the place till we could get cleaned up. LOL
 
   / Alyeska pipeline
  • Thread Starter
#26  
The tale of rampaging truck convoys made me remember a friend's story of truck convoys across New Mexico in the 60's or early 70's... the main E-W highway was three lanes- center lane for passing. He said great convoys of semis would form up, and run down the center lane at 80+ MPH. God help anyone who didn't clear the lane. CB radios made it possible, I suppose, since an Eastbound and a Westbound train meeting would have been a disaster.
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #27  
I've done that too but it's messy unless you're very careful. I normally use a funnel to get gas into my log splitter etc. I've also used a self starting siphon to get gas into the truck, no mess but slow. I'd rather have a long enough spout to get it started into the tank first then tip and pour. Until I get a better fueling arrangement with a pump setup, getting fuel into the tractor is gonna be a real PITA. I don't know why they put the fuel cap way up on top of the hood like they did. There doesn't appear to be a worse possible spot to choose. First ya gotta lift the can up onto the tractor, then climb up, then pour the fuel into the tank over the top of steering wheel. Using a funnel for that would likely result in pouring diesel all over the tractor. Plus the cans aren't vented making it all the worse. The kit I found comes with a vent too.

EZ-POUR Universal Fuel & Water Jug Spout

I ordered some of these and they work perfect!
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #28  
Atigun Pass, Brooks Range, Dalton Hwy.

View attachment 460133

Pipeline near Happy Valley Alaska. Note Caribou under the pipeline. If you walked a hundred feet off the hwy the ground was littered with thousands of antlers.

View attachment 460135

Remember how the tree huggers told us that they would never cross the pipeline and since they could no longer migrate, they would all die?
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #29  
Remember how the tree huggers told us that they would never cross the pipeline and since they could no longer migrate, they would all die?

Yup. They actually use the pipeline as shelter and to migrate.
 
   / Alyeska pipeline #30  
Yep that's the one I think. The one I got came with a vent you could put on the can and an extension to make the spout about twice as long. Well worth what it cost me. I modified one can with the vent this morning. I think I'll pick up another kit to modify the other diesel can and to do something with three or four worthless to me till now gas cans.
 
 
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