So, after much contemplation, we decided that since we were in Dawson City already and would likely never be back here again (at least for a long time), we ought to go all the way up to Inuvik. This requires driving about 1400 km (roundtrip) on the Dempster Highway. The Dempster is not paved, and it is not known to be a nice road. A lot of people will tell you that if you drive it, to take two spare tires. We thought this was a little exaggerated, so only had our one spare, but we did need it. Actually, we made it all the way to Inuvik, then almost all the way back - 27 km from the south end of the highway - when we got a flat.
Oh what fun, changing a tire in 30 degree head on a dirt road
But I'm getting ahead of myself. It was a beautiful drive. The first evening, we drove only about 60 km up the highway to Tombstone Territorial Park and camped at a trailhead. We did a half-day hike on the Grizzly Lake Trail, only going just past the viewpoint. This park is beautiful. Amazing mountain scenery, and very pristine. We met a few people on the trail, all very friendly, including a park ranger and a student intern ranger. Another time, perhaps years from now, I'd love to go back and hike deeper into the park. The photos of the area around Divide Lake look spectacular, and you know that the photos never really do justice to a place like this. There are no park fees for day use or backcountry camping, and they will even provide you with a free loan of a bearproof food canister. The park interpretive centre is small, but the people working there more than made up for their lack of space. They were a wealth of information - very helpful. They also provided us with a loaner copy of an information book about the Dempster Highway, which pointed out a lot of cool stuff to see along the way to and from Inuvik.
The garbage container at the trailhead - we're really in bear country here!
Inukshuk along the trail
Amazing views from the trail
After our hike, we drove a while further up the highway, driving late into the night, passing the arctic circle, and stopping at the Northwest Territories border only at about 1am. It's amazing how late it can get without getting tired when the sun doesn't go down. Yes, the land of the midnight sun. In Inuvik, the sun rose one day in May and didn't set again until late July. Even then, it was only really below the horizon for a few minutes, not really getting dark. We passed some other things unique to this highway compared to any other on which I've driven, such as the fact that in sections, it doubles as an airstrip. There isn't an airstrip beside the highway, the airstrip is the highway. Watch out for landing aircraft. Ok then.
Crossing the arctic circle - the sun was low in the sky - it was after 11pm
No stopping or parking - this section of highway is also an airstrip!
The following day we drove the rest of the way to Inuvik and celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary with some ice cream (it was over 30 degrees C!). Canada's northernmost permanent road-accessible settlement is not too exciting. It's interesting from an engineering point of view - built on the permafrost, everything is built up on pilings above the ground, and all services (water, sewer, gas, electricity, phone, tv cable, etc) are all routed through large raised conduits. We toured around for a few hours, then headed back south again, stopping partway down the highway at a pullout to sleep. The third day we continued onwards, stopping again at the Tombstone Interpretive Centre to return our highway guide and identify the piece of antler Meghan spotted at the side of the highway (it will make a nice addition to the decor of our van). The antler would have come from a caribou from the Porcupine Herd, and of the few animals we didn't see along this highway (They are all in their calving grounds right now, far from the highway they cross in their annual migration).
Inuvik
Yes, we saw a lot of wildlife - a porcupine, a black bear with cubs, a red fox, a short-eared owl, tundra swans with their cygnets, a unidentified raptor (I think either a peregrine falcon or a gryfalcon), a dall sheep ram, sandhill cranes, common loons, another black bear wandering the open tundra, and even a wolverine! We didn't get photos of everything - a lot of them were too quick for the camera - but there area a few included below. We also saw a ton of cool and interesting ecosystems. There was boreal forsest, mountains, plains, and most interestingly (to me at least) arctic tundra. This is an ecosystem that only exists in the far reaches of the world, and is unlike any other.
Short-Eared Owl hunting in the late evening
Black Bear prowling the arctic tundra
Red Fox on a sideroad
The same red fox, posing for photographs
Mountains, Lakes, and Tundra
Cool rock formations
The Eagle Plains, the Peel River, and the Richardson (I think?) Mountains
6 comments:
Cool shot of you mid-air infront of the Artic Circle sign! How did you take that one?
Oh, just the self-timer and tripod, an off-camera flash for cool effect, and jumping at the right moment, taking care not to hit the sign with your head, like I did on the previous try...
I agree. The Arctic Circle sign shot is a beauty.
Count me in for another vote for the Arctic Circle sign shot.
I was just admiring that photo as well!
Now you know why I said that calling the Dempster a "highway" is one of Canada's greatest jokes.
Post a Comment