PS- Please tell me you weren't inspired by the story "Into the Wild!!!' LOL! Take care, ride safe rubber side down!
Nope. I went to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska last year, before I ever heard of that movie which coincidentally I saw. I am sticking to the highways, as divesting myself of all wordly possessions only to die of starvation alone in the woods just isn't my thing.
For the record, I have also never seen Around the World or whatever it's called with those two BMW moviestars, although everytime I mention an Arctic trip that always comes up. I also tried reading the Zen of Motorcycling but never got past the first 75 pages.
I basically make up my own stuff as I go along, and rarely do I listen to good advice no matter how well-intentioned. Like taking this trip for instance :laughing
_____
Anyhow, per Machinist's update above (thanks, Chris), my plans have been sullied by two frozen river crossings just south of Inuvik. There are ferries that take you across but the river flows are still jammed with ice and so No Go, brothers and sisters.
Yesterday I rode the Dempster Highway in excellent fair weather from Kilometre 0 to about 410 km north which is the Arctic Circle junction. The highway is, uhhh, long and unpredictable to say the least: lots of broken pavement, gravel, calcium chloride, dirt, crap, you name it, wet to dry and back to wet again and then repeat cycle. The shale actually ate small chunks of my brand new Conti TKC80's and there was a large wood splinter in one of the knobs. Almost zero other vehicular traffic.
So I made it to about 200 km south of my intended destination. Inuvik will have to wait for another trip. I can't wait another (up to) 2 weeks for the ice jams to break.
In comparing the Dempster Highway (Dawson City, Yukon to Inuvik) to the Dalton Highway (Fairbanks, Alaska to Prudhoe Bay), I have to say that the weather makes all the difference. The Dempster was daunting yes, but I did not have to face the rain, snow, sleet, fog, frozen fog, endless stretches of wet calcium chloride and other assorted goodies as when I passed along the Dalton.
I would not say the Dempster is easier, only that weather conditions for me were more favourable.
There being no contest I cannot declare a winner. I may have fewer stories to tell this time around, but sometimes no event is a good event. Earlier in the trip I was with a fellow who fell off his bike and fractured an ankle - it's incredible how that affected me by basically ridding me of any remaining bravado I may have had left in me by then. Respect all roads no matter where you are is all I can say.