Driving from Alaska to Russia.
by Liv | Published on November 12th, 2007, 7:47 pm | Travel
- Can You Drive from Alaska to Russia? Yes.
Sure I should just buy two tickets to Cairo and go enjoy the nice exchange rate with the middle east, but I crave adventure. Something inside of me wants to go to my Avis counter ask for a car and smugly sign my name to where it says "Won't drive in Mexico or Canada", and then laugh as I run to my rental car. Drive through Canada, into Alaska and then stand on the Alaskan coast (probably in flip flops and a tank top) and figure out some way to visit my Russian friends on the other side.
Yes I know, even if you make it to the bearing strait, or even across to Russia, you'll find incomplete, or ineffective infrastructure, remoteness, and multiple other problems. It won't matter though... they have endless amounts of Vodka. But it's been done:
As of this writing, we’ve learned that Steve and his partner Dan Evans have made the final part of their 10,379 mile voyage by sailing their Defender across 56 miles of frigid arctic water called the Bering Strait, from Russia to Alaska
I mean, as absurd as it sounds, "the idea of driving a car from here to Russia", really isn't all that absurd. Like really, how did the original people get into Alaska? I'm quite certain they didn't have layovers in JFK! In 2006 a British and American made the cross over the bearing strait on foot. It took 15 days, and were subsequently arrested and detained when they arrived. But imagine the feeling!
It appears that at the current moment, that is what you must do: walk across. Which involves lots of survival skills and equipment, more than my 2 weeks off per year, and an almost reasonable $72 fine when you get detained by Russia's finest. I guess for now I will put my hopes on hold. Maybe, I'll stick with flying to London, or down to Cairo... but one day, when you least expect it... and I disappear, I might be walking to Russia just to prove I can do it.
