Something Different - Across the Arctic on the Dempster Highway -Video

Yes, he was cold and so were we! You should have heard "Bear Bait" whinge about being outdoors in a tent. What a softy. The thing to remember is that we are here in early September, the first weeks of autumn John. Real winter doesn't start until December...three months away! Bears are out trying to stack on as much body weight as possible for the coming hibernation. They'll put their heads down sometime in latish November I believe.

Cheers

Mick

"Not yet winter" of course, as I smack my forehead with my palm!
Still bloody cold for Autumn mate.

DOH!!! (They're up the top of the world remember)

;-)

MickO, you tell porkies, my complaint was about you soft c#*cks sitting in your heated vans, locked away from the outside world whilst I braved the Arctic conditions (and the bears)....in a tent......with the scales in the double digit minus no less. You need a can of harden the hell up ol son!...or one of Scotties special cans of Chilli.

and so do we when seeing Mr. Bear!

;-)

G'day there Bob,

mate they were UHF CB radios (Canadian/US models). Speed 15-60 kph. Mostly in the 30-40kph. Drove to conditions depending on slush or frozen.

No salt used on the Dempster. They only use it on Bitumen or sealed surfaces. The Dempster is actually built on top of the permafrost so they rely on the road surface to insulate the ground beneath. Should the permafrost thaw, the entire region would turn to boggy marsh and the road would sink into the ground...entirely. We passed one area where that had happened and they had to divert the road, let it freeze again before then insulating it with road base. Amazingly technical.

At Dawson city, they could not access the placer gold from the soil because it was frozen solid all year round. In the end they melted the permafrost with steam and hot water jetted from pipes hammered into the soil in front of floating excavators. The excavators had to be barge like lest they sank into the soil once it was thawed.

Because the North West Territories are reliant on the revenue generated by mining concerns across the region, the Dempster is kept open 24/7 365 days of the year by work crews based every 70 km along the highway. Yes conditions can be amazingly harsh but even in the worst of blizzards, the truckers are hauling and the road crews are there and working to keep them rolling. This is considered the most remote and harsh road in the Americas, The Canning of Canada...We think of the Gary, Gunbarrel, Gary Junction, Tanami, GCR and Canning and quietly smile to ourselves. bleep it was cold though! Yeah and did I mention their version of a Koala. Looks cute but is the size of a small car and has VERY BIG TEETH!

Rust is always an issue with vehicles bought in cold weather climates in the US and Canada. Our rigs originated from Toronto so they were quite salt affected (read rust there).

Cheers mate. Mick

Thanks for the detailed info, Mick. Very interesting.

If that's Autumn, think I'll pass on Khristmas on the Klondike :-)

Was always intrigued by that area after reading Scrooge McDuck comics as a kid, and seeing a doco once, of would-be prospectors clambering up a steep pass, probably on way to the Yukon.

Wonder how many of those early pioneers ended up as bear poo? Also reminds me of the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee"

Thanks again, Mick.

Bob.

"Wonder how many of those early pioneers ended up as bear poo?"

Very, very few I would think. Contrary to the myths/stereotypes some like to perpetuate, bears are not aggressive predators that automatically attack humans on sight.