Day 1 - The course laid before us
The full course of our road trip. 3 days, 1,076 miles.
Day 1 - Chugach Mountains, Alaska
Traveling along AK-1 towards Glennallen.
Day 1 - Matanuska Glacier
Traveling along AK-1 towards Glennallen.
Day 1 - Canada on the road sign
Glennallen, deciding whether to make a left or a right. We made a left.
Day 1 - Mt Drum and Mt Sanford
Heading towards Tok, Mt Drum and Mt Sanford are on our right/at our backs for an hour. We passed the HAARP installation.
Day 1 - Top of the World Highway
After Tok, AK (pronounced "toke") we made another left onto AK-5, the famous "Top of the World Highway"
Day 1 - Chicken, AK
About 30 miles from the Canadian border we stopped in Chicken, AK. Well known to be the last stop before the Yukon.
Day 1 - International Border
Poker Creek, AK (population 3) is the most northern land border in the US and Canada.
Day 1 - Horizontal satellite dishes
This far north, everything needs to point horizontally towards the equator and geosynchronous orbit.
Day 1 - Canadian Flag
O Canada, our home and native land.
Day 1 - Entering the Yukon.
Nathaniel and Elliot in Canada. 8 hours down, 2 to go. Elliot's first time out of the states.
Day 1 - Dawson City. 3rd Ave Complex
Left to sink into the sand to show how challenging it was the build in the constantly freezing/thawing land.
Day 1 - Dawson City. Westminster Hotel
Things are constantly dull in the winter. Bright colors help stave off madness.
Day 1 - Dawson City. Midnight Sun Hotel
It was about 18:00, and that's just a cool name for a hotel.
Day 1 - Dawson City. Yukon Red.
That was a great beer. Worth remembering.
Day 1 - Sourtoe shot
That's a preserved, frostbitten toe in that shot glass.
Day 1 - After the Sourtoe shot
You can drink it fast. You can drink it slow. But your lips must touch the toe.
Day 2 - Starting in Dawson, YT
Our ping on google maps from Dawson, YT
Day 2 - Dawson City from The Midnight Dome
Dawson City from on high, over a kilometer up. Really cool overview, and we could feel we were about to embark on something amazing.
Day 2 - Yukon River from The Midnight Dome
A massive, historic river. I loved being where the Yukon and the Klondike met. There's gold in them thar hills!
Day 2 - The Dempster Highway
The beginning of an 800+ kilometer gravel road connecting Dawson to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. Literally the only road north into the Western Canadian Arctic.
Day 2 - Unmanned petrol station
Slide your card, get gas. Sensors tell the company when to refill. Efficient, and practical. Would still suck dealing with it in the winter.
Day 2 - 363KM left for the day
A signpost with the main reasons to be on the Dempster - a stopover at Eagle Plains, visiting Inuvik, and eventually checking out the Arctic Ocean.
Day 2 - Approaching Tombstone Provincial Park
Pretty close to Tombstone Park, this is the only tourist street sign on the Dempster that I remember seeing.
Day 2 - Tombstone Provincial Park
The most famous part of the early Dempster Highway. A quick hour away from Dawson City.
Day 2 - Tombstone Mountain close up
The mighty Tombstone Mountain, 11 miles away from the road. Most majestic of the Ogilvie Mountains.
Day 2 - Tombstone Mountain and friends
A wider view of some of the mountains within Tombstone Provincial Park.
Day 2 - Chilling at Tombstone
A fun look at Nathaniel with the Ogilvies and Tombstone behind.
Day 2 - Wider Perspective
Another shot of Nathaniel at the Ogilvies. Tombstone is 11 kilometers away.
Day 2 - Solo lake
One of a tremendous number of lakes we saw during our excursion. Much larger and grand than the picture can communicate.
Day 2 - Cloudberries
Growing all over the Arctic, these berries are only found in northern latitudes. Pick 'em when they're yellow with a red pallor.
Day 2 - Cottongrass
Cottongrass grows all over the Arctic and is used in the making of paper, wicks, and pillows.
Day 2 - Ogilvie Ridge
Ogilvie Ridge is a beautiful viewpoint of the northernmost Ogilvie Mountains.
Day 2 - Getting Closer
Another 45 minutes or so (30 the way Olav drives) before stopping for the evening!
Day 2 - Eagle Plains Hotel, Yukon Fact Sheet
Cool plaque at the only Canadian civilization for 500 kilometers.
Day 2 - Outside of the Eagle Plains Hotel
Commemorating the end of the day.
Day 2 - Overlooking the Eagle Plains
Overlooking the Eagle Plains and the southernmost Richardson Mountains behind them. The famous Peel river is behind those ridges.
Day 2 - Eagle Plains Restaurant Map
You are here.
Day 3 - Starting in Eagle Plains, YT
Our ping on google maps from Eagle Plains Hotel in the Yukon.
Day 3 - License Plate
Check it out, y'all. The license plates are shaped like a bear! Awesome.
Day 3 - Arctic Circle
Actually a few meters north of it. Fun fact, it's moving northward about 20 meters per year because our earth is precessing.
Day 3 - Brothers at the Arctic Circle
Nathaniel and Elliot take a selfie.
Day 3 - Tundra and Taiga
Interplay between tundra and taiga / boreal forest. This is right at the Arctic Circle, still within the northern tree line.
Day 3 - Communications
Unattended generator-powered microwave repeaters are the only way the arctic communicates. There's a string of 50 or so of these from Dawson and points down the Peel River to the Arctic communities. Inuvik is the only one with a single fiber line at the moment.
Day 3 - Back whence we came
A majestic look back. Our new bff Wanda is in frame. Check out how built up the Dempster is, to keep it from sinking into the permafrost. Spoiler alert - it mostly worked.
Day 3 - Wright Pass
Where the Dempster crests a ridge of the Richardson Mountains, it's the border of the Yukon and Northwest Territories. It has a constant 50 mile per hour wind.
Day 3 - Back whence we came part 2
Pictures don't do it justice. That's a dozen+ kilometers right there. Wanda thought it was awesome as well.
Day 3 - Tundra
Look how bare it is. Rocky and not soft, the elevation meant we were out of the tree line.
Day 3 - Tundra selfie
A huge reason of the trip was for me to get up close with rocks, reindeer grass, and the tundra vegetation. Heaven.
Day 3 - Permafrost collapse
Once permafrost starts melting it's a vicious cycle that doesn't really stop without hitting rock. Once it's gone it's not coming back for centuries - if we're lucky.
Day 3 - Ferry over the Peel River
We've reached Ft McPherson and they don't build bridges up here.
Day 3 - Welcome to Ft McPherson
Also called Teetl'it Zheh, Ft McPherson is a place that exists. Has about 650 folks.
Day 3 - Big Momma's
Seriously the only food place we could find in Ft McPherson. Our guide knew the family, who opened up the truck for us before running errands. We hung out with the kids and dog. It was delicious.
Day 3 - Ft McPherson Graveyard
Check out how they are mounds and have fences. Hard to bury folks in the winter time.
Day 3 - Ferry over the Mackenzie River
Like at the Peel river, they don't build bridges. But they really can't at the Mac, because it's the ninth biggest river in the world. Betcha didn't know that!
Day 3 - Tsiigehtchic
It's pronounced "si-getch-ick". For some reason, 140ish folks live here. Thank goodness, because we needed folks to operate the Ferry, but honestly we're close enough to Inuvik and Ft McPherson, I guess.
Day 3 - Cliffs of the mighty Mackenzie
This river is HUGE. Those cliffs and hills were awesome to see up close.
Day 3 - Inuvik
At the end of day 3 we reached our base in Inuvik, home to over 3000 hearty Arctic denizens. This place was pretty great, but I can see how it might get old fast. Way above 66 degrees north! (aka the Arctic Circle)
Day 3 - North Mart
It's the Super Target of the Canadian Arctic. This is the place to buy stuff if you aren't buying it online. They have pizza, chicken, clothes, boats, 4-wheelers, jewelry...just...everything.
Day 3 - The Church
Inuvik's most memorable landmark is a church shaped like an igloo. It's all over Google results for Inuvik. I don't get it.
Day 3 - Inuvik gathering place
This tent had a number of bleachers in it which are used for music and other entertainment.
Day 3 - Inuvik Hospital
That place was new, beautiful, and state-of-the-art. Doctors and surgeons from around the world come to Inuvik to practice, and they are set up for everything one might need. Fun fact, it will eventually collapse into the permafrost because they didn't build it properly..
Day 3 - Inside the Mad Trapper
The Mad Trapper is the main bar in Inuvik, open until 2 am. It's constantly fighting to remain open, because the local council has to deal with a large number of drunk and bored locals. We were here each night.
Day 3 - Midnight Sky
Had to take at least one photo of the sun at midnight. Look at that sky and those clouds!
Day 3 - Nova Inn
Home away from home during our stay in the Arctic. We only camped in the Yukon! Fun fact, they truck in water once or twice a day - it's just a thing that people do up there. Shout out to Hope for upgrading me.
Day 4 - White Night
3am is the time of polar midnight (and 1500 is the time of polar noon). Look how bright it is at the "darkest" time of the evening!!
Day 4 - Starting in Inuvik, NWT
Our google maps ping from Inuvik, NWT.
Day 4 - Canada Post
I like remote / rural post offices. Inuvik's was no joke, and responsible for...a lot of ground.
Day 4 - Mile 0 on the ITH
The Inuvik - Tuktoyaktuk Highway is another gravel road, but this one is the only one in Canada that goes to the Arctic Ocean.
Day 4 - ITH Selfie
Today would be the culmination of a mighty trip north.
Day 4 - Ibyuk - Pingo Canadian Landmark
There's Ibyuk, the second largest pingo in the world. Pingos are ice covered hills created either by water pressure within impenetrable permafrost pushing them upwards or by groundwater pressure pushing them up before freezing.
Day 4 - Tuktoyaktuk Outskirts
Well above the northern tree line, Tuktoyaktuk is a hamlet nestled against the Beaufort Sea. The only wood is the driftwood that makes its way north from the Mackenzie.
Day 4 - Abandoned Oil Exploration Bunker
What a waste, this "has every amenity" bunker is barely used and falling into disrepair. Built in the 70s during a potential oil boom, when the capitalists decided it wasn't worth it they didn't even bother donating it to the community.
Day 4 - Welcome to Tuk
What a sign!! 69 degrees north, wow.
Day 4 - Brothers in Tuktoyaktuk
Bundled up for sure, the wind was blowing off the ocean and it was approximately 10 degrees Celsius.
Day 4 - Tuktoyaktuk Anglican Church
I'm Anglican / Episcopal and thought it was pretty neat.
Day 4 - Traditional Log Hut
Inuits didn't live in igloos, which are temporary structures. They collected driftwood and made huge multi-generational homes. Behind this one was one covered in sod for insulation.
Day 4 - Arctic Ocean Vista
Just look that. The water was cloudy from silt, glacial runoff, organics, you name it. Hardly any larger waves due to the fact that the moon is off to the side pulling at the water near the equator. Wild.
Day 4 - Pre Arctic Ocean Skinnydipping
Brave face before facing the chill. Honestly, while it was cold, the worst part were the huge rocks underfoot.
Day 4 - Brothers in the water
Can you tell it was cold? We're hulking out because we're both racing to get our swimming trunks back on. There was a tiny rip as well so if we didn't have our feet planted we were moving away from shore.
Day 4 - Proof!
Holding up my suit to prove I was au naturale. Worth it.
Day 4 - Arctic Ocean Vista 2
A more "straight ahead" view out the Arctic Ocean. A few hundred kilometers that direction lay ice, polar bears, and approximately 2000 kilometers ahead is the geographical north pole.
Day 4 - Arctic Beach
That log was the most awesome place in the world after we swam in the Arctic Ocean. It was warm, blocked some wind, and was where our towels and clothes were.
Day 4 - Arctic Panorama
Florian and Sophie chilling after snapping Elliot and I in the water. Our crew down the beach in the distance.
Day 4 - Details from our Dip
From snapchat, a different perspective of the Arctic Beach and our log in the distance.
Day 4 - Nathaniel at the Arctic Ocean
It's become one of my most shared photos of the trip - I'm at the Arctic Ocean, baby!
Day 4 - Steam Deck at the Arctic Ocean
Nerding out at the Arctic Ocean with my video games. Reddit didn't like it nearly as much as I thought they would.
Day 4 - Signposts
Can you believe how far away the North Pole still is? And Sydney, well, that's just a hop, skip, and a jump.
Day 4 - Old and New technology
Close up we see multi-seasonal fishing huts. No idea why the Stars and Stripes are there. In the distance, radar and communication equipment. I had internet!
Day 4 - Trans Canada Trail endpoint
An official endpoint to the Trans Canada Trail. I imagine some people do that whole thing - 24,134 kilometers!
Day 4 - A Different View
An interesting "upside down" map showing the world in a new way. When you're in the Arctic, it makes sense to center your world in maps. I'm just "above" Winnipeg right now, over by Lake Superior!
Day 4 - Ping from Tuk
A full continent view of our google maps ping from Tuktoyaktuk, NWT.
Day 4 - Closeup Ping from Tuk
A closer look at where we are via our google maps ping from Tuktoyaktuk, NWT.
Day 5 - More About Inuvik
Inuvik is the administrative center of a massive part of Canada. Here are some of the important towns in the Arctic Northwest Territories.
Day 5 - Downtown Inuvik
Here's the main stretch! To the left - the Mad Trapper (with the satellite dish). To the right - shops, administration and the Mackenzie Hotel in the distance.
Day 5 - Communications
LOTS of satellite communications in Inuvik. Once again, pointing forward and not up.
Day 5 - Inuvik Airport
Pretty neat place. No security, no metal detectors, no checking of tickets. A LOT of bush planes and puddle jumpers.
Day 5 - The Crew
Stuffed into a Cessna. Directly behind me is Florian on the left (in glasses) and Sophie on the right. Wanda is in the back.
Day 5 - Mackenzie River
Just a hundred kilometers from where it drains into the Arctic Ocean, this part of the Mackenzie is a massive delta, with thousands of lakes and swamps.
Day 5 - Approaching Aklavik
Flying is the only way to get into Aklavik in the summer, because there are no permanent roads (and there'd be no way to get across the Mackenzie). All that changes in the winter when they build an ice road.
Day 5 - Aklavik
Never say die. The government tried to move the people of Aklavik to Inuvik because Aklavik floods a lot. The hardy folks said "Eh, sorry, no".
Day 5 - Leaving Aklavik
Great pic of Aklavik from the air. You can see North Mart, the school, the graveyard, satellite dishes, the post office, and even a couple of inns!
Day 5 - Approaching Inuvik
Delta lands, massive lakes, and the town of Inuvik in the distance. The horizontal body of water right before Inuvik is a channel that was dredged to facilitate...something.
Conclusion - Arctic Expedition Completed
Indeed I didn't face the hardships of our forebears, but check it out - I'm an Arctic Adventurer!