The Dempster Highway

WHAT AN ADVENTURE

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE

22nd – 26th August

This has been an amazing part of our trip. So much to see and experience. 1112mile (1800 km) of dirt and mud, mountains and tundra, bears, moose, the Arctic Circle and the Arctic Ocean.

(P- our original thoughts were to travel the Dalton Highway to Prudo Bay in Alaska, watching a documentary on Canada’s North West Territories changed our plans. The main reasons to Drive the Dempster was, A) it is a winter Ice road crossing rivers on natural ice bridges ( ferries in summer) B) the Dempster went all the way to the Artic Ocean, C) the Dempster travels through several Inuit villages and towns, D) Tuktoyaktuk the most northern town. 67 degrees north would possibly be a chance to sample Artic seafood. Last but not least E) the road in the thaw season is known to be a bit of a driving challenge – so down with the tyre pressures, fuel up, sedate Judith and off we go!) (joking on Sedating Judith she is a great co Pilot)

Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

We struck all road types, from dry dusty gravel to slick mud, fog and smoke haze. Philip commented it was like driving in oatmeal porridge.

(P- one “stretch” of road approx 550 kilometres was 4WD as the road surface was that greasy the Truck couldn’t get traction in 2wd and besides the Co-pilot prefers the driving Experience going straight ahead not sideways!)

Spotted 6 or 7 bears along the roadside, none that were interested in us. They were busy feeding. Amazing watching them in their natural habitat.

(P- The “mother” bear in the top left photo armed with her bear spray – just in case! Well that’s if it was remembered prior to a walk! Judith always walks out front when we walk- for some reason she has been walking behind me when we stop on the side of the road and walk a local trail to a lake etc. I wonder why a change and walking behind me??)

( The Local Inuits can harvest Whale ( Beluga) as a community harvest and the harvest is shared. A little research and getting to know “Grandma” as she is called and we were privileged to be offered a taste. Both of us commented after it was way better than we thought, Pork texture with a seafood taste. Thanks to “Grandma” for giving us the privilege of tasting what is a legal harvest in the Arctic. The communities were friendly and it was great to tour and wander around)

A bucket list item, to Paddle in the Arctic Ocean. We made it here so off with the shoes and socks and into the water. It’s 0.5 degrees C so we take a very quick photo before our toes freeze off and race back out again. My feet we cold for hours after and my toes felt like they were going to snap off.

(P. – According to the Aurora Borealis Observatory the blue sky phenomenon is when the Aurora catches the moonlight and changes it to hues of blue. Seeing they know more than I do, I will take that as true and if it’s not then it’s still pretty.

(P- photos of the Autumn colours don’t do them justice. They were outstanding! Prior to departing we were warned the Autumn colour change lasts approximately 1 week and then it’s all over! We estimated that doing the Dempster at the end of our trip we might get lucky. The colour change in the 4 day period of travelling up and back was very noticeable with some trees already bare. A bit of planning but we really hit the Jackpot here! – I am thinking for the first time in decades my “Brownie point jar must be overflowing“ ! )