Adventure Amigos: Inuvik Trip Plan

The objective of this trip is to make it to Inuvik before winter weather sets in. It is said, Inuvik has 4 seasons:

June is spring
July is summer
August is fall
the rest is winter

We are hoping that the predicted warmer than normal summer extends August a bit since our plans will have us there late August.

The core thread for this trip is my "Transition Tour". Jeff and Cipi are signed on to join the Kelowna to Inuvik and back leg of the journey since that part is a highlight of any adventure tour.

The Route:

Leg 1: Toronto to Kelowna

4,211 km, 46 hours, 28 minutes of driving over 5 long distance days.

This is a solo leg for me. The Ontario section will be a special ride, enjoying curvy roads where the path is dictated by rocky Pre-Cambrian scenery right to the border with Manitoba.

Toronto to Kelowna

One can appreciate how large Ontario is by the fact that it's a two-day ride to get to the border with Manitoba.

I have never driven the prairies, so I don't know what to expect but after the initial scenery change, I'm certain the goal will be to get to the foot hills of the Rockies ASAP.

The route follows the southerly Crows Nest Pass through Trail BC. I drove through this area many years ago when I was an auditor with Graton Group and am looking forward to seeing it again.

Kelowna will provide a rest location, fine tuning the bike gear and waiting for Jeff (and Josh - if he can take the time) and Cipi to arrive. They are trailering the bikes from Toronto and will need a day of rest before we hit the next leg to Dawson City. They will bring my knobbies which will be installed while they rest so that the bike is ready for the Dempster. We'll also get rid of any dead and duplicated weight so that the bikes are as light as possible for the Dempster.

Leg 2: Kelowna to Dawson City

2,835 km, 35 hours driving, 4 days driving

This leg takes the BC interior route to Dawson City, Yukon. We'll save the Alcan Highway, which starts mile zero in Dawson Creek BC, to the return leg.

Dawson city is built on permafrost and boasts an August mean temperature of 12.3C (~54F) but in September, that drops to 5.8C (~42F). You can see why we want to stay out of September as much as possible, therefore the mad dash out.

Leg 3: Dawson City to Inuvik

744km of dirt road, 14 hours, 2 days of riding.

This is the main event highlighted by the famous Dempster Highway dirt road highway.

Leg 4: Inuvik to Alaska and back to Kelowna

5,977 km, 75 hours, 7 days of riding.

This is a long leg because it follows the entire AlCan highway back to Dawson Creek BC and then, via Banff, return to Kelowna.

Inuvik to Alask and back to Kelowna

Everything on this leg is new to me so that's where the real adventure begins. Hope it doesn't snow (too much)

Transition Tour:

I'm calling this the transition tour because the extended time to take this trip are made possible by the fact that the company that I work for was sold and my position has been transferred to the incumbent CIO, making me ... redundant. This situation is a rare opportunity to take time for that big trip that we all dream of, but never have the time to take. While I am sad to leave my team and disrupt an extremely productive mandate that had the potential to disrupt the trash business (in a very profitable way), the change was not under my control.

This trip provides the clean break from the past and provides a transition into a future role where I hope to find an organization in need of a major business change - which is my specialty, as proven out by the results in prior roles.

I don't regret the change - the transaction is a great deal for shareholders (including myself) and it reminds all employees and officers that their positions exist to serve the shareholders. The only way to totally control this fact is to become "the" shareholder - and run your own business.

In fact, the change is a blessing: it provides the time and means to do the transition trip. While the long distance part is unique - it's just miles (or kilometers). Inuvik is the challenge because it's at the end of an 800km paved road, that sits on top of Arctic permafrost. The road is unpaved and is coated with Calcium Chloride to control dust and provide a packed surface - when it's dry. When a bit wet, it becomes a slippery challenge because the calcium chloride turns into a layer of snot like consistency. When it rains a lot - the road becomes dangerous:

After a moderate rain - bikes want to take a nap. Not a good idea if one of the big trucks is barreling down

No bridges - crossing the McKenzie River

Bears ... 'nuff said

Big Rigs

When the Dempster is unforgiving ...

Combined with high speed truck traffic, that stops for no one, sprinkle a few bears and other large wildlife, and the trip becomes interesting. Here is a post from someone who did the trip in a pickup truck. The fact is the unlucky leave the Dempster in a coffin.

If the weather gods cooperate, the road delivers spectacular views and a special experience plus a visit to north of the Arctic Circle.