Saturday, August 6, 2011

The Long and Dusty Dempster Highway

We stopped for a couple of days at Tombstone Territorial Park at the south end of the Dempster Highway. The road was not too bad up to there, and we got to spend time hiking Goldenside Mountain (not all the way up) and, of course, fishing - however fruitless it was.

North of the park, the road was more dirt and shale than gravel, but we took our time and stopped frequently for sights and fishing. There was always something to see, and even just the views of valley and mountains were breathtaking. We were amazed that so many people race up to the end and race back again. Every range of mountains is made of different features - some covered in trees, some are rough and craggy on the top, and the last group was barren and rounded. The road doesn't go very high, just occasionally up to ridges where we overlook amazing valleys. Wildlife has been pretty sparse, except for the ptarmigan that run out onto the road in front of us.

We made it to the Arctic Cirle on a sunny day. Soon after, we saw something yellow on the next hill. We have met the occasional brave cyclist, and since a truck coming towards us slowed down for it, we assumed that it was another one. The yellow walked down into the ditch, perhaps looking for a campsite, and as we approached fairly close, up from the ditch came a grizzly - less than a car length from us!

Driver put on the brakes and said "Quick! Take a picture!" Nervous wife (on the same side as the bear) said "Don't stop! Don't stop!" That bear passed about 6 feet away from my window, too close and we were going too slowly for my liking. I was unable to get a picture until we had completely passed it.

The next day we started early and hadn't gotten far before we saw a herd of about 100 caribou on the tundra to our left. So we stopped for a while and watched with binoculars, as they were too far out to get good pictures.

About a kilometer behind them were two older native hunters who had downed a young bull caribou fom the back of the herd. This did not seem to frighten the others into running, as they were calmly grazing when we came apon them. The hunters had already skinned and cut the meat before we got up to their truck on the road. Hubby, seeing his chance for an experience, waited until they had walked back to the road with some of their earnings and then approached them. They were both in their 70's and were struggling to carry meat over the rough tundra ground, so he offered his assistance.
You can see him helping carry the huge antlers up to the road. In thanks, the hunters cut us off a huge steak. It went staight into the cooler for supper that night.



In the NorthWest Territory, the road "improved" by having a thick layer of gravel on it. Not so many bumps and sharp rocks, but the dust was horrible. We crossed the Peel River by cable ferry, about the same size as the one in Dawson City. The Mackenzie River wasn't that much farther on, but it's ferry was much larger. Getting off it on the north side was done by the crew putting "tire ramps" under the ferry ramp and directing us to make sure our tires were in the right spot. With all the different trucks and cars, those ramps had to be adjusted often.

On the other side of the Mackenzie the gravel was thick and dusty. We were also surprised that the road was straight and there was heavy forest on both sides. We had expected more tundra instead, and found it boring (!) to drive the last two hours into Inuvik.

When we finally got settled in a campground near the city, everything we owned was covered in a thick layer of dust. It had gotten into the trailer, the back of the truck, everywhere!

But the weather was beautiful - sunny and 30 Celsius. That's as warm as we've seen all trip! Had to go north to get the good weather, I guess.

It has been an amazing drive up here. We've managed to get here with no dings in our truck or windshield, and with all 6 tires intact. There is only one problem: now we have to go all the way back again!

W

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