The Dempster Highway, redux

For those of you old enough to have seen Dr. Zhivago do you remember how his whole face would light up when he would see the Ural mountains in the distance? I love that movie, and those scenes of the distant snowy mountains, and how the view moved him so much. I felt that same way today starting back south on the Dempster and seeing, then retracing my route through the Ogilvie Range. Magical. What should have been a five hour drive to Eagle Plains (halfway point, overnight stop) was closer to eight with all the photography stops, and one stop just to enjoy a cigar while looking at the mountains in absolute wonder. While I could hear the balalaika music from the movie (Lara’s theme?), I had to remind myself I’m no Omar Sharif.

Coming back from Tuktoyuktuk yesterday I came across a guy walking with a massive pack. I stopped, rolled with window down and started the conversation by saying “OK, I gotta ask...” Michael is a Canadian from Windsor, former French Foreign Legion soldier and passionate advocate for raising awareness around mental health. He’s on a 27,000 km walk along the TransCanad Trail to raise awareness and funds the Canadian Mental Health. He started at Tuk, was heading south to Vancouver, then east to Newfoundland. An hour later I was kicking myself for being daft and not getting a photo. Retraced my route to find him the next morning, talked a lot more and got a photo. Follow him on Instragram @deathmarch27000km. Fascinating man, admirable human being.

One of the many things that makes the Dempster unique are the two places where the road is significantly widened and there are windsocks and bring orange runway markers. The sign warns this is an emergency airstrip and not to stop. Medivac, planes running out of gas, or…?

Again, no wildlife on the drive south. Oh, I did see one squirrel and lots of ravens. Perhaps the raven, known in Aboriginal legend as “The Trickster” is my spirit animal for this trip. Better than a squirrel.

Retraced the two ferry crossings – MacKenzie River at the village of Tsiigehtchic (amazing cell service!) and then the Pelly River. The crews were actively rebuilding the earthen ramps in between sailings.

Crossed the Arctic Circle again. A tad warmer and less wind this time. Stopped for a long while just to admire the view. Yes, perhaps there was a cigar too.

The drive from Eagle Plains to Dawson was interesting. A little drizzle, which made for deeper mud, then a little snow, than a lot of snow. It was close to a foot deep for a while. Very few other vehicles on the road. In six or so hours there were less than ten vehicles coming towards me.

Overnighting in Dawson City waiting for the tire repair place to open Monday morning. I washed the car as soon as I arrived in town and made the mistake of cleaning some of the mud from the tires. Over 2,000 of mud took its toll. Couldn’t reach all of it and how the tires are badly out of balance. Need to have all four taken off and hand cleaned. I’m too much of a princess to do it myself and could not suffer all the teasing if I tried to use hand tools.