The Dempster Highway

The Dempster is a 740-km dirt and gravel highway that connects the Klondike Highway with the city of Inuvik.  No major highways or roads intersect with the entire Dempster highway.  It's way up there. 

Motorists are recommended to carry a spare tire or two, as well as extra gas and water.  The tire advice was not a comfort to me, as my bike does not have a lot of room for spares.  

Here is one of the first signs you see as you begin the journey.  

I talked briefly with that man walking across the bridge.  The conversation lasted less than a minute.  The number of mosquitoes that swarmed around each of us was hard to comprehend.  One or two ended up in my mouth, and many more joined me in my helmet for part of my ride.  

The Milepost, venerable guide to everything around these parts, notes that while the highway is in relatively good shape, it "requires drivers pay attention at all times for sudden changes in road surface, including frost heaves, potholes, boggy or slick stretches, crushed shale (hard on tires) and other drivers." 

The surface is dirt and gravel.  In spots it's quite flat. Sometimes, it's quite not.  You get potholes, embedded rocks that stick out like small speed bumps, patches of thick gravel, mud, etc.  And when a car or truck passes, a giant cloud of dust envelops everything for a while.  All things considered, it seemed to be a good to great condition, but that's grading on a curve. 

I did not have grand ambitions when I started this little segment of my journey.  I simply wanted to make it to Tombstone Territorial Park and have a look around -- and to return safely. 

The scenery all the way through Tombstone was stunning and diverse.  Even with smoke from nearby forest fires, it was highly memorable. 

My round-trip through Tombstone and back was about 236km.  That was within a long drive of entering the Arctic Circle, but I was happy to quit while I was ahead.  

Below you can see how the gravel can get a little deep and boggy in spots.  You can also see how different Tombstone can look and feel from one spot to the next, with its changes in elevation and flora. 

The Dempster is named after Corporal William Dempster of the North-West Mounted Police.  The act that won him fame is rather grim.  I encourage you to read about the Lost Patrol on Wikipedia.  

Here is the short version.  In 1910, another member of the NWMP named Fitzgerald led a mail patrol via dogsled 750km southward from Fort MacPherson to Dawson City.  There were four men in the patrol.  They got lost, ate many of their dogs, and eventually all died from starvation, exposure, or suicide.  Dawson was the guy who set out to find -- and in fact did find -- the Lost Patrol.  

Tough founding tale for a tough road.