Starting on a journey
- Thread starter ducktapeguy
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Day 9 - At the recommendation of the locals, we visited the Fort Nelson Heritage musuem
It's actually has a pretty large outdoor display of cars and equipment from the building of the Alcan
It's worth visiting if you're driving through, and it's a break from all the seat time in the jeep.
While driving through Hinton a couple days ago, I had an idea on how to fix my wipers. I needed some type of spring to keep constant pressure on the wiper linkage to prevent it from over rotating. So after searching through all the aisles for a spring, or even some stiff wire and not being able to find anything, I happen to see this while walking out of the store
So while my son was enjoying skipping rocks by the side of some river, I was fashioning a coil spring from an egg whisker.
Stopped by Tetsa River Lodge for one of their famous cinnamon rolls. And it's still raining. But the spring seems to be working.
Forgot to mention while we were down by that river, I thought i could make it across to a sandbar. I was wrong. A half hour of back and forth this is what it looked like. I have some dash cam video of the incident but in the moment didn't think to take video of the escape.
The upside is the constant rain is washing away most of the mud.
It's actually has a pretty large outdoor display of cars and equipment from the building of the Alcan
It's worth visiting if you're driving through, and it's a break from all the seat time in the jeep.
While driving through Hinton a couple days ago, I had an idea on how to fix my wipers. I needed some type of spring to keep constant pressure on the wiper linkage to prevent it from over rotating. So after searching through all the aisles for a spring, or even some stiff wire and not being able to find anything, I happen to see this while walking out of the store
So while my son was enjoying skipping rocks by the side of some river, I was fashioning a coil spring from an egg whisker.
Stopped by Tetsa River Lodge for one of their famous cinnamon rolls. And it's still raining. But the spring seems to be working.
Forgot to mention while we were down by that river, I thought i could make it across to a sandbar. I was wrong. A half hour of back and forth this is what it looked like. I have some dash cam video of the incident but in the moment didn't think to take video of the escape.
The upside is the constant rain is washing away most of the mud.
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Thank you for the info. Only one problem I have no like button (lower right next to the reply button.There's a little "like" button in the lower right corner of people's posts, right next to a "reply" button. If you hover over it, it gives a few emoji options.
Feel free to practice on this post.
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That's weird... @bigwalton, is that one of the paid membership perks?Thank you for the info. Only one problem I have no like button (lower right next to the reply button.
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It's been a while time for a quick update
All of the days have started to run together, so I'll just quickly skim over where I am
Stopped at another amazing campsite at Muncho lake, but of course it was still raining and all of the spots were reserved, so we kept going
We kept driving to Liard Hot springs, where we managed to get the last tiny cabin available. It's exactly what it sounds like, a tiny cabin. Just a bed and cabinet with electricity, but at least it was dry
The hot springs were amazing, I can see why everyone says this is a must visit destination. Especially after driving all day, a soak in a hot springs really relaxes the muscles. Since we arrived so late we only had an hour to use the springs, but it was still worth the price of admission. I think it was only $5 Canadian.
All of the days have started to run together, so I'll just quickly skim over where I am
Stopped at another amazing campsite at Muncho lake, but of course it was still raining and all of the spots were reserved, so we kept going
We kept driving to Liard Hot springs, where we managed to get the last tiny cabin available. It's exactly what it sounds like, a tiny cabin. Just a bed and cabinet with electricity, but at least it was dry
The hot springs were amazing, I can see why everyone says this is a must visit destination. Especially after driving all day, a soak in a hot springs really relaxes the muscles. Since we arrived so late we only had an hour to use the springs, but it was still worth the price of admission. I think it was only $5 Canadian.
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After a good nights sleep at Liard, we headed off for the day. Weather forecast hasn't changed much, but at least the wipers seem to be working ok now.
Saw a herd of bison along the side of the road. I forgot to mention the previous day we saw a road kill moose on the side of the road. A word of advice, don't go up to inspect a dead moose that's been decomposing. The smell stays with you and I was feeling nauseous for the next half hour.
Also saw a bear eating something it killed off the side of the road
From then it was more driving until we hit Watson lake and the signpost forest. You can look up the history of it but the quick summary is that it was started by a homesick soldier in the 40's posting up a sign of his hometown, and now it's grown to over 100,000 signs. A very interesting exhibit and fun to walk through the maze of signs looking for places near my hometown.
Rained some more so we grabbed a motel in Teslin.
Saw a herd of bison along the side of the road. I forgot to mention the previous day we saw a road kill moose on the side of the road. A word of advice, don't go up to inspect a dead moose that's been decomposing. The smell stays with you and I was feeling nauseous for the next half hour.
Also saw a bear eating something it killed off the side of the road
From then it was more driving until we hit Watson lake and the signpost forest. You can look up the history of it but the quick summary is that it was started by a homesick soldier in the 40's posting up a sign of his hometown, and now it's grown to over 100,000 signs. A very interesting exhibit and fun to walk through the maze of signs looking for places near my hometown.
Rained some more so we grabbed a motel in Teslin.
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The next morning I woke up early and did a little maintenance on the jeep. It started somewhere in montana with a popping sound during deceleration, and by the time we got to the border it was a full blown exhaust leak. Because it came on slowly, and with all the other issues I was having, I classified it as a "tomorrow problem" and managed to ignore it. But I knew it was getting bad when the border agent told me to turn off my engine because she couldn't hear me.
I tightened the exhaust manifold bolts and exhaust flange as much as I dared, but didn't want to risk breaking anything. Seemed to improve it somewhat, it still leaked when cold but once warmed up it sealed a little better.
From there we visited Carcross, home to the worlds smallest desert, and picked up some cinnamon rolls and bread from the local bakery.
Then on to Whitehorse where we hiked up Miles canyon. I didn't realize until I saw the news later, about an hour before we got there someone had to be rescued after jumping or falling into the river.
Also, the roads broke my phone holder, so I found a spare bolt and just bolted what was left to my magnetic cup holder.
I tightened the exhaust manifold bolts and exhaust flange as much as I dared, but didn't want to risk breaking anything. Seemed to improve it somewhat, it still leaked when cold but once warmed up it sealed a little better.
From there we visited Carcross, home to the worlds smallest desert, and picked up some cinnamon rolls and bread from the local bakery.
Then on to Whitehorse where we hiked up Miles canyon. I didn't realize until I saw the news later, about an hour before we got there someone had to be rescued after jumping or falling into the river.
Also, the roads broke my phone holder, so I found a spare bolt and just bolted what was left to my magnetic cup holder.
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- CA
First stop after waking up in Whitehorse was the Canadian Tire to pick up some essentials. I had been looking for some Rain-x since Hinton but it wasn't until Whitehorse that I was able to find any.
Also ended up fixing my exhaust leak by removing the exhaust flange and cleaning up the stud. I wanted to wait until I was in Whitehorse before doing anything just in case I broke a bolt or something. At least in Whitehorse i have a much better chance of being able to repair something.
Also spent $150 Cd on an oil change.
Before leaving Whitehorse, we stopped by Sargent Greg which is a Laser Tag/escape room/mini golf on the edge of town just for some relaxation and to give my son a break from all the driving. I just wanted to mention that because every Canadian I've met has been amazing, and if you're ever in Whitehorse and need a break, give this place a visit. Not only is it the only mini golf in within 1000 km, it's a nice break from the monotony because if you're in Whitehorse, you've probably been doing a lot of driving.
From then it was just a lot of driving, but finally got to camp at Moose creek campground since it wasn't raining.
I was so tired I forgot to take pictures. The long days of driving are starting to take a toll
Also ended up fixing my exhaust leak by removing the exhaust flange and cleaning up the stud. I wanted to wait until I was in Whitehorse before doing anything just in case I broke a bolt or something. At least in Whitehorse i have a much better chance of being able to repair something.
Also spent $150 Cd on an oil change.
Before leaving Whitehorse, we stopped by Sargent Greg which is a Laser Tag/escape room/mini golf on the edge of town just for some relaxation and to give my son a break from all the driving. I just wanted to mention that because every Canadian I've met has been amazing, and if you're ever in Whitehorse and need a break, give this place a visit. Not only is it the only mini golf in within 1000 km, it's a nice break from the monotony because if you're in Whitehorse, you've probably been doing a lot of driving.
From then it was just a lot of driving, but finally got to camp at Moose creek campground since it wasn't raining.
I was so tired I forgot to take pictures. The long days of driving are starting to take a toll
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Next day we finally made it to Dawson City. Walked around town, ate some lunch at one of the few restaurants that were there. It was during the weekend of Moosehide Gathering, which is a yearly festival a few miles outside town that you can take a boat shuttle to. Hung out there for a few hours then decided to check out Midnight Dome, which another fellow traveller recommended. The road up to it is STEEP, I'm glad it wasn't that hot because I had to shift down to 1st gear for some of the sections.
Since it was the annual Moosehide Gathering, the town was pretty full and there were no hotel rooms or campsites available. Stopped by the local RV park to have a shower and fuel up, then decided to head up the Dempster.
One of the first signs you run across as you start the Dempster. I don't know what that is in miles but it seems like a lot
Drove though Tombstone Park, couldn't get a site at the campground so we stopped at the Interpretive center where it seems a lot of people camp in the parking lot. But since it was relatively early (9pm) and we had quite a few more hours of daylight left we kept driving. We found many nice looking campsites along the road, but every single one of them was overrun with mosquitoes. It was so bad that you almost couldn't breathe without inhaling a mosquito. So while they make great pictures, they're not that fun to camp in so we ended up pulling into a gravel pit and just sleeping there.
Not nearly as scenic, but the tradeoff was worth it. Still had mosquitoes, but they were manageable.
Since it was the annual Moosehide Gathering, the town was pretty full and there were no hotel rooms or campsites available. Stopped by the local RV park to have a shower and fuel up, then decided to head up the Dempster.
One of the first signs you run across as you start the Dempster. I don't know what that is in miles but it seems like a lot
Drove though Tombstone Park, couldn't get a site at the campground so we stopped at the Interpretive center where it seems a lot of people camp in the parking lot. But since it was relatively early (9pm) and we had quite a few more hours of daylight left we kept driving. We found many nice looking campsites along the road, but every single one of them was overrun with mosquitoes. It was so bad that you almost couldn't breathe without inhaling a mosquito. So while they make great pictures, they're not that fun to camp in so we ended up pulling into a gravel pit and just sleeping there.
Not nearly as scenic, but the tradeoff was worth it. Still had mosquitoes, but they were manageable.
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For those that are unfamiliar with the Dempster Highway, it's one of two roads in North America that lead to the Arctic Ocean, and the only one where the public can drive all the way to the end. The other one is the Dalton Highway in Alaska which ends at the oilfields in Prudhoe bay about 7 miles short of the Arctic ocean. The Dempster is almost entirely unpaved for 500 miles, and only has a couple of towns along the way.
I have a ton of pictures, but not much to say because it's essentially drive, stop for a photo or lunch, then drive some more.
The rough roads of the dempster started making my transmission cooler loosen up, so zip ties to the rescue.
I think it was the second night on the Dempster that all the driving took it's toll on my body. It could have been the constant pounding of the potholes or washboard, parts of the Dempster are really, really bad. Somewhere during that night, between starting a campfire in the pouring rain or rearranging my food box, I twisted my back so bad I could barely stand. Getting into the jeep was a chore, I couldn't even sit up or move around. Normally I would sleep with my head facing the rear door, but that night I hd to use the roll bar to pull myself in and sleep with my head against the back of the seats.
Fortunately, once i was able to get into the drivers seat after a lot of grunting and moaning, I was able to keep driving.
I have a ton of pictures, but not much to say because it's essentially drive, stop for a photo or lunch, then drive some more.
The rough roads of the dempster started making my transmission cooler loosen up, so zip ties to the rescue.
I think it was the second night on the Dempster that all the driving took it's toll on my body. It could have been the constant pounding of the potholes or washboard, parts of the Dempster are really, really bad. Somewhere during that night, between starting a campfire in the pouring rain or rearranging my food box, I twisted my back so bad I could barely stand. Getting into the jeep was a chore, I couldn't even sit up or move around. Normally I would sleep with my head facing the rear door, but that night I hd to use the roll bar to pull myself in and sleep with my head against the back of the seats.
Fortunately, once i was able to get into the drivers seat after a lot of grunting and moaning, I was able to keep driving.
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I have a feeling I'm just following a storm heading north, and that I've been under the same rain cloud for the past week an a half. The rain comes and goes for a while, but everything is still wet.
All that rain turns the dempster into a muddy, slippery mess. I have to be real careful getting out of the car, because the side steps are covered in mud that feels more like axle grease.
The rest of the drive is beautiful, but relatively uneventful. Except the roads broke the latch on my spare tire carrier, so that's another thing i gotta fix in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I'm able to use some bungee straps to hold it mostly closed until I figure out a solution.
All that rain turns the dempster into a muddy, slippery mess. I have to be real careful getting out of the car, because the side steps are covered in mud that feels more like axle grease.
The rest of the drive is beautiful, but relatively uneventful. Except the roads broke the latch on my spare tire carrier, so that's another thing i gotta fix in the middle of nowhere. Luckily I'm able to use some bungee straps to hold it mostly closed until I figure out a solution.
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- CA
Still catching up on my posting. I'm no longer counting the days because at this point I haven't really looked at a calendar and the days and all run together. At this point my trip is measured based on the people I meet and places I go. There were the fisherman I met by the river, one of whom was nice enough to give me his card and tell me to give him a call if I had any problems. Even though I just met him, it was amazingly comforting because whether I consciously knew it or not, driving an old jeep in a foreign country is stressful. Just knowing I had some type of contact info for someone closer than 2000 miles away eased my nerves.
Also met a teacher from Yellowknife who was doing a circular route around the rockies. Met him at Liard, and we kept running into each other at all the usual stops along the route up to Watson Lake. Had dinner together then parted ways as he was heading south on the Stewart Cassier while we continued further up.
Then there was the group of people who I first crossed passed with at Carcross, but didn't formally meet them until days later on the Dempster. They saw me in Carcross, and saw the stickers I had been placing on the typical landmark signs and recognized my jeep. I think they finally caught up to me in Eagle Plains, then last saw them as they were heading back from Tuk.
Anyway, because my back was still hurting, I was less willing to hop out of the car and take pictures, so I don't have as many to post. But here are a few from along the way.
I posted this previously but didn't caption it. The accurately named red river. I would find out later that the red color is naturally occurring from the minerals leaching from the rock, and is so acidic it has a PH of 1.
This is a typical view of what you'd be seeing for the next few days.
About a half hour past Eagle plains. I forgot to take pics of the restaurant and hotel, but it's not much. They're claim to fame is it's the first gas you're going to find on the Dempster after 370km of nothing
You can start to see the beginning of the mud formation on the jeep.
You can see I now have a nice even coat of mud across the jeep. Once it dries it forms a pretty nice shell around everything, including my trash bag hanging off the back.
Waiting for the cable drawn Peel river ferry. A few weeks before I started my trip, the yukon had some serious flooding and the ferry actually broke loose from it's cable and floated down river. Some people told me that trucks were stuck for days on the other side of the river waiting for them to repair it. Luckily it's back in operation now.
A closeup of my trashbag.
Stayed at a hotel in Inuvik this night, I think another night in the jeep would've been hell on my back.
Also met a teacher from Yellowknife who was doing a circular route around the rockies. Met him at Liard, and we kept running into each other at all the usual stops along the route up to Watson Lake. Had dinner together then parted ways as he was heading south on the Stewart Cassier while we continued further up.
Then there was the group of people who I first crossed passed with at Carcross, but didn't formally meet them until days later on the Dempster. They saw me in Carcross, and saw the stickers I had been placing on the typical landmark signs and recognized my jeep. I think they finally caught up to me in Eagle Plains, then last saw them as they were heading back from Tuk.
Anyway, because my back was still hurting, I was less willing to hop out of the car and take pictures, so I don't have as many to post. But here are a few from along the way.
I posted this previously but didn't caption it. The accurately named red river. I would find out later that the red color is naturally occurring from the minerals leaching from the rock, and is so acidic it has a PH of 1.
This is a typical view of what you'd be seeing for the next few days.
About a half hour past Eagle plains. I forgot to take pics of the restaurant and hotel, but it's not much. They're claim to fame is it's the first gas you're going to find on the Dempster after 370km of nothing
You can start to see the beginning of the mud formation on the jeep.
You can see I now have a nice even coat of mud across the jeep. Once it dries it forms a pretty nice shell around everything, including my trash bag hanging off the back.
Waiting for the cable drawn Peel river ferry. A few weeks before I started my trip, the yukon had some serious flooding and the ferry actually broke loose from it's cable and floated down river. Some people told me that trucks were stuck for days on the other side of the river waiting for them to repair it. Luckily it's back in operation now.
A closeup of my trashbag.
Stayed at a hotel in Inuvik this night, I think another night in the jeep would've been hell on my back.
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The next morning was the final stretch to Tuktoyuktuk and the Artic Ocean. Started out uneventful except I heard a popping sound coming from the front end while I was turning. It almost sounded a like a U-joint locking up or binding, but I actually didn't feel anything happen so I kinda ignored it and thought I'd look at it that night. Of course that was a mistake.
Halfway up to Tuk, which put me halfway between nowhere and the edge of nowhere, I decided to shift into 4-hi because the roads were so slippery. Thats when I found out what the popping sound was.
(In this picture, the clamp had already been removed)
In preparation for this trip I rebuild almost everything on the Jeep. Newly rebuild engine, transmission, transfer case, rear axles, ball joints, drag link, U-joints, etc. However, the one part I wasn't able to source was a right hand drive tie rod for a jeep cj. I've had it on back order from 2 different places for over a year, and even called up Crown to see if they had any available, but they informed me they no longer manufacture it. But I wasn't too worried about it, the tie rod joint still felt tight, and I felt it would be fine. But I guess the stress from all the rough roads finally stripped out the threads, to the point the TRE would just slip in and out.
What made it worse was I was stuck in the middle of the road in the rain, and although the Dempster is a pretty remote road, there a surprising amount of semi truck traffic delivering supplies. And those trucks don't slow down or move over for anyone. So in a panic, I desperately had to get the jeep off the road. So I shifted into 4-lo, locked the left front tire and just limped my way up a gravel incline. So stuck on the side of the road I hammered the tie rod as much as I could, then tightened the clamp until I was able to get it to grip. Wasn't great, but I was about 100 miles from reaching the Artic and I didn't want to turn around. So off we went but at a much slower pace, so instead of a 2.5 hour drive from inuvik, i think it ended up being 6-7 hour on the road.
Onward
Finally made it. At this point I was beaten down and just wanted to park.
We grabbed some dinner, walked around town, and explored the beach before heading back to the campsite.
Finally back at camp I figured I couldn't put off the inevitable and started crawling under the car. The ground mat that you see on the ground is actually a waxed canvas log carrier. A long time ago, I somehow got dragged into the youtube rabbit hole of custom boots being cut in half, bespoke work clothes, and waxed canvas. So, being easily manipulated, I decided I needed to buy something made of waxed canvas, but didn't want to spend 100's of dollars on something nice. So this log carrier was I think $20 or so. Bought it, threw my logs in it, and forgot about it for years. Until the night before my trip I saw it and thought, hmm....some type of bag that folds flat open might come in handy, even if just to hold my tools. So I threw it in the jeep at the last minute. But it's come in so handy on this trip as a creeper mat and a place to put tools.
Hard to show in a picture, but even with the clamp tightened all the way the tie rod was loose and would wiggle all around. Considering I was on the edge of the Arctic ocean and had trouble finding a can of coke, I think the chances of finding a replacement tie rod that would work was less than zero. I dug around my toolbox and all supplies, laying them out Apollo 13 style (anyone remember that movie?) and figured if I could shim the gap, I might be able to tighten the clamp enough to get it to hold. I was about the cut up my spare oil filter to make some shim stock, when I remembered the metal zip ties I had it my tool roll. So, shoving 3 of those in place and cranking down on the clamp, there it is.
Satisfied with my fix I went to bed. This is around 11pm, I believe the sun wouldn't set for another hour or so.
Halfway up to Tuk, which put me halfway between nowhere and the edge of nowhere, I decided to shift into 4-hi because the roads were so slippery. Thats when I found out what the popping sound was.
(In this picture, the clamp had already been removed)
In preparation for this trip I rebuild almost everything on the Jeep. Newly rebuild engine, transmission, transfer case, rear axles, ball joints, drag link, U-joints, etc. However, the one part I wasn't able to source was a right hand drive tie rod for a jeep cj. I've had it on back order from 2 different places for over a year, and even called up Crown to see if they had any available, but they informed me they no longer manufacture it. But I wasn't too worried about it, the tie rod joint still felt tight, and I felt it would be fine. But I guess the stress from all the rough roads finally stripped out the threads, to the point the TRE would just slip in and out.
What made it worse was I was stuck in the middle of the road in the rain, and although the Dempster is a pretty remote road, there a surprising amount of semi truck traffic delivering supplies. And those trucks don't slow down or move over for anyone. So in a panic, I desperately had to get the jeep off the road. So I shifted into 4-lo, locked the left front tire and just limped my way up a gravel incline. So stuck on the side of the road I hammered the tie rod as much as I could, then tightened the clamp until I was able to get it to grip. Wasn't great, but I was about 100 miles from reaching the Artic and I didn't want to turn around. So off we went but at a much slower pace, so instead of a 2.5 hour drive from inuvik, i think it ended up being 6-7 hour on the road.
Onward
Finally made it. At this point I was beaten down and just wanted to park.
We grabbed some dinner, walked around town, and explored the beach before heading back to the campsite.
Finally back at camp I figured I couldn't put off the inevitable and started crawling under the car. The ground mat that you see on the ground is actually a waxed canvas log carrier. A long time ago, I somehow got dragged into the youtube rabbit hole of custom boots being cut in half, bespoke work clothes, and waxed canvas. So, being easily manipulated, I decided I needed to buy something made of waxed canvas, but didn't want to spend 100's of dollars on something nice. So this log carrier was I think $20 or so. Bought it, threw my logs in it, and forgot about it for years. Until the night before my trip I saw it and thought, hmm....some type of bag that folds flat open might come in handy, even if just to hold my tools. So I threw it in the jeep at the last minute. But it's come in so handy on this trip as a creeper mat and a place to put tools.
Hard to show in a picture, but even with the clamp tightened all the way the tie rod was loose and would wiggle all around. Considering I was on the edge of the Arctic ocean and had trouble finding a can of coke, I think the chances of finding a replacement tie rod that would work was less than zero. I dug around my toolbox and all supplies, laying them out Apollo 13 style (anyone remember that movie?) and figured if I could shim the gap, I might be able to tighten the clamp enough to get it to hold. I was about the cut up my spare oil filter to make some shim stock, when I remembered the metal zip ties I had it my tool roll. So, shoving 3 of those in place and cranking down on the clamp, there it is.
Satisfied with my fix I went to bed. This is around 11pm, I believe the sun wouldn't set for another hour or so.
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Next day we got up, took a quick dip in the Arctic to wake us up, then headed back down the Dempster. After 4 days on the Dempster, I was getting kinda burned out and wanted to head back.
On the way back, I stopped by the spot where I broke down. You can see the drag marks from the front tires
Got it back to Inuvik, where another amazing Canadian welded the tie rod. At that point I didn't care about trying to save the tie rod, I'll have to come up with some other fix when I get home.
Stocked up on some last minute supplies, filled up the tank, and hit the road again for another 3 days of the Dempster
Spent the night at a random pullout along the road. Honestly, it's hard to pick a bad campsite along the Dempster, everywhere you stop has a great view.
On the way back, I stopped by the spot where I broke down. You can see the drag marks from the front tires
Got it back to Inuvik, where another amazing Canadian welded the tie rod. At that point I didn't care about trying to save the tie rod, I'll have to come up with some other fix when I get home.
Stocked up on some last minute supplies, filled up the tank, and hit the road again for another 3 days of the Dempster
Spent the night at a random pullout along the road. Honestly, it's hard to pick a bad campsite along the Dempster, everywhere you stop has a great view.