Day 3
January 31st 2010
Holy Freakin' WOW! I'm not sure if that's overstating how I feel about this whole adventure but crossing the Dempster Highway was simply incredible. Although we saw little wildlife, the vistas were more than enough to take your breath away. The sun never officially rose but we did get some daylight as of 10 a.m. or so. Watching the Sun duke it out with the Moon for a spot in the sky was just beyond words.
What isn't beyond words is the fortwo's behaviour in this environment, which this is certainly not it. Be that as it may, the smart is still doing a formidable job of keeping all four wheels going in the direction desired by the driver. Today's icy, grooved and largely snow-covered roads put the car and driver to the test and other than a few minor spinouts, everyone made it to Inuvik without too much damage.
In my opening teaser, I mentioned that we would be driving at average speeds of 65 to 70 km/h. I was dead wrong. Both Saturday and Sunday, the median speedometer indication was 100 km/h with a high on Sunday of 125 km/h and lows in the 50s. We covered almost 800 km on Sunday (will do the same on Monday) and pulled it off in close to 11 and a half hours.
The most time-consuming bits were stopping off at the Arctic Circle, the MNWT-Yukon border and at a few incredible spots where the Great White Canadian North showed us its true colours.
The trip back to Dawson should take a little less time on Monday as we won't be making regular pitstops other than for fuel for the body and the smarts.
Keep it here for more!
Day 4
February 1st 2010
You know, when you're faced with a challenge and so many things could go wrong, the more you think about it, the more likely you'll envision the project failing. I'll admit (only now) that I was scared snotless at the idea of crossing the Dempster Highway, getting to Inuvik and, more importantly, returning to Dawson City. Well, here I am, happy to be alive, in my room at the Eldorado in Dawson City, writing this little blurb.
This drive was a little longer time-wise as Mother Nature had dumped a few inches of snow here and there to make our little adventure that much more interesting. Thankfully, friends and fans of the adventure, working for the Territory, cleared snow-drifts and roads prior to our arrival. The drive was exhilarating and especially challenging. We drove for 12 hours and averaged roughly 90 km/h.
This stage did prove that the little smart can tackle some extreme conditions but also demonstrated that driver error is more often than not the cause of incidents (no one went off the road on Monday, even though conditions were more difficult).
Once we reached the mouth of the Dempster, I felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. We had made it! Tuesday, we head back to Whitehorse, all the way in the southern part of Yukon (as if south and the Yukon could be used in the same sentence...) for the final stage of Leg 2.
As you may know, I am staying on for Leg 3, the final loop that will take me, 12 or so other journalists and their fortwos, all the way down to Vancouver by next Saturday.
It's all easy sailing from here on in. Or is it?
January 31st 2010
Holy Freakin' WOW! I'm not sure if that's overstating how I feel about this whole adventure but crossing the Dempster Highway was simply incredible. Although we saw little wildlife, the vistas were more than enough to take your breath away. The sun never officially rose but we did get some daylight as of 10 a.m. or so. Watching the Sun duke it out with the Moon for a spot in the sky was just beyond words.
 |
What isn't beyond words is the fortwo's behaviour in this environment, which this is certainly not it. Be that as it may, the smart is still doing a formidable job of keeping all four wheels going in the direction desired by the driver. Today's icy, grooved and largely snow-covered roads put the car and driver to the test and other than a few minor spinouts, everyone made it to Inuvik without too much damage.
In my opening teaser, I mentioned that we would be driving at average speeds of 65 to 70 km/h. I was dead wrong. Both Saturday and Sunday, the median speedometer indication was 100 km/h with a high on Sunday of 125 km/h and lows in the 50s. We covered almost 800 km on Sunday (will do the same on Monday) and pulled it off in close to 11 and a half hours.
The most time-consuming bits were stopping off at the Arctic Circle, the MNWT-Yukon border and at a few incredible spots where the Great White Canadian North showed us its true colours.
The trip back to Dawson should take a little less time on Monday as we won't be making regular pitstops other than for fuel for the body and the smarts.
Keep it here for more!
Day 4
February 1st 2010
You know, when you're faced with a challenge and so many things could go wrong, the more you think about it, the more likely you'll envision the project failing. I'll admit (only now) that I was scared snotless at the idea of crossing the Dempster Highway, getting to Inuvik and, more importantly, returning to Dawson City. Well, here I am, happy to be alive, in my room at the Eldorado in Dawson City, writing this little blurb.
This drive was a little longer time-wise as Mother Nature had dumped a few inches of snow here and there to make our little adventure that much more interesting. Thankfully, friends and fans of the adventure, working for the Territory, cleared snow-drifts and roads prior to our arrival. The drive was exhilarating and especially challenging. We drove for 12 hours and averaged roughly 90 km/h.
 |
This stage did prove that the little smart can tackle some extreme conditions but also demonstrated that driver error is more often than not the cause of incidents (no one went off the road on Monday, even though conditions were more difficult).
Once we reached the mouth of the Dempster, I felt as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. We had made it! Tuesday, we head back to Whitehorse, all the way in the southern part of Yukon (as if south and the Yukon could be used in the same sentence...) for the final stage of Leg 2.
As you may know, I am staying on for Leg 3, the final loop that will take me, 12 or so other journalists and their fortwos, all the way down to Vancouver by next Saturday.
It's all easy sailing from here on in. Or is it?