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Day 4 - 8:12 AM
Morning glory!
After what turned out to be a fairly gloomy day, what with the loss of a brave Cayenne Turbo soldier, April fool's day morning has turned out to be very good. The sun greeted us with a huge blinding smile the moment we stepped outside to load up the Porsches. What a difference a day makes.
We were set to leave at 7:45 but, as you can imagine, everyone needs a few minutes when saddling the Cayennes to surf the menus to change languages. You see, the Italians don't do English and we, well our Italian is somewhat rusty. For some reason, some of the travellers had a tough time figuring where what was. I obviously offered my services to quickly fix the matter.
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
The roads, road actually as we will trek along the 97 for the majority of our 1,000 km day, was clear and free. The views are breathtaking, really, not just saying that. The camera lens is a poor substitute to the naked eye when gripping the landscape that was before us, grandiose as it was.
Matt
Day 4 - 10:49 AM
Hot under the collar
Unfortunately, our fairytale morning came upon a slight glitch. As we were gently cruising the mountain passes, my beloved Cayenne V6 seemed to have developed a slight overheating problem. Not serious mind you as the temp gauge needle would only climb to 105 degrees, from the normal operating temperature of 90 degrees.
We pulled over at the incredibly appealing Northern Rockies Lodge on Muncho Lake just for a quick inspection. While Rick and Tony were busying themselves with under-hood affairs, I was having a one-on-one discussion with my new friend Muncho, the mascot dog of the resort. Actually, he had noticed, from quite a distance I might add, that I was munching on some Twizzlers. He wanted a piece and I couldn't resist his sad puppy eyes...
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
After making a brief phone call to Porsche Headquarters, Rick decided to unload the Cayenne V6, put the luggage in the trailer, relocate its passengers into the other Cayennes and that he would take the wheel. We continued on for a few hundred kilometres, climbing to incredible heights, sometimes at breakneck speeds. Good times! And, the Cayenne V6 held on.
I also made a few other acquaintances along the way. We met up with what must have been at least half of the only 250 Wood Bison left in Northern BC. Charming poo producers these big hairy creatures are.
Matt
Day 4 - 5:03 PM
Got gas?
We crossed into the Yukon, then back into BC, before going back to the Yukon... If you follow Route 1 in Northern BC, you'll notice that it crisscrosses the borders along its routes. We were having way too much fun when both the S (not mine; there are two on the fleet) and the Hybrid were quickly running out of fuel.
At the previous stop, Harry and I topped up our 400-hp, 4.8L V8 S even though we had only reached the half-full mark. Stefano, who was at the wheel of the Hybrid, opted not to fill up, as he still had plenty of fuel in reserve. Tony, piloting the other S with the trailer, did refill. Can you fill in the rest of the story? We made it in to Teslin on fumes, just in time.
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
Throughout the afternoon, not only were the mountains captivating but the clouds and their formations were also awe-inspiring. On a few occasions, off in the distance, we swore that the end of Time was upon us. As we were careening along the eastern banks of the Laird River, a cloud so deep and dark threatened to engulf everything in its path. As scary as it was, we couldn't take our eyes off of it. Other clouds took on other shapes. One such shape reminded us of a DNA strand or of a barn owl's face. Amazing.
Matt
Day 4 -- 6:34 PM
Lesley arrives in Whitehorse, ready to start leg 2
I set out this morning with much anticipation, having never been any further north than Sudbury, Ontario. We've been warned that it may be a somewhat more "rustic" experience than the typical press drive event, something I'm okay with as long as it doesn't involve tents, or unwanted sleeping companions of the six-legged variety.
We were relieved to hear that no one was injured in the previous leg's incident, which claimed one of the Cayennes. But it does mean that we'll be riding in closer quarters than previously planned, with 3-4 people per vehicle. Suffice it to say, there will be no sitting-on of laps done by me.
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
Ever since learning that the temperature of Prudhoe Bay, our destination, is around -27 Celsius, I've been eternally grateful that all the Cayennes come equipped with heated steering wheels... and high settings for the bum-warmers. Nonetheless, armed with toque and woolly socks, I look forward to discovering the land of the midnight sun.
The Canadian contingent on this leg consists of the "Truck King" Howard Elmer of the National Post, the drily witty Mark Richardson of the Toronto Star, and me representing Auto123.com.
We've just landed in Whitehorse, the sun is shining and the temperature is about the same as Toronto's--about 6 degrees. We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Leg 1 team as this is the final stop in their trip and we're sure they have plenty to talk about. I'd particularly like to hear more from Matt about the phenomenon of the sun and moon appearing simultaneously. Howard tells us that the area is known for its beer, Yukon Gold... perhaps that's what Matt was talking about.
Lesley
Day 4 -- 7:54 PM
Leg 1 complete
Day #4 of our story, after three days at the wheel, is now behind me as the sun sets on my leg of this incredible adventure. I will have covered 2,750 kilometres total, but this is in reality only the beginning. Lesley and our merry band of new mates will rise to the occasion and damn nearly touch the top of the World. Good luck to you!
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
That's it for me. We've just pulled into the Best Western Gold Rush's parking lot in Whitehorse. Tomorrow, it's very early up for me as my plane leaves the airport at an ungodly 6:29 am.
Lesley, on to you.
Matt
Porsche Cayenne Arctic Route Adventure: the Adventure continues!
Despite the unfortunate setback where no one was hurt, losing the Cayenne Turbo, the remainder of Matt's leg was relatively problem free. If you take the time to scroll through his reports, you'll notice that he stayed at nice regular hotels, mostly ate normal meals and faced some generally clear roads. The only obstacle in the road was a contingency of Wood Bison [...] Read more