Dempster Highway Driving Log

South from INUVIK

We drove through to Eagle Plains today and camped by 4 pm or so. We were lucky enough to have clear skies and great visibility for most of the day. This is a section that we often haven’t seen clearly before. Two distinct segments mark this northern half of the Dempster – from Inuvik to the Peel River and the portion through the Richardson Mountains through to Eagle Plains. After the Peel River Valley, the road ascends slowly and then follows mountain ridges and passes, periodically dropping to cross a creek or river. Views are at George’s Gap, Wright Pass and the ‘ 7km Hill ‘ descent down to the Eagle River.

ZONE	KMS	KMS	Place Name (s)	Topography	Pic	Road Condition
	South	North
ONE			Mackenzie River Valley Lowlands	River delta, bogs, wetland, some mixed forest and exposed rock
	0	734	INUVIK Mackenzie Delta	Black Spruce, flat terrain, small lakes, some exposed rock, a couple of territorial campgrounds just outside Inuvik		START of the ROAD (Heading South) Good, wide, gravel surface
	4	730			2
	49	685		Alders, willows, poplars, rolling terrain
	74	660		Several creeks cross highway
	90	644	Rengleng River	Steep descent to river bed
	121	613	Mackenzie River	Descent to Mackenzie River, high prominent river banks apparent in distance
	123	611	Tsligehtchic (Arctic Red River)	Views	3
	125	609	Mackenzie River	A series of small ponds and lakes soon after landing. Road undulates		On board the Louis Cardinal Ferry
	147	587		Road twists around, up and over hillsides
	161	573		Views and glimpses of mountains to SE
	164	570	Ft. McPherson			Road deteriorates
	191	543	Peel River	Start descent to Peel River
	193	541	Peel River			On board the Abraham Francis (cable) Ferry
	195	539		Mixed forest, more watercourses, exposed rock.		Road improves
TWO			The Richardson Mountains	Road follows ridge tops, panoramic vistas, minimal vegetation, ancient mountain peaks
	198	536		Road begins to rise gradually to follow the mountain ridges. Trees smaller, hills weathered and rounded. This marks the climb to the Richardson Mountains
	202	532	Peel River	View overlooks Ft. McPherson and Peel River, wide open vistas	2
	216	518			3
	219	515	Midway Lake	View of Midway Lake in the distance	1
	224	510	Midway Lake	Mtns rugged, valleys wider
	229	505				Road narrows, surface is rougher with more large stone
	238	496		Mtns appear prehistoric	2
	240	494		Colours are changing, mountains look painted, minimal mountain vegetation, talus slopes	2
	244	490		Start descent		Start of road construction 2005
	248	486		End descent		End of descent
	257	477				End of road construction 2005
	263	471			2
	267	467	NWT / Yukon	Border crossing	2	Maintenance jurisdictional change
	268	466	Wright Pass	50 km (plus) views and vistas	4
	281	453		Mtns less exposed, more vegetation and trees, some Tors evident	1	Road surface becomes sharp, black stone.
	285	449	Rock River	Begin descent to Rock River YTC, Camping : buggy, don’t camp
	291	443		Vistas diminish, less vegetation		Road narrows
	312	422		Wide open vistas once again.		End of black road stone
	325	409		Camping: Gravel road to east leads short distance to good camp site w. quarry pool, protection, privacy, views, firewood	4
	326	408	Arctic Circle	Views to the east	3
	329	405		Smoke plumes in the distance.	3	Road is rough and bumpy, large exposed rock in surface.
	338	396			1
	346	388	Eagle River	Views of and then a 7 km descent to Eagle River followed by a rise to Eagle Plains
	353	381	Eagle River	On bridge		Following road surface is poor, exposed rock near top
	363	371	Eagle Plains Hotel	At camp.	4

South from EAGLE PLAINS

We had a beautiful day for driving out of the Dempster Highway – that doesn’t always happen. The recent fires have diminished and most of the smoke has been blown out of the vicinity by wind. This is one of the few times we have driven the complete southern section and have not encountered some weather condition that adversely affects our visibility. The segment just north of the Ogilvie Mountains always stands out because of the amazingly long viewing distances. At the Ogilvie & Peel River Ridge Lookout, a sign states that from here you get a ‘180 km unobstructed view to the east’ … Amazing !! Soon after, the initial, grey and craggy peaks of the Ogilvie Mountains come into view, then another ascent follows this area into the wide-open vistas and plains that announce the Tombstone Ranges, at the southern limit of the Ogilvie Mountains. The Tombstones stay with you almost until the end of the highway, only lowering somewhat to foothills within the last 20 kms or so. It was a splendid drive.

THREE				Descent from Richardson Mountain ridges to closed in hillsides and valley bottoms
	363	371	Eagle Plateau	Descent from Eagle Plateau, heavy black spruce forest coverage.	2	Poor to bad
	367	367				MID POINT OF ROAD
	371	363		Hills heavily forested.  Drive is closed in. Road rises / falls
	382	352		Ascent starts through a minor pass at hilltops vistas are wide open.  Thicker vegetation, views less dramatic.
	393	341		START of 2005 fire corridor	2
	396	338			2
	406	328				Road widens
	409	325		First view of Ogilvies.
	412	322		Evidence of recent fires (2005?) and older
	427	307		Views of Ogilvies	4
	432	302		END of fire zone.		Minor road improvement
	449	285				Road bad
	453	281	Ogilvie Mountains	Beautiful vistas. Road follows tops of hills, enters the Ogilvie Mountains and nears the end of the Richardson’s	2
FOUR			Ogilvie Mountains
	455	279		Views of Peel River in the distance, hills are less treed
	457	277		Begin ascent, spectacular views of valleys and mountains
	459	275		Viewpoint, highway continues to follow the Richardson ridges and descends to the Ogilvie Valley, panoramic vistas	4
	473	261	Ogilvie Ridge	Lookout: 180 km unobstructed easterly view of the Peel River Valley	4
	479	255		Start major descent
FIVE			Peel & Ogilvie River Valleys
	486	248	Peel River Valley	End descent		Road improves
	508	226		Craggy, fortress like, mountain peaks, mountains are closer to road	1
	510	224	Peel River	Lots of Tors formations	3
	521	213			1
	532	202		Castle rocks	3
	538	196	Ogilvie River	Confluence w. Ogilvie R is visible
	574	160		Sheep mountain to west (if southbound), gravel turnout to west
	582	152	Windy Pass			Good road
	584	150	Blackstone R	View of East Fork, Blackstone River
SIX			Tombstone Ranges
	601	133		View open up once again, Tombstone Ranges become visible
	619	115	Blackstone River	Road crosses West Fork of the Blackstone River	1
	630	104	Two Moose Lake
	639	95		Views narrow, mountains closer to road
	648	86		Ascent to Tombstone Ranges
	656	78	Hart Road	Begin ascent to North Fork Pass, West Fork Blackstone River visible. Hart R Road east side.	6
	660	74	North Fork Pass	Summit
	664	70		End descent out of North Fork Pass, Camping: Good at Territorial Park
SEVEN
	675	59	Grizzly Creek	Mountains close in, mixed forest thickens, road follows valley bottom
	709	25		Mountains lower, forest thickens
	714	20	Klondike River	Begin a gradual descent to the Klondike River. Burn area noticeable in surrounding hills (2003, 2004?)
	728	6				Gravel ends, pavement starts
	733	1	Klondike River Bridge
	734	0	DEMPSTER CORNERS	Dempster Highway intersects with the Klondike Highway		END of the ROAD