A taste of the Dempster Highway

June 10, 2012
Sunrise: N/A
Sunset: N/A
Temps: 7 -21'C
Green, and getting greener

Nearing Fort McPherson, with the Richardson Mts in the distance

Last week, I went on "duty travel" to Fort McPherson and Tsiigetchic, two Gwich'in First Nation communities South of Inuvik along the Dempster Highway. When you ask how long it takes to get there, everyone will give you a different answer, based on highway conditions, ferry experiences and personal preferences for driving speeds. I'd like to believe that I don't drive like a total grannie and was sufficiently pleased with my arrival in McPherson in 2.5 hours. Then I learned that some locals do it in 1 hour and 20 minutes, and that struck fear into my heart.

View of Tsiigetchic and Arctic Red River, with the Mackenzie
River on the left.

I was pleasantly surprised at the 186 km between Inuvik and McPherson. I had expected to see little but scrubby little trees and flat land between the two communities, but I was rewarded by countless rivers and lakes, sneak previews of the Richardson Mountains, and big, dramatic skies. I think this bodes well (the Dempster supposedly gets even more dramatic and scenic once you enter the Richardson ranges beyond McPherson).

6 cranes along the drying banks of the MacKenzie River

I was hopeful to see bear, moose, caribou or other large mammals, as the roadsigns "Lynx Creek" and "Moose Lake" implied, but the animals I saw were of a smaller variety. Along a stretch of highway, I saw 9 and 1/2 rabbits (the last one had unexpectantly dropped to the bottom of the food chain), and 7 or 8 cranes. These may have been sandhill cranes, and, if you look closely, you will see a half dozen in the picture to the right. For more info, check out the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhill_Crane
http://www.spectacularnwt.com/whattodo/outdooradventure/birding/seeourbirds

Ferry that takes passengers over the Mackenzie River

The Dempster highway has two ferry crossings, one South of Fort McPherson over the Peel River, and the other near Tsiigetchic, over the Mackenzie River. This latter ferry also shuttles vehicles to Tsiigetchic, which is situated on the Eastern bank of the Arctic Red River, opposite the highway. It's a quick ferry ride, with pretty views and helpful staff (i.e. when I learned that I would have to back my huge work truck off the ferry onto soft, wet gravelly dirt, one worker kindly drove truck for this damsel in distress).


Driving into Tsiigetchic. Arctic Red River on the right.


While I was in Fort McPherson and Tsiigetchic, I found myself quite busy, with no time to take photos. However, another Inuvikian has an online photobook of Tsiigetchic that you can access at:
http://issuu.com/inuvikphil/docs/tsiigehtchic

Work done, I was back on the ferry and on my way back to Inuvik, over the long, dusty and lonely Dempster Highway. I've now seen a little bit of this famous highway, and I look forward to exploring it all the way to Dawson City in the coming months.