Up the Dempster

June 11 – Rock River Campground, km 445 of the Dempster Highway

‘Oh man, not again!’  cried Norbert as a great gout of wet mud hit the windscreen.  We were half way up the Dempster Highway on day 2 of our trip to Inuvik and we were deep in mud.  Day one had been a fabulous trip through boreal forest and alpine tundra under dappled skies, but we had woken this morning to rain which quickly turned much of the gravel road to legendary gumbo.  For 80 km south of Eagle Plains, the half way stop, the road was pitted and rough, and often a foot deep in muck.  Tracks of previous vehicles left deep soggy ruts, and the odd truck who passed us sent up great plumes of spray that covered our truck.  Just driving through it caused waves of wet mud clods to cascade up over the hood onto the windscreen.  The wipers could only barely keep the centre clear, and it felt like being enclosed in a blackened secret vehicle. 

At Eagle Plains the rain had stopped and with improved gravel surfacing it looked more promising ahead.  We filled up with diesel, coffee, and the weather report, and Norbert cleaned all the windows, the rear view mirrors, and the headlights.  (This is the man who carries a spray bottle of Windex and a roll of paper towels in his door pocket – and uses them every day!)  Not two minutes later, we hit the next mud puddle, and were back to square one!  Some days you just can’t win. 

We soldiered on, reluctant to complain given what early travelers like the Klondikers endured in this difficult country.  Besides, we had spotted a narrow single track weaving in and out of the ruts and we were arguing about whether any cyclist in his right mind would be out here today.  We had already passed 3 hardy Quebecois on motorbikes who were planning to get to Inuvik today, but had turned back somewhere in the muddy section.  The narrow track slithered across the road, disappearing for a while in the mire, then reappearing ahead of us.  We searched each pullout for a wet dirty biker, thinking we might need to offer him a ride, and wondering how we would fit him in.  Then suddenly he appeared in front of us, leaning on a small dirty car, and drinking coffee with the driver.  We had to stop to find out the story, and sure enough, another character in this land of eccentrics.  They were a couple from Ontario, she driving the support vehicle, equipped with tent on roof, solar panels, microwave, and solar shower, he cycling the Dempster despite the weather.  Crazy people!

It’s a wild and lonely place, traversed by very few vehicles.  Yesterday we passed only 10 others coming south and no one passed us going north.  We turned on Sheila, our Aussie voiced GPS, to see if for once she would be speechless, but alas, there we were on Yukon Hwy 5.  At least Sheila didn’t ask if we’d prefer to switch to pedestrian mode, which she had offered once on a seriously slow back road in New Mexico.

Tonight we are camped north of the Arctic Circle for the first time.  It’s cool, but dry and we made a toasty fire for comfort after our arduous day.  We’re always cozy in our little camper, and despite the outside mud, we’re still clean and civilized inside.  Can’t see out the back windows, but I’m sure Norbert will be working on that shortly!  More on the Dempster tomorrow – another 300 km to go.

June 13, Happy Valley Campground, Inuvik

We made it!  And yes, it is a big deal - considerably less arduous on day 3 as the rain had stopped, and the road surface improved significantly, but still quite exciting.  We crossed into the North West Territories at the top of the final pass, amidst melting snow from the previous day’s storm, and then took two ferries to cross the Peel and the MacKenzie Rivers.  The ferries are only summer crossings of course, and there is a space of a month between the winter ice road when the ice breaks up that the northern communities are cut off by road.  The Peel ferry just began operating 5 days ago, so people were happy to see it running.  Most of the lakes are still ice covered, and apparently so is the mouth of the MacKenzie, so Tuktoyaktuk is still only accessible by plane.  We are hoping to get there next week.

In the meantime, we have a trip into Ivaavik National Park planned starting tomorrow.  We are flying in for a 4 day hiking trip with Parks Canada.  It’s going to be a fabulous experience, with the potential for lots of wildlife viewing, photography, and natural history.  Lots of packing still to do – we need to jam all our gear into 2 packs, and are limited to 30 lbs. each, so this may be a very basic trip.  Wish us well, and we’ll be back on Monday to tell you all about it.    

Posted June 13, Inuvik Public Library  

The start of the epic.  Looks quite ok doesn't it?  Nothing to scare you.

 

Fabulous scenery - tundra and frozen lakes, snowy mountains and gorgeous skies. 

But...  then the mud began!

 

But here we are, battle scarred but intact, at the Arctic Circle.

Day 3, our first view of the mighty Mackenzie River.  It's impressive.

Approaching the ferry ramp.  This is no BC Ferry!  The ramp is constantly under construction by a pair of front-end loaders who simply move the gravel down the bank as the river drops.  Very efficient!