Day 10 - Crossing The Arctic Circle

We cross the Arctic Circle at about 3:00 PM our time. We are spending the “night” 24 miles south at the Eagle Lodge in Eagle Plains, Yukon. Today began ...

A late start. 9:00 AM. Breakfast isn't ready until after 8:00 since the cook is late. We are anxious to get going but figure a good breakfast will help us “ride The Dempster”. That's what it's called even by the truckers. Funny. Make it kind of “romantic”. It's an ice road although, now the ice is out. But the mystery and allure of an historic highway lingers through out the year.

We take extra gas but don't need it, as it turns out, to make the only service stop, Eagle Plains. The Wing has the range others don't.

The Dempster is hard pack clay with a single coat is loose stones. An easy ride with the darkside tires. But, there be dragons. The first is powder pots, as I call them. These are places where heavy trucks have broken through the packed clay and subsequent traffic has extended to collapse and crushed the clay to a fine powder. It acts like heavy water. It really throws the front wheel but with a little gas and some dirt track moves a crash can be avoided. Soon I learned to distinguish between powder pots and hard pack. The color is the same but there is a difference in the continuity of the surface. The powder pots look smoother, flatter, calmer. The second dragon is trucks. Most are fine but some run fast and the dust created is blinding. For several seconds you just have to pray the road is under your wheels. If it happens on a corner, it's a heart thumper.

Nonetheless, we made it. And, in good time. The road can be driven at about 55 but sections will easily handle 70-80 Gmph (Goldwing miles per hour – the speedometers are notoriously optimistic)

Tomorrow, we run The Dempster back to The Junction and turn west to Alaska.