Dumping the Bucket

One O'clock in the morning under a cloudy Arctic Sky

 

Three O-Clock in the Morning under the Arctic Sky

 

Checking off a Bucket List is sort of like dipping water out of the ocean; the more you dip the more there is.

Driving the Dempster Highway to the Arctic Circle and beyond has been on our List for years.  As I noted in my last blog, it is one of two roads in North America that go all the way to the Arctic Circle.  It is 457 miles from the junction of Yukon Hwy 5 to Inuvik and 229 miles to the first gas station at Eagle Plains. The road is not paved and is hard on tires. We carried extra spare tires for the truck and TT, a flat jack, five gallons of gas for the truck and a gallon for the generator. We filled the propane and water tanks, carried 5 gallon jugs of water inside the TT, and stocked up on easy to prepare foods.

Lots of preparation, but nothing could prepare us for the sheer, unadulterated beauty of this magnificent land! I had pictured miles and miles of tundra and wondered what we could do to keep amused. How could I have been so ignorant? The highway passes through 10 Ecoregions and each is very different. There are mountain ranges, wide sweeping valleys, charming creeks and broad rivers; lakes, tors, spires, spikes, and minarets of rocks; views that go on forever. There simply are no words to describe this vast and solitary place. We were humbled by the magnificence. 

We arrived at Eagle Plains with two gallons of gas in the tank. It rained all night and nobody was going anywhere on Thursday morning so we settled in for an extra day. Friday morning was bright and sunny so we continued to Inuvik. We crossed the Arctic Circle and made two ferry crossings at the Peel and Mackenzie Rivers. The ferry landings are mostly piled up dirt and the ferries are sort of like WWII landing craft. When we got on the ferry at the Mackenzie River, it started up river! After a moment of panic we realized it was going up to the village of Tsligehtchi to load a truck.

Finally…..Inuvik. 

This community was built in 1955 as an administration center for the Western Arctic. The government hoped to bring in First Nation people from the outlying islands to provide better services for them. This worked to some extent, but there are lots of abandoned and vandalized housing in the area and the population is now a highly diverse mix of folks. Many of the natives are still in remote villages. It is funny to hear Inuvialuktun young people speaking with a Scottish burr, but this area was explored and settled by a plethora of McDonalds, McKenzies, and McPhearsons.

On Saturday we explored Inuvik; the Farmer’s Market, the Visitor Centre/Museum, all four stores, rode out to look at the new haul road, and made arrangements to fly to Tuktoyakluk on Sunday. Tuk is a small hamlet at the end of the Mackenzie Delta on the Arctic Ocean.  From the air the Delta can be seen spreading in all directions, a wilderness of tundra and lakes. 

At Tuk we took a local bus for a “tour” of the town and a nice long stop at the beach of the Arctic Ocean for the obligatory dip. We both earned the ARCTIC OCEAN TOE DIPPING CERTIFICATE (for having demonstrated courage and bravery in the icy cold waters of the Arctic Ocean ) There are four levels of certification: Butch got level two for Wading but I got level four for ……..guess what?

We returned to Inuvik via boat, a 24’ covered skiff. It took over seven hours but was so special. We stopped twice; at a summer whale hunting camp owned by the guides family and at a long sandy beach, owned by the guide. In both places the beachcombing was beyond astonishing. As far as the eye could see were piles of fabulous driftwood and the beach was covered by tons of marvelous stones and pebbles. Since this is an ancient shore in a mineral-rich region the possibilities for truly great “finds” is very good. One of our group found an almost perfect primitive scrapping tool. There was no doubt of its origin as it was beautifully “worked”.  I picked up what I think is an inferior grade of pale jade. Our guide plans to build a camp on this beach within the next year. I would happily spend a week there.

It was after 2 am when we returned to Inuvik and we had seen the sun “set” and “rise”, which is the same thing at that latitude.  Since we had clouds in the sky, the Arctic Sky was amazing during our boat trip.

At the Arctic Circle

Igloo Church in Inuvik

Our boat for the Arctic Ocean, Mackenzie River trip

After one day on the Dempster Hwy

 

We returned to Dawson City in two days and had an outstanding trip. The views southbound on the Dempster were just as good as those going north so it was like a different experience.  Back in DC, we had to wash down the truck and TT so that we could open the doors and let down the leveling jacks. The mud was like concrete.  We lost the cap to the fresh water tank and a sewer hose. The dinette table pulled loose from the wall and one of the shelves in the ‘fridge cracked. Otherwise, we fared well with our rig.  We went to the Northwest Territories Visitor Center, filled out our paper work and were sworn in as Arctic Adventurers. I will never forget this as long as I live!!!!!!!