2008 Tours of Northern Canada: "The Arctic Explorer"

In the vast wilderness that is northern Canada, only one year-round highway crosses the Arctic Circle. And this road – the Dempster Highway – is less a highway than a back country road. From its beginning on the North Klondike River, it traverses a single, expansive wilderness, almost untouched by civilization, and crosses the Continental Divide three times.  We’ll visit the few, far flung First Nation communities on the Dempster, and will spend most time alone, seeing only scattered traffic. 

In this land of the midnight sun, the sun holds its place in the sky for an entire summer, enabling wildlife to be seen almost 24 hours a day. Black bear, wolverine and fox live in the forest and grizzly bears, wolves and caribou roam the mountain valleys and plains. Dall’s sheep can often be seen on the mountain ridges while moose live near valley streams and rivers.  Bird life includes eagles, falcons and hawks and a variety of migratory birds. 

Surprisingly, at the northern end of the highway there is civilization - in Inuvik, the modern Arctic service centre founded in the mid-1950s. However, we don’t linger in civilization too long! The next day, a low level flight across the tundra of the Mackenzie Delta takes us from Inuvik for a day visit to Inuvialuit hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk on the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

Arctic Explorer Itinerary

Whitehorse, YT, return

Day 1. Dawson City, YT.
After departing Whitehorse, YT, we take the Klondike Highway to the historic gold-mining town of Dawson City (pop. 2000). En route, we stop at Five Finger Rapids and cross some of the great northern rivers including Yukon River, Pelly River and Stewart River. We arrive in Dawson in late afternoon after driving 540 kilometers. In the evening we'll have time to admire the town's original and restored buildings.

Accommodation: Hotel
Included Meals: None

Day 2. Dawson City, YT.
Our stay in this restored gold mining town will include a focus on historical and cultural attractions including: The Grand Palace Theatre, the SS Keno National Historic Site, the Dawson City Museum and the Danoja Zho Cultural Centre. We'll also have the option to pan for gold and, in the evening, visit Diamond Tooth Gertie's Casino, gambling saloon with live stage performances.  Entrance fees to the above attractions are optional and range in price from $10 to $15.
 
For those with a hankerin' to see the countryside, we set aside a half day for an optional visit to Dredge No. 4, located 12 kilometers from Dawson City. Built in 1912, this historic dredge is the largest wooden hull bucket-line dredge in North America. After our one hour tour, we'll continue up Bonanza Creek to see miles of tailings worked two or three times in the continuing search for gold.

Accommodation: Hotel
Included Meals: Hot breakfast

Day 3. Eagle Plains, YT.
Leaving the Klondike Highway, we begin our journey up the Dempster Highway towards Tombstone Territorial Park. The southern part of our journey passes through the valley of the North Klondike River and skirts the Ogilvie Range. After crossing the North Fork Klondike River, we ascend above the treeline to encounter the dramatic Tombstone Range, considered by many to be the most spectacular mountain range in the Yukon. We'll visit the Visitor Information Centre and stretch our legs on a one hour hike in Tombstone Valley.

We continue our ascent along the Dempster to North Fork Pass, past the treeline and into open tundra. An elevation of 1289 metres marks the highest point on the Dempster Highway and our first of three crossings of the Continental Divide. From this point on we enter a region of near-continuous permafrost and tundra.

Heading north along the Blackstone Uplands we stop at Chapman Lake, the largest lake along the highway. Here we encounter a fertile area rich with bird life. Leaving Tombstone Territorial Park, we climb over Windy Pass, making our way along the ridge of the Eagle Plateau and completing our second crossing of the Continental Divide.

Before the night's rest at Eagle Plains, we stop at the Ogilvie-Peel viewpoint that provides one of the best panoramas of the northern fringe of the Ogilvie Mountains. Entering the land around Eagle Plains, we'll see a a rolling, hilly region covered with stunted black spruce forest. Due to permafrost under the soil, the trees lean in all directions, giving them a comical, drunken appearance. Our 450 kilometer drive has led us to the self-contained truck stop on Eagle Plains, the only place on the Dempster to eat, sleep and fuel up. We'll largely be in the company of long haul truckers, road maintenance crews and locals.

From Eagle Plains, the Richardson Mountains provide an incredibly beautiful sight, forming a narrow north-south line of softly sculptured ridges. They are believed to be the most northerly range of the Rockies.

Accommodation: Hotel (basic)
Included Meals: Hot breakfast

Day 4. Inuvik, NWT.
Just north of Eagle Plains we'll arrive at the Arctic Circle monument at N 66°33'. We then ascend to the last mountain pass, which takes us over the border to the Northwest Territories. Here we change our clocks one hour ahead and cross the Continental Divide for the third time. We now descend into the expansive valley of the mighty Peel and Mackenzie Rivers.

During the ice age, continental sheets of ice stretched across much of this area. Consequently, thousands of small lakes and ponds attest to the passage of the grinding of massive glaciers. We'll look out for wildlife as we make to the Peel River Ferry Crossing. After the crossing we stop at the Kutching community of Fort McPherson, an early Hudson's Bay Company post and now home to 800 first nations people. Time and store hours permitting, we’ll visit the Fort McPherson Tent and Canvas Shop, famous for famous around the world for their prospector tents, tipis and sturdy luggage.

The areas of the Peel/Mackenzie lowlands are mostly flat and marshy. But the warm waters of the mighty Mackenzie bring to this arctic area allow a diversity of biological zones to exist far north of their usual boundary. Stands of white birch, white and black spruce, cottonwood and tamarack are common. While none of these forests can compare to the magnificent west coast rainforest, some of the white birch have been documented to be up to 800 years old. An essential resource for the native population of the Western Arctic, whitefish, Arctic char, trout and burbot (freshwater ling) are fished from the river.

The wide Mackenzie River is our last river crossing. Road conditions permitting, we'll divert to the small native community of Arctic Red River. The Dempster leads on through the Mackenzie Delta, one of North America's great migratory bird flyways. Five globally significant Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and one continentally crucial IBA stretch along the river. These IBAs are vital staging and nesting areas for tens of thousands of waterfowl, such as tundra swans; greater white-fronted, lesser snow and Canada geese; canvasback and mallard ducks; and thousands of songbirds. Roughly 100 species of migratory birds are present in the Mackenzie River Delta alone, including the last known breeding habitat of the highly endangered Eskimo curlew.

Accommodation: Hotel
Included Meals: Hot breakfast

Day 5 Inuvik, NWT.
During the winter, the highway extends another 194 kilometres to Tuktoyaktuk, on the northern coast of Canada, using frozen portions of the Mackenzie River delta as an ice road. However, today is summer and so it's off to the Inuvik airport to meet our chartered plane.

After a one hour flight over the Mackenzie delta, we touch down in Tuktoyaktuk, where we'll be met by our local guide.  This is the northernmost point on this tour and we'll spend some time exploring the town with its old mission vessel, many old cabins and the ice-house. During the tour, we'll sample some local fare, and stop for a traditional toe dipping ceremony in the Arctic Ocean. We'll also learn about the impact climate change is having on this community and how it is affecting the traditional hunting and gathering of its residents.

Tuktoyaktuk is also the gateway for exploring Pingo National Landmark, an area protecting eight pingos in a region which contains approximately 1,350 of these arctic ice dome hills. We'll visit this Landmark, which comprises an area roughly six miles square, just a few miles west of the community, and includes Canada's highest (and the world's second-highest) pingo, at 160 feet. It is managed by Parks Canada within the national park system, and, although a nationwide Landmarks program was envisioned, Pingo remains the country's only national landmark.

Accommodation: Hotel
Included Meals: Hot breakfast

Day 6. Whitehorse, YT.
In the morning, we’ll have the option of free time to explore Inuvik or take an optional four hour boat tour into the Mackenzie Delta. As we cruise through the creeks and channels, your guide will describe the unique ecosystem of this area and point out traditional native camps. Wildlife spotting opportunities include moose, bear minks, fox, beavers, golden and bald eagles and migratory birds including swans and ducks.  Part way through the tour, we pull over at a local cabin, build a fire and partake of traditional native fare for an early lunch.   Please advise us at the time of booking if you wish to take this trip.

Then, it’s off to our afternoon flight - who would have thought that flying to Whitehorse means heading south? However, the end of our journey to Canada's far north is at an end and so we catch a three hour scheduled flight from Inuvik.

Included Meals: Hot breakfast