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Dempster Highway
Page 1 of 8
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There was very little traffic on this
road in 1978; perhaps a maximum of 10 vehicles per day would pass me
(counting both directions). The farther north I traveled the less
traffic there was. Even today (2007) there is not very much traffic.
This road travels through a vast empty
land, a silent land - silent that is, from the sounds of humans - the
empty wilderness of northern Yukon.
If you go, I strongly suggest that you take your time. You
won't truly experience this land by rushing through it. Slow down. Stop
and get out of your vehicle to feel the wind, listen to the silence,
look at the sky and clouds. Listen to what the land is trying to tell
you.
I took 9 days to ride from Dawson City to Inuvik and
back: July 22 - 31
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Here
is the moped at Mile 0 of the Dempster Highway, July
23, 1978. I have
already traveled 6,100 miles to reach this point, about 2,600 of it
on unpaved roads.
Ahead of me lies a total of
915 miles
of the Dempster Highway (457 miles to Inuvik and back).
Then, evetually, 4,500 miles back to Toronto.
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Mile 40,
looking south, just a few miles south of North Fork Pass.
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Mile 45,
just south of North Fork Pass, looking north.
Along here, through the Pass and
north of it, there were still the occasional patches of snow left,
right by the road, some quite large!
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Mile 47
Twenty-five miles away in the distance is Tombstone Mountain. This startling
mountain sticks up 1000 feet from the surrounding terrain, and is
only 500 feet across on top.
This view looking west from the
road is on the way up North
Fork Pass.
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Mile 47
A view looking north in North Fork Pass. Empty country,
above the treeline. It is very hard to judge distances here,
because of the lack of trees to give scale.
This is the highest elevation on
the Dempster Hwy: 4229 feet above sea level. This area is on the
continental divide. All rivers north of here flow north into
the Arctic Ocean. The Dempster Hwy crosses the
continental divide three times on its way north.
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