We started on the 456-mile gravel road journey called the Dempster Highway. It’s the road they warn you to have at least two spare tires and the equipment to change them. Also, the services are said to be few and far between so be prepared with plenty of water, food and fuel. Bill had kept the tires aired down in preparation for the conditions we were told we would be facing. With some hesitation we journeyed on.
The Dempster Highway began construction in 1959 and was completed in 1978. It was built to give access to the Canadian Arctic and, of course, accommodate oil and gas exploration. The road leads to Inuvik. After Inuvik is an 87-mile Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk highway leading to the Arctic Ocean. It is the only place in the summer that you can take your personal vehicle to get to the Arctic Ocean.
The alternate route north into the Arctic Circle is the Dalton Highway in Alaska. There are two downsides: it doesn’t actually get you to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. It gets you to Deadhorse which is the start of the Alaskan Pipeline. You then have to take a tour bus (yikes!) to Prudhoe Bay and the Arctic Ocean. Secondly, there are numerous large trucks barreling up and down on the highway, spreading grit and stones as they go. The accompanying danger of getting cracked windscreens made the Dempster Highway the choice for us.
Our first night on the Dempster found us camping at the Tombstone Campground. We hiked up the side of the mountain. The ranger said there was a park bench at the end. We never found the park bench but the trail ended and we saw a beautiful vista all around us. It was a tiring walk but full of wildflowers and many colors in the landscape. For a moderate five mile hike with a lot of elevation change it was worth it.
We drove through more stunning landscape, including through a landing strip that was part of the highway. Hey, you have to make do with what you have. It was funny to pass signs that say watch for landing planes! We ended up camping at Eagle Plains. This is about half way up the Dempster. Did we mention the mosquitoes? Huge and ferocious. The camp setting was on one of the highest points along the way with the wind blowing a gale. It was perfect to keep the mosquitos at bay. There was gas, food and a hotel at this site – population 10.
The next morning, we passed through the Arctic Circle and arrived in the Northwest Territories. Bill pulled out his fancy drone and got some great aerial shots of the changing landscape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpYoAaLb2kk
We rode across two ferries while heading north. We crossed the Peel River and then about 40 miles further-the Mackenzie River. We were grateful that it was so easy and the wind, water levels and changing conditions of the river did not impact their schedules.
We arrived in Inuvik and stayed in a very tight campsite close to town. The good news was the great showers, laundry and proximity to town. The bad news was the dead seagull feathers encompassing our campsite. We went in to town and played ping pong with balls that barely bounced and played pool on a slanted table that made it a more even competition with Bill and I (since he always wins . . .).
We left the summer solstice morning to drive the 87 miles to Tuktoyaktuk. We passed by the Pingo National Landmark and the different looking northern landscape. Pingo’s are dome-shaped ice and earth mounds that are formed when water freezes and expands the surface to make them push the ground up. We would end up seeing many of these on the gravel road north.
We arrived in Tuc (Tuktoyaktuk) and went to Grandma’s kitchen sitting on the Arctic Ocean Beach. Bill had a Musk Ox burger and we enjoyed the warmth of the small stove in the restaurant. We were the only ones in there. We planned our jump into the Arctic Ocean.
Arctic Ocean
We left there and drove to the point where everyone camps. We took our congratulatory (to ourselves) picture for making it this far and set up the camper 600’ away. We had passed a ball field where Solstice activities were happening. We left the dogs in the camper and walked to the festivities. We entered in to a few of the competitions. Myself in the women over 50 running races. Yes, I came in last but I showed up (ha ha). Then there was the harpoon throwing contest into the Styrofoam whale. Not to be outshone, Bill entered also. His form was spectacular. Check out his picture! My form not so much but I tried. We interacted with the locals and learned a little more about this northern community. The population is 1000.
Many are still living in their traditional ways. Fishing and whaling in their summer camps along the Ocean to supply food for their winters. Some young girls we met (10-12) talked about working their traditions. It was evident that the people we interacted with were more concerned about the practical application of life to thrive in this (what we consider) harsh environment instead of what war started when and who is the inventor of what.
Later that evening we went to the community center for the 7:30 activities. About 8:00 everyone starting showing up. It began with dancing and drumming. The elder women were dressed in beautiful ribboned clothes. I noticed when we walked in there were a lot of dead geese on the kitchen table. It was an interesting site. The announcement came that the goose plucking contest was about to begin. An adult and a youth would work together on a timed basis to see who could make the cleanest goose ready to cook in the shortest amount of time. A school teacher I had met earlier said that 10-year-old Tucker needed a partner. I was in. Having never done this before I began another learning curve. Tucker had to keep reminding me not to tear the skin while plucking the feathers – easier said than done. We were outside on a rock doing this. The ladies next to me made it look so easy. Their goose was smooth as a whistle. An hour later and we were still working hard on ours. The contest was called and needless to say we didn’t win – but it was a fun experience. I enjoyed interacting with Tucker and learning a little more about his life. He will do well in life just knowing how to survive with nature.
Bill and I were tired and walked back to our camping spot amid the giant mosquitoes. The sky was bright with sun. It wouldn’t set for the next week (photo below taken at 12:16am!). Talk about messing with your circadian rhythm! The next day we learned that the Dempster Highway had been shut down for the wildfires so we would have to stay in Tuc until the all clear. This continued another day. Bill took the drone for another spin over the Arctic Ocean. We were the only ones on the peninsula. Bill spent the days editing pictures, videos and I watched the community around us. Water is delivered to the houses via trucks rather than pipes due to the extreme temperatures. People walked every where except for the occasional youth zooming by on their ATV.
We were able to leave on Bill’s Birthday (6.24). It’s so fun to turn 29 again… We parked at a different campground in Inuvik. I asked Bill what kind of cake he wanted – Chocolate. I had previously bought extensive ingredients for a fancy cake – with a box as back up. Well the box cake got made and Bill asked if it was going to be layered. Layered? I looked it up on the internet and did the best I could. Hey, it’s the effort that counts right? A motorcyclist we met earlier came and joined us and she and I sang happy birthday to the lucky guy that had made it around the sun another year.
The next day we drove through fire dust and smoke. We camped on a high bluff above the highway and Bill built another great campfire. He got out his mandolin and we had a magical night looking out over the mountains. The campsite was on top of many mid-size stones. The pups enjoyed wandering freely and Bill flew the drone again. The next day we camped at Toombstone again. Lots of mosquitoes at the site but we warded them off with another fire and lots of CO2. We only saw a few rabbits and a Ptarmigan the entire ride so we were disappointed with the wildlife viewing.
The next morning, we walked the Klondike River Trail. It was adjacent to the river and an easy walk. There actually was a bench at the end of this trail. We headed back towards the campground and ran into two rangers with BIG guns. They had shut the trail down due to a dead moose being found. They said this will attract Grizzly’s so they were going to see if there were any on the trail we had just walked. And to think that we forgot our bear spray… again. We laughed as we walked past the yellow caution tape shutting down the trail we had just walked.
Drove through Dawson City again and across the ferry to the Top of the World highway. We were heading over a high pass and more outstanding landscape viewing when all of sudden the truck starts pinging – low gas. Oops. We went back to Dawson City and spent the night and got gas, laundry and showers. We were packed in like sardines in the Gold Rush campground. We met our Australian neighbors who have been traveling for years in their Australian Bronco. They gave us good information about some future stops. They also made us stop and think about how little you really need (Bill has a better understanding of this having lived on a sailboat).
Next stop Alaska!
