First day on the Train

We woke in the morning to views of the Rockies, 

And arrivedin Jasper before lunch

The rest of the day we gradually left the Rockies for the prairies

.

Flying to Vancouver

We flew from Dawson City and its mullock heaps 

To Whitehorse 

And at sunset arrived in Vancouver, ready to catch the train across Canada the next day

Last Day on the Dempster

Coming back from Eagle Plains there was low cloud, so it was very foggy wherever we were higher up. We managed to see the Ogilvie Range tors.

And Tombstone 

The car was rather dirty, although it was cleaner than it had been.

I don’t think I’ve shown you the windscreen crack before.

We arrived back in Dawson City, 

and I took a few photos of it

Rain 12

Tuktoyaktuk 11

We drove to Tuktoyaktuk, and the land of the pingos (hills made from lakes that have partly drained, been covered by soil, and then had the remaining water permanently freeze - they’re very unstable, you do not build on a hill around here), to meet Roger at the airport (it looks like a shearing shed to us).

Inuvik 10

This morning we expected to have a difficult drive, as we were about to tackle the section of the road where three trucks had slipped or rolled in the past few days. There were signs about several slippery parts (and we could see where the trucks had gone off), but nothing was that bad. The scenery was glorious.

There were two river crossings - the Peel and the MacKenzie - both on ferries.

Then we were at the Inuvik on the MacKenzie Delta.

On the Road to the Arctic 9

Early this morning we got our car and finally started up the Dempster Highway. After we got the car, we booked our accommodation (we hadn’t booked before because the trip was likely to have hiccups). We were told that Eagle Plains (where we planned to spend the first night) was booked up, but when we got there, rooms were available (we would have slept in the 4WD if we could only get into the campground). We planned not to stop much on the way up the Dempster, but to stop a lot on the way back, so I didn’t take many pictures.

After we passed Tombstone Park, we saw a Creek which was full of sulphur, leached from the limestone of the North Ogilvie Range.

And stopped at Elephant Rock (unfortunately out of focus).

And reached the Eagle Plains, where you can see forever.

The Dempster really should be on the list of beautiful drives. It’s beautiful.

Top of the World

The Dempster Highway was closed for four days because a tanker rolled. They opened it yesterday but an hour later, another truck came off in the same place, so they closed it for a few more hours. But we got word that it was open again late last night. So we appeared at the car hire early in the morning, ready to drive up to the Arctic Ocean. Unfortunately, the previous hirers were still at Inuvik, so we couldn’t get the car, but another (not equipped for the Dempster) was available for the day. So we drove it on The Top of The World Highway to the Canadian border and back (we weren’t allowed to take the car into Alaska because of insurance).

This is supposed to be one of the world’s most beautiful drives. I wanted to go this way when I went to Alaska, but the ferry just outside Dawson City was closed at the time (the ice on the Yukon River was breaking up), so I couldn’t go that way. It’s aptly named, as the highway follows ridges the entire way to the border, and you feel like you’re on top of the world. Every corner you go round is a new vista over mountains for an immense distance. There aren’t many places to take pictures, but with the autumn colours, it was just magnificent.

We saw into Alaska and the border post.

At the ferry crossing we saw a paddle steamer being moved, and Dawson City.

Then we visited the Midnight Dome at Dawson City. This is a viewpoint far above the town, where you can see the Klondike River meeting the Yukon River and the mullock heaps from the gold dredging operations. 

North Klondike Canyon 7

We walked along the North Klondike Canyon,

Looking at the many stones

Our leaders had a chat

I was tired and had a nap.

We then went back to view Tombstone itself, and packed up camp.

As we returned to Dawson City, we stopped at a beaver lodge and dam on the way.

Grizzly Lake Trail to Mount Monolith viewpoint 6

Windy Pass 5

We went just to the north of the park to walk up Windy Pass in the South Ogilvie Range. On the way there we stopped at Two Moose Lake

And Chapman Lake.

Golden Sides (Prospector Range) and North Klondike walks

It was a miserable looking morning - there was a fair amount of snow on the peaks, and puddles of water everywhere - so we decided to do two shorter walks. Golden Sides is almost opposite the campground, and seemed quite steep. The low cloud reduced visibility, but the walk was beautiful.

We then walked the North Klondike trail, which started near our campsite, and wandered along part of the North Klondike River. 

When we reached some seats, we all rebelled and just sat there admiring the view.