# Inuvik, Yukon Territory, the real ends of the Earth!



## Shoestring

_Looking south back towards the Alaska Hiway while on the Dempster Hiway._

It was spring of 1993. I was now on my fourth trip hiking up the Alaska Hiway heading back to Seward, Alaska in the thickness of the hoarding mosquitoes! I truly was terribly far away from the decay of the south!

I had left Russellville, Arkansas, eleven days earlier and had made it as far north as the township of Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada.
I started my long walk up and out of the Yukon River Valley out of Whitehorse. I finally walked back out to the Alaska Highway and picked up a ride to the hiway cutoff at Carmacks Junction some 110 miles further north. 
As I stood there thumbing for a ride, I thought about where I was at that time and how this might be my last trip up this way for a long time, so I made the decision to hitch it up to the Beaufort Sea town of Inuvik, instead of going on to Alaska right away. (Inuvik is on the river delta of the Mackenzie River that devides Yukon and Northwest Territories, so some consider Inuvik in the NWT and some view it as being in Yukon. It depends on who you are up there, what and where you consider yourself being).




_Dempster Hiway. (Gravel road, but smooth as paved roadway)!_

My first ride from the junction was from an older couple that lived near the town of Mayo/Keno. I was invited to stay the night and get a hot bath, food and a warm bed for the night, so I took these nice people up on their offer! 
The next morning, after an awesomly deep and good sleep, we ate Moose sausage and eggs alongside biscuits and gravy! (Of course all homemade)! I then was asked if I wanted to live forever with these people, but I declined, knowing my mind was already made up on getting north of the Arctic Circle again.

The year before, I had hitched up the "Haul Road" from Fairbanks, Alaska to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska on the Arctic Ocean and simply loved it the entire way up! I really wanted to do the same thing in Canada as far as reaching the Arctic Ocean. 
My next ride took me yet further north to the town at my second junction near Dawson, where I changed highways then took highway 5 north from there; also known as the "Dempster Hiway".....(Not "Dumpster" Hiway)!!! Ha ha!!!

That night, I slept nicely at my second offer of a hot bath, food and shelter! 
(God were the mosquitoes bad this year)! 
The next day, after nearly ten hours of standing with my thumb out, I was picked up by yet another couple. They were headed for Inuvik. Wow, I thought! All the way to the Arctic Ocean again!

When we pulled up to the Peel River in the town of Fort McPherson, we boarded a ferry and crossed the river. Roughly 40 miles further, we boarded yet another ferry in order to cross over the Mackenzie River, then on to Inuvik, Yukon/Northwest Territories.




_Waiting on the ferry to cross the Mackenzie River._

(During the winter months, these two ferries don't run because of the ice, so drivers must drive across the ice to reach the other side)!




_On board the ferry crossing the Mackenzie River._

During my two day stay, I had again been asked by several other people in Inuvik if I wanted a place to live for good. There seemed to be only two types of people up this far north! One; the Inuit Natives. Two; the people that had given up on the modern ways of life that they had further down south. These people had chosen to move here and live here because it was far, far away from the normal, everyday decay of society that they were used to down south. 

I was in love with Inuvik and its people, but my love for the rails/road were even greater! So, away back south I hitched and finally back to the Alaska Hiway, then on back to Alaska.

I only wish now that I could meet these people again and take them up on their offers! This time I'd absolutely stay for the rest of my life in the NWT's and Yukon!


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## bote

geez man, ¨...fourth trip up north...¨ youve been around a few times


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## Shoestring

*That was in 1993..........(In total, I have been up to Alaska 13 times since 1989)!*



bote said:


> geez man, ¨...fourth trip up north...¨ youve been around a few times


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## jove

Sweet trip, you ever gone to Labrador or Nunavik too?


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## Shoestring

*I have been to Newfoundland twice and Nunavik Island too. (Newfoundland both times in 1992 and the rock in 1996)..................Both are beautiful to me,...not because they are awesome to the eye, (although they certainly are), but because of the awesomely great people that reside there!!!*



jove said:


> Sweet trip, you ever gone to Labrador or Nunavik too?


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## piratehobo

wow, i truly hope one day i am able to say i have travelled so many beautiful laces and met their people.


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## Shoestring

*As long as you fear "NO PLACE",........you'll one day get to see them all; like Parke Thompson......(The worlds most traveled human being)!!! Been to all countries on Earth many times over.*



piratehobo said:


> wow, i truly hope one day i am able to say i have travelled so many beautiful laces and met their people.


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## Arapala

I agree with pirate, i look up to you man!


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## Iwrestledabearonce

wow, well done! I'm about to travel the West Coast of Canada and Alaska this summer... so looking forward to it man!


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## Shoestring

*Check out the "Dalton Hiway" there up in Alaska! Catch it just north of Fairbanks and it'll take you all the way north to Prudhoe Bay on the North Slope! (Arctic Ocean area north of the Arctic Circle)!*

*Check out Seward, Alaska while you're there as well! Awesome places!*
*Good luck up in Alaska! (You'll be so, so, so glad you went up there)!*


*"Shoestring"~~~~~*



Iwrestledabearonce said:


> wow, well done! I'm about to travel the West Coast of Canada and Alaska this summer... so looking forward to it man!


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## Iwrestledabearonce

Some dude said the oil companies built a fence like 20 km before the actual coastline... is that true!? ...

Are there really people actually driving to Prudhoe Bay?


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## Shoestring

*No that's not true!*
*In the 1980's there used to be a checkpoint about 150 miles north of Fairbanks where only tanker and supply trucks were allowed beyond the checkpoint, but they have sence torn that down and anyone can drive up the Dalton Hiway (Haul Road)! *
*Fences are not allowed on the tundra anyway.*
*He might have been referring to this checkpoint, but even then, this was over 250 miles south of the North Slope!*

*They are really cautious about who does what up there and to be building a fence,........no way! No matter who you are up there (status-wise), if you get caught even feeding the wild animals (from Arctic Foxes to Gulls), you get fired on the spot, or fined big-time!!!*



Iwrestledabearonce said:


> Some dude said the oil companies built a fence like 20 km before the actual coastline... is that true!? ...
> 
> Are there really people actually driving to Prudhoe Bay?


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## Iwrestledabearonce

So it's actually illegal to go up there? If so who the fuck is going there and will pick me up?


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## Shoestring

*No. It's not illegal to go up there what so ever......There are tons of people that drive this Dalton Hiway! I mean lots of cars and trucks that drive this.....*
*On average, there's roughly a half-dozen cars every minute each direction and it's very different up on the Dalton Hiway hitching! (You will grab a ride faster here than anywhere you have ever hitched at before)! I guarantee you this too! Lots of people going north up there for their two weeks on and lots going south for their two weeks off, plus there are many, many cabins alongside this roadway that many people live in and they must drive this road too. As well as tourists too. (Alaska's very own tourists that live in Alaska)!*
*The checkpoint was for weighing trucks anyway back in the 1980's and prior.*
*It is not illegal to drive this or walk/hitch/peddle, etc, etc, etc.....*

*Have an awesome trip up!!!*



Iwrestledabearonce said:


> So it's actually illegal to go up there? If so who the fuck is going there and will pick me up?


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## Angela

Shoestring said:


> *No. It's not illegal to go up there what so ever......There are tons of people that drive this Dalton Hiway! I mean lots of cars and trucks that drive this.....*
> *On average, there's roughly a half-dozen cars every minute each direction and it's very different up on the Dalton Hiway hitching! (You will grab a ride faster here than anywhere you have ever hitched at before)! I guarantee you this too! Lots of people going north up there for their two weeks on and lots going south for their two weeks off, plus there are many, many cabins alongside this roadway that many people live in and they must drive this road too. As well as tourists too. (Alaska's very own tourists that live in Alaska)!*
> *The checkpoint was for weighing trucks anyway back in the 1980's and prior.*
> *It is not illegal to drive this or walk/hitch/peddle, etc, etc, etc.....*
> 
> *Have an awesome trip up!!!*



Yeah, the hitching up that way is excellent. Stick out your thumb and it seems like every car that passes will stop for you. Just a word of warning to the other gals out there though, do be picky and don't be uncomfortable turning down rides if they seem weird, which is true everywhere but a little more so up there.
Great stories as always Shoestring!!


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## Iwrestledabearonce

Fuckin' hell! Can't wait!!! have to focus on my Australian adventure first!


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## dirty_rotten_squatter

SWEET! I wish I could meet cool people like that. it just seems to me that the ones I get picked up by while Im hitching are very sceptical(dont blame them at all) or just fucking lunatics talking about poisoning amercas water supply haha. Thanks for the tale.


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## Shoestring

*I'm not sure how/where this post got derailed, but the original story's about the Dempster Hiway in Canada, but the last few posts are about the Dalton Hiway/Haul Road up in Alaska's North Slope Bourough.......haha .....lol!*
*(It doesn't matter, just in case someone new to these posts here under this title notices this and wonders why)! ha ha!*


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## Ranger

I've been all up through there in the winter, worked for a few weeks(living out of wall tents/ traveling on snowmobiles). That was quite the eye opener in so many ways. As you start on the Dempster Highway there's an energy about the place that grows as you get deeper into this vast wilderness, the weight on your shoulders lifts and you breathe easy. Even during the dark winter you can see everything when its clear, the snow and ice reflects the moon/ star and northern lights. Friendly people for the most part but there's a reason some of the communities are "dry" if you know what I mean. I consider myself truly blessed to have been privileged enough to travel this regions back country by snowmobile during the winter and earn a living doing it. We took the sleds north from Eagle Plains into Old Crow then through the Richardson Mountains and down to the Beaufort Sea's coast, turned west to Herschel Island and returned east, turned into the Peel Channel headed for Aklavik then Fort MacPhereson before the trucks got us. Promised myself back then I'd return to see the region during a different season on my own time!!!


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## Deleted member 21429

I'm planning a drive to Inuvik from NY. Loading a Step Van with spare parts and tires. This is a very old thread but I am glad that others on this site went. I get some weird looks around here when I tell people of my plans. Having lived in Iceland for a while I have no problem driving in winter conditions. I am having fun planning and working on the Step Van in anticipation of what I hope to be a 8 month round trip. If anyone reading this can offer any tips or suggestions on what to expect that are current I would appreciate it much. Thanks ~ peace


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## Deleted member 21429

Heyyyyy, this road is not on my 2018 Rand Mc Road Atlas! So, I guess I'll be going further than Inuvik! Even better. Gonna be an expedition and I'm prepping for it bit by bit. ~ peace and "to the arctic!" I say


_Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_w3ytpcXd8_


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