Well, that sure was a great trip, and we are so glad we set aside the time to take it at the pace we wanted. It is really a long distance and it would have felt rushed any other way. We are also glad that the timing worked out as well as it did. We originally wanted to take this trip 9 years ago using our old Jeep Wrangler and our roof top tent, but it didn’t work out for many reasons. In a way we are glad that it got delayed. 9 years ago, you couldn’t drive to Tuktoyaktuk. That being said, we suspect that a lot of the places we went will become crowded in the near future. Talking to locals, it sounds like they are expecting a lot more people in the coming years and we are glad that we were only the 3rd vehicle to drive to Tuktoyaktuk this summer (and this summer was only the 2nd summer that the road to Tuktoyaktuk was open).
On top of that, climate change really is apparent up north. Some of the areas we visited this summer we had previously been to 8 years ago. It really is clear that many of the glaciers are retreating, some of the mountains have less snow on them, forests are struggling with drought/disease, and there were some pretty impressive record-breaking high temperatures this summer. The cause of the change is naturally up for debate, but there is no sense denying that it is changing. It makes us even more thankful for seeing it when we did.
The truck was a champ and it was the perfect vehicle for the trip. It was so comfortable and we were happy to call it home. Its highway speed ended up being perfect and well matched with semi-trucks. Our high ground clearance, awesome approach and departure angles, and 4WD let us safely get to places that we wouldn’t have been able to get to in another vehicle (even our Jeep Wrangler). We did use 4WD several times and diff locks to get unstuck a few times, but it was really the huge ground clearance, large tires, and awesome approach and departure angles that we relied on day after day to get to cool camp spots. For a big truck, it’s awfully small (in a good way)!
Anyway, we are thankful that we were able to take the time to go to such beautiful places. Many thanks to all that have helped us in preparation for and during our trip.
Now that we are home, we plan on changing things up a bit, so we think we will list the truck for sale shortly. It’s a great vehicle, and we will miss it, but we went on the trip we have been planning for years and it’s time for us to do some other things.
Trip at a Glance
Number of Days – 133
Total number of Canada/US border crossings – 8
Number of ferries/barges – 13
Miles on Pavement – 9,478.3
Miles on Dirt/Mud/Gravel – 2,521
Miles on Ferries – 618.7
Total Miles – 12,618
Average Fuel Cost – $3.909 USD/Gallon
Average Mileage – 10.7 miles per gallon
Average Mileage – 22 liters per 100 km
Nights above Arctic Circle – 19
Number of meals that we ate out – 2
Number of campfires that we started – 0
Number of photographs taken – >5,000
Total number of old friends we met up with – 19
Number of vehicles that we helped – 4
Number of times we used fuel from jerry cans – 17
Number of times we got stuck – 0
Number of times we almost got stuck – 2 (thankful for 4WD with diff locks!)
One of our favorite parts of the whole trip was all the wildlife that we had the opportunity to spend time with. We kept track of all the large animals that we saw along the way.
Grizzly – 6 (including 1 cub)
Black Bears – 22 (including 4 cubs)
Elk – 1
Porcupine 3
Stone Sheep – 12
Dal Sheep – 16 (including 4 babies)
Moose – 14
Bison – 43 (including 12 babies)
Beaver – 7
Bald Eagle – 14
Golden Eagle – 4
Wolf – 1
Caribou – 11
Musk Ox – 95 (including about 5 babies)
Owl – 2
Humpback Whale – 2
Gray Whale – 12
Lynx – 1
Salmon – far too many to count
Wabi-sabi Overland 