eianray
New member
My adventure buddy and I recently went on an expedition to the Arctic in January of this year. We are both geography majors and wanted to geek out over the long Arctic winter night where there is no direct sunlight for five straight weeks. We were also intrigued by our northern neighbors propensity to construct seasonal ice roads and wanted to know realistic it was to drive to the end of one in the dead of winter. Our trip was relatively short, only 10 days, but in that time we traveled 6,500 miles across four Canadian provinces/territories and three US States. Due to the harsh climactic conditions extensive logistical planning was involved. Temperatures can drop to -35F, there are no emergency services, undependable fueling stations, poor weather reporting, no cell service, and many of these routes are infrequently patrolled during the winter months. In addition, the roads were compact snow and ice for about 4,000 miles of the trip and daylight was in short supply, requiring us to do a lot of night driving to meet our time deadlines. Our ultimate goal was the community of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT which is at the end of a 120 mile long ice road along the frozen Mackenzie River and Arctic Ocean.
We camped and slept in the car several nights. Let me tell you, camping in the sub zero temperatures is not fun, but at many of our stops it was our only option since we were in the middle of a wintery northern wilderness. We had sleeping bags rated to -50 as well as standard cold weather survival clothing and gear in the event we got stranded and had to be outside the vehicle for an extended period of time. We also had with us a spot tracker so folks back home could track our progress and so that we could signal for help if we had serious mishap. Other than the camping, we relied on Airbnb in Inuvik and Yellowknife where we repacked and got our bearings. Since most of the trip was outside of cell areas, we relied on an iPad with the Avenza app for our mapping needs. Its a very simple, yet robust app that allows a person to upload a georeferenced PDF map of an area of interest. Using the iPads built-in aGPS, it places the iconic blue dot on the map similar to what one would see on the Google Maps app. Essentially it allows you to use the iPads GPS capabilities without cell coverage.
We had a couple sketchy moments due to weather. At one point our clutch fluid began to freeze and had difficulty shifting. The engine had a hard time staying warm one night when the temperature dropped to -35F. Even after many hours of driving it was cool to the touch, which I'm sure was not good for it. The dash lights began to flicker and the power windows ceased to function. Luckily once the temperature warmed a bit, all these problems disappeared. The only geopolitical trouble we had, if you want to call it that, was when we entered Canada at the Sumas, WA border crossing. We were detained for about 30 minutes while our vehicle was searched. Our careful pack job was all pulled out of the vehicle onto the street, our bags of clothing and gear dumped out and rifled through, and we were asked extremely invasive questions about our affinity for firearms, of which we had none. Our exploration vehicle is rather small, and repacking it for the second time on the first day of the trip put a damper on things. I've done a lot of international travelling in my day, and this was the single most invasive interaction with authority I'd been through despite having spent years abroad in the middle east, southeast Asia, Mexico and Venezuela, where such treatment is fairly standard and for which there is no recourse. It definitely made me reconsider my sentiments toward Canada.
Despite that one negative experience at the border, this was one of the greatest trips of my life and I recommend it for anyone who wants to see the great northern latitudes during the winter months. You'll be treated to some of the most beautiful skies, mountains and vistas in North America, traverse an ice road, see the aurora borealis, and experience the privilege of relying on your own judgement and reckoning.
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We camped and slept in the car several nights. Let me tell you, camping in the sub zero temperatures is not fun, but at many of our stops it was our only option since we were in the middle of a wintery northern wilderness. We had sleeping bags rated to -50 as well as standard cold weather survival clothing and gear in the event we got stranded and had to be outside the vehicle for an extended period of time. We also had with us a spot tracker so folks back home could track our progress and so that we could signal for help if we had serious mishap. Other than the camping, we relied on Airbnb in Inuvik and Yellowknife where we repacked and got our bearings. Since most of the trip was outside of cell areas, we relied on an iPad with the Avenza app for our mapping needs. Its a very simple, yet robust app that allows a person to upload a georeferenced PDF map of an area of interest. Using the iPads built-in aGPS, it places the iconic blue dot on the map similar to what one would see on the Google Maps app. Essentially it allows you to use the iPads GPS capabilities without cell coverage.
We had a couple sketchy moments due to weather. At one point our clutch fluid began to freeze and had difficulty shifting. The engine had a hard time staying warm one night when the temperature dropped to -35F. Even after many hours of driving it was cool to the touch, which I'm sure was not good for it. The dash lights began to flicker and the power windows ceased to function. Luckily once the temperature warmed a bit, all these problems disappeared. The only geopolitical trouble we had, if you want to call it that, was when we entered Canada at the Sumas, WA border crossing. We were detained for about 30 minutes while our vehicle was searched. Our careful pack job was all pulled out of the vehicle onto the street, our bags of clothing and gear dumped out and rifled through, and we were asked extremely invasive questions about our affinity for firearms, of which we had none. Our exploration vehicle is rather small, and repacking it for the second time on the first day of the trip put a damper on things. I've done a lot of international travelling in my day, and this was the single most invasive interaction with authority I'd been through despite having spent years abroad in the middle east, southeast Asia, Mexico and Venezuela, where such treatment is fairly standard and for which there is no recourse. It definitely made me reconsider my sentiments toward Canada.
Despite that one negative experience at the border, this was one of the greatest trips of my life and I recommend it for anyone who wants to see the great northern latitudes during the winter months. You'll be treated to some of the most beautiful skies, mountains and vistas in North America, traverse an ice road, see the aurora borealis, and experience the privilege of relying on your own judgement and reckoning.
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