The old cry for adventure was ‘North to Alaska!’ but when you are in Inuvik, Northwest Territories near the Arctic Ocean you have to go south to Alaska.  In fact, from Inuvik you have to go south to go anywhere.  Inuvik, population 3,500, is on the banks of the Mackenzie Delta and only about 100 kms (60 miles) from the Arctic Ocean.  It has a large First Nation population and a remote Arctic outback feel that tops off the glorious two day drive up the Dempster Highway to get there.

Even though Inuvik is a large town by northern standards it had very little initial appeal with its box-like government-built buildings designed to cope with the harsh winters and the whole place looked muddy, colourless and dreary.  The grey clouds and constant rain didn’t help its case.

One interesting feature of the town was to put all water and sewage pipes above ground so as not to disturb the permafrost underneath.  A melted permafrost means land subsidence which causes buildings to sag and collapse.   As a result all buildings are built on stilts off the ground and all pipes run above ground.  Ingenious.

For a true cultural experience we had a beer at the local pub, a bit dark and rough, and then treated ourselves to dinner at the only legitimate restaurant in town (two other restaurants provided by the tourist information centre was the cafeteria at the hospital and the one at the airport).  It was a celebration night for us, we survived the Dempster Highway, we had made it to Inuvik at an astonishing 68 degrees latitude and the next day we were planning to go even further north – by plane.

Everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it, or so the saying goes.  We rose that morning with great plans to fly up to the end of the world, Tuktoyaktuk, the First Nation community clinging to the shore of the Arctic Ocean.  But the clouds were low on the ground, the rain driving, the temperature grim.  Sadly and reluctantly, we made the decision there was no point in doing a scenic flight or wading into the Arctic Ocean under these conditions.  So the semi-lifeless grey town of Inuvik would be our turnaround point and we topped up the tanks and the pantry for the long drive south.

The dirt and gravel road was very sloppy, long sections of mud and surface water, large trucks barrelling at us from the other direction.  Our windscreen took another star crack, its third, but we admired the stunning scenery as much as we could see it through the fog and clouds.  Oh for a clear day!

We crossed the Mackenzie and the Peel Rivers again by ferry, up and over a pass, streams flowing strong from the overnight rain, hills glistening in their mossy grassy tundra cover, across the border into the Yukon and we camped in a fabulous old quarry pit (we love old quarry pits, they are infinitely better than they sound!) with dramatic coast to coast views of the arctic tundra laid out below us and more old caribou antlers lying about than firewood.  The wind was biting, the temperature in single digits (below 50F) but we climbed to the top of the ridge to see our new (temporary) home.  Glorious.

The drive south on the Dempster Highway was similar to the drive north – drizzly, low clouds and fog, slippery road, glimpses of astounding beauty and a forever feeling that we were travelling through a very special place.  Late in the afternoon we stopped again at Tombstone Territorial Park, did a short walk to the fog line for expansive views of this stunning setting, saw five beavers in a single pond busy building dams and their lodges, and finally camped in another scenic off-road area near the North Klondike River.

To give some scale and scope to the Dempster Highway experience, Julie and I rated our top three ‘big’ experiences of the trip so far as (in no particular order) – Newfoundland, Big Bend/Rio Grande in Texas and the Dempster Highway.  High praise in a crowded field.

The next morning we entered the historic town of Dawson City where the Klondike River flows into the mighty Yukon.  Dawson City was ground zero for the famous gold rush in 1898 because the little creek where gold was first discovered is only a short distance away.  The town has done a great job of retaining historical buildings and playing on this fascinating time in Canada’s history.

The town still retains its old western building facades, wooden footpaths (sidewalks) and historical sites such as the SS Keno, the last paddle steamer to plow its trade on the Yukon, many old buildings and the cabin of the famous author Jack London.

From Dawson we caught the ferry across the Yukon and travelled 100 km to the US border on the Top of the World Highway.  Superbly named, this dramatic drive follows high ridges across stunning mountain landscape until it finally hits a small border outpost marking the end of Canada and the beginning of Alaska.  We crossed the border and camped on a flat area high in the mountains, stunning views for miles around and a cold wind to keep us honest.

We’ll be back in the Yukon later in our trip but from what we’ve seen so far it is an absolute corker!