I've only ever picked up one. I was driving from Fairbanks back to Galbreath Lake in the Arctic in 2014. I had driven down to get a load of airplane fuel. As I was driving back I passed a young girl standing on the side of the road. (Hall Road. That's the road on Ice Road Truckers) She held a sign that said "North Please" and it was written on the inside of a Bud Light 12 pack box.

I drove passed her and got to thinking that it could be dangerous for me to pick her up because she might have someone hiding in the bushes. I also thought it was very dangerous for her. I knew I was no threat to her but some of the truckers are "rough" to say the least. That road is about 600 miles long and there is almost nothing in between Fairbanks and Prudhoe Bay. I turned around and went back and got her. She was 22 years old and from Finland. She was a VERY good looking girl. I have a picture of her somewhere because I knew none of my guides or clients would believe me when I told the story.

She had come to Alaska to travel the entire state and had been there for about 5 weeks at the time. She camped on the side of the road, slept on couches of strangers, etc. She wanted to go as far north as the road would take her. It was about an 8-hour drive to where I was headed and then another 4 hours north of there. About 1/2 way to my destination is a place called Cold Foot. There is a gas station/bar/restaurant/hotel/etc there. I tried to get her to stay there because the truckers that drive gravel and supplies all the way to Prudhoe Bay stop there for a break. I figured she could get a ride from there but she insisted on going all the way with me.

The only thing where I stopped is an air strip and a gravel mining village. When I parked the truck and got into the Super-Cub to head back to our camp she was setting up her tent to wait on a trucker to take her all the way north. I wished I had gotten her contact info to make sure she made it out of there but I didn't. There are lots of places to hide a body up there......