Road to Tuktoyaktuk!

I knew it was going to be cooler up there but I thought it was going to be closer to 50s. Looks like I’ll be rethinking my sleeping bag for this trip haha. I might have a second battery set up by then, could run a heated blanket if done right. I would want to get the second battery for a fridge setup. But if it works, I could drop in a heated blanket too and then be comfy and cozy without worrying about ice.

my beach-town homies do NOT understand what I’m on about sometimes…

 

Alright, time to do my infamous photo Dump of the Trip up. INB4 Admins; Sorry for the server overload
Uploading is slow, i'll do the rest tomorrow. At least the first 50 shots will be up.

 

^^^Pretty much Tuk’d in right there.

 

Thank you for sharing the pics. It looks desolate, cold and non inviting but the scenery is amazing.
Questions:
How were the bugs driving up there
How was the mud driving up there
Do you see and concerns motorcycling up there
How far apart are the fuel stops
Is there places to eat along that highway
Is there cell service
Dose you google maps work
Thanks ahead of time...

 

I know Gaia has a cell service map overlay for the US I can ask my friend who has it to see if it carries up to mooselandia

I'd recommend having everything downloaded and routed ahead of time. I even do that in northern Maine, the routes are saved as gpx or kms or CIA or some sort of file extension. Saved for offline use and I just follow them that way. You can create a route in Google and export it to the BLT file extension (I am never going to remember what the extension actually is) and pull it up in Gaia or any other sat nav app. I haven't tried Google maps/earth offline with routes before but that's because Gaia works and works well so I'm not going to fuss with something new/different just for the sake of it to be honest.

 

31C later this week! Watch for signs of heat stroke there: https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/CYUB

 

1) bugs: Tombstone - were great, very few. Fort Mcphearson - it was baaaaaaad. like really bad that i had to wear a bug mesh suit. never in my life had i used one, but it was that bad....

2) there was no mud for me, only muddy spots is around the ferries. Again, i drove in a prime time, roads were dry. In the rain or any level of moisture, it sucks ass apparently. I experience a heavy downpour but i managed to out-run the cloud before it made the roads bad.

3) on my road up, the road conditions was far better than the 401. It's not the "rough" roads that pop tires, it's the stone they used to make it. Overall really easy, but on bike you'd want to be cautious and bring a patch kit/ plug kit and extra valve cores. airing down is worth while since back end will slip in the corners. Road conditions when i drove up was really dry, so LOTS of dust behind me.

However, only bikes i seen up there were ADVs. no choppers, or cafe racers, and just about all tires i seen were more offroad oriented.

4) Largest gap between fuel stops is 375km. From the start of the Dempster HWY to Eagle Plains service center. I've seen alot of bikes ditch the old gas can and ran the Primus Fuel bottles (saw one guy run 4 of the 1.5L ones. but your mileage will vary.)

5) Places to eat include the main towns. Closest place to eat nearest to the Dempster HWY will be in Dawson city (40km away from the start). Eagle Plains (380km from the start) has a diner and hotel rooms, Fort Mcphearson, has a few things in there bud not much, Inuvik has a fair amount of bars and food joints , Tuk has like 2 places.

6) Cell service exists for about 5km along the HWY adj to Fort Mcphearson, Most of Inuvik, and alittle bit in Tuk. Expect to drive for 2 days without cell service. Outside of the Dempster; Dawson City, Stuarts junction, and White horse. not much there for cell service.

7) There is only one road from end to end, you can't really get lost in any of the towns you show up in. you dont need google maps, but technically yes it works. I used the Garmin Explore App with the Inreach mini have, and Gaia GPS. I downloaded all of the maps on the garmin app before heading up so i have full quality. Gaia needs data to update views.

8) you're welcome


note: ALASKA IS CURRENTLY ON FIRE, THERE ARE SMALL WILD FIRES BREAKING OUT IN YUKON DUE TO LIGHTING STORMS, AND THE ALASKAN HWY NORTH OF LIARD HOT SPRINGS WAS WASHED OUT AND IMPASSIBLE.
SEE 511YUKON.CA FOR ROAD CONDITIONS

IF YOU ARE HELL BENT TO STILL MAKE IT THROUGH, THE ONLY PLACE YOU CAN GET TO THE DEMPSTER IS VIA THE TOP-OF-THE-WORLD HWY (IMPLYING FIRES DONT CLOSE THE ROADS IN ALASKA). BUT THE FROST HEAVING HAS EFFECTVELY DESTROYED THE HWY WITH CRACKS IN IT WIDER THAN MY TIRES AND DEEPER THAN MY ARM.

 

It was colder in Tombstone park (+5c at night) than it was at the arctic ocean(+27c)....
The sun being up 24/7 really makes a difference

 

It is. You are truely out there. Truely alone out there with nothing but undescribable beauty. Not a single photo i took brings in any level of justice of what i saw. Not one photo of the 10000 i took. Not one second of the 3-4 hours of timelapse i recorded. You are 1200m above sea levels but the mountains tower far above you. You are cradled in their arms and vastness of the plains and the Taiga itself. Landscapes that stretch into the sky, dissapearing as to hide itself from your sights, its almost hard to comprehend but you know you are put in your place in the world at how insignificantly small we are.
You, on your own, are truely alone and removed from the world, i say that because not even your own echo stands beside you. You want to yell out to try but one can be too scared to shatter the silence of the valleys. Its almost an offence to disturb it.
Walk where the path infront of you exists, but straying further, the world becomes alien.
what is solid ground turns to soft spongey earth, never seeing a foot step before you, never seeing anything heavier than a few feet of snow and the weight of the midnight sunshine.


to leave a quote
"... The scenery is sublime... vastness such as i have never before conceived, while in every direction, as far as the eye could reach, appeared to brood the spirit of profound solitude, silence, and desolation."
-William Oglive, 1892.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer the questions. It was so good. I think you should write a blog about the whole thing. Thank you

 

ADVERTISING LIKE A SHAMELESS WHORE:
https://roadtotuktoyaktec.blogspot.com/

I'll write more, i swear i will one day

 

This is a "one day" trip on my radar.
It would be sweet to join in on a convoy up to Tuk.
2023? Pending the state of gas prices and what not...

 

its cheaper on gas now than it will be next year.

start packing, and get the tent ready. Might as well now before it's out of reach any further.

would it be great as a group? Absolutely. but solo, i met up with A LOT of awesome people along the way. Y'know the quote; "it's not about the journey but the friends you make along the way" or something like that?

 

P2/5(?)

 

Unreal. Well done!

 

Well… you’re better at taking directions than I am

 

well I'm officially jellos.. lol. I would also love to be in a group driving up to tuk. and since I already planned 2022 with co workers 2023 will be my year.. and since your having such good weather I might as well go the same time next year. thanks

I don't think I've seen one TEC sticker anywhere in you pics. lol..

 

I have to figure it out with PTO, work, etc from my end for 2023, I was thinking a bit earlier than this though if I make it next year - Sometime in June.

@Shveet I have a question for you - where in ON did you leave from, and what was your start and return dates? I’m coming from RI, USA so I figure I would need to add +1.5 days each way depending where you are from. I’m trying to estimate the time. I’m figuring it was mostly hammer down, you weren’t stopping every couple of hours? I did RI -> Texas -> Charleston SC -> RI a few years ago, stopped a bunch, so it took some time, but when I did my cannonball run I was hammer down the whole time, I chewed up the miles. Was twice the miles took me about an extra day.

So yeah, I’m looking at the PTO time I’ll need for next year. I already have a week in February, so if this is 2 weeks end to end I could probably do it. I’m sure gas is going to be $$$$$ no matter what

Re: Tires, I am currently rocking the stock goodyears but for this would probably grab some semblence of echo loads, even if it’s just for this trip, so I’d probably go down to about 17-18 MPG, I’m sitting pretty at 23 with my tonneau and no load, I’m sure once I add the tent, I’ll probably get a fridge for this trip, blah blah blah + tires I’ll be in the 17-18 range (freedom units)




Definitely looking forward to this if I can pull it off. One I’ve wanted to do for a long time. Without knowing the route and roads like a pro, I’d say 4-5 trucks is the goal limit, beyond that you get into headaches (we have a trip planned for 10-15 this fall and that’s going to be a disaster).

 

Amazing @Shveet! Thank you for sharing and documenting so well!

I’d be in to plan something for 2023 as others have echoed!

 

Thanks for the pics buddy @Shveet
I want to do that trip so bad.