- First shock: the car battery is dead
- Helpful locals found to bridge the gap
- Continue on Dempster Highway
- Stop at the Eagle Plains Hotel in the middle of nowhere
- Arctic circle crossed
- Indian summer of the tundra in full color
- huge white tundra wolf sighted in the fog
I let myself be woken up at a quarter past 6 a.m. However, the sunrise is not quite as worth seeing as yesterday's sunset, so I lie down again. At 9 o'clock I finally get up to have breakfast in the car and listen to music. Briefly check the tires, everything seems to be ok. It's cool and foggy. I talk to the German pensioner again briefly before he goes south. I want to go further north.
But nothing happens there! The car battery is dead and in the middle of nowhere, great. The cold night and my listening to music was probably too much of a good thing. So there I am, I really didn't expect that. The next town is at least 300 km away, so all I have to do is wait for another road user to pass by. That could take a while out here, but I still have water and food for about a week. But it would definitely be uncomfortable. The men of the Lost Patrol must have felt similar, but more on that later.
As soon as I thought about it, I heard a car coming and I hurriedly to stop at it. Lucky again, the local has jumper cables with him and my car is running again. So I can still tackle today's stage with a minimal delay. Fortunately, the people here away from civilization are very helpful. In any case, that won't happen to me any longer!
The route over the Eagle Plains leads over mountain ridges through the seemingly endless coniferous forests of the taiga. Even the closed cloud cover cannot greatly diminish the splendor of the colors in this landscape. Finally, after 369 km of solitude, I reach the Eagle Plains Hotel, which is open all year round and which also includes a gas station, a campground and a small shop. In this secluded outpost of civilization, I shower and briefly use the local WiFi to report to my home. After all, I haven't had cell phone reception for almost three days. Warning signs indicate the increased problem that grizzlies in the region get to know people as a source of food and thus become a danger.
The road, which was quite quiet until then, is now rougher and the section is only moderately attractive. After crossing the Eagle River, the Dempster Highway rises again until the first foothills of the Richardson Mountains and thus 66 ° 33'N - better known as the Arctic Circle - is reached. From here northwards the sun never sets on June 21st. After my winter trip to Finnish Lapland, this is my second time at the Arctic Circle. But this time it is only a transit station. Now follows the section of the entire Dempster Highway that is most worth seeing according to travel guides and various recommendations. In fact, I am not disappointed! The hilly landscape is increasingly becoming a treeless tundra and the play of colors is simply unique anyway. But the now short sunny sections hide the stiff arctic breeze. In any case, I'm happy to have my sweater and my new jacket.
With the sun, it is finally over on Wright Pass. Here in the thick fog I also pass the border between the Yukon and the Northwestern Territories. The visibility is barely 50 m and here I can hardly believe my eyes. A white wolf stands a few meters from the road! Full brake, change lens and pull the trigger. In fact, some - although extremely misty - images of the predator succeed. I can hardly believe my luck. Unfortunately, of all places, at the mistiest point on the entire highway. Now it is time to look for a place to stay for the night. During a pullout, I warm myself up with leftover food and seek refuge from the horrific conditions in the car.
Well what is this Lost Patrol all about? Sergeant Fitzgerald's patrol of the Royal Northwest Mountain Police got off the trail en route from Fort McPherson south in the winter of 1910/11. All members died as a result. This tragedy is considered one of the greatest in Canadian history. Imagine this situation, to be lost outside in this infinite space in hostile conditions.
