NOTE: Before reading this blog, I highly recommend you first read The Dempster Highway Experience by MFI published September 1, 2024. Her blog helps put this one in proper perspective.
We departed Eagle Plains mid morning, and almost immediately it started raining. This made for slow cautious driving and hampered my picture taking. Twenty-one miles north we stopped at the Arctic Circle turnout, where I took picture evidence that we were actually there. If we look cold, that’s because it was, and we were. Oh, and our vehicles were working on achieving a new level of dirtiness.
We paralleled the Richardson Mountains for about half the drive, and despite the rain and overcast skies, we saw some dramatic changes in terrain and vegetation. The unglaciated mountains were still rounded, but the trees went from small forests to occasional patches to vast tree-less permafrost plains.
At around 60 miles, and just before crossing the border between the Yukon and Northwest Territories, we summited Wright Pass at 3,000 feet, the third and last continental divide along the loop north. Before the Pass, we drove below cloud ceiling along the Richardson plateau and took what pictures we could. The views at the Pass may have been spectacular, but the low clouds and rain made it impossible to see much. Since the Arctic Circle, we also saw small color changes, which indicated the start of a short autumn season before winter arrived in mid-September.
As we climbed up to the pass, the roadway cut through some interesting exposed sediments. BTW, even though MFI claimed in her Dempster Highway experience that there were no guardrails, I saw one here on our ascent to Wright Pass. It was completely mangled, hanging off the roadway, and snaking down toward the gorge below. Yikes! That must have been one incredible accident. In a turnout nearby, we saw the charred and twisted skeletal remains of two semi-trailers. Uncertain whether there was a connection.
The condition of the Dempster improved significantly after we entered the Northwest Territories.
From Wright Pass, the Dempster decended 2,300 feet over a 31-mile stretch down to the Peel River. About halfway, we got a view of the Gwich’in village of Midway Lake (mostly a collection of First Peoles’ lake cottages). We learned too late, that they had just hosted their 37th annual Midway Lake Music Festival the 1st week in August. The Festival featured music (never any lyrics), drum dancing, and a new food bank charity, which provided all attending children with new backpacks stuffed with supplies.
The ferry crossing at the Peel River was our third since entering Dawson City. Locals referred to it as “Eight Mile,” because it was located 8 miles south of Fort McPherson. All the ferries we encountered in Canada were free, passage being paid by provincial governments. Ferry crossings were a potential crap shoot due to changing weather and river level conditions, but The Milepost provided hours of operation and a toll-free phone number for checking operations in advance. This was extremely helpful. With a quick call, we could check whether we’d have problems or not, and if not, proceed with confidence. If yes, then there was time to make alternate plans. We had run into others whom had to wait as long as 6 hours before crossing operations resumed.
Our campground was only 1.1 miles passed the river, but we had been told that the gas station and convenience store at the north end of Fort McPherson (population 647) was a must stop. We drove the additional 8 miles (one-way) to the gas station/convenience store. We topped off our tank and bought an easy-to-fix dinner before returning to Nataiinlail Territory Park Campground, registering, and setting up for the night. Sid and Arthur had surpassed a level of filth beyond our wildest imagination. There were no facilities yet for getting them clean, yet I had to wash off our tail lights and running lights to ensure we could be seen by others.
After raining all day, the sun shined brightly at our campsite. We didn’t have much damage after this 103-mile leg. What that actualy meant was we were getting really good a securing the repeat problems with duct tape. Again, we enjoyed wine with dinner, and toasted our progress. There were no rainbows to photograph.
