Up to the Arctic and back down the Dempster

 July 22^nd – Goodbye Whitehorse

We woke up next to a small lake near a quarry.  The night previous we had tried to go to a territorial campsite in Whitehorse but alas it was fully booked so we looked at our favourite app, iOverlander and shared a sweet spot with some Quebecers.

As some may or may not know Kendra and I had a goal to visit every legislature in Canada and even though we had been to Whitehorse before we had not done the Yukon Legislature so we had to stop in.  Fun facts we learned: #1 Canada was pretty belittling to the territories, acting like they were too stupid to govern themselves.  #2 The Yukon territory is known as “the Yukon”.  They officially changed their name in 2003 from Yukon Territory to The Yukon.  #3 There are more moose than people in the Yukon.

From there we jumped on the Klondike highway towards Mayo, YT.  One of Paul’s co-workers had recommended checking out Keno City, YT (just outside of Mayo) so we drove the highway until we hit the territorial campsite close to Mayo where we relaxed and sat with a drink in our hands and our feet in Five Mile Lake.

 

July 23^rd – Hello Keno City

After a quick breakfast, we drove to Keno City then the farrowing 11 kms up to the Signpost lookout to look out at the various mountains in the area.  This was an amazing lookout that offered great short hikes to mountain summits within the area.  We choose to do Monument Hill (trust us, it’s a MOUNTAIN), which offered views for days.  It was a pretty short completely uphill 2km walk but so worth it.  If anyone is wondering if they should visit Keno, YT, it gets a big thumbs up from us. Please note that Keno City is literally The End of the Road for the Silver Trail so you will have to drive back on the same bumpy (but paved) road you took to get there. 

After sitting and enjoying the views we headed down to Keno City and learned some local history then headed forward towards the Dempster Highway. A fun fact that we learned in Mayo when we did a quick stop for some snacks and drinks was that the government liquor store was located in the building that housed numerous government organizations… how convenient for those Government employees, other provinces may need to take note.

 As the Dempster had been the highway and part of the trip that we were most concerned about we decided to start it that evening. By the time we turned off the highway it was already 7pm. So, we only went as far as the trailhead of Grizzly Lake, the most famous hike in Tombstone Territorial Park, a hike Paul was dead set to tackle the following day. Unfortunately, there was one thing standing in our way from a good dinner and good sleep, you guessed it MOSQUITOS!!!

The second Paul opened the van to start cooking dinner the mosquitos from miles around must have smelled their own dinner cooking in the evening sun, US!  Paul, the hero of the day, cooked while being eaten alive by mosquitos while Kendra sat in the van installing a newly purchased mosquito net that we can use when we sleep.  Another fun fact is that we had been searching for mosquito nets in every location we stopped at after the Nisga’a/Nass Valley incident, yet everywhere was sold out, except Whitehorse, so we picked a double-wide two-person camping/sleeping mosquito net.  One of the best $26.99 we have ever spent!

That night we used it and it was good!

 

July 24^th – We need a shower!!!

Even with the mosquito net neither of us slept well.  Paul was fearful of what the next few days would bring on the Dempster and Kendra was fearful of the hike that was ahead of us. One of these fears would be quelled by the end of the day. 

We ate and packed some water and Rupert’s backpack for our hike.  There were lots of people doing this hike so we were confident we would get to the viewpoint without any issues. 

The hike started gradually with a muddy forest section with our good friends, the mosquitos, then it got progressively steeper.  We had planned to only go 3kms on the trail to a viewpoint, but as there was no sign that we arrived at the viewpoint we ended up hiking until our legs were starting to shake and our water bottles were (almost) empty.  At the end of it we had reached Grizzley ridge and were looking down on Grizzly Lake and Monolith Mountain.  It was beautiful, definitely worth it as we write this, but at the time we were DONE. Rupert was also done so he was placed in his backpack and Paul carried him down the mountain (Kendra pulled her own weight by helping Paul carry down the nearly empty water bottles).  By the time we got back to the van one thing was obvious, we needed snacks and a shower. The snacks/food situation was easily solved but we had travelled too many days without a shower and the physical exertion from the hike had meant we needed to travel the next section of the Dempster with the windows down. 

We arrived to Eagle Plains (population 9) just after 8pm.  We decided to stay at the campground there as they had showers.  Although the showers left a lot to be desired (due to black mold, lack of water pressure and general dirt) it felt like the best shower money could buy. *The campsite costs $30 or it would have cost $10/person/shower, so paying the price and spending the night was justified.

Eagle Plains has a bar that has an interesting history.  The bar, (which originated in Whitehorse) had changed hands a few times in highs stakes poker games and was shipped up to Eagle Plains at some point in the 1970s.  The bar itself was full of the heads of big game and pictures of the Mad Trapper of Rat River taken after his death.  It’s an odd feeling to be greeted by a picture of a smiling dead person as you enter the bar, but it is acceptable to be greeted by smiling moose and deer, so we guess it’s okay.

10/10 would recommend! *Eagle Plains is 367 kms up the Dempster highway so be prepared to pay $10 for a beer when you visit (that’s for a 355ml can)

 

July 25^th – Into the Arctic

We woke up excited, today we were to cross the Arctic Circle, enter the NWT, take a couple ferries and enter Inuvik, so that is exactly what we did.

Stopping at the Arctic Circle rest area was a highlight, knowing we were close to our Northern terminus and it was fun to take a bunch of silly pictures. We were also prepared with our Official Documentation from the Yukon Government that we crossed the Arctic Circle (thanks to the Eagle Plains “hotel/bar/shower facilities/gas station/campground/mechanic shop” for having these printed off and available- don’t forget to grab yours when you venture this way).

The Peel River ferry crossing was also a…memory.  A bit rough, a bit worrisome that we would get stuck but Bearry the Van did great. We did get to watch a semi-truck attempt to get on the ferry, get stuck, then asked to back up and get a bit of a running start to not get hung up on the ferry ramps, and then asked not to go on “this ferry”.  Maybe the next time they make landfall they will be able to accommodate his truck and trailer. The Mackenzie River crossing further up the Dempster was uneventful but it truly was amazing to see the Arctic Red River and the Mackenzie River combining into one navigational route.

Before we knew it, we were turning the corner into Inuvik a “cool” city with modern amenities.  It was definitely not what we expected when we entered a city with everything we needed, including paved roads (the Dempster is 880 kms long with one paved section [Inuvik] the rest is all gravel similar to a forestry road).

We stayed at the Happy Valley Territorial Campground which has probably been the worst campground we have stayed at, lots of negative aspects but not that interesting thing to say about it.

We went to sleep giddy about the next day, tomorrow we would see the Arctic Ocean!

 

July 26^th – The End of the Northern Section of our trip

The newest portion of the Dempster highway is Highway 10 in the Northwest Territories, a highway completed in November 2017 meaning this is only the 3^rd summer this highway to the Arctic Ocean has been open to the public (the Northwest Territories was closed to visitors for the last two years due to COVID).

The road was rough, probably the most difficult section of the Dempster, but that could not stop our excitement.  As we pulled into the community of Tuktoyaktuk it was hard not to speed to the Arctic Ocean sign.

Our first stop at the tourist information center provided us with a lot of good information about the area, a must-stop for any traveller going to the area.  They also sold camping permits for the municipal camping “area”; calling it a campground may be a bit of a stretch, but we appreciate the effort.  Although the price was a bit steep ($60 +tax- no services except porta-pottys), we could pass out going to sleep (and waking up) beside the Arctic Ocean. 

We claimed our spot (Campsite #1, since we are #1, we’re also very humble) and Paul put on his swim trunks because he was ready to go and wanted to submerge himself in the Arctic Ocean.  Kendra decided to put her toe in the water since that’s the minimum requirement for the “official paperwork”.

After a quick dip, we opened some bubbly and enjoyed a relaxing evening eating some dry fish, some beluga muktuk and watching the waves crash upon the shore.

 

July 27^th – Turning the compass around

We woke up knowing that today we would be changing the general direction of travel, we had spent the last three weeks travelling north, but we had come to the end of the northern section of the trip, today, we started heading south.

Before we left the campground Paul had convinced Kendra put her bathing suit on and submerge herself in the Arctic Ocean so Paul once again put on his bathing suit and together, we did a polar dip!

After completing the dip and preparing breakfast we were approached by the local law enforcement.  This is only the second time we have had to engage with the RCMP.  The first was at 11 am in Stewart going through a check stop to make sure we hadn’t consumed any alcohol at that point in time on a Monday morning. This time there has been some vandalism at the local church and they were wondering if we had heard anything.  We had an extremely pleasant conversation with the RCMP officer and he was on his merry way (although we forgot to ask about the Tuktoyaktuk RCMP hats- but don’t make the same mistake we did when you visit the Arctic Ocean)

We spent the morning exploring Tuktoyaktuk and buying some cheap beef jerky.  We purchased 2 bags of it but we were stuffed after eating half a bag.  We purchased some awesome souvenirs, got one last certificate saying we drove from Inuvik to Tuk, then headed back to Inuvik for the night.

We decided to spend the night at Jak Territorial campground in Inuvik, which was WAY better than Happy Valley, we also decided to celebrate the end of our Northern route by heading to Alestine’s a local must-go restaurant in Inuvik.  They were packed so the owner asked if we would be willing to sit at a communal table, we obliged and it was the best decision we could have made.  We, along with 4 others, sat at the communal table where we ended up spending a couple hours swapping stories and laughing.  Unfortunately, we never asked each other’s names, but we had a woman who was a para-legal for an insurance company from Mississauga who had ditched her tour company to try some local cuisine, two geologists, one from Victoria BC and one from Whitehorse YK doing some surveying in the area who arrived in the area by helicopter and a man from Omaha NE (USA) who had BIKED (yes, a two-wheeled human-powered pedal bike) from Whitehorse to Inuvik and had 4 more days ahead of him until he reached Tuktoyaktuk.

After a great night out (and closing down the restaurant) we ventured back to the van to learn Rupert had chewed his way through the mosquito netting, climbing onto the pantry storage area of our van and ATE THE 1.5 BAGS OF BEEF JERKY (Costco Sized Bags)!!! (Remember these are bags that half of a bag filled up Kendra and I) and Rupert then proceeded to throw up all over our bed.

Further to our luck, Paul got to take Rupert outside every few hours to defecate a very dark pudding texture.  It was a great night…this is just a friendly reminder that we truly are humble people.

July 28^th – A Day of driving

We left Inuvik pretty early and made our way down the Dempster towards Eagle Plains.  One stop we did make was at the Western Arctic Visitors Information centre as they have “Dempster mail” there where they ask if anyone would be so kind to drive packages from Inuvik to spots (or people) traveling up the Dempster.  Sadly, there was nothing to take so we drove towards the Yukon. *You can also get some more “official paperwork” about crossing the Arctic Circle at this visitor information centre, only this time it is from the NWT government.

For reasons that are hard to explain this was a great day with optimism for the road ahead and a great lunch spot it Tsiigehtchic watching the ferry move people (and three wide loads) from one side of the Mackenzie or Arctic Red River to the other.

Our campsite was a free, and quiet spot just off the highway that was a perfect spot to have a night relaxing while watching Schitt’s Creek.

 

July 29^th – The return to Tombstone

  We left the campsite and drove the ~350 kms back to Tombstone Territorial Park.  Although the hike to the Grizzly Ridge was strenuous, the area was beautiful so we wanted to do another hike.  After stopping in visitor information, we selected the Goldensides hike, a roughly 6 km return hike that was supposed to be pretty easy.  Thankfully it was and we enjoyed amazing views of the Goldensides Mountain.

We spent the night in the territorial campground near the trailhead cleaning the van out (as it was full of dust from the long days on the Dempster highway) and relaxing with a good book.

The nice thing about Yukon territorial campgrounds is there is free firewood so we enjoyed a nice warm fire until dusk hit the valley around 12 am.

 

July 30^th – Our final certificate

We left Tombstone oddly glum about the end of our Dempster time, we had spent 7 nights on the Dempster and had become used to its gravel roads, dusty air, and amazing views.  We felt that way until we did another 30 kms and remembered that we were ready to drive on pavement again.

The last 70 kms of the Dempster flew by and as we entered pavement, we could not stop thinking about the last 1760 kms of gravel road (880 kms one way) from the Klondike highway to Tuktoyaktuk.  It had been an adventure and we were so glad we had done it. We couldn’t imagine doing it any faster and recommend anyone who has good tires to drive the whole thing (we had 10ply tires 0 flats!).

We travelled on the smooth pavement to Dawson City, a city reminiscent of the days of the goldrush.  We found a camping spot at the territorial campground and walked into the city to explore; however, some of the most entertaining things to do in Dawson is watching tourists take their big motorhomes on the ferry between Dawson City and West Dawson.  We sat and watched as a motorhome from New Jersey damage its front end and a campervan with a heavy rear-end/hitch-mounted box weighing it down got stuck returning to Dawson City.  It was amazing to see all the old white men up out of their cars to “help” the situation by telling the people running the ferry what should be done.  Most of their ideas didn’t work, so we may have cracked into a bottle while we waited to see what would happen next. *We had walked from the campground to Dawson City and were walk-on passengers, so there’s no reason to be judgemental. Don’t worry Mom, we’re making good life choices!

Dawson City was great, we went from store to store looking at the interesting things to buy.

The best decision we had was to sit on a patio order some drinks and people watch for a couple hours and decompress from our Dempster adventure.

Our favourite moment of the day was going into the NWT Dempster Highway Visitors Information Center in Dawson City, we didn’t know it existed when we started the Dempster, but that may be been for the best.  When we went in the woman in charge of the centre asked us if we had plans to go up the Dempster.  After telling her we had and sharing some stories she printed off a certificate stating we had completed the Dempster.  She read every line of the certificate which such excitement and pride it gave us goosebumps.  It was awesome.

Throughout our time on the Dempster, we received many certificates, one for crossing the Arctic Circle, another for getting to Tuktoyaktuk and one for dipping our toe (or body) into the ocean, but this one, with the enthusiasm, offered and the exuberance that truly highlighted the spirit of our adventure, was by far our favourite!