65
Degrees North Tripping
We're just
back from our northern tour on the Dempster Hwy and can confirm winter
has arrived in the north! The Dempster Hwy, Canada's first all-weather
road to cross the Arctic Circle first officially opened in 1979. The
671-kilometre (417-mile) unpaved road runs through the Arctic wilderness
from south of Dawson City, Yukon, to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories.
The highway
doesn't look like your average road and has unique design and construction.
It sits on top of a gravel berm to insulate the permafrost in the soil
underneath. The thickness of the gravel pad ranges from 1.2 metres up
to 2.4 metres in some places (four feet to eight feet). Without the
gravel insulator, the permafrost would melt and the road would sink.
The area offers
spectacular views and hiking/exploratory options. In the winter, when
sufficient ice build up is present, barges for 2 of the river crossings
to Inuvik are replaced with 'ice bridges' where one drives on the frozen
river to cross. The weather conditions that can be encountered in these
parts are some of the most challenging in the north and can be very
dangerous for the unprepared.
One of
the objectives of our trip was to test some new equipment on our HDJ81
Toyota LandCruiser under real world working conditions. Some new additions
included the Safari Intercooler, custom 3" exhaust system and upgraded
performance injectors. These performance upgrades allow the 81 (in automatic
transmission configuration) to power up most gradients in final drive
(4th gear), torque converter locked while heavily loaded. Fuel efficiency
is also improved combined with lower exhaust gas temperatures for the
engine. For more information on these performance upgrades for your
Outback truck, please contact
us.
Like many
parts of the world, this area is extremely unique, delicate and under
constant threat of new development initiatives. For more information
on this region and current issues, please check out: www.beingcaribou.com
and www.savearcticrefuge.org.
We hope
you enjoy the photos. If you'd
like help making travels plans to the north, please do not hesitate
to contact us.
Santa sends his
regards!
