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July 23. Ridin’ the Dempster!
You know we stayed in Inuvik longer than planned, but it was worth it! Friday was our departure day southbound, and since we planned to drive half-way to Eagle Plains, we took it easy. 370 km even on a dirt road wouldn't be too bad. There were several photo and rest stops and we arrived at the hotel at about 4pm. Then - we learned about all the rain in the preceding 5 days south of us (sunny in Inuvik). The lady at the reception said there was talk that the highway was about to be washed out. The ‘geo-guys’ that had worked there were told to forget about taking the evening off and “get out of there”! The main river, Peel River, was expected to crest in 14 hours. One fellow arriving from the south said he had noticed about 1/4 of the road at km. 220 had already washed out. We had three choices:
- stay and be stuck in a second class place for 2-3 days
- drive on and hope to make it, or
- find out 2 hours further south that we couldn't get through!

We took the chance and just made it! One more car 30 minutes behind us also got through but was told he was the last. There were several tricky spots, but at the worst there was a grader to help. About ¼ of the road on the left (‘downstream’) side was gone. The new waterfall down the cliff on our right sent water about 6” deep across the road. The driver said “follow me closely” and we watched as he created a 50 cm high bank on the right which held the water just long enough for us to drive through – a least 40 metres (130 feet). (We have later reasoned that by then the road was closed to further traffic over a 150 km stretch.) It felt dramatic and exciting and yet Anne-Grethe was able to take some unusual pictures. Take a look!

The drive was 12 1/2 hours on a road that was considerably worse than when we went north. With the trailer it would have been a very tough, perhaps impossible, trip and we would not have made it for several more days. We slept were the trailer had been parked at km zero, and drove 5oo km to Whitehorse the next day where we planned a few days of rest. On Monday we saw on the internet that part of the section had been fixed for 5 km of one-way traffic and then Wednesday it was closed again! We consider ourselves very lucky – and the Whitehorse weather was a beautiful sunny 25C, with cool nights.

Because of the extra time we took both in Inuvik and before that in Dawson City, we have come to the conclusion that we cannot take the time to drive through Bella Coola to Vancouver Island and then Vancouver. We are disappointed in some ways but our decision to take the extra time here in the north was a good one. Over the next few days we shall decide which route to take home. It will likely include Jasper or Banff if we can get campground space.

18 Dempster return