The ride · Leg one
Tuktoyaktuk to Dawson City.
923 kilometres, almost all of it gravel. From the shore of the Arctic Ocean, south along the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway, then the full length of the Dempster: two river ferries, the Richardson Mountains, the Arctic Circle, and the Tombstone range, before the Klondike Highway carries you into Dawson City.
Waypoints
Where the pin will go.
- 0km
Tuktoyaktuk
On the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The road south to Inuvik only opened in 2017.
- 151km
Inuvik
End of the Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk Highway and the northern end of the Dempster.
- 280km
Tsiigehtchic
Cross the Mackenzie River by ferry, where the Arctic Red River joins it.
- 336km
Fort McPherson
Gwich'in community on the Peel River. Ferry across, then climb into the Richardson Mountains.
- 421km
Wright Pass
Over the Richardson Mountains and across the border from the Northwest Territories into the Yukon.
- 480km
Arctic Circle
Cross 66°33′ north. South of here the sun sets on midsummer's day.
- 516km
Eagle Plains
The only services on the Dempster: a hotel, fuel, and a long view over the Eagle River valley.
- 692km
Engineer Creek
Down the Ogilvie River valley past Sapper Hill, with rust-red creek water from the rock.
- 815km
Tombstone Territorial Park
Jagged peaks and tundra valleys. The interpretive centre is at Dempster km 71.
- 886km
Dempster Corner
Kilometre 0 of the Dempster, where it meets the Klondike Highway. Turn west for Dawson.
- 923km
Dawson City
The Klondike gold-rush town on the Yukon River. Leg one done.
After that
This is leg one.
The long-term goal is a lot further east — all the way to Labrador. But one road at a time. When the pin reaches Dawson City, the next leg gets pinned up.