Some context to start before I outline the trip.
My wife's cousin and uncle (now my cousin and uncle) spent many lunch hours together over the last year. During this time, my uncle (Mike) explained to my cousin (Dustin) and I (Gibby) that he always wanted to drive north of the Arctic Circle. After some initial discussion, we all figured that was something we could accomplish. A few more lunches together over the holiday season cemented the idea and next thing we knew we were booking vacation time, hotels and flights.
The intention was to drive as far as we possibly could. Our target was to drive to Inuvik, NWT then fly up to Tuktoyaktuk so that we could see the Arctic Ocean.
On August 28, 2015 we packed up the car and began on our way north. Before we left, we started what would become a daily tradition. That was to set the camera on top of the car, with a timer, and to take a photo of the three of us in our morning location. Day 1 was in Edmonton with hot temperatures lingering from a warm summer. But before we left, Mike and I spent some time exploring the maps of the north, discovering a town called Skagway (foreshadowing!).
As we began our drive, we immediately were overwhelmed with the distances that awaited us. We were seeing signs that told us we were hundreds and thousands of kilometres away from our desired destination. Seeing a sign for Alaska or Whitehorse seemed pretty much unattainable. Undeterred, we carried on for a quick first day that took us to Grande Prairie, AB.
Day 2 began early. Before the sun was up, early. This photo is highly enhanced so you can even see our faces.
That was because we had planned an almost unthinkable 1,535km day of driving. That would take us all the way through northern British Columbia with a finish scheduled in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Again, we kept seeing signs that told us we had over 1,000km to go, but we were buoyed by the certainty that the views would be beautiful and we would see many sights along the way. Some of these initial sights included:
- Moon set
- A giant beaver
- Peace River valley completely filled in with fog
- The Mile 0 sign post of the Alaska Highway
After passing through Fort St. John, we formally entered the wilderness. Gas stations were spaced out by hundreds of kilometres and houses became a distant memory. That did provide us with some endless vista, and somehow a total lack of wildlife.
Crossing into British Columbia also meant we immediately were welcomed with constant construction that would persist for hours. Trying to take it all in stride, when we were stopped for long periods of time, we were allowed to walk around and even take care of some minor vehicle repairs (the molding was loose from a trip to the car wash).
Passing through Fort Nelson meant that the price of gas had officially sky-rocketed ($1.449/l) and that we were heading into the mountains. Even better views followed. As did the presence of the changing seasons. The further north we got, the more yellow leaves we saw, but we would soon find out this was just the beginning.
And after a wildlife drought of hours, we finally started to see animals again. We started out with a stone sheep, then eventually we encountered dozens of buffalo.
Before we knew it (just kidding, it took forever) we were in Yukon. For each of us, it was the first time we'd even been in Yukon. The fun part was that this photo of the sign actually came after we crossed the border a half dozen times because the road zig-zags across many times before finally settling in the Yukon. Our first stop was for gas in a small town called Watson Lake. This town is best know for it's Sign Post Forest, which thankfully for me was located adjacent to the gas station we were filling up at/eating at. I ran over, snapped a few photos and headed back to the car (no time to waste).
As the hours continued to pass by, we exchanged control the car several times and eventually saw the sun set. So from sunrise to sunset, we had been driving. 17 hours later, we made it into Whitehorse with just enough time to get into the hotel pub for a shot of Crown and a frosty mug of Kokanee before it closed.
Day 3 began innocently enough. But it would turn quickly. I had been cooped up in a car for an entire day so I felt the urge to head out for an early morning run while Mike and Dustin slept. While on my run in Whitehorse I discovered the riverfront, many murals and had some leads on places we could go for breakfast. Since today we weren't planning on driving all day, we had time to actually sit and eat a meal.
After checking out, we got in the car and headed for a local breakfast spot where our trip would take an unexpected turn. We ordered our breakfast and continued to talk about our next 2 days of the trip. These were planned to be drives to Dawson City and to Inuvik. The latter being the toughest day. We must have been talking loudly because several people in the restaurant overheard and unsolicitedly came over to warn us about our plans. Apparently the Dempster Highway (Dawson to Inuvik) had been subject to some awful weather for several days. The people that talked to us had attempted the drive only to be turned around for safety reasons. We had been checking the road reports and nothing indicated the severity of conditions that we were getting through anecdotal stories from our fellow breakfasters. But the enormity of the response made us question our decision to take a small car down a 762km gravel highway.
Despite all the bad news, we still had to get to Dawson City so we decided to head off. A quick stop in front of the SS Klondike for our starting photo of the day, and we were off. While we drove we started calling up north to figure out if flying from Dawson to Inuvik would be a better option. We were immediately told that we should book flights if we wanted to get there, so we did.
What we didn't realize was that our breakfast had made us all very nervous about the prospect of taking our little car down the scary Dempster Highway. And by booking flights, we'd all but eliminated that fear. We all relaxed. That allowed us to enjoy the 7 hour drive we had ahead of us, rather than dread the next day. This relaxation became evident right away as we stopped for a roadside break at the of an old wild fire.
Our relaxation was even more evident at the next stop. I was expecting everyone to take a bathroom break so I wandered up into the hills for a better view of the nearby lake. After returning down to the car, I found Mike and Dustin knee deep in the lake. I was then instructed to get my shoes off and into the water. So I did. Why not. I set my camera on the back of the car and took a picture.
Most of the drive was uneventful for us. The highlights were twofold. First we saw our first moose of the trip. And secondly, we took a slight detour when we saw the Dempster Highway. We knew we couldn't (and shouldn't) take it, but we went 15km up and back and posed for some photos at the start so we could feel like we did it.
So here's the deal. You pay $5 and someone reads you a rhyming poem, drops the toe into your drink and you tip it back. There are rules. Several. Most importantly, the toe must touch your lips for it to be considered a success and by no means are you allowed to open your mouth (there's been many toes purposefully swallowed). Should you decide to, or accidentally swallow the toe you face a $2,500 fine. Also the toe is totally black due to it being frostbitten.
We all wandered over, plopped down our $5 and did the deed. Each receiving our own personalized certificate to memorialize the occasion. And to be honest. It wasn't bad at all. The toe is soft, doesn't smell, doesn't have a taste. The only real challenge was that the toe had a tendency to get stuck in the bottom of your glass so you had to give it a tap get it dislodged and give you the desired toe-kiss.
Still not willing to call it a night, we wandered back to our hotel to discover another local lounge that we needed to visit. It was called the Sluice Box which was enough to entice us in for another drink. Their unlimited free popcorn kept us a little longer than we probably should have stayed. But soon we headed back to our hotel room (complete with jacuzzi tub) for some rest before our next big day and early morning flight.
Stay tuned for part 2 soon!!
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