The Beauty and the Beast of the Dempster

The Dempster Highway is the Northernmost all-season road in Canada.  It runs about 800km North from Dawson City, Yukon all the way up to Inuvik, NWT.  In that 800km, there are two service stops: the Eagle Plains hotel and restaurant at 400km, and the small town of Fort McPherson at 600km.

This road was the main attraction of our trip up North.  It’s a real beauty; barely any traffic at all, wide open landscapes, camping anywhere … it’s a cyclist's dream.  But it’s not easy.  In fact, it’s a beast of a ride.

Aged to Perfection

Before arriving in Dawson, we had no idea what to expect aside from the fact that in its heyday, during the Klondike Gold Rush, it was one of the most advanced cities in the Americas and the largest one east of Winnipeg and North of Seattle.  We also heard something about a cocktail with a human toe in it.  More on that to come.

We've been sorely disappointed in the past when arriving in mining ghost towns to find the only general store is closed, the motel is missing its roof and all the residents look like they haven’t seen newcomers in years.

Luckily I didn’t actually need to drink my sorrows away

Well Dawson was a wonderful surprise.

No Country for Soft Men

Our trip from Tok, AK to Dawson City, YT took us on the hilly Top of the World Highway.  The road runs up, down, and along ridge tops with over 4700m of elevation gain in less than 300 km!  The route made for a hard, but rewarding bike ride.

Powering through another steep hill.

Aside from the name, the road is actually quite old.  It follows many of the original trails used by prospectors before and during the gold rush.  There was the gruelling trail from Dawson City to 60 Mile, the 425 mile trail from Valdez to Eagle (downstream from Dawson), and trails from Dawson to the town of 40 Mile.
 
“A forty mile walk over a rough wintry trail, in forty below zero weather, with a forty-pound pack on his back, left the prospector without poetry in his soul, but with a keen appreciation of the distance travelled…”

Reading the stories of early journeys through this area made us think, “Man, these were hard people.”  Does adventure like this even exist anymore?  Their stories made climbing steep hills on the bicycles seem like a stroll in the park.  This post includes anecdotes about some of the people and places we learned about in the region and some of the these old routes.

Striking it Rich

The stampeders came to Alaska for gold and the better life it promised.  Unfortunately, most of them never found it.  But maybe they found a different sort of richness in these hills; something people still come searching for today.

Most of the Alaskans we’ve met were not born here.  Although their origins vary greatly, what seems to draw people to Alaska are a few  basic human desires.  Whether it’s a better life, the need for adventure, a fresh start, or just to get away.  Many have found it in “The Last Frontier”.

So what drew us to Alaska?  The adventure and the wild, open space.

GOLD! GOLD! GOLD!

Screamed the banner headline of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on July 17, 1897. This was after the S.S. Portland had arrived from St. Michael, Alaska, carrying 68 prospectors and what newspapers said was "a ton of gold."  Two days earlier a similarly laden ship had arrived in San Francisco from Alaska.  As newspapers spread the word that a great quantity of gold had been found along the Klondike River, a tributary of the Yukon, thousands of prospectors, in the midst of a depression, began to flock North to seek their fortune...  And so started the Klondike gold rush...

We boarded the Oosterdam in Vancouver on June 21, not knowing what lay ahead of us in this upcoming adventure.

Trip Totals

Distance Travelled: 24139km
478 Days on the Road
Longest Day: 157km
40 Flat Tires
Highest Pass: 4960m
14 Countries Visited
Times Ejected from Bicycle: 13

El Fin

After 478 days and 24139 km we have arrived at our final destination of Ushuaia!

 

It was only one day from our last stop at the bakery in Tolhuin.  And as before, we rode as part of a group of six cyclists.  The road was very pretty and the riding easy.

Since our arrival we’ve had a bit of time to reflect, and also to ride out to the real “end of the road” in Tierra del Fuego National Park.

The end of the furthest road South in the world at Bahia Lapataia.

And now the big question, how do we feel?  Surprisingly we each feel quite differently.  So here are both of our accounts.

Into the Land of Fire

Tierra del Fuego (“The Land of Fire”) is the Southernmost part of South America.  It got its dramatic name from the Portugese explorer Magellan, who spotted the fires that the indigenous used to keep burning on the beaches.  But more importantly for us, it contains Ushuaia.  This is the literal and figurative end of the road.  It goes no further South.  And so it’s known as “El Fin del Mundo”, or “The End of the World”.

This area of Patagonia is also home to lots of penguins! We were able to see two different kinds: small and rambunctious Magellanic Penguins, and large and regal King Penguins. 

Near Punta Arenas we visited a penguin colony on Isla Magdalena. Here, approximately 6000 pairs of Magellanic Penguins come to nest each year! They dig burrows in the ground and are now raising chicks.

 

Pampa, Pampa, Pampa

Southern Patagonia is an intense place.  This region of the Andes is filled with jagged peaks and dynamic glaciers that extend almost to sea-level.  The mountains in the West give way to vast, dry grasslands in the East.  These windwhipped plains are called “pampa” here.  And they are so vast and empty that one usually says “pampa, pampa, pampa” when referring to them.

Our time has been split between riding through the mind-numbing pampa and excursions into the mind-blowing Patagonian Andes.

The pampa (pampa, pampa) is notoriously windy.  Life is spectacular with the wind at your back (30-40km/hr), horrible with the wind at your front (5-12km/hr), and frustrating with it at your side (12-18km/hr).  We count ourselves lucky that nobody has been blown clean off the bicycle … yet.

 

A sign of the times.

Closer and Closer

Like a carrot to a donkey the Fitz Roy massif has drawn us in.  It has been our familiar view while navigating wind swept lakes, boggy trails and remote borders. 

After finishing up nearly 1000km of beautiful, wild riding on the Carretera Austral in Chile it was time to cross back in to Argentina.  An adventure all its own.

What is the Carretera Austral?

The Carretera Austral (The Southern Highway) connects communities in the remote and rugged Patagonian region in the South of Chile.  We travelled from Futaleufu to Villa O’Higgins in about 15 days of cycling.  It’s definitely our favourite section of the trip so far but we can’t exactly say why.  In this post we detail seven different things that the Carretera Austral and the region of Aysen are to us:

Beautiful

Above all, the terrain is gorgeous.  The road winds through mountains and glaciers, and around turquoise lakes.

Springtime in Patagonia

It’s been a long time since we’ve been in an area which has four seasons.  The region we’re in, Patagonia, is famous for adverse weather.  So our arrival here is timed with the coming of spring.

Trees and flowers are blooming and the weather is good.  The area is filled with beautiful national parks.  Officially they don’t open until November 1st, so we have them pretty much all to ourselves.

Three Parks and Seven Lakes

On this leg of our trip we crossed from the lake district of Chile to that of Argentina.  We rode through three incredible national parks in the two countries and along Argentina’s famous “Seven Lakes Route”.  It wasn’t the most direct route, but the best ones rarely are.  This is what cycle touring really is about.

The road from Pucon, Chile to the border took us through Parque Nacional Villarrica along a steep and difficult, but beautiful, dirt road. 

Superhighways and Superhospitality

This leg of the trip took us from Valparaiso on the coast of Chile to Pucon, about 800km South in Chile’s Lake Region.

After a couple days of nice riding on a coastal road we met up with Chile’s superhighway.  So for 5 days we rode on this:

And showered and camped at these:

Yawn.

Wine, Mountains, and Art

In our last section we passed through three different and distinct regions.  The cycling wasn’t so hard and the views were gorgeous.  The culture here almost has us feeling sophisticated!

Region 1: Wine

Ruta 40 deposited us in Mendoza, Argentina.  A pretty city with lots of green space and bicycle friendly streets …

… but most tourists come here to sample the famous Malbec wine and Argentinian meat.  Mendoza is the winemaking capital of Argentina with around 1500 wineries exporting the famous Malbec all over the world.  How could we not take a short siesta to enjoy the wine and food for which this area is known?

Stories of the Open Road

Ruta 40 stretches almost 5000km from the Bolivian border to Tierra del Fuego.  It’s long, sparesly populated, and traverses some beautiful scenery; Argentina’s version of Route 66.  In our last leg we followed Ruta 40 for 1200km from Cafayate to Mendoza.

To break up the desert scenery there are a number of shrines along the roadside.  They are spaced at regular intervals have tables and flat spaces … perfect campspots!

The shrines are dedicated to local Argentine heroes.  Pictures from our journey are broken up by two of our favourite stories.

The 3 R’s

Rest, Relaxation and Recuperation

At the time we may not have realized it because we were so awe-struck by the natural beauty, but Bolivia really worked us.  The food/water, climate and harsh conditions took a huge toll on us physically.  By the end of the Lagunas region we were really hurting for some of the creature comforts we take for granted at home (like central heating, potable water and fresh produce).  We were both suffering from chronic digestive tract problems and were excited to reach Argentina where reportedly all tap water (unless otherwise noted) is drinkable, elevations are lower and temperatures warmer.

Before reaching Argentina we would have to pass through the Northeastern corner of Chile, which is so remote we never officially entered or exited the country.

The Climax

South America is home to some of the worlds most awe-inspiring places.  It’s also home to some of the worlds hardest bicycle riding.  We feel that both of these things came to a peak in our journey through the famous Lagunas region of Southwestern Bolivia.

This part of Bolivia is famous for its harsh beauty.  The whole area is located between 4000m and 5000m above sea level.  Coloured lagoons stand out against the bleak landscape to make incredible scenes.  We repeatedly found ourselves rounding a corner to exclaim: “Wow, look at that!  Are you kidding me?”

 

Five Things To Do on the Salar de Uyuni

The Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world.  It's over 100km wide, blindingly white, and dead flat.  And it’s a right of passage when cycling South America to ride right across the salt surface.

The salt flat is so huge that you can ride for an hour and the view doesn’t change one bit.  So cyclists have a few tricks up their sleeves to pass the time during the crossing.  Here are five of our favourite ways to entertain oneself on the Salar de Uyuni.

One Hand in My Pocket

We have been in Bolivia for two weeks now and for such a small place it is a land of extremes.  From the abundance, heat and humidity of the jungle…

The “Death Road” drops over 3000m in 65km and over 25 vehicles would plunge over it’s side annually while it was still in use.

Jenn contemplating the consequences.