North of Coldfoot
Welcome to Coldfoot
What a name! Coldfoot, Alaska (population 34) is aptly named. The lowest unofficial recorded temperature there was a chilly -82 degrees Fahrenheit!
The town began as an 1899 gold mining camp named Slate Creek. Folklore has it that the current name was derived from gold rush prospectors getting "cold feet" about making the 240-mile journey further north to Deadhorse.
The town languished until the 1970s when the Alaska Pipeline was built. Now it’s a rest stop on the Dalton Highway for ice road truckers heading to the oil fields on Alaska’s northern coast.
The town consists of a truck stop, a motley collection of old-school gas pumps, a hotel, a trooper’s office, an Alaskan Department of Transportation office, post office, and a runway for bush planes.
The Coldfoot Camp truck stop was founded by Iditarod champion Dick Mackey. He started his operation selling burgers out of a converted school bus. Truckers then helped build the truck stop and cafe.
The Coldfoot Camp Trucker’s Café menu.
The hotel rooms are spartan former pipeline worker trailers. But the hotel is the best (and only) hotel in town, so I paid the $300 per night price and enjoyed the experience!
The hotel.
Heat, hot water, a shower, and electricity!
The Shot
Our photography group left Coldfoot on the evening of February 16 in search of the Aurora Borealis. After driving about an hour North, we stopped at the Dietrich River bridge and headed to a location we scouted that afternoon.
But the foreground and the anticipated location of the Aurora didn’t seem quite right. So, we piled into the car and relocated further upriver. We had to trudge about 100 yards in knee deep snow after we stopped at a nearby frozen lake.
Our reward was a pattern of strong leading lines created by tree shadows aimed at a mountain peak across a frozen lake. Now we just had to wait.
Our patience was rewarded when the light show began. We didn’t even notice or care that it was a chilly -11 degrees out. Nature’s beauty mesmerized us. After about three hours, the show stopped, and we headed for the warmth of our unique hotel rooms.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus