Japanese trekker returns to road en route to Prudhoe Bay
Published Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS - A Japanese man apparently trying to reach Prudhoe Bay on foot was allegedly back in Fairbanks this morning and could be headed out — despite frigid temperatures — to pick up where he left off late last month.
Alaska State Troopers had briefly labeled the traveler, 37-year-old Toru Yamaguchi, missing this weekend. State road crews discovered a cart, similar or identical to one he had been dragging behind him, and other supplies stashed near the highway roughly 70 miles north of Fairbanks.
But the manager at the Alaska Motel on South Cushman Street confirmed the hiker, who troopers say briefly detoured to Canada during Christmas and the New Year’s holiday, stayed in Fairbanks on Sunday night and checked out Monday.
State transportation supervisor Ron Petty said he had not checked as of Monday afternoon to see if the cart was still where road workers found it in late December — on state-owned land near a gravel pit.
Efforts to reach Yamaguchi — through the Alaska State Troopers and in person — were unsuccessful during the past two days. He reportedly speaks little or no English.
Fairbanks resident Doug Carlo said he gave Yamaguchi a ride south to the Fairbanks area shortly before Christmas. Carlo said by phone Monday that the traveler told him during the ride he started his trek roughly five years ago in Argentina.
Yamaguchi began preparing last summer for his trek through Alaska, as postal workers in the highway town of Coldfoot said they’ve been storing food supplies that he and family members mailed there months ago.
His trip, however, wound up coinciding with an extreme cold snap. Temperatures in Fairbanks have hovered around minus 40 or minus 50 degrees for more than a week, and the Dalton Highway at
Atigun Pass was experiencing high winds and only limited visibility, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
Carlo, an electrician who said he was on his way back from picking up a snowmachine near the Yukon Bridge, said he was surprised at what seemed to be a lack of preparedness on the hiker’s part — hiking boots but no overalls. He said he grew upset at the thought that rescue workers could wind up searching for the man if he tried again.
“To me, he wasn’t prepared. I don’t even think he knew what (the weather) was like up past the Brooks Range,” Carlo said.
Trooper Sgt. Brian Wassmann acknowledged that troopers could wind up searching for Yamaguchi again if they believe he’s injured or missing. State law also gives public safety officials the power to detain people who appear to jeopardize the safety of themselves or others, but Wassmann indicated during the weekend that that rule might not apply to Yamaguchi.
Community Discussion
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Let's get a sweepstakes together on whether or not he makes it. It could also have a division on whether or not they will find him. There are much better organizers out here than I, it would be fun to bet on him....he has gotten this far!! Good Luck to you dude, I am sure someone will bet on you making it all the way!! Maybe $5 a guess...I would take some of that action. We need to find a non-profit to sponsor it though. That shouldn't be so hard.
HE COULD GO ALL THE WAY !!!!
Your so funny Yukonjohn!
I'd bet on 'em!
Go out to Chena Hot Springs or on base or on UAF & find someone who does speak japanese to translate & interview Yamaguchi, get all vital info. .
Put it on the radio in japanese & english. Make flyers to post for him in japanese & english around town & up the road, at hilltop for the truckers.
Notify all media to announce in japanese & english the need to talk to & interview Yamaguchi.
I don't know about most folks but it can be intimidating to be somewhere & no one speaks a language you know. Been there done that. It's not cool. Add on dangers & laws & media it gets more intimidating. I hope we can get a translater for him & for Alaska.
Heck all the japanese tourists visiting Chena Hot Springs might enjoy seeing & meeting one of their countryman on such a journey in Alaska.
Good PR work to be able to send back to Japan with the japanese tourists visiting us.
With 5 years on the road walking starting in Argentina, Toru Yamaguchi could very easily be a folk hero in Japan. With Toru Yamaguchi being so close to reaching his quest in full, I would wager he has home grown fans visiting from Japan in town. I would also wager he don't know some country folks is this close. 5 years is a long time to be away from home,language, food & country.
Toru Yamaguchi is making history & sharing a lil corner of it with Fairbanks. I hope the NM or a TV news station gets an interview & a translator.
Ah, to be rich & give Toru Yamaguchi a day at Chena Hot Springs to go visit with some of his countrymen. I would buy him a pair of "Cs" to pull on & give him a good hat or gloves or boots or whatever he needed. As a thank you for choosing Alaska to end his 5 year quest in. Heck take a picture of the grandkids with him. I want him to overcome our frigid winter. He may or may not be making Alaska's history but I know he's making history in Japan as a national hero.
I'll bet 5 on him making it.
Put me down for another 5. He'll reach his goal.
How does one go 5 years without a job?
or does he pick up side jobs on the way....'back in my day' these guys were called hobo's
:)
good luck anyway - and stay warm
I hope the guy makes it - he started a long ways away! He's gonna make it!!
akguy, it's surprisingly easy. I've got a friend who hikes for fun, and he'll work for two years, saving every penny, then go out and just hike for two years or so. It's incredible how cheap it is to live when you don't have to worry about car payments, rent, utilities, etc. and all you have to do is pay for food and supplies.
He's an Idiot for not being prepared.....Sounds a lot like "Into The Wild".....
May the sun be on your face and the wind be at your back. $5.00 to go all the way!
From what I've seen around town finding a translator should not be a problem. My guess is he is shacked up somewhere around town with one of the beautiful Japanese women that recently got off the plane here. I've seen them everywhere recently. Even helped one of them to figure out how to pump gas at Freddies the other day. Hopefully he will wait till the weekend to head out. Hope he makes it too.
Does anyone remember that Karl Bushby guy from Great Britian who is trying to walk around the world (from the southern tip of South America to England)? He arrived in Fairbanks in the winter of 2004 and it took him several years to cross the Bering Strait. In March 2006, Bushby and French adventurer Dimitri Kieffer crossed the Bering Strait on foot, walking across a frozen 56 mile section in 15 days. As long as Toru Yamaguchi is well prepared, I'll put $5.00 on him to go all the way. We all need to be reminded that we are what we are today due to people in the past who took risks and had a sense of adventure.
Ok - I'm in for 5 that he'll make it. Not too sure of what else he's up to, but I hope all will be well and safe.
By the way, why wouldn't the rules apply to him? What makes him so different? Immigrant status?
I dont like the idea of people leaving their trash along the road, gravel pits or where ever. I think he should be fined for littering or abandoning property. I feel the same for anyone who defaces our great state.
The FCVB has a couple of people who speak Japanese.
My $5 says he doesn't make it, based on Carlo's description of him as unprepared. We can contribute the money to offset the rescue cost.
I wonder how the truckers feel about him walking along the haul road in the dark? They will probably be his "life-line" out there but I bet they are more worried about hitting him.
I like NOtPC's handle, it is unique but perhaps he might consider changing it NotInformed, at least on this thread. To walk as far as he has he is obviously tough, has a lot of street moxie and is very well prepared. He also to answer one question of where he gets his bucks, at least once and I think it was somewhere in central or South America, he flew back to Japan to work in a factory to save enough money to continue his journey. Someone supplied a link here in one of these FDNM comment sections giving that info.
Also being he has a highway to walk up, his endeavor taken in light of what the old gold crazed characters did in the dead of winter around the beginning of the 20th century when they literally walked over much of Alaska in the dead of winter with no trails isn't quite as amazing as it sounds to us modern boys.
And Davenport has some good ideas, there are several full time Japanese speaking residents on Chena Hot Springs Road. Cole as an example ought to be able to run one of them down for an interpreter and when he comes back to Fairbanks get us an in-depth interview with this guy. Sure beats another sequel about the on-going soap in Wasilla.
dog
"State law also gives public safety officials the power to detain people who appear to jeopardize the safety of themselves or others". He is a major traffic hazard and is jeopardizing the safety of all the motorists on the Dalton highway so he should be prohibited from traveling the highway. There is hardly room for two vehicles to meet on the Dalton and when you throw a 4' wide cart into the mix someone is going to collide or end up in the ditch. He normally travels at night and although he does have a orange triangle on the back of his cart he is very hard to see. Something really needs to be done before someone ends up getting hurt. The public safety officials will tell you that you have to wear a seatbelt to protect yourself but they wont remove this traffic hazard from the road?
Lets see december and janurary north of Fairbanks, I would say it's a good quess He's traveling at night.
I hope they make him carry a GPS beacon so it will be easy to find the body.
He reportedly speaks little or no English.
Fairbanks resident Doug Carlo said he gave Yamaguchi a ride south to the Fairbanks area shortly before Christmas. Carlo said by phone Monday that the traveler told him during the ride he started his trek roughly five years ago in Argentina.
he must be able to speak a little more than no English if he was able to communicate all of that to Doug.
NotPc: Ditto.
Crummy: If a person has an orange triangle on the back of their trailer, which can usually be seen for up to 500ft in normal sunlight if I'm not mistaken, Truckers should be traveling at a safe rate of speed and should be able to see this in time to stop. And, if they fail to do so, obviously they're driving at an unsafe rate of speed. State Troopers might be more then happy to clarify what I'm saying here. (BTW... don't give me any lame excuses such as, "They can't stop fast enough with a heavy load" or the weather either.)
However, on the flip, I can just see someone driving at an excessive rate of speed and rear-ending him. Happens all the time on the freeways because some drunk doesn't see the disco lights on a cruiser stopped at the side of the road while ticketing someone else. So, question is, does a cop have a right to remove a person's freedom when a road is driven by such people? <shrugs>
At most, I'm sure people can keep an eye on him and broadcast over the CB/Radio the mile marker he's actively at. This way, fatigued drivers will know when to wake-up at a specific mile marker and drive more safely. <GRIN>
One other thought, wonder if public safety might tail him for 30 minutes or so on his trek... flashing lights might also help warn drivers. <shrugs...just a thought.>
I have seen him personally, walking, not on the shoulder, but right in the road when it is dark and snowing. The plow trucks had not plowed yet and he was walking where it was easiest. "Orange Triangle" or not, He is most certainly an extreme hazard on the roadway and is likely to cause an accident when the "perfect storm" of two oncoming trucks coincide with a blind corner. Wait a minute! The state should pay to make the Dalton Hwy. wheelchair accessable, that would make it safer for the Japanese adventurer!!
This is a happening in the making ,Remember the assie that was pick-up at bettles,get ready for the call Air national Guard,just maybe he can get a free-bye with meals and free ticket and room.
Pitdog, unless the man is blind and deaf, he'll know whether two oncoming trucks are going to pose a problem. When you drive a car at 60mph with the radio on, things seem to come out of nowhere. When you're outside, walking, with unimpaired hearing and vision, you can see and hear trucks long before they reach you. If he walked all the way from Argentina, he knows the drill by now.
Burke, most Japanese people do not eat whale meat, ever. How would you like to be blamed and stereotyped for everything that your government does wrong?
rogerx, apparently you have no experience with the haul road. It is very lame for someone to assume that this road is like any other. This guy is a hazard. I do hope he makes it though.
Once again, your ignorance is very apparent. You should stop posting. You are probably on your laptop in front of Wal Mart, waiting for your overfed, underworked, and non-adventurous family to come out with more plastic crap and processed foods. If you want to talk about road hazards, ask the troopers why they pull people over on corners, park in the middle of the lane while doing so, and drive around talking on their cell phones. I live up the Elliot and drove past Toru many times. He was just as visible as the traffic on the road, so don't try and tell everyone how much it hurts you to see this guy out there fulfilling an awesome adventure. He was not traveling in the middle of the lane either. I wonder how many of you have actually climbed an Alaskan mountain in the winter, or even been on a caribou hunt up the steese when it's 20-30 below. It's tough work, suited for real Alaskans. So to all you people posting this nonsense and straight-up lies, do not dare to venture out. Stay warm and tidy with your computer close at hand, and be sure to think bad thoughts about all the real men and women out there. Do not expect any rebuttals from me, I won't waste my time, I have wood to split.
I'm deeply troubled and worried about this man. The conditions he's traveling under are much different than Argentina.
I wish him luck, but I expect that the next time we hear about his journey, he'll be returning to Fairbanks.
deltadoug, hope you get them panties out of a wad before you start splitting that wood, you real Alaska dude:-) Darn, my jelly donut just dripped onto the front of my shirt..
delta doug next time just don't post at all, split wood you seem to know something about that
Well BABYLON, I certainly will not try to give a forensic analysis of his sight or hearing until I have looked him over closely, but he sure did not seem too concerned about moving off the road when I came around the corner, probably because D.O.T. does not typicaly plow for wheelchairs (initially) or rickshaws either for that matter. As for deltadoug or was it deltadawn, I am truly in awe of the hearty Alaskan that you paint yourself as. I doubt any of us have ever done it quite as rough,or as well as you. As for me, I'm just sitting in front of my wood stove sipping on a CC& Coke! You see tough guy, many of us Alaskans have several years worth of wood that we cut and split in the SUMMER! :):)
Split wood in the summer? You must be joking or have a mechanical splitter.
If neither of the above apply, you ought to stay off the wood splitting tales because you're telling on yourself.
dog
Dellroy: I have more experience driving then you could realize from my posting here.
I would suggest everybody posting and threatening "He could get hit", realize that all drivers have a responsibility to drive safely and within reasonable stopping distance of such obstacles. Especially when they are properly marked according to State Alaska Statutes. (ie. And, blowing, blinding snow does not mean 60 miles an hour. I would also imagine from the road conditions, drivers would be driving much much slower.)
And, if you were overseas in Japan, according to Japanese law, anybody hitting another pedestrian with a vehicle will usually be charged with attempted murder or murder and sentenced as such. Unfortunately, we don't enforce the same law here. It took me awhile to understand this law, but it does make sense.
As such, even I drive much much more safer & courteously nowadays. Unfortunately, my safe driving tactics has only prevented me from slamming into oncoming unsafe drivers. :-/
Sorry for the long post. Be safe.
Good luck to you Toru-san.
This guy reminds me of the NUT I met on the Dalton last October. He was also Japanese...and this dude was riding (make that pushing) a bike up a hill south of Coldfoot in a driving snowstorm!!!! I stopped and asked him if he needed help. He said no...he was riding his bike from the North Slope down to the tip of South of America!!! He had ridden across all the other continents except Antarctica!!!
They must be related!!!!!!!! I just shook my head...wondered why he hadn't gone the other way -- so he would be riding the Dalton in the summer...
For miles I listened to the CB as truckers almost ran the nut over!! I still wonder if he made it...or ended up pin-balled off a semi into the bush...or in the belly of a bear!!
Just goes to show you that the nuts are out there...who in their right mind would try to walk the Dalton in this weather???
Just hope no one ends up freezing to death trying to find this idiot!!!!
Funny as h*ll.
Should have seen the Japanese kids at Yellowstone. 2-3ft high stone mortar barrier at the edge of the road and a 1+ mile drop to the bottom of a raven. Well, needless to say, they were jumping on top of this mortar fence and walking it like a balancing beam. Completely nuts! No parachute or bunji ropes. Nothing!
So rogerx.should we change the name of Coldfoot to Toyko Alaska....I've been up the haul road a few times myself and seen the caribou and other game along the side of the road.Those 18 wheelers have big bumpers for a reason.They can't always stop or get over to miss something in the way.How about trucks that run off the road,ever see any of those around the pass?...and for you people who think every driver will see the orange triangle your as nuts as he is, that's why it's called and "Accident"....S**t happens...and by his actions he increased his chances of an accident many fold.So let's call it what it is "Foolish"
The things that drive some people in life, I cannot explain, nor try to. Perhaps this is this guys self-imposed destiny. Something, I dunno. I do have to say if the guy has the competance to travel internationally and successfully complete other legs of this tour of his, he probably does not want/does not need assistance. Too bad there isnt some prerequisite steps that he woul dhave to take before doing this in our country like identifying himself, showing proof of responsibility, or at least a next of kin contact.
As for Delta Doug, reading your post reminds me of the "Real Men of Genius" commercials on 95.9. "Here's to you, Mr. Real Alaskan Hero:"
Cmon man, do you think you are the only person here that splits wood, hunts, or hikes mountains? Just a little full of yourself?
I'm betting he makes it. The temps are cold but not so cold that someone who is in shape and moving can't stay warm just by the physical activity. The real challange will be hauling enough food and fuel to replenish not only the calories necessary to live - but also to keep warm. 5000-7000 calories a day is what he is looking at.
While not for me, I don't begrudge these sort of adventurers. Be happy that we live in a place that still attracts them. It says something about the country we still have left up here that our maps draw dreamers and adventurers from around the world. It also draws a few nut jobs but the geography weeds them out pretty quick. If this guy was an ill-prepared nut job, I doubt he would have made it this far.
Good luck, and don't be afraid to stick your thumb out if you get in trouble.
Some people thought I was nuts for going to Alaska. "What do they know"? You should see the issues currently, where I left to fly here.
It's Turo's choice. I bet $5 he makes it.
Personally, I wouldn't want to walk the Haul road, esp. at -50. I hope the trucks see him. It's pretty rough just to see the road sometimes with the wind, and snow. Have you ever seen some of the accidents up there?
Just think Alaska Tourism. Thanks to our Janapanese fans for loving our state. The more the better.
I'm breaking my oath of not giving a rebuttal, but I just have to apologize. I didn't mean to give anyone "post-rage", and I offer my apologies to those who took me wrong. I was simply stating that "we" do many things in Alaska that may seem crazy to others, such as hunting on the steese at 20 below or going mountaineering in the winter. As far as firewood, well, I've got a couple years worth stacked and drying too, I was just going out to split some. By the way, I wear longjohns in the winter, so they don't really bunch up. I hope you had a good time thinking of and picturing them in a bunch though. I'll up the ante and put $20 down on Toru, it's bound to warm up and he obviously kicks major A$$ in my book. Also, MamaSan, what exactly is Janapanese.
RogerX you said "Crummy: If a person has an orange triangle on the back of their trailer, which can usually be seen for up to 500ft in normal sunlight if I'm not mistaken." I need you to tell me where you will find normal sunlight on the Haul road in January? It is DARK 23 hours a day...
RogerX must drive a big rig - he knows that an 80,000 pound (or more) more vehicle can stop on a dime. The stopping distance for a big rig at 30 mph is 125 feet versus 88 feet for a car - on a flat surface - not Atigun Pass. More distance is needed at higher speeds. He is a danger to all the truck drivers and himself on the Dalton. There are blind corners, plenty of white out conditions right before Prudhoe, etc. My husband drove the haul road for six months before we moved. It is not a road to be messed with. Even if a truck is moving slowly (30 mph) this man might not survive being hit, especially after every axle of a set of doubles goes over him. Yes, Alaskans do seemingly 'crazy' things, but we try not to be suicidal.
Amanda
Crummy, AmandaB
Driving faster then you can see ahead of your headlights is dangerous.
And, driving faster then you can stop safely, is also dangerous.
What you two are saying, is you drive much faster then you can both, safely see ahead of your headlights and safely stop.
Now, the real issue here is, if everybody drives safely, is he such a hazard still to others even after using an orange triangle.
<shrugs> at this point, I gander we're pulling hairs and should just let peace officer of the State decide, and, sounds like they already have decided.
I think if we all get behind this guy and support him, and radio his current mileage and support him with hot drinks, or whatever.. he'll get done a lot sooner with the trek. However, if we keep complaining, he'll never finish and will take forever to get through with it. Just a suggestion.
Amanda, I know quite a bit about the dangers of driving a rig. However, I think the Troopers should decide rather then the public.
<shrugs> You girls tire me out. This stuff is in the drivers handbook. Fight about it if you want, but most of the stuff I'm stating is usually backed by the State. I'm just spending my time trying to help you understand it. :-/
(.. probably last post on this thread for me.)
I'm not listening, lalala"
Toru
So they let this fellow carry on huh? I'm with most of the rest of you; hope he makes it. The highway has improved a lot since my pipeline days of it's hairpin turns and steep drop-offs even before Livengood. Drove to the river in '95, but not beyond since.
He'd better be steppin' fast in that weather swinging only one arm since he is carrying Preparation H in the pit of his other, because God knows, at those temperatures, it STINGS to go out of either end unless he stops to build a fire just to do his duties.
Happy New Year from Eagan, Mn.!
This is idiotic. Why add to the chaos of a cold snap
by endangering your own life and those of anyone who
winds up having to track or rescue him?
Enough real and unavoidable emergencies happen in
these cold snaps. Do we have the resources to deal
with someone who puts himself in harm's way on purpose,
for some sense of personal acheivement or glory?
Isn't it selfish, rather than noble or inspiring?
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