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The True North

Just north of Coldfoot on Alaska’s Dalton Hwy is the small community of Wiseman. We had a bit of spare time because of road construction so we decided to detour in and take a look.

Wiseman is a very small community that historically was a mining area and according to Wikipedia had about 100 residents during the mining boom. Today, the community is much smaller and mainly consists of people living a subsistence lifestyle and/or providing ameneties to travellers on the Dalton (Bed & Breakfasts, etc.).

We drove the 3 miles in from the Dalton and slowly made our way through the tiny community. Part way through we noticed a sign for a shop. Darrin,  always being happy to meet new people, wound the wee Rover in towards a small homestead.

We were greated by Jack Reakoff and his cat, Willow. Jack and Darrin talked about life in Alaska, hunting, different furs and their uses and such while I took on the much more serious task of playing with Willow. Jack even invited us into his home and shared some amazing lettuce out of his garden. We were very taken with his hospitality and thoroughly enjoyed our impromptu visit.

Jack has lived in the north most of his life and is a guide. People drive or fly into Coldfoot to spend time learning about the north from him and other locals.  We highly recommend joining one of the tours!

For more information or to contact Jack. Sorry, a bit blurry.
The log cabin Jack’s parents bought when they moved to Wiseman in the ’60s. It is now part of Jack’s home. Amazing flower gardens, above the Arctic Circle!
Another view of the original log cabin with a newer attachment. Check-out the gardens, again, above the Arctic Circle!

 

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Up, Up, Up…and Over

On the Dalton, the Brooks Range of Alaska is the definitive transition to the Arctic, not the Arctic Circle like the Dempster. The craggy, cloud covered peaks, shrouded in mist and pouring rain met us as we headed up the Antigun Pass. Up and up we went in first gear dodging the haul trucks and skirting the avalanche zone. Only the laundress will know how tense we were😂 Up and over we went to a record quick setup for the night due to the rain and very, very, did I say very thick mosquitoes.

Up we went into the clouds with the big rigs!

We woke the next day to sun in the Arctic with amazing views of the Brooks Range north slope and the tundra. We saw a single caribou being stalked by a huge wolf and we happened upon a musk ox chowing down! And we could actually see the pass on our way south!

We awoke in the morning to our first glimpse of the Brooks Range…north slope!
Hey look! It’s a musk ox chowing down. He was not impressed that we interrupted his breakfast.

What a place…

Amazing, and so worth the miles and miles of hills to get there.
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A Tale of Two Roads

It was the best of roads, it was the worst of roads (with apologies to C. Dickens), but which is London and which is Paris? The Dempster Highway of the Yukon & NWT vs the Dalton Highway of Alaska.

The Dalton was built in 8 weeks, during the 1970’s oil shortage, after vast reserves were discovered in Prudhoe Bay. The Dalton was originally known simply as The Haul Road and it was built that way. Straight up and over everything in its path! We were sometimes climbing in first gear for 10 minutes at a time. About half is paved, and most is rough from the weather and the constant flow of trucks supporting the oil infrastructure at Prudhoe (ironically many of them hauling fuel north to the various work stations).

The Dempster was built to explore for resources and to connect Inuvik via road to the rest of the world. It was built at a slower pace and follows the natural contours of the land it travels through. None of the Dempster’s 550 miles is paved, and much is rough from the weather and the materials used to construct it!

Glaciation is the biggest variation we saw over the 2 roads. The Dalton in Alaska traverses an area called Berengia that was spared the effects of the ice age glaciation. When you hit the Arctic Circle on the Dalton you could be in the Maine woods! It isn’t until you pass over the Brooks Range that you feel like you are in the Arctic. When you pass the Arctic Circle on the Dempster, you “feel” that you are in the Arctic.

Both roads are rough, the Dalton due to its route and the Dempster due to the materials used to construct it.

Both are long out and backs, the Dalton at 830 miles round trip and the Dempster at 1100 miles.

Both are beautiful in their own way, the Dalton has the Brooks Range and the Dempster has the Tombstones, Ogilvies and now the Arctic Ocean.

We found the Dempster road to be ‘expansive’ because much of it is Arctic tundra and the Dalton to be ‘industrial’ since it follows the pipeline and was built quickly as a truck haul road for the pipeline.

You will just need to add both to your bucket list and decide which is London and which is Paris!