Arctic adventure

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

INUVIK, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — We’re sitting on top of the world! Just before supper we rolled in to Canada’s most populated town north of the Arctic Circle, Inuvik, population 3,500. We are staying at the MacKenzie Hotel, just across the street from the RCMP detachment, and a very comfortable place it is.
The detachment was our first stop, actually, because we needed advice: our truck has developed an oil leak from the engine and needs urgent attention, so we needed to know where a good mechanic could be found. We chatted with the three members there at the supper hour, and they were very helpful, so we know where to go in the morning. Fortunately it is quite close by, and the leak is a slow one, but we won’t know more till an expert takes a look. Our fingers are crossed that it won’t be too complicated!
Such are the risks of driving the Dempster, apparently. There were some pretty rough patches with sharp rocks, although in total it wasn’t as bad as we had been led to believe. For the most part, the driving was OK, and even good. The last five kilometres or so were actually paved!
We got a good start from Eagle Plains this morning, and the day was overcast and cool. Again, we enjoyed some vast expanses of plain and mountain, with a wonderful variety of terrains, vegetation and colour. After we had been driving for an hour or so, we were crossing a section of treeless tundra and I spotted off to the left the lumbering form of a grizzly bear, about 200 feet from the highway.
We stopped the truck, turned off the engine, and pulled out the camera and binoculars and sat, watching him, for about 10 minutes, as he grazed across the field, sat down and scratched himself, and lumbered on. At first he was heading away from us, but then he turned and was headed back toward the highway. A few minutes later, an oncoming truck with a working crew approached and roared past us, and the bear never made any sign of noticing a thing! He never looked in our direction either. Then up he came, crossing about 20 feet ahead of us, and on to the greener pastures on the other side. Val got some great shots of him. When we finally fired up the diesel engine, the bear carried on as if nothing were amiss!
Our altitude began to rise as we drove along, with the Richardson Mountain range off to our right, navy blue and purple against a grey sky. Several times when we came to a height of land, we could see forever in both directions. We really felt like we were at the top of the world.
Not long afterward we arrived at the official sign indicating the Arctic Circle! The sign said "66 ̊ 33'" for the latitude — which puzzled me somewhat, because my computer’s GPS system was recording longitude and latitude the whole way, and the indication at that spot was 66.56538 N 136.30737 W, and it was quite accurate when we crossed the 60th parallel a few weeks ago. I tend to believe the GPS more than the sign — maybe the soil was too rocky to plant a sign at the exact latitude, so they found a better spot! In any case, it was pretty neat knowing we were now inside the Arctic Circle, and headed further north.
Our route took us to a gradually lower altitude, and finally we got to our first ferry ride, across the Peel River. We got on right away and were on the other side in just a few minutes. Near the crossing was the town of Fort McPherson, and our Milepost told us there was a tentmaking factory there worth seeing. We were greeted by Erwan Kamenz, the manager, who opened up the little shop where the tote bags, backpacks and other canvas items were displayed for sale. He also let us wander through the factory proper, where about five people were working, all Aboriginal from the community. Erwan told us that the factory was at the point of going belly up when he took over about eight years ago, bringing years of experience with him from working with Levi Strauss. He managed to turn it around and make it profitable, with orders coming in from all over the world. We now have a sturdy backpack from Fort McPherson, which will be a useful souvenir.
While we were there, we stopped by the Anglican church and took a look through the cemetery. Most of it was weedy and neglected, but we found the gravesite of John W. Fitzgerald, RNWMP, and his three companions who made up the Lost Patrol that was found by Insp. W.J.D. Dempster. It was chained off with a white concrete slab, a cross with the four names on it, and behind it was a flagpole with the Canadian flag flying above it. We were glad we didn’t miss seeing this memorial.
It was on our second ferry crossing that the oil leak was discovered by an observant ferry employee. We were going over the Mackenzie River, the second longest river in North America, and a pretty wide one too at this point, when the fellow pointed out the leak to Val. He and another employee brought out some engine oil and topped us up, and gave us a container with more if we should need it between there and Inuvik, a further 100 kilometres ahead! They refused to take any payment.
We stopped a couple of times after that and Val checked the oil. The truck still leaking, but the indicators inside did not signal any dangerously low levels, so we carried on. Gone were thoughts of tundra, delicate vegetation, possible caribou sightings and all the rest! We have a problem! Fortunately, thanks to the RCMP staff, we know of a good local mechanic, so now we will hope for the best.