Epilogue or (Epi-blog?) to Russ and Aaron's Ice Road Adventure

Mar.24, 2013, Sunny, SCT CI, Temp -6C

The Tacoma's now home in its garage (or car hole) as Moe from the Simpsons would say. I know,  apparently too much Simpsons trivia game was played on this trip.
We set out to drive the Mackenzie valley road system as far as Colville Lake and we accomplished that. As our latitude ticked up we met some interesting people, drove across the land in a way that's only accessible 3 months a year and experienced 'the North'. I have new-found respect for the truckers (even Joe) and how they transport their loads up that road. How they move some of that massive equipment is a mystery to us. 



And there are still mysteries out there. 
Why were two of the innumerable creeks we crossed still free of ice when it was -25C?
Why do hotels close on Sundays in the NWT?
And how long does it take to boil a can of soup in an electric kettle? These mysteries are for other travelers to solve.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our travels. I know we enjoyed sharing it with you all.

51° 5' 0" N / 114° 5' 0" W

OVC SC Temp -14C. Wind light northerly.

Left Gibbons at 0715 bound for Calgary. Made a quick stop for fuel at the ESSO then we pointed the Tacoma for home. Today marks the end in this tale for your author. Russ will have to make a long drive out to the coast solo, where no doubt Spring will be in full force.

Traffic is surprisingly light as we head out of town passing some of the carnage from Thursday's 100 Car pile-up on the QE2  What a difference two days can make. And so we make good time and join the Deerfoot, encountering traffic congestion not seen for 10 days. A flock of geese pass us heading North. No hurry guys, there's still plenty of Winter where you're going.
We make a quick stop to return the rented sat phone -cheap insurance really, as some of the others we encountered on the Mackenzie valley roads can attest to.
At 1115 our position registers, Lat 51 5'N Lon 114 5'W, and this is where I bow out. There's someone here who won't let me out of her sight for a long while.
And with that, Russ has to begin the long drive out to the coast solo. I don't envy that role, and hope it is uneventful for him.


 

OVC 3SM -SN. Temp -12C. Wind light northerly. 3 cm fresh snow overnight.

After a restful night at the Mirage we headed out on the road headed for Edmonton at 0815. For the first  90 minutes it's 'driving by braille' following a big rig. Snow from yesterday's system still lingers on the road and each passing rig brings it to life. Passing is not an option for us unless we have X ray vision, which, apparently some drivers have as evidenced by their actions on the road.

Rounding a curve the forest opens up into a field and miraculously the blowing snow disappears. I hit 5th gear and put the big rig in the rear view mirror. The road is clear now with nothing but Alberta's open spaces and blue skies. 

On a trip like this after you've spent so much time in the front seat, the truck becomes an extension of you. You get accustomed to its motion, you know what gear works best for what terrain, you get accustomed to the sounds, the creaks and groans and so on. So when it gets to -40C outside you start to hear all sorts of sounds it doesn't usually make and you realize how hard it's working to get you where you want to go. So when we descended the mighty Peace river valley, we decided to stop into the Lube Shop for an oil change. Three technicians gave the Tacoma check-up then it was off in less than twenty minutes turn around time. Talk about service!

As the GPS ticks down on the latitude the sun climbs higher and with it, the temperature. It's now -6C and for the first time in 8 days the roads are slushy. Descending the long hill into Whitecourt we pass a couple of big rigs towing a pump housing that's the size of a small house. one rig pulling and one pushing. Never seen that before. 

We're most of the way to Edmonton now. Arriving at Gibbons, the snow banks are 8' high in places and the roads ice covered. We should be used to this by now, but it's still slow going. We're staying with Russ's inlaws for the night.     

Alberta bound

OVC. Snowing. Temp -15C. Wind NW 15-20 km/h.

After a delicious breakfast at the Mackenzie Rest Inn where we met a fellow Edmontonian (Ken) up here working installing telecoms, we set out for Ft. Liard at 0815. Blowing snow with a tail wind saw us at the junction of Hwy 1 and Hwy 22 but with last night's fresh snow and no plow to greet us, we decided to leave this part of the trip for another time. It's 224 km down the road to Ft. Liard and would not have been worth plowing our own snow.

So we reversed course, put the sun (seen through the mirk) at our 12 O'clock and proceeded to break out the Simpsons trivia for the next leg into Enterprise. It was slow going on the snow covered roads, the bulk of which are mixed gravel and asphalt. After the obligatory fuel stop, it was lunch time. Lunch is getting to be a rather lame affair of Flaky Pilot Biscuits (love that name!) with cheese and the always plentiful chocolate covered granola bars. The ravens still liked their chances though. 

We haven't had a chance to replenish the supplies as we've been rolling into town too late for the Northern Store re-supply. 

At 2 pm we were stopped for 2 1/2 hours 42 km South of Enterprise due to an accident. The remaining stretch into High Level was unpleasant due to blowing snow and lots of semi traffic.

Glad to be done for the day as we fade into the Mirage.

Not much photogenic today, save for the raven and the last photo showing some of todays better road conditions.  Here are some more photos from yesterday.

Looking out over the frozen Mcknz (Tulita)

Access Rd to the wells (Norman Wells)

Stepping out onto the ice (Tulita)

Keeping the sun at our 12 O'clock (Tulita)

Peak N of Tulita

Junction to Delina / Wrigley

Quoth the raven "Nevermore"

Heading for Enterprise

On the road again..

SKC P6SM Temp -33C.

Our earliest start saw us up and pulling away from the little dipper B&B at 0650. We're heading back South for Fort Simpson about 700 km south. This will be a long day for us and there is 'weather' on the way.

Another sunrise

Another gas stop, so why not another pic with the ravens

Descending to Tulita

 AltoStratus thickening

The ice road near Tulita

The liquid in the compass thawed enough to take a bearing

Some pictures from the road. The wx office forecast the weather perfectly and our picture count diminished in conjunction with the 'weather'. Tomorrow we'll post a few of those ones.

Way below zero-dark-thirty...

Few Ci, Temp -34C. Winds calm.

When I checked the weather charts a few days ago there was a little blob of 486 dam thickness air over this part of the NWT. For the non-meteorological, that means it's cold, really cold.

I step out the door. It's still dark. Now begins the daily ritual. Russ starts the Tacoma- check. I scrape the thinnest of frost layers from the windows- check. Load the cab with sat phone, food, clothes, cameras, more clothes, laptop, SPOT, journal and some more clothes- check. Driving through the neighbourhood, our headlights illuminate the doggie doors cut into the crawlspaces of some of the houses, no doubt disturbing the sleep of a pooch or two. Poking our way out of town the thermometer dips to -36C and we start our route NE to the community of Colville Lake. The community marks the end of the winter road just north of the arctic circle.

It's amazing how long it takes for the sun to 'rise' this far North. For over an hour the sun teases us with its feeble warmth as it skirts the eastern sky. Russ points out you can be the laziest photographer in the world up here as you get multiple chances to snap the 'sunrise' in the sweet light of morning. This is of course if you can stand the cold which now dips to -38C as registered on the cab thermometer. Russ flips on the Hellas and we can see the definition on the road much better. Our route takes us across rolling tundra sometimes we're climbing to 900' ASL, sometimes as low as 145' (Above Sea Level). We cross an ice bridge and skirt around several small lakes before dipping into a hollow and here we register -40C. Stopping to snap a few pictures, we both cough while breathing in the cold air. Yep, it's cold and we leave a trail of ice fog in our wake with each stop.

The route descends to a large lake and then skirts the left shore. We then deviate from the route shown on the map by driving two perfectly straight roads intersecting at a 145 degree angle. It must be easier to exploit a couple of seismic lines for road building instead of the circuitous route along the lake shore. 3.5 hrs after we woke up the dogs in FGH, we're rolling into Colville Lake where it is now a balmy -31C.
Latitude here is 67.03 degrees. 

We take a trip through town, pass the CO-OP and the new airport and then put the sun at our 12 O'clock (well 10 O'clock really) for the return trip. 

There is no sign for the hamlet of Colville Lake but the GPS tells us we've arrived!

4 then 5 then 6....

Few AC. Temp -23C. No AURBO this morning.

4 then 5 then 6 am, that's what time the hotel guests get going here in 'the wells'. Each one gets their turn at waking up the floor. Russ and I want to be at the ESSO first thing so we forgo breakfast for some chocolate covered granola bars and check out. Today's drive will take us North to Ft. Good Hope.   
The roads we've been travelling since yesterday consist of frozen snow covered tundra. Bladed with the grader, it makes a sometimes smooth, sometimes potholed surface. Picture a green ski run at your local hill in a low snow year (grass popping through the snow etc.) The mornings are the worst when flat lighting makes it a challenge to drive while avoiding the worst of the obstacles. We have both sets of eyes glued to the road on this task when we flush out a ptarmigan of some sort. 
The route takes us across a land of rapidly diminishing tree cover. It's a land of contrasts. The white ground giving way to the grey cliffs of the Franklin Mts to the blue skies above. For most of the morning, it's like being in a snow globe with flurries of ice crystals falling from the thinnest of clouds.
Around 15km from Ft. Good Hope the road straightens out while heading perfectly North. I can imagine the surveyor and the bulldozer operator were out on a smoke break for this part of the route. 
At noon we pull into town.  Finding the Little Dipper B&B takes us about an hour in which we meet (in no particular order) the cashiers at both the Northern Store and the CO-OP, two locals, the gas station attendant and the RCMP.
The church heren(our Lady of Good Hope) dates from 1865 and is one of the oldest examples of the Oblate mission churches in NW Canada. It is a national heritage site, though the snow blowing in through the crack in the front door shows it's still in use.

A local.

Spectacular NWT.

That ice is on the inside...

Clear and Cold.

A familiar sight.

We're making good use of the studded snows.

It's a rough road.

Heading 0.7 Degrees True.

$1.699/L  $0.10 Cheaper than Norman Wells...

The Church in Fort Good Hope.

Drifted snow on the Mackenzie River

All that guy needs is goggles and a scarf!

Tomorrow our route will take us to the tree line and past the arctic circle. The weather looks good and we're looking forward to it.