Heather Harbord & Barbara Sherriff – “Heather and Barbara’s Trip to Tuktoyuktut”

Heather looking very pleased indeed…she’s been looking forward to this trip for a looong time…
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Geologically speaking, it was a looong trip as well!
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

The history of the gold rush was amazing
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

So too was the technology of it. I had no idea it was so dependent on fire and water. And now I know what “hitting paydirt” really means!
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Whaddya mean, the Dempster is CLOSED?
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Amazing
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

There be birds…but no moose…at Two Moose Lake.
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Flowers too
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

And fearless ravens.
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

The weather was…well, $^&%#$@!!!!
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Big birds
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Inuvik
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

It’s amazing what water and repeated freeze/thaws can create.
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Looks positively balmy
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

The long way home
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Wash me
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Drunken buildings in Dawson City
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

I’d never heard of Chicken, Alaska…and I think I won’t soon forget it
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

On top of the World – over Kluane National Park
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Not only did Barbara and Heather survive…it would appear they’re already gearing up for the next adventure!
– H. Harbord & B. Sherriff

Heather Harbord & Barbara Sherriff – “Heather and Barbara’s Trip to Tuktoyuktut”
by Andrew Bryant, 18 Oct 2018.

Heather unfortunately couldn’t make it – but Barbara stepped up and gave a marvellous account of their epic trip to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. via the Dempster Highway.

What an adventure!  Barbara was funny, informative, and vivid.  I can only imagine what it would be like to encounter a “road closed” sign under such circumstances.  For me, the best parts were the history of the Gold Rush (now I know what paydirt means), the intricacies of the geology (how the gold got there was really neat), and the technology of extraction (I had no concept of just how laborious and time-consuming a process it was).

The weather was not the best, and there were a few disappointments, but it sure looked like a lot of fun.   We laughed to learn why it’s called “Chicken, Alaska” (because they couldn’t spell “ptarmigan”), the drunken buildings of Dawson City taught us about the problems of building on permafrost, and hey, what’s not to like about a place that has pingos?

Fantastic, wonderful stuff.  I wanna go.