Road to Tuktoyaktuk!

Awesome photos @Shveet - Thanks for sharing! Looking at them reminds me how much I miss the years I spent working all over BC... Seeing the smoke and haze from Alaskan wild fires reminds me of what it was like when fires were raging up and down the Fraser Canyon - As "boring" as the Ontario landscape might be it's relatively safe for a home base and kind of in the middle for exploring Canada - east / west and north...
Safe travels - "Not all who wander are lost..."

 

Dood, did you see my TW Express project I suggested in the ON BS thread?...

I know I'm dead to you, but still

Nice pics

 

sometimes not having directions make things much more... enjoyable!

Oh dude, No stickers at all. @Norilsk Skimped out and never gave me any

Naaa who am i kidding stickers are there. you'll see for yourself when you go, made sure to have one in Eagle plains, the Arctic Circle, and the Arctic Ocean.

1)Toronto
2) Left March 14th (2nd day of Ardbeg) and got to whitehorse a week later (drove up and over to the Sue, and then up to Thunder bay (the long way around) you can cut through Michigan for a day or 2 shorter drive). Cannot answer return date since i'm still in whitehorse. I might not come back to Owntario...
3)Take your time, why rush it? enjoy the sights and roads you drive up on here. it's not a race, it's an adventure. plan an approximate route, and pick something silly like "See all of the laergest things" along the way.
or browse Atlas Obscura

4) 2 weeks is suicide. it took me a week from whitehorse up and back. but it's your call, so do whatever.
5) Good years> eh fucking good enough. air down to 25 PSI, and send it. bring a bacon+ patch kit, spare air stems, spare valve cores, and you'll be fine.
6) why do you think i just left and did i solo? organizing anything more than 4 trucks (and finding camp for that many) is a hassle.

 

Thanks you guys! as easy as it is to say "pack up and go!", plan it out and work your ass off over the winter. make some coin and PTO or not, just go on the trip for a month or something. will it suck the bank? yeah, but you'll have more time to soak in the trip.

Indeed, Ontario is a much safer spot to set up shop and as nice as it is, i'm not opposed to stay up here for a little longer.. Never before been to this side of Canada, but there is certainly something in these hills and mountains, i can see glimpses of it and i just want to see more.

"Well, I am a lonely and a lonesome traveler, I traveled cold and then I traveled hungry. I traveled in the mountains and traveled in the valleys. Traveled with the rich men and traveled with the poor. I’m gonna keep right on a-travelin’ on the road to freedom".

 

nope. i'm hording shit up here. i'm not bringing back mint first gens back to ON.

 

Well, I am a lonely and a lonesome traveler, I traveled cold and then I traveled hungry. I traveled in the mountains and traveled in the valleys. Traveled with the rich men and traveled with the poor. I’m gonna keep right on a-travelin

Reminds me of a little poem


I fucked her high
I fucked her low
I fucked her fast
and I fucked her slow
and when she’s dead
and long forgotten,
I’ll dig her up and fuck her rotton

 

3 - Because of PTO timing, only reason to “rush” it. I’m young, I can handle seat time, see more, etc. Night driving isn’t worth it though. I did it in Texas last time and I woke up and instead of a forest, I was in the plains. I can do a hammer down day here and there but overall I prefer to drive at day, when I’m doing a solo long haul I’ll find a place to kip up closer to sundown. That’s what I DON’T like about winter roadtrips. It’s the only time you can camp down south BUT it gets dark at like 5-6PM……

I usually plan a vague route and then wing it randomly sometimes. Like my Texas trip, I planned to go from Indy down to Nashville, then out to St. Louis and KCMO down to OKC.

Instead in Louisville I decided to stop and hang out for a few hours. In those hours I rerouted and went for the ozarks instead, and that was one of those life-long memories. So, I route things and then have a rough timetable, but that’s it.

4 - 2 weeks is suicide. Honestly, that’s feedback I needed. “2 weeks COULD be doable, but would be rough” would have me still thinking about it. “Nah, it’s bonkers” is valuable haha.

With that, I might have to bow out of 2023 summer trip. The only way to make it work is if I can get an extended unpaid leave at work, OR if I get a new job and negotiate ~1 month-2 months between start dates, and time it perfectly for the summer trip. The problem is, I don’t foresee myself looking to jump ship at this job in the next 2 years - blessing and a curse haha

5 - Hmm. Might then, because when these get smoked I just buy take-offs on facebook or craigslist for a few hundred bucks. People ditch them left and right! They’re not magic tires, they’re mediocre at best, but all things considered (cost, what I usually use my truck for, how much they’ve done already, the fact that I’m stock height/suspension, etc), they’re good enough. I’ll think about it, but good to know!






All this considered I may do a shortened trip out to BC and the rockies in 2023 and then turn back via the dakotas or something.


Thanks a ton for the input, huge help my friend!

 

You’re way overthinking it. Stock tires and a single truck by yourself are more than adequate. You’ll see family sedans making the drive up to Inuvik and beyond without a problem. If you just want to take some friends along in 4-5 trucks cool but in no way do you NEED to have a bunch of people.

 

Only reason for echos is I’ve been told the shale gets rough, but yeah I’ve been on roads similar to this and been passed by honda fits.

4-5 trucks isn’t a “we need search parties”, it’s more a “if others want to do this too, it’s fun, but more than 4-5 and it becomes herding cats/less fun”.

I’ll probably keep stock wheels only because if this trip DOES happen, it’s going to be relatively short notice that I’m doing it

Every year I renew my dogs license and make sure we’re on the up and up, have my canadan auto insurance card, etc ready to go in case that switch flips and I go that year

Looks like I might do a NB/NS/PEI trip next year if this doesn’t happen.

 

If you don’t mind driving it’s four days to Whitehorse, two slower days to get up to Tuk, two days back to Whitehorse, four days home. Definitely doable in two weeks still if you can’t swing more time.

 

Awesome posts @Shveet ! Looking forward to the rest when you get time to post them

 

There was a well overloaded sienna up in Tuk. Enough gear to max out the suspension BEFORE the 5 people getting in. The road is a gallon of tar away from being considered a paved highway. No ruts or anything, even a tercel could make it without issues. Its just the type of rock used is what punctures tires. I helped patch 3 tires on my way up and back.
Honda element

Bmw 500


And a ford f350


Rock pulled from the f350:

The prison shank was about 3/4" wide and was all the way embedded

Basic tire patch kit from CrappyTire was enough to get them rolling.

 

P3/5(?) more out-of-order-photos i couldnt be assed to edit.
"just take good pictures yo" - @jordi992

 

The Arctic Ocean sign just had the english language in 2019, not the native language label as well. Pretty cool they added that.

 

yeah lots of changes to most of the signage up here, they Governments (both NWT and YK) are encouraging to display signage in EN, FR (Well fake FR, looking at you Quebec), and one of the many native languages. There are a handful of road signs i had noticed and it's Native sign first, followed by an EN sign, it's a nice addition IMO.

 

I have found the overloaded Sienna!


and the friggen Miata i was reluctant to mention

yes, a Miata made it.

 

But you didn't have a puncture yourself. That says something about the Coopers. Might be the stone ejector tread feature.

 

if the rear suspension gives out and the owner dumps it you could swap the engine into your truck... er... nevermind

 

The 255/85/R16 Cooper ST Maxx (incase someone else asks what tires i ran), at 23psi cold (28~ish warmed up blasting away at 90km/h on dirt roads) were bomber. Absolutely did not give a rats ass about the road conditions and road like a cloud the entire way.
10/10 will recommend Coopers and will be my next set after i try out the Falcons when i get back.

Stone ejector seem to work but after 50,000km on them ( had them on since 70,000km on the OD) there were lots of smaller pebbles and stones wedged deeper inside it, but nothing that would destroy the tire. couple of times on the asphalt i had to pluck the stones out because of the irritating "tapping" the rocks made as the tire did a full revolution.

edit: did a quick inspection. some tread was certainly chewed up.

 

I CAN STEAL THE RAD FAN CLUTCH. FRICK I DIDN'T THINK OF THAT.