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Mary Taylor
Words by Mary Taylor
Known for its high dust content, barrelling big-wheel trucks, flat tires and relative isolation along its 740 km (460 mi), the Dempster Highway passes through both Canada's Yukon and Northwest Territories. The highway crosses the Arctic Circle and two bridgeless rivers, provides expansive views of tundra, and ends at the small town of Inuvik on the Mackenzie River Delta.
We had been touring Alaska with our 5th Wheel for several summers and had noticed this innocuous highway near Dawson City. We wanted to cross the Arctic Circle this year and at first, we thought we could accomplish by taking Alaska's Dalton Highway, but then we learned more about the Dempster.
We decided to take the Dempster Highway because of its location, timing, and uniqueness; the route was directly along our way to Alaska, it was too early for our planned salmon fishing, and the photos of the terrain made you feel infinitesimal. So what's a better use of time than beating up our truck and 5th wheel on a 740 km (460 mi) dirt road across rugged tundra?
We stopped at the Dempster Highway office in Dawson City, Yukon Territory to check out the road status, anticipated weather, and any other warnings they could share. With the information given, we knew to load the truck with spare tires for both truck and RV, a hefty jack, a highway guide and plenty of duct tape to help block the dust that was bound to drift into the RV. Fuel stations were far apart so we also carried spare diesel and extra water.
Dempster Highway begins along the Klondike Highway near Dawson City. It heads northeast through the Yukon Territory, crosses into the Northwest Territories and at the time of our trip ended at the small town of Inuvik on the Mackenzie Delta which opens up to the Arctic Sea. Since we were towing the 5th Wheel and since it was crazy to drive any faster than 65 kph (40mph) on the gravel/crushed slate road we chose to take three days to cover the 740 km (460 mi).
Our first stop was Tombstone Campground, an easy drive from Dawson City. The campground was pretty interesting because the majority of campers were people who wanted to explore the far north and seek adventure.
One such camper was Lindsey, a biker from New Zealand, who had flown from New Zealand directly to Inuvik so he could cycle several thousand kilometres from Inuvik across Canada to Newfoundland. If that wasn't crazy or tough enough, he told us about his cycle from Inuvik to where we met him at Tombstone—a warm-up ride of about 675 km (420 mi). Of course, he was doing all this alone and without any assistance or support. Seems he was about 65 km (40 mi) south of Inuvik on the wide dirt road when he noticed a Grizzly bear trotting along the road who seemed much too interested in him. Just as he kicked up his speed, the bear made a lunge for the pannier on the front of his bike. Lindsey described that they were almost cheek to cheek. He grabbed the bear spray on his waist and let a blast go (being careful to aim downwind and away from his own face). (Now how in the world did he ever have time to take all that into consideration?) The bear spray worked and the bear immediately let go of the bag and backed off. Hopefully, that first part of his journey wasn't the model for the rest of his ride.
We moved on the next day to Eagle Plains which was about halfway up the road. Other than a couple of primitive campgrounds, this was the first place where there were facilities of any sort. The area contained a few camping spots, a small motel, two gas pumps, and the requisite tire and auto mechanic. In case you haven't already gotten the hint, flat tires are common on that road.
After having done lengthy clean-ups of the really dusty interior of the 5th wheel before we could make lunch or dinner, we decided it was senseless to drag the rig any further. The next morning we left it safely parked near the gas pumps and took off in the truck. We knew we could drive faster and reach Inuvik that afternoon.
Faster didn't end up being necessarily better. It seems our 65 kph (40mph) rate when towing kept us in some safety zone regarding blowing tires. After being free to speed up to 80 kph (50mph), we soon got a flat tire after we crossed the Arctic Circle.
A bad thing about driving this type of road is that only a few people actually drive it. But the good aspect is that those few will stop if they see anyone having a problem. We quickly got the shredded tire off but ran into problems trying to free the spare. True to the culture of the road, the very first driver to appear stopped and offered to help. Soon he and my husband had the replacement tire in place. He also provided us with the name and phone number of the tire company in Inuvik (the only other tire shop on the entire highway), explained what to expect from the rest of the road, and even described the scenery we shouldn't miss.
The rest of the drive to Inuvik was pretty typical. You could count on huge clouds of dust whenever an approaching car or truck appeared on the horizon. That caused a complete lack of visibility until the vehicle was about 5 minutes beyond us. Also, there were no bridges anywhere. We crossed two good- sized rivers by driving onto the free ferries which efficiently shuttled the sparse traffic from one side to the other. The ferries used different methods to cross their river. One was pulled across the river along a cable and the second one powered up the river so he could drift down into the landing spot on the other side.
The fabled aspects of the highway are the views, with an almost indescribable terrain. It was surprisingly well-forested in the southern half. The vistas were almost inconceivable due to the distance your view encompassed. The foreground would be trees or bushes in varied shades of green with the mid-distance usually fading to tan interspersed with the glitter from small lakes or rivers. Extending from that would be shallow valleys girded by mountain ranges spotted by snow and leading to even further mountains as far as you could see. As you headed further north the stunted northern boreal forests were dominant and finally, there was tundra with its vegetation of mosses, lichens, and dwarf shrubs all resting on permafrost.
After the shredded tire and lots of dust, we reached Inuvik. It is not a large town. There were two small hotels, a dog musher who also rented cabins and a couple of fast food places to eat. In asking around for other eating places we were directed to the best one in town—the old yellow school bus. The bus sits alongside the owner's home and a petite building that holds three tables. The menu is limited to fresh salmon, whitefish tacos and reindeer chili—all of which are delicious.
Besides the food, the best part was once again the people. Conversations flowed easily from table to table and we quickly uncovered great stories. Our favourite was Boris who was getting ready to sail alone across the Beaufort Sea (part of the Arctic Sea) to Herschel Island which is a mostly unoccupied Territorial Park that had been a whaling station in the 1800's. He had an open 20' sailing craft that he could also row if there was no wind. Herschel is only 5 km (3 mi) off the Yukon Territory but more than 160 km (100 mi) from Inuvik so we certainly hoped he was planning the shorter route. Inuvik is at latitude 68 degrees north and in June the daytime temperature was in around 10-12 degrees Celsius ( low 50's F). Water temperature was about 3 degrees Celsius (39 F). What would it be like in the open ocean?
If we had more time, we could have flown north to Tuktoyaktuk, an Inuit town on the northern Arctic Coast. (Since we visited, the old winter ice highway to Tuktoyaktuk has been replaced with an all-season road.) We did try to explore the Mackenzie River Delta area by boat, but the revenue from just two people clearly didn't make economic sense to the operator and he cancelled the trip. The Western Arctic Regional Visitor Centre was excellent and the friendly staff helped us understand the northern culture and its people. The population in the town is divided between Inuvialuit (part of what we know as Eskimos), Gwich'in (a tribe of Canada's First Nation), lots of Canadians and a smattering of people from all over the world. The centre included excellent exhibits on the art, flora, and fauna of the area. We also took a tour of the unusual Igloo Church. It wasn't made of ice blocks; it just was designed to look like an igloo by a Catholic missionary back in the 1950's.
Once we had purchased two new tires it was time to head back down the Dempster Highway so we could get to our planned salmon fishing. This time we moderated our speed while driving the truck and made it back to Eagle Plains unfazed with intact tires to pick up our 5th Wheel.
The rest of the drive contained more dust but also more unparalleled views. With our turn onto the Klondike Highway, we felt we had completed a unique and beautiful journey. Now I guess we'll have to drive the Dalton so we have a comparison or maybe repeat the Dempster to test the extension to Tuktoyaktuk.