We had an incredible vacation this summer.  We drove to Inuvik, Northwest Territories (only 60 miles from the Arctic Ocean) and back, tenting all the way.  Although the weather was mainly cold and wet it was a wonderful experience we will never forget.

Our journey took us along the following route (skip this paragraph if you get bored with routes and geography).  We drove from Chilliwack, BC north through central British Columbia to Chetwynd, Hudson’s Hope and on to the Alaska Highway at Fort St.  John.  We then followed the Alaska Highway into the Yukon, made a sidetrip to Skagway, Alaska, and then continued on to Whitehorse, Yukon. 
 
 
 

From there we drove to Dawson City, Yukon, where the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896.  Up to this point we had been on paved roads.  Leaving Dawson City we continued our northward journey on the gravel Dempster Highway which led us into the Northwest Territories and the settlements of Fort McPherson, Arctic Red River and Inuvik.  We then retraced our path down to Dawson City, Yukon, took the Top of the World Highway to Alaska (the gravel Alaska portion being the roughest road we travelled all vacation), looped back to the Alaska Highway and drove south to Whitehorse, Yukon. From Whitehorse we drove south on the Alaska Highway to Watson Lake, Yukon where we took the Stuart-Cassiar Highway south to Hazelton, BC.  From there we went on to Houston, took back country logging roads to visit relatives at Ootsa Lake, and then continued on to Prince George, Quesnel, Barkerville and then home.  In all we drove about 9,500 km.  It was a long trip.

What did we see?  Awe inspiring mountains, beautiful glaciers, the magnificent arctic tundra, the Mackenzie River Delta, the gold fields of the Klondike and Barkerville, lots of animals and everywhere, scenery beyond description.  In the Yukon we saw mountain sheep in Kluane National Park,  a wolf crossing the highway, moose and in the far north on the Dempster Highway lynx and hundreds, or maybe thousands, of caribou in their annual migration.  In the North West Territories we saw a black bear and caribou.  In British Columbia we saw black bears, deer, coyote, mountain caribou, mountain sheep, and in Alaska we saw just a solitary black bear.  The only animals we wanted to see but didn’t were elk, mountain goat, grizzly bear and polar bear.

We camped all across BC, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Alaska.  We arrived in the north country during one of the coolest summers in decades.  Residents said it was the year without a summer.  Our warmest night was 6 degrees Celsius (42 Fahrenheit) and that was in BC.  Our coolest were in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, with overnight temperatures well below freezing.  We woke up in Inuvik to a temperature of -2 (28 F) and a dusting of snow and broke camp in Barkerville, BC, the final morning of our trip, with a temperature of +1 (33 F) in a snowstorm.  The final snowstorm seemed a fitting way to end our camping trip which had been the coldest we have ever had.

In spite of the poor weather we loved the trip.  What magnificent scenery we saw when the sun shone or when we could glimpse things through the clouds.  How many Canadians living in the south get to see the annual caribou migration in the Arctic, the beauty of the tundra or the awe inspiring St.  Elias Mountains in Kluane National Park which soar to almost 6000 metres (over 19,000 feet)?  How many have seen the mighty Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers or the goldfields of the Klondike?  How many have sat watching a lynx watch them with only a few metres between them?
 
 

We had many incredible experiences but some of our favourites are the following.

The Laird Hot Springs in northern BC where a board walk led us half a kilometre over a marsh to a natural hot spring where a couple of rock and wood dams form hot pools of varying temperatures.

The awesome, rugged beauty of the arctic tundra and mountains - treeless and sometimes devoid of any vegetation at all.

The migration of the caribou as they moved from their summer grazing area to their wintering grounds.

Two lynx, seen only a few miles apart on the Dempster Highway in the Yukon .  They were totally unafraid of us as we slowly drove beside them, only a few metres separating us.

The exquisite glaciers near Stewart, BC, one of which tumbles almost on to the highway.

• Waking up in Inuvik to a dusting of snow and below zero Celsius temperatures.
• Frozen fingers as we took down our tent and tarp many mornings while the temperature was below or near zero.
• The lovely warmth of the wood stoves and heaters in cooking shelters in Yukon Territorial Campsites.
• The horrendous gravel Alaska portion of the Top of the World Highway between Dawson City, Yukon and Tok, Alaska.

We spent a lot of time driving during our vacation, but also had many days to wander and look at things around us.  We walked the streets of Skagway and Dawson City; looked across the barren tundra and saw that it was not barren at all; watched a mother bear and her cub as they ate wild flowers beside the road; talked with people who have never visited a city of over 3500 people and some who have never seen a paved road.

During our trip we took about 200 pictures and captured many more scenes in our memories.  The north country and the Arctic are very special places which seem to captivate and capture you. They draw you to themselves as if by some unseen force.  Perhaps it is the solitude you find there, perhaps the warmth of the people and simpler way of life.  But for whatever reason, northern Canada is a compelling place.  Yes, it is a long way from where most of us live.  Yes it is a little difficult to get there.  But it is worth all of the driving, all of the inconvenience.  Northern Canada is a magical place which steals your heart and doesn’t let you go.

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