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!
