The Dempster Highway

Lots to get done before we started out on the Dempster Highway. Supplies are very limited on the road north so the first stop was for food supplies. Next stop was to do a trailer dump of wastewater and fill our freshwater tank. Final stop was for gas, propane, and ice. Time to head out of town.

The Dempster Highway starts about 20 miles east of Dawson City. It’s about 400 plus miles to the Arctic Ocean, but we have no idea how far we should go. It depends upon the weather, road conditions, and our mood. My thoughts were as long as the road is passable, we would at least reach Fort McPherson in the North West Territory, of the few places in the US or Canada we have yet to take the trailer into.

It’s roughly a bit more than 400 miles to the Arctic Ocean as the Dempster Highway snakes through mountains, over two rivers with ferry crossings, and plenty of tundra. Fort McPherson is 11 miles beyond the Peel River ferry crossing. In Dawson City we were told at the Visitor Center both ferries were operating. During the warm months the ferries operate while in the winter an ice bridge is built. This is done by pumping river water up onto the ice and letting it freeze. This is done repeatedly until there is a firm surface to drive across. There’s a period of time that neither the ice bridge or ferries can work while the rivers are freezing or breaking up so the road can be used only until 11 miles from Fort McPherson.

So, my thoughts are let’s continue up the Dempster Highway to at least Fort McPherson which is well into the North West Territory getting another sticker for our Airstream door. What is that about? We have large sticker maps for both the US and Canada. When we bring our Airstream into a new state or province we place the place onto our sticker map. To date we taken it to 43 states, all ten Canadian provinces, and the Yukon Territory.

Sow and one of her 2 cubs

Hey Mom, Wait for Me

Let me step back for a moment and describe some of the dynamics going on. I want the new territory while Marsha really does not care. I’ve lobbied to head up one of the most remote roads in North America with our trailer. Marsha went along with my wishes, but did express concern especially since we broke the axel last summer on another gravel road, the Denali Highway. That was only 100 miles of unpaved road while the Dempster is over 400 miles long and once one reaches the end it’s 400 miles back to pavement. Heading north the first fuel available fuel is 200 miles up.

Starting up the highway the views were breathtaking. The road climbs more than 3,000 feet in elevation as the road snakes through several mountains. We stopped midafternoon for the night at a territorial campground. When we pulled in we were the only ones there. By suppertime there were 6 to 8 other campsites used. A cyclist pulled in and we started chatting. Russell lives outside of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is riding from Dawson City to the Tuktoyakuk on the Arctic Ocean and back to Dawson City. In all it’s about 900 miles. We invited him to join us for supper and for coffee in the morning. We very much enjoyed chatting with Russell.

After breakfast we pushed north and the views continued. At the 200 mile point we stop at Eagle Plains to buy some gas at the bargain price of $2.39 per liter. Yes, that works out to about $10/gallon. It’s expensive there, but after converting Canadian to US dollars it was closer to $7.50/gallon. The truck only took $100 worth of gas, but I’ve found it to be prudent to get fuel when you can.

We pushed another 20 miles or so and arrived at the Arctic Circle where we stopped for photos and a picnic lunch. That’s when Marsha noticed the trailer leaning to one side. On closer inspection we discovered we had broken part of our lift kit braces. We have/had a lift kit installed to raise the entire trailer 3’’ further from the ground. It’s a common addition on Airstreams. Not only is the bracket broken but it leaves the axel pretty much unattached on one side. Recipe for a major disaster. I took the wheel off to inspect it more closely and took photos. I was thinking there’s a mechanic 20 miles back in Eagle Plains at the fuel station.

We left the Airstream in the Arctic Circle parking lot and drove back to the gas station. No Mechanic there. The closest mechanic is in Fort McPherson another 100 miles up the road. So, our choice was to contact somebody 100 miles north or 250 miles south. And I thought we had a large towing bill last year!

At Eagle Plains there the gas station and a motel/restaurant/bar which has wifi. A trucker recommended calling a business in Fort McPherson. I should mention it is 3pm on a Friday. I called and spoke with someone who indicated she was waiting for the crew to return and she would have somebody call me back in an hour. Marsha and I have nothing else to do so we hang around. After an hour and a half I called back and spoke with a different person who wanted to see photos of the issue. Fortunately, at Marsha’s suggestion, I had taken some and sent them on to the guy. He said he would get back to me shortly. In sum, he had no interest in helping but did not tell me. Maybe around 7 pm we were heading out the door to camp at the Arctic Circle parking lot and try to figure out what to do tomorrow. As we were going out the door the gas station guy mentioned that the 3 guys on motorcycles that were staying there might be able to help

Mark, Hagen, and Joe were on a motorcycle trip from Alberta to the Arctic Ocean then back to home in Alberta. All three were welders and heavy-duty machinists. They were more than willing to help so after moving stuff around in the truck the 5 of use headed to the camper. They even arranged to borrow tools from the gas station. We got back to the trailer, and they got to work. There were not enough tools to do the job, but then a couple pulled into the lot and they had thetools we needed. The are YouTubers and full time RVers. Their YouTube Channel is jarhead Ginger. The temporary fix was to remove the remaining lift kit pieces from the one side and secure the axel. It works, but it’s a temporary fix with our trailer listing to one side. We attach the camper, and we haul it along with us back to Eagle Plains. Then head into the bar where buy them a round of soda. They did not want any money. The next morning, we bought then breakfast as well.

Saturday and Sunday we slowly limped south arriving in Whitehorse, Yukon late Sunday afternoon. Whitehorse is the only place in the Yukon with any size to it and many services. We were hoping we could find somebody who could at least assess what extent of repair we needed. We called a welding place that was recommended, and they saw us at 9 am.

We had several errands to accomplish including laundry. Lunch was at a great Caribbean restaurant. We finished our tasks by 3 pm so me headed to the Yukon Visitor Center and by 3:30 we received the call the trailer was done. They knew how to build the parts and got us fixed! It was amazing. What could have been a $5,000 to $10,000 tow from the Arctic Circle and repair job; was complete and at one tenth the price.