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Mountains, and it’ s as if the Earth forgot to smooth these peaks out. They rise in jagged grey fingers above valleys painted with wildflowers and crossed by rivers that don’ t even pretend to be warm. Caribou roam here, and so do bears, though you’ re more likely to see the former at a distance and the latter when you’ re taking a pee in the middle of nowhere and realise you’ re not actually alone.
The further you go, the more you’ re drawn into the rhythm of the Dempster. The kilometre markers tick past slowly, not just because of the distance, but because you’ re constantly stopping, to take photos or just to stand still and marvel.
The landscape begins to flatten, and you begin to understand what
“ vast” really means. There are few curves, fewer people, and an overwhelming feeling that you’ ve slipped off the edge of the known world. Then, just as the dust begins to seep into your soul, the town of Tuktoyaktuk appears like a mirage, with enough infrastructure to feel like you ' ve re-entered society. Barely.
The final 140 kilometres from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk were, until recently, the stuff of winter-only travel, the domain of ice roads and freight trucks. But since the completion of the Inuvik – Tuktoyaktuk Highway in 2017, it’ s now possible to ride all the way to the Arctic Ocean in summer. This last stretch is both beautiful and brutal. The road, still settling into its new role, is narrow, crowned, and lined
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