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The Dempster Highway was completed
in the summer of 1978, just a matter of days before I traveled north on
it. I figure that I was the first vehicle to travel the entire length from
Dawson City to Inuvik and back in the summer (it had been a winter road prior to
this), particularly because there was no ferry across the Peel River (NWT) until
at least 1979, and possibly later. How I got across this large river is
detailed in the travelogue. The Road wasn't even officially opened until Aug 18,
1979!
The Dempster Highway stretches 457 miles
from its start 20 miles east of Dawson City, Yukon. The first town
reached on the Dempster Hwy is Fort MacPherson in the Northwest
Territories (NWT), which is
342 miles north of Dawson City. There is virtually nothing in between, except
a gas station/motel at Eagle River (Mile 230). In 1978 there
wasn't even that. The Road wasn't even officially opened until Aug
18, 1979!Believe it or not, in spite of its remoteness and long distances the Dempster
today (2005) is not the most remote road in Canada! For that you will
have to go all the way across Canada to the
James Bay Road and
Trans-Taiga Road (www.jamesbayroad.com).
But that's another story...
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