Tuktoyaktuk

Wow, a lot has happened in the last 4 days.  All nights have been camping with limited access to the internet so only just now with the chance to update.  It’s now Tuesday evening and we are safe and enjoying a hotel in Inuvik.  We still have 775k of the Dempster dirt to ride back down towards Dawson City so not completely out of the woods, but the forecast is to be fairly dry all day Wednesday.  At least the hard part is over – the part where multiple motorcyclists have had to been airlifted out with serious injuries and others with $700 flat-bed rides back to Inuvik getting after stuck in the mud.

So here’s a quick catch-up…  We left Fairbanks Friday morning to ride to Tok (not to be mistaken for Tuk in the NWT (the short for Tuktoyaktuk) and set up the stretch of roads around Top of the World Highway.  We had ridden this route on the way up but this time got some close up looks at several moose.  It was a nice day with no real chance of rain and easy tarmac all the way.  We camped the night in a cool spot – Thompson’s Eagle Claw Motorcycle Park and Rental Cabins.  It was a series of campsites for pitching tents and an eclectic mix of “cabins” consisting of a bus for the bunk house, several hand-made small cabins and an ambulance with a king bed inside.  Several motorcycle travelers that we had connected with earlier also ended up camping there so it was a bit of a reunion.  The owner/camp host was an interesting lady originally from Pennsylvania that had lived in Alaska the past 25+ years.  She got the campground in the divorce!

The next day after another breakfast at Fast Eddie’s (we had stopped for breakfast on the way through going north) we turned on to the Taylor Highway towards Dawson City, but our destination for the day was a side trip to the town of Eagle.  It is a historic site as it was a military outpost in the early 1900’s called Fort Egbert.  The road in is all dirt and the views were outstanding.  We also got to ride along a herd of Caribou that had taken over the road.  We ended up camping at the BLM site just past the fort.  After setting up a guy on a BMW 1200 pulled up and we shared stories of all just having competed the ride up the Dalton to Deadhorse.  He ending up throwing up a hammock at our site and is currently still riding with us.

We all got up Sunday morning with plans to ride the side track up to Forty Mile, a ghost town on the Yukon River.  It is only about 38k off the Top off the World Highway one way.  It had prime real estate at the confluence of the Forty Mile and Yukon Rivers back in the day.  The town is billed as the older town in Canada’s Yukon.  It was established in 1886 at the confluence by prospectors and fortune hunters in search of gold.  It was worth the two-mile hike in and out from the end of the road.  After crossing the border back into Canada we soon reached the turn off to Forty Mile.  The road was narrow with tight vegetation and I was constantly watching for animals to jump out in front of me but never saw a one.  The road was very nice for an unimproved road.  Lots of elevation changes and twists and turns.  After a short visit to the ghost town and some pics we were back on the bikes and heading across the Top of the World Highway for Dawson City.  The road certainly lives up to it’s name as you are riding up above the rolling hills.

Dawson City is across the Yukon river and there is no bridge at the highway so a short ferry ride is required.  The line was a bit long late in the afternoon so we waited about an hour to get across.  We heard there was a music festival in town over the weekend so we hoped would find a place to camp for the night.  Turns out that the town sectioned off the softball fields for free tent camping so we pitched along the concert goers.  Dawson City is a very interesting town with its own history.  Google it – pretty interesting.  We walked in and went to a recommended greek spot for dinner.  The Gyro and Greek Salad really lived up to the hype!

Somewhere over dinner it was mentioned that the weather was supposed to be dry up north for the next three days – something that has rarely happened this summer season above the Arctic Circle.  We thought about it and took a vote and made the call to make a run up to Tuk and back during the three-day weather window – 1100 miles of the Dempster Highway and basically all dirt.  The last 100 miles between Inuvik and Tok were just completed this spring – or so they say.  Those that have attempted it have said the last 25 miles or so are far from ideal and not quite finished.  Wet weather can turn the road into an impassable bog.  Many this year have been stuck and injured attempting the ride up.  We hoped the weather forecasted was correct.

We got up somewhat early and left the campground around 8am set for a long 450 mile day on all dirt.  The Dempster has a stunning landscape with 360 views.  The road itself is mostly in good shape except for the construction zones – albeit extremely dusty.  The dust clouds from a motorcycle are impressive and a semi creates a massive cloud that often requires stopping as it is impossible to see.  Two gas stops later we ended up at our campground around midnight to full on daylight and mosquitos from hell.  The mosquito head net was necessary and used.  The only thing that made them less annoying than the Alaska mozzies were that they were smaller.  But that also meant they could squeeze through holes between tent zippers.  A couple of them breached into my tent during the night and had to be assassinated after too many buzzes past my ear.

The next morning after getting attacked by mozzies again while packing up, we rode the short distance to Inuvik to gas up and grab a coffee.  The weather report was still forecasting dry conditions for Tuk but there were already dark clouds forming in the distance.  The rain luckily turned out to be just east of us.  We could see it falling off in the distance and hoped it wouldn’t head in our direction.  The winds were definitely coming out to the east so it was a possibility.  The  final piece of the road connecting Inuvik is about 95 miles  and in questionable condition.  There was obviously excessive gravel thrown on to cover up the defects and get the road open.  The problem is that under the gravel is soft dirt so makes for some interesting riding.  You never really feel stable for most of the 95 miles.  I can see how people were blowing up in wet conditions.  It would have been horrible and I would never attempt it in the rain and wet.

We covered the distance in about 3 hours with nobody coming off their bike.  Joe did have a close call when he got into the deep stuff in the shoulder but kept it upright.  Tuk is right on the Beaufort Sea – and technically the Arctic Ocean.  Lots of mosquitos up there too – downright brutal.  We got our pics, stickers and muskox burgers and turned around and rode back down to Inuvik without incident.  I arrived back to Inuvik tired, sore and relieved to have that section over with.  We checked into the Mackenzie Hotel, took much needed showers and even got laundry done.  I cleaned out my air filter that was clogged with road grime.  The calcium chloride had hardened onto my filter.  I’ll most likely have to clean it again after this next 450 mile stretch.  It’s 1:00am as I finish this post and it’s still full on daylight outside.  Hope the blackout curtains in the room are good!