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By Ian Andersen
II was July 28, 2025 at 11:59pm…the sky was still light, full of the reds and yellows of one of the most beautiful sunsets I’d ever seen. The sun was hovering around the horizon; that time of year, the sun doesn’t really set when you are that far north. The hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories (NT), was still buzzing. You would never know it was the middle of the night. Kids were riding their bicycles, a few guys were ripping around on their quads, and there was even a group of people grilling freshly caught fish between the Arctic Ocean sign and the edge of the water. I guess when you know how long it will be dark over the winter, you take advantage of the daylight when you have it.
Riding to the Arctic Ocean was a symbolic journey for me. When I first thought of this trip, I decided I wanted to do it as part of a fundraising effort for Crisis Text Line, which provides text-based support for people in crisis. This 24/7 resource supported 1.4 million conversations in 2024 — roughly 3,800 conversations a day. Something about riding to one of the more remote places on earth seemed like a great way to remind people that no matter how alone they felt, someone, somewhere was thinking of them. The total trip ended up being 8,557 miles and raised $5,667 to help provide life-saving resources for people in the midst of a mental health crisis.
The Dempster Highway and the continuation up to Tuktoyaktuk had long been a bucket-list ride for me. Most of my trips start as wild ideas…why don’t I ride across the country, why don’t I ride around the Baltic Sea, why don’t I ride the Dalton and Dempster Highway this summer…the idea or destination comes long before there is any consideration of the details. I’m probably lucky — I get married to the idea before the daunting particulars of the trip make me change my mind.
550 miles…almost none of it paved. Services along the Dempster are few and far between, and often the most traffic you see is waiting in line for one of the two ferry crossings. The road travels through some of the most beautiful terrain I’ve witnessed. The mountains of Tombstone Territorial Park, and the staggering remoteness along this route, definitely leave an impression.
About 25 miles outside of Dawson City, Yukon, you leave the Klondike Highway and begin the journey up the Dempster Highway. I was constantly amazed at how vast and untouched the space seemed. Outside of the road you’re on, and a few campgrounds, you’d be hard-pressed to find signs of civilization. Eagle River is the first place to get gas along the route, and it is 229 miles up the Dempster Highway, with a population of around 8 people. Another 12 or so miles up the road, you cross into the Arctic Circle. While there are a few villages along the way, they are mostly just a group of houses and maybe a market and a restaurant. The largest ones are at the ferry crossings along the Peel and Mackenzie Rivers. The only significant village along the trip is Inuvik, NT, with a population of approximately 3,000 people.
My second day on the highway started in the Engineer Creek Campground. The original plan was to ride as far as Inuvik, NT, and camp there. I thought it would take two days to get to Inuvik and then stay there for two nights, using the day in between to ride up and back to Tuktoyaktuk. I’d heard horror stories about the deep gravel over the final 95 miles of the Dempster, so I thought getting a good night’s sleep before tackling that challenge was a good idea. But just like the old boxing adage, “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face,” plans change on trips like this. While I didn’t feel like I got punched in the face, the Dempster is full of variables and no plan is truly safe.
Weather conditions in the Arctic Circle are volatile; things can change in a hurry. The forecast I had was okay — it seemed like I would see some rain, but not too much, and mostly in the evenings. If the predictions were right, I would be seeing a lot more in two days. I had been watching the weather up there for a while, and it seemed like weather systems were more likely to move in ahead of the forecast rather than take longer to materialize. So any potential delays were going to mean getting soaked along the way.
The dangers of riding in the rain are amplified on the Dempster Highway. Not only does the road become slick and unpredictable, visibility decreases, and in the event of an accident, you are incredibly far from any sort of emergency services — or even some simple shelter to offer respite from the environment. A simple crash can turn tragic if you aren’t careful.
As Day 2 unfolded, I was making good time. Conditions had been great, with the only rain coming overnight and not lasting too long — just enough to keep the roads tacky and the dust down. The first ferry crossing of the day is just shy of Fort McPherson, NT, along the Peel River, and is about 216 miles from the Engineer Creek Campground where I started. There are about 40 miles between the two ferry crossings along the Dempster, and I knew I’d have a better idea about my progress once I got across the Mackenzie River.
Once I crossed the Mackenzie, I knew I had 80 miles to Inuvik. I started to realize that I was feeling great, so the thought of pushing all the way to Tuktoyaktuk started to cross my mind. I began thinking through the different options, and I realized that if I felt good and could push through, I would give myself the opportunity to camp on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. With good roads and endless daylight, it seemed like a realistic possibility. And once I actually got to Inuvik, I just knew internally I needed to go all the way.
The final stretch of road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk is about 95 miles each way, and was only completed in 2017. I knew they were going to be some of the most challenging miles of my trip. The gravel along this stretch is a mess. You will be cruising along and, out of nowhere, hit a patch of loose gravel that is 6 inches deep with absolutely no warning. Some portion of the road is always under construction, and the gravel is often lumped up as it is in the process of being graded. It is a constant challenge that requires your undivided attention. If your focus wanes, this road will absolutely remind you not to underestimate it.
This trip was such a fantastic journey…the scenery, the sense of accomplishment, the willingness to venture into the unknown. It all invigorates a person. The best part, though, is the confidence you feel when you know you can figure out anything that happens along the way.
