I’ve been planning a trip up north ever since returning from a road trip to Mexico a few years back. I had intended on including Mexico and Alaska in the same trip, but vastly underestimated how difficult it is to cover long distances on an enduro motorcycle. Riding through extreme heat was unpleasant, however I have a feeling extreme cold will be no more pleasant. Having never been further north of Edmonton I’m not entirely sure what to expect. I plan on camping and being as self sufficient as possible, not riding on busy freeways or passing gas and fast food stops every 20km is very much part of the appeal. This is truly one of the last frontiers on earth.
With the impending expansion of our family unit I figure this summer is my last immediate opportunity to head out on a bit of adventure. The next trip report will likely have pictures with Mickey Mouse ears, line ups and drool.
As my riding partners slowly backed out (you know who you are), I decided to head out regardless. I set a date for June 15th, which should coincide with relative warmth, relative dryness and some civic holidays to give me some extra time. In total I’ll have 18 days to make it from Calgary to Inuvik and hopefully on to Tuktoyaktuk. Below is my intended route up and down including the Dempster highway:
Calgary to Tuktoyaktuk
The most common response when people hear about my intended route is Why?’ This is typically followed by one of the following:
- Mosquitos
- Black Flies
- Bears
- Wolves
- Mud
- Rain
- Cold