Memories of the Dempster Highway

On May 18, 2005, still new to birding, I left for a 73 day ‘trip of a lifetime’ that covered 12,000 miles. All did not go as planned, but it truly WAS a trip of a lifetime. This account shares my memories of the trip north and the return south across the more than 450 miles of mostly dirt and gravel. The road, called the Dempster Highway, begins at the Klondike Highway 25 miles southeast of Dawson City (Yukon), and in 2005 it ended in Inuvik, (Northwest Territories). Since this trip, they have extended the road another 87 miles, and it now reaches the Arctic Ocean Beaufort Sea in Tuktoyaktuk. 

It is possible, though not recommended, to complete the drive in 10 to 14 hours. My passage took several grueling days. I made several notable stops in Ogilvie Valley, Richardson Mountains, Rock River, Wind River Pass, and North Fork Pass.

The Dempster Highway does not disappoint. I drove the first 80Km with not much to report on … birdwise. After beginning the ascent of the North Fork Pass, my encounters began to improve. The country is raw. Rugged mountains (South Ogilvies) surround big sweeping glacier carved valleys. The footing in the ‘bush’ is cushioned by 4-6″ of lichen and moss as you walk.

I found redpolls. Judging from the voice, I thought they might be Hoary, but a later review of pictures and range maps assured me they were Common Redpolls. White-Crown Sparrows were EVERYWHERE!

I stopped high on the East Blackstone River. I hiked to a pond just off the road and found nice encounters with Red-Necked Phalaropes. Nearby were American Tree Sparrows. Moving a little further down the road to my campsite for the evening, I met more sparrows (American Tree & White-Crowned). After dinner, I found a female Harlequin duck on the water and a nice Willow Ptarmigan that sat well enough to get photos. Later, while managing my digital photo data, I spotted a blondish furred critter moving through the brush a ½ mile away. I was hoping for a bear, but it turned out to be a fox. It never got within camera range, but it made for a pleasant end to the day.

After breaking camp in the morning, I drove north. I spotted a Mew Gull on a nest on a tiny grassy island on a small pond to the left of the road. On closer inspection, there were Lesser Yellowlegs also nesting. I took my fill of photos and left them in peace to investigate the other side of the road. Walking over these bogs is like stepping through 6-8″ of wet sponges. Amazingly complex are these mosses.

6/21/05: The longest day.

I had yet to cross the Arctic Circle, but at my present location (N65° 47.11′, W137° 46.825′), the sun will set today at 1:44am and rise at 2:40am. Later, I made it past the Arctic Circle. There, I checked my GPS for sunrise/sunset times and it displayed no information for times. Very cool!

I’ve named the big rigs that travel this road “Dempster Dusters”. They live up to the name quite well. They churn up great columns of dust clouds as they thunder up and down this road. When it’s dry, all who travel here will conjure a share of dust. I saw some ‘Dusters’ being tailed by a pickup truck loaded with spares (probably because of a hard-learned lesson along the way). There are no services between the Klondike Highway and Eagle Plains, nor between Eagle Plains and Fort McPherson, and just one between there and Inuvik. This road can be very hard on its travelers.

I encountered one big-rig driver a day later (when it was muddy) who drove his rig like a weapon. I stopped and pulled over to let him pass and he sped up, charging me with his double trailer of shipping containers fishtailing behind. The road there was quite narrow and he only barely missed me. Taking some perverted joy I suppose, as it was spraying me with a heavy coating of mud. A plague of chiggers on him and all his kindred.

An hour before reaching Eagle Plains, I began to encounter smoke. It eventually got bad enough to bother my eyes. When we reached Eagle Plains, I was told that there were four fires burning in the area, and they’d been burning for 4 days. I’ve heard that these ‘peat fires’ will smolder through the tundra mosses and are very difficult to extinguish. The fires were all south of Eagle Plains, so I expected the air to clear as I went north (it did).

6/22/05: North of the Arctic Circle

Last night, I camped at Rock River (Mile 278). After making camp, a young German man whom I knew to be traveling with his father approached me. They stayed at the adjacent site at my last camp near Engineer Creek. It turned out they had two bad tires under the rear of their rented camper truck. By the time they realized they had a flat, they’d ruined the tire. After putting on the spare, they realized they had a leak in the other rear. Ultimately, after lending them my small compressor and a can of sealant, they could continue under a flag of caution. I convinced them to go north to Fort McPherson, rather than turning back to Eagle Plains (which was closer). I let them keep the compressor, and I followed. My pace included photo stops, so I didn’t catch them until the following day. They eventually got a repair and made it to Inuvik. The German guys returned my compressor after they got the repair, and they bought a can of sealant to replace the one I’d lent them.

It rained and snowed in camp that night. I photographed a Swainson’s Thrush and got some mediocre shots of a Varied Thrush mom feeding a noisy fledgling, but papa thrush sang from the treetops and would NOT come down. Later, I saw a Spruce Grouse standing in the road. After it left the roadway I followed it for a short distance and let me approach quite close. It became clear how this bird gained the nickname ‘fool hen’.

In the region north of the Richardson Mountains and Rock River, the terrain began to change from rocky hills and valleys into the flat and rolling tundra.

After reaching Inuvik, NWT, I tried to catch a flight to Tuktoyaktuk, but the flight had to be canceled because of a low ceiling that would not allow planes to land. I hoped to enjoy a day trip, but they did not permit it. I checked into lodging in Tuk, but that didn’t work out either. I wanted to dip my toe in the Arctic Ocean … <sigh>.

06/28/05: On the road to Eagle Plains (again)

Yesterday I pushed hard much of the way. The road between Ft. McPherson and Inuvik is largely flat and uninteresting terrain, and I wanted to get to the Richardson Mountains to spend time on things I rushed by on the way up. Alas, the Short-Eared Owls I’d seen, weren’t working the tundra fields as I’d seen them the week before. Neither the American Golden Plovers nor the Whimbrels I’d seen in the fields further south.

I stopped at a couple of campsites along the route, but the day was hot and the midnight sun played hell on my sleep patterns. I stopped at the Eagle River and set up my tent and mats on a picnic table, but at 6:30pm it was HOT. While the tent gave relief from the mosquitos, it interfered with the mild breeze, and the heat prevented any restful sleep. I decided to continue on to the hotel at Eagle Plains, as that would be my only salvation.

I was feeling a bit concerned about my fuel capacity. I decided I probably had enough to complete my longest legs (a 12-15 gallon tank, plus 2 five gallon Jerry cans), but just in case, I emptied one of the 5-gallon cans into the tank at Fort McPherson, then refilled it. If I could make it to Eagle Plains (the halfway point of the Dempster) with one can intact, I’d be able to make it all the way to the Klondike Highway. I made it to Eagle Plains with BOTH cans intact. I now had more confidence in my ability to get to my destination.

06/28/05: Later on, driving further south

The fires south of Eagle Plains were STILL burning. Yesterday, from the north, I could see columns of smoke rising in the distance. Here the smoke was hugging the ground I was riding on, and it bothered my eyes.

While driving, I saw a ‘red’ bird fly across the road in front of me. I stopped to investigate. I could hear a bird singing some distance away, but its song was unfamiliar to me. While I was puzzling over the song, the ‘red’ bird moved again by me at the tops of the spruces. It was a White-Winged Crossbill. Cool! I decided to listen to my bird song recordings for my mystery singer. I thought it could be a sparrow. Sure enough, it was a Fox Sparrow. The recordings weren’t exactly what I was hearing, but it was close. It circled around me at a distance too far for photography, but I got nice views. It was a Taiga (red) Fox Sparrow. At this location on the Eagle Plains plateau I also saw a Gray-Cheeked Thrush and a Yellow-Rumped (Myrtle) warbler.

By the time I’d dropped off the Eagle Plains plateau and into the Ogilvie River Valley, the smoke from the fires began to clear somewhat.

06/29/05: A night camping on the Dempster

Last night I pulled off the road and found a track that led about 1/4 mile to the river. I was tired, and the cat naps I’d been taking inside the Samurai weren’t cutting it. Besides, the mosquitos seemed to have found some secret passage from the outside to the inside. The tent was my best option. Now on the Blackstone River, and south of the Arctic Circle, I could count on the sun passing below the horizon for a few hours. It was still warm, I started out with just a blanket, but after a few hours it cooled substantially. I decided to break out the sleeping bag, and I was toasty thereafter.

This morning, there were a couple of places I wanted to visit on my way south; in particular, a small lake at about Km 98 (North Fork Pass) where I’d met Red-Necked Phalaropes. I was not pleased with the quality of the photos I had taken, and I wanted another opportunity.

After a few exploratory stops along the way, I made it to the lake in mid-afternoon. The phalaropes were still there, along with Surf Scoters, Long-Tailed Ducks and Bufflehead. I also encountered Lesser Yellowlegs. At this location, while I was photographing some Least Sandpipers, a Lesser Yellowlegs landed in front of me and began ‘barking’ at me. He’d been doing this during almost my entire visit here, and I thought nothing of it. Just then, another Yellowlegs landed and chased off the other. He began his unique ‘winnowing’ song and sat for his portrait nicely.

The Least Sandpipers were a pleasant surprise for me too. Earlier, near where I camped, I’d photographed what I thought was a Western Sandpiper, but closer review of the pictures showed that it too, was a Least. These ‘peeps’ all look very much alike to me. Another surprise was a Willow Ptarmigan family that I encountered. There was Mom, Pop, and several babies.

On the way north I passed a lake near the summit of the North Fork Pass, about 3/4 of a mile to the west of the road. There were two Trumpeter Swans feeding there. I looked at them again, but thought better of taking the hike down to the water (& back). The tundra is not that easy to walk through, and my energy level was not up to it.

Just down the hill from North Fork Pass was the ‘Tombstone Mountain Camp Site’. I pulled in to investigate some displays they had. There was a woman attendant who said she’d seen me earlier while driving by, at the little lake taking pictures. When she asked what I was shooting, I told her of the Yellowlegs. Here, my Dempster Highway adventure was nearly over. Only 44 miles further south, and I would reach the Klondike Highway and turn north to Dawson City.