Trans Canada Expedition - Day 12 & 13

Note: Day 12 and Day 13 blogs are going to be combined due to lack of service on July 25

July 25, 2013 – Day 12

We never encountered any bears last night. Maybe it was because we made too much noise before sleeping, or maybe there just wasn’t any in the area. We woke up in the morning and packed our bags, making breakfast and learning how to filter water. Yukon well water tastes so good once filtered. When we left the campsite, the sky looked exactly like it did when we entered the campsite last night.

As we drove on, we made a detour to Dawson City, Yukon for a tour. Dawson City is a gold mine city where miners work and live in the area. Gold is also sold here. It is said that if you look under car tires, you can find gold nuggets. Wonder if it’s true… Anyway, it is such a beautiful city. The city buildings looked 1800s, like something out of an old western movie. We got into groups and toured the city area while Billy uploaded the photos and blogs, since there was no service at Moose Creek. Afterwards we had a choice of either fish’n’chips or ‘caribou’ burger for lunch. Turns out, the burger was only fish burger. Some of us were slightly disappointed.

We left Dawson City after lunch. Going back the way we came from, we turned into Dempster Highway. We crossed the bridge… and the atmosphere changed entirely. The land that stretches out from Dempster Highway is Aboriginal territory. However, it felt like we had entered into a different world all together. The land almost felt untouched. You can’t see civilization for miles and miles. The road is unpaved, and we drove through dirt, gravel and rock, as well as potholes. Then we got a flat tire.

The rock was pretty powerful to tear the tire to the extent that it could not be fixed. It was a good thing we had a mechanic in our HQ team and so we were able to replace the tire without breaking anything. We became even more careful than before about potholes from then on. The scenery was amazing as we go further and further north. Soon we can see the Arctic Circle.

Arctic Circle. 66^o 33’. It is an imaginary line that marks the entrance to the Arctic; however we can all see this amazing grey wall of fog that marks as the line for the Arctic Circle. We passed it before midnight (the sun is still up), took photos, and started writing our blogs. Some of the boys wanted to be the first to ‘piss off the cliff’, but there was no cliff to pee off of, so they resorted to the bushes. The girls on the other hand, ran towards the washroom as fast as possible.

We watched as the sun ‘sets’ on the west, continues to move through the north, and ‘rises’ on the east.

Fascinating, is it not?

Animals seen today: Snowshoe Hares

July 26, 2013 – Day 13

In the Arctic, for 6 months of the year, the sun never sets. For the other 6 months of the year, the sun never rises. As we were all writing out our blogs, a fog started to roll over the land, along with many, many mosquitoes. We hopped onto the cars and continued our journey. We saw the clouds spilled over the mountains, what a spectacular view.

Very soon after, we crossed over to the Northwest Territories – along with the time zone change (one hour ahead). Right after we crossed the invisible border, we saw a snowy owl flew by. And then a grizzly bear. As soon as we saw the bear we stopped, and watched it as it pass by. Some of us exclaimed that it looked so cute. After the grizzly walked far away, we drove off; and then we met several hunter vehicles. Hope they don’t catch the bear…

We continued driving hoping to see another bear or more animals and we drove through clouds! It is basically the same as driving through a fog or mist. As Billy said: it’s like something out of a horror movie. With the clouds all around us, we couldn’t see the sun anymore. The fog was so thick that we had to stop until it lifted a little to continue our journey.

We had to take a ferry across the river, but it doesn’t open until after 9AM. This became an excellent time for the drivers to take a snooze. Continuing on the road, we crossed another ferry. This time, when getting off the boat, the sprinter pulling the trailer got stuck and it took a while to be freed.

We finally reached Inuvik, NW! We were all so happy. We will be staying at a campsite for 2 nights. Everyone made their tents, unpacked their bags, and cleaned the vehicles.

While everyone was gathered together, Deputy Mayor Jim McDonald of Inuvik came for a visit. We were awarded ‘Tourist of the Week’ and we got presented a gift basket as well as our pictures taken to be posted in their newspaper next week. We’ll be able to see it when they email it to us. This is such a nice welcoming event. Billy went out to the local North-Mart, bought some food supplies, and made us a really nice dinner. Tonight we were supposed to have student promotions but none of the students have actually earned enough points for one. However, we had a most outstanding student recognition and that person is Crystal! She had been spectacular in all her work and more since the beginning of this camp.

Animals seen today: Snowy Owl; Grizzly Bear

Locations: Moose Creek; Dawson City, YT; Arctic Circle; Inuvik, NW

Tiffany

Day 12

Today is the day of, well quite frankly, amazement. We woke up with either our backs bent, our heads tilted, or our arms smished.   Honestly, I didn’t have a good sleep last night, but it was worth it. We cooked instant noodles and pumped to filter water. It was quite a usual morning. I understood the true pain of pumping up water, as I got closer to mother nature. We traveled with great speed to Dawson City, as we stopped for a quick visit. We experienced the amazing history of the wonderful city, as our entire gang of friends went shopping. Afterwards, we had lunch (fish and chips) then left for Inuvik! Along the way there were several hiccups, tire breaks and replacements, vehicle bumping and traveling in a very cautious order. But te most unfortunate, my PASSING OUT! Just few minutes before entering the Arctic Circle I PASSED OUT! Missing the dome and beautiful white protection screen of the arctic circle. Oh how I wonder how it looked like. Well, I didn’t miss all of it guess, as we arrived the arctic circle, we made a pee stop. Guys peed off the cliff, girls being civilized, peed in the outhouse. Now we sit here enjoying the midnight sun, began writing our blog. With the view of the protecting series of clouds.

Around 1 year before I came to Trans Canada expedition, I saw a TV show about the professors investigating and studying the Arctic, well one of the professors is my tutors husband (connections), but they were all relatively at their 40s, or even 50s. But now I stand here, a 12 year old, in the Arctic! I feel so blessed, thanks to Mom and Dad! As we travel on the dirt road, we come across several Monticle(s), Just like Billy always say, you must take the first step. Just as I mentioned in my essay, Monticle is my first step, well, first step to reality. I must work hard, and become of the person Monticle see me as! But lastly, if it wasn’t the generosity, and love from Mom and Dad I wouldn’t even be here, so credits to mom and dad! I love you!

The power of mother nature. I guess there’s really nothing much I can say, as today was pretty much a day of wonder,  Mother nature says it all.  

Day 13

The day of success, also the day of arrival. After on 8 hours of nonstop driving, we finally arrived INUVIK. That night was magical night, mostly black from the sleep, but other than that, magical.

Remember how I said I missed the Arctic Entrance? Well, thanks to the wonder of coincidences and mother nature, the fog began to approach and passed our vehicle, and I thankfully saw the dome (well half of it.) We then arrived a dock, with the boat leaving at 9:12. We had 4 hours to wait, oh well. Lets go sleepy bye!

Arriving at the campsite was a relief and delight. As we began to build tents, I found difficulty of releasing the tents and seeked for help. I realized, when there is a problem, you should solve it with all your ability, instead of relying on other’s knowledge.

Today is a complete 24 hours daylight day, hopefully I will fall asleep. As there is so much going through my head. I’m going to conclude my blog with Good night, sleep tight, enjoy the daylight.

Mickey

Where I am? ARCTIC CIRCLE! In fact, I don’t know where it is. I just know LAT 66° 33’ N. Now, I just feel more and more cold. Here just have 7 degrees Celsius! I want to know what about the Guangzhou weather. Cold! Today I buy some gift for myself. I don’t know what is it! I can’t sleep now. Ok! Good luck.

We got to our destination today. I feel tired today. We stay at car more that 35 hours! We sleep in the car. But today….. Today is the important day. Tomorrow we will go to the museum about here. The time is so fast. Now is the half of the time! The time is losing. I am more friendly with my friends. It looks like beautiful. I feel cold now. Have a good night! And say Billy with all HQ! Thank you very much.

Howard

Day 12

This morning I woke up and noticed a few things. One was the fact that I had fallen asleep during our midnight car travels past the arctic circle. Second, we were almost at Inuvik. After, we went on two ferrys and drove just a bit more to arrive at our final destination, Inuvik.

It’s been a long trip, with hiccups, accident, and bad days, but we finally made it. This was confirmed by a sign I saw that read, end of the road. We were at the end of Canada and at the top of the world. Any lightheadedness I might’ve had is either due to this fact or being in a car for very long. But I digress. Thanks to Monticle, I am now in Inuvik after a great memorable trip.

Day 13

After much hype and a few days of travel, we have finally reached the arctic circle. Since this is a memorable moment. I should describe my surroundings. On my right is an endless sunlight that will go on forever. On my left is an unpermeable fog, or seemingly so by my untrained eye, that represents the border known as the arctic circle. In fact, if somebody told me that the two scenes represented the light and dark sides respectively.

It’s a weird feeling really, finally reaching one of our goals. A feeling of joy, success and even regret that on the way here I did not pay more attention and see more things. But that’s a passing feeling. Inuvik, here we come!

Crystal

After quickly packing up our belongings, we had a yummy instant noodle breakfast. We loaded everything and headed to Dawson City. Many hours passed and we reached the town of “gold”. Billy quickly told us about some of the history and places to visit in Dawson City. WE split into a few groups and started touring. After an hour and a half of exploring and souvenir-buying, everyone quickly gathered at the meeting area.

Everyone enjoyed a delicious fish and chip or burger lunch and left to continue today’s travelling. It took us about two hours to reach Dempster Highway, which began our off-terrain journey. Since I was co-driver, I decided not to sleep just in case it would effect the driver. However, it was totally worth it. I enjoyed and was fascinated by the beautiful Yukon scenary. As we reached the Arctic Circle at 12 am located LAT 66° 33’ N, there was a ring of fog surrounding the area.

The temperature had also gradually dropped to crowd 7 degrees Celsius. We started writing our blogs at a rest stop after we took a group photo.

I am so happy that are so close to our target destination, Inuvik. I think that tonight we will be pushing it for six more hours, to Inuvik hopefully arriving in the morning. As I am continuing my blog while on the sprinter, I can see the moon on my right and the sun on my left. Even though it is around one in the morning, it is still very bright… I am so awe strucked by the amazing power of the 24 hour daylight.

Since we were not able to upload the blog yesterday, this post will be 2 days more. We had two stops before dining for the rest of the morning. We finally arrived at Inuvik in the afternoon and we quickly set up the area that we will be staying at for the next two nights.

Tomorrow, we will be exploring the nearby area and hopefully I will have enough money to buy the souvenirs I want.

Jason Wong

Day 12

We woke up at 7:00 a.m. and took down the tents. I still feel tired. Anyways, we had instant noodles for breakfast with corn and tuna. The breakfast taste good. We drove to Dawson city and shopped there for an hour. Most stores had gold jewerelly that was quite expensive. I got myself a interesting T-shirt. We had fish and chips for lunch. I haven’t had that for years and it still tastes good. The we continued driving to the Arctic Circle. We are currently in the artic circle as I am writing my blog.

Day 13

I slept most of the way to the ferry. I still felt tired but I stayed up and was the only one in the Sprinter that was awake. We were on the ferry which unsurprisingly not long. We got stuck getting out the ferry so me and my team got off to wait. We drove to Happy Valley, Inuvik to camp for the next two nights. We cleaned up the vehicles and had steak for dinner which tasted awesome.

Alan

Day 12

Today is the 12 day and we made it to the artic circle. It is pretty cold here because it is midnight but I couldn’t tell because the sun is still up! Today we also went to Dawson city it was pretty cool there was lots of gold on sale there and the houses looks really old.

Day 13

Today we got to our final destination! Inuvik. We went to our campsite  it was pretty nice there the washroom was pretty clean there was also a play ground but its too small to play on. After we set up our tents some of us had our shower the shower wasn’t bad. It was the best (I think) shower so far the water was the perfect temperature and it was clean after our shower we ate dinner The dinner was great too we had steak and tomato sause rice, It was great.

Calvin

I have not driven so much in my life before. It was very interesting to be driving in almost 24 hours of daylight. To be honest I really do not remember much from the morning. On the other hand we have finally reached the city of Inuvik. I have never felt so good arriving in such a little town. Also I have never been so sleepy in my life. Luckily I got 4 hours of sleep while waiting for the ferry. I feel like I have accomplished something others did not. Tomorrow we visit the town.

Mireille

Day 12

We woke up at 7am. We were specially fast to pack our tent. I slept with all the girls in the tent and with HQ team in motel. For breakfast we ate instant noodles, tuna and corn. Then we went to Dawson city and stayed there for about 3 hours. There we shopping, take picture and ate lunch. I order a fish and chips. It was good. Then we went to Inuvik direction. In the middle of the road, one of our car has a problem. Glou glou.. So cold here. I wear my glove, scarf…

Day 13

Last night we all slept in the car. I was so tired and it was so cold. I think it was difficult for drivers, and co-drivers. Thanks! Today we finally arrived to Inuvik J I took my shower! So happy. For tonight we will camp but it is ok because the washroom is quiet clean. Here is not very cold, we can said that is it was hot this afternoon.

Roman

Day 12

I am now writing it Actic Circle. Right here is like a dome, the left side is foggy and the right side is sun behind mountains. And where they meet is a cluster of burning clouds. As we pass through the mountain, it will be 24 hours of day light every day. I don’t know why I don’t know what to write I guess it’s because everything is hard to describe…

Day 13

Today we haved arrived at our final destination: Inuvik! We will here for 2 nights. The mayor payed a visite to us, and said our photo will be in the city news paper next week. I thought Inuvik would be much colder than 13 degrees Celsius. Inuvik has a population of around 3500 people. We are having BBQ for dinner, as I am writing this blog all I can think of us the juicy steak and ribs.

Owen

Today we finally arrived the place that we are dying to reach – Arctic Circle.

After having fried fish and French fries for lunch, we started to travel the highest highway in the Earth – dempster highway.

On the way, we had captured many beautiful pictures. I even could find exactly that mountain in the postcard. I know why the postcard cheap now.

Before entering the Arctic Circle, I saw a layer between south and North that full of mountains and snows.

We stopped on the half of the way to watch the sun. The sun in mid-night. It was shine and bright. I had never seen this before.

Although we had to sleep in the car, we all felt happy.

This morning, we finally reach our final destination, Inuvik. There are no more roads to further in Canda. For our reward, Billy was going to BBQ for us.

Go Go Go jungle!

Jennifer

Day 12

We’re at the edge of the Arctic Circle right now and Quince has misplaced his glasses. I am pretty sure that it has slid into the back with the luggage. He’ll have to look for it later.

I find it very interesting that there’s a veil of mist around 66°33° N just as we enter the circle. The temperature abruptly dropped from 12 degrees Celsius to about 7.5 degrees Celsius in an instant, thus creating that boundary of fog.

We stopped in Dawson City this afternoon and though the history of the place was amazing and it was great to see a place that I’d read so much about, that’s not what stuck out to me the most. It also was not that brilliant, thousand-dollar topaz pendant that made me cry, either. It was just after lunchtime and we were clearing out and throwing out the takeout boxes. When a man walked by me, looking through the trash bin. He was looking for something to eat. I brought him a box of extra fries and he thanked me with such a grateful smile that it really made my day. I did a good thing today and I really wonder what that man was going through and now where he’s headed. As for us, we head past the real midnight sun towards Inuvik.

Day 13

I hate people who don’t take responsibility for their mistakes. Worst of all, people who push the blame onto others. I am sure my tentmates share my sentiments as well, so please don’t say that it is anything personal against JJ and that it’s me trying to impose a authority as an older sibling. I’ve stopped that long ago, so it has little to do with that, more like it’s the wrong thing to do it’s the wrong thing to do regardless of who they are and what their relationship is.

We complained, but also resolved the problem, though I believe the complaints were justified. I could say that the tents’ mesh was purposely caught in the tent bag’s zipper because of JJ’s declaration that he’d left the Roots tent in the same condition we’d left it in for his team the previous day, giving off a spiteful and almost hostile feel, especially considering the fact that he himself had spent all of the last tent set-up day complaining loudly about how dirty the girls had made the tent. We told him nothing about  the amount of garbage we’d dug out from inside his Roots tent and even Quince’s flashlight that had been packed up with it. He complained to everyone who would listen and even had Peggy run the message to us that day. So why is it that today when we struggled to get the tent bag open and called for JJ to look at what his team had done in an obvious lack-of-attention to detail job, we had abuse hurled at us? I stopped the girls and had them ask for help because I realized that if we continued to tug on the zipper, the tent’s mesh would trip, but we were told by Billy that he and the HQ team were not there to babysit us. So with JJ not accepting responsibility and pushing the blame onto us and no support from Billy or the HQ team, we struggled with it for about ten minutes while the other groups turned a blind eye to us and quickly set up their own tents, until Calvin came to help us out with the bag. The mesh is not broken, but it is now worn terribly thin in some places, Later on, some of the girls were called aside and told not to complain, but to resolve the problem, and to that I can say we attempted implement different solutions, but were shot down at many different points and there were only minor complaints from the girls I was with, and we were told this after the problem was resolved.

You may write it off as simply naïvete and that “oh life isn’t fair.” I know that it isn’t fair. I’m only attempting to explain things as I’ve seen them and expressing my own indignation in this outlet of a blog.

I’m really hungry right now, having not eaten in three meals and being co-driver through the night. We saw a grizzly bear! We also had to wait for about four hours for a ferry to take us across the river. Everyone fell asleep, but I couldn’t. I am still feeling full of energy!

Hi MAHISHA OKAY! HI. HI. HI. I GET IT OKAY???? BILLY READ OUT YOUR ENTIRE MESSAGE TO EVERYBODY. I LIKE HOW YOUR SUMMER’S GOING WITH MICHELLE. SO HI GUYS, DO YOU HEAR MY VOICE TALKING TO YOU NOW???

Ryan

Day 12

Today is tomorrow. Get it? Well we are doing this in the middle of the night. Also we are doing this inside a pocket of space secluded from the outside world. There is literally a wall of cloud that is acting like a barrier.

Todaying I am feeling excitement really. we made it into the Arctic circle finally and inside this little barrier it is as if time has stopped. This gives a somewhat clam relaxation that cannot really be felt anywhere else in the world.

If we continue our trip we will soon find the 24 hour s\un in that zone for half a year \the sun never sets I am gonna assume that like how entering this zone caused an immediate change in so enery if will do so when we leave.

Day 13

Today we finally reached Inuvik the destination we have been yearning for in this entire expedition.

Today I am feeling quite unacomplished. Even though we made it to Inuvik it feels like our job is not done.

Most of the day consists of us sitting in the Sprinter admiring the scenery. Tomorrow we will be admiring the sights of Inuvik. Apparently there are some very exotic artifacts. I hope my parents would allow and enjoy my purchase of them.

JJ

Day 12

Once again, we write the blogs in the Midnight sun. Today we finally reached the arctic circle at 66°33’N. This morning we woke up at 0701 and packed up all our gear by 0744. At 0836, we had a breakfast of more instant noodles, tuna and corn. By the time it was 0945, we were on the move to Dawson City, the real life Eldorado. At Dawson we visited a collection of historical sites such as the SS Keno and we also had a while to go shopping. Following the shopping we had a late lunch of fish and chips. Once we were finished our lunch, we were on the move once again towards the Arctic Circle.

Day 13

We started today off at about 0022, matter we did not end the day yesterday until 0333, where we pulled to the side of the road for a rest break. Today we finally reached our destination of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. To get home, we had to take two ferry rides and a long drive. When we finally got to Inuvik’s Happy Valley campground, we were met by the town’s mayor who presented us with gifts and honored as the tourists of the week.

Kendra

Yesterday night, we spent most of our time on the car, except for the usual pee breaks. After more hours, we reached our destination! Inuvik! It was surprisingly not cold there and I regret burying so many new warm clothes. As far as I’ve seen Inuvik, it is a small community with a great culture. Actually, today the mayor of Inuvik visited us and told us about the city and took a picture with us. He also told us that this picture will be featured in the town’s newspaper, too. We had a lecture and then we got time to enjoy the shower and do some laundry. For dinner we had steak!! Tomorrow, we are going to visit the town and learn more about their culture.

Kathy

Day 12

Today was the twelfth day in Monticle. We traveled almost all day and achieved in Arctic Circle finally. We must thank for the people who drove the car for us. We started at the campground we stayed yesterday, when we achieved have the temperature dropped from 20 to 7 degrees Celsius, it was cold outside but all of us are excited. Now is 12 o’clock at night, stand under the Arctic Circle. LAT 66° 33” half of the sky is light, half is dark, the view is very well. Before come here, we also had sight-seeing at Dawson city in the afternoon. There are may old house there, just like we stayed in Hollywood.  I bought some gifts there for my family members and friends. We saw a lot of beautiful views on the way. What a happy day!

Day 13

Today was the thirteenth day in Monticle. We had not camping or stay in motel yesterday. When we arrived in Arctic Circle last night, we wrote our blog there and have a rest, then we continue our travel, we travelled all the morning until waiting for the ferry. At that time, we were sleeping in the car. On the way to harbor, we saw the bear, I was so excited, but the bear was far away from us, so I couldn’t photo it clearly. What a pity! At noon, we get to the location of our trip. We are already in the North Circle now. We will stay here for two days, then we will start to back to Toroto. It’s not easy to get here. We happened on a lot things, but finally we did it. I like all the trip. I think I had a good time.

Grace

Today, we finally reached the Arctic Circle. Before we entered, the temperature droved rapidly, it is actually summery, but we all feel like winter. We took picture when we arrived, and when we look at the Arctic, we find out that the sun is still rising even if it is 12 o’clock. We had lunch in Dawson city, most of us bought some souveniers at the shops, and we saw some old buildings. We now cannot see any shops or motels, and we will camp tonight. The road we drove were rocky when we entered Demster Highway, and the ditches on the two sides were deep. We are all very excited about tonight’s camping.

We slept in the vehicle last night, the temperature was really low, even if I put on my sweater, it was still cold. We waited for the ferry to cross the river, it won’t start until 9, so after most of us wake up at 7 in the morning, we waited inside the car. After crossing the river, we arrived in Inuvik, which is our destination. The temperature rises again, and the sun here will rise for all day. We will stay here for about 2 days, I am so happy to see clean washroom and shower in this campground. We starved all day, so we are all way excited when Billy told us we would have BBQ for dinner.

Matt

Day 12

Awww Man it’s cold! We are finally in the Arctic Circle, on Day 12! It feels so good to start winter in July, no flies and mosquito. We just entered the Arctic Circle and luckily I wasn’t asleep to witness the entering of the misty fog. The misty fog is the border of the Arctic circle from the south. It is truly an amazing sight to see the misty layer. Looking at the sprinters and trailer right now and they are so dirty. It is going to suck so much to clean them, I hope we clean them when we get back to HQ. Luckily we only had one problem along the way and that is a  flat tire. But everyone else is “eh ok”. I am so speechless of what I just saw I don’t even know what to write now. Billy just said we might sleep out tonight, right here, right now, with no tents maybe. I hope I can describe it tomorrow because now I am getting ready for the cold.

Day 13

We are finally in Inuvik and it took us about 10 hours to get here. We just had an awesome BBQ pork chop and rice and tomato sauce dinner. I wish we could get seconds but one is good enough. We had to take 2 ferry rides to get here. The first one took crazy long, about 4 hours, because we were there too early. Now at the Happy Valley Campground, we are all just chilling around because today is a rest day. Most of us just started to do our plank. Our plank might be placed in the “sign post forest” and we are all trying our best to make them nice. My group has our call sign Motivation and the date and our name on it. So far I only finished carving out the “M” and it takes forever to carve it out! Now we are all about to play cards and we’re all probably going to sleep late.

Mike

Day 12

66° 33’N. That’s the longtitude and latitude of the Arctic Circle and it is pretty cold right now. As of now, it is 12:06 a.m. and it is still bright, but only dawn bright, and not noon bright. We’re resting for a while here then continuing our push to Inuvik. Although I’m freezing, I still feel excited, though I have to wear more next time, especially for my legs, as I am only wearing normal pants. One more thing to say is the visual divide of the Arctic Circle. Because of the big temperature change, there is a visible “cloud line” (Picture) that separates night, middle and 24 hour sunlight.

Day 13

SUCCESS! We have arrived at our destination which in a sense is also our half-way point for this trip, as we still have our return journey back to HQ. Throughout yesterday;s and today’s trip, I saw a lot of amazing scenery, and my camera battery is flat and my spare battery is halfway there too L Now that I have arrived at Inuvik, I have this weird feeling. I still feel excited, less excited but still pretty excited. However, I have this feeling that keeps eaging/pushing me behind my excitement and I’m not really sure what it is.

Anyways, now that I’m in Inuvik, I have some things to say. Firstly, it’s warmer than I thought, I don’t even need ski pants. Second, it’s more “towny” than I thought. I first thought that Inuvik was a very rural place when it actually isn’t. Thirdly, a surprise visit from Inuviks mayor. It was something none of us expected and we had a short Q and A, pictures and a gift bag. Tomorrow, we’re having a tour of Inuvik, as we’re staying here for 2 days. According to Billy, he’s going to give a tour of everything, might last 8 to 10 hours. Last thing before I end, THERE ARE STILL MOSQUITOES IN INUVIK.

Marco

Day 12

This is like colder than Korea but it is not supposed to be though, maybe it is because I don’t have so much clothes on. By the way WE FINALLY REACHED THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. We did it in 12 days, not sure if it is fast or slow. It is 12:10 AM Right now and the sun is still here. It feels so awesome like that. It is so cold, can’t write much, bye now!

Day 13

We finally went to our final destination, it is Inuvik. Inuvik is actually pretty hot, I thought it would be colder. The weather is really good in here. We are now at Happy Valley Park, we are staying here for 2 days. I am so excited about today’s dinner. Billy says that it is going to be really good. I am really hungry right now. My team is carving a piece of wood with our team name and the Monticle logo. I think it is hard, I am going to do it now, bye!

Justin Tang

Today we viewed yet the most astonishing scenery in our journey. In the morning, we stopped at the city of Dawson, a small town which prosper during the gold rush. Till now, even after century, legacy of the golden ages can still be seen. In the city were some nice jewellery shops setting gold souvenirs, but they were too expensive.

As we leave Dawson City, we entered the most famous highway of Canada, the Dempster Highway. The scenery was magnificent! Though our body was suffering from the bumpy road our eyes were treated with the most beautiful scenery of Canada. In order to catch up some pace, we had to drive non-stop overnight. After hours of driving, we reached the arctic circle at midnight. We spot a grizzly bear as we venture deeper to the arctic, the predator kept a distance from our car, we couldn’t see clearly, but it is a thrill big enough to keep us all awake the rest of the night.

After a whole-night-long drive on the Dempster Highway, we finally arrived our destination, Inuvik. After days of hardwork, we have finally completed half of the journey. Upon our arrivals, we were visited by the deputy mayor of Inuvik. A tradition of the city where the mayor visits a group of tourists daily in order to promote the tourism of Inuvik.

Lemuel

Day 12

Finally reached the artic circle just before midnight. By the way, the sun is still up and it looks like its some time around 6. Before that, we made a short stop at Dawson city for a little sightseeing and a late lunch. We also hit a bump in the road several times literally since we’re on dirt road from here. We also figuratively hit a bump when we got a flat tire. Luckily we managed to quickly fix it with minimal trouble. Right now it is around 7C and we’re expecting it to drop soon.

Day 13

About 500km from the Artic Circle is Inuvik, a small town with approximately 3500 people. This is where the road ends: we have reached our destination. In this small town, there is 24hr sunlight. It could be 3 in the morning and there still would be day light. The drive up to Inuvik took about 12 hours and on our way we saw grizzly bears and a ton of mist. We’re expecting to stay here for about tow days. Going to visit some attractions tomorrow, might see some artic animals, who knows?

Edwin Chan

Where midnight sun at the Arctic circle our blog in the cold. Today we drove from Moose Creek to Dawson City and in Arctic Circle we will be driving to Inuvik probably. When we reached to Dawson City we had free time until our lunch time. At lunch we had the choice of fish’n chips or fish burger. Dawson City was a city of goldminers so there were a lot of dug up rocks. Half way to the Arctic Circle the long wheel base sprinter got flat tire which end up requiring us to change for the spare. We continued our journey after the spare tire to get to the Arctic Circle so we reached there around 23:25, the end…

I continued driving from the Arctic Circle until we reached to Inuvik As we were driving there was a heavy mist/fog that was pretty scary since we couldn’t really see ahead of us but only the ground ahead. We had to stop at the side of the highway so we could let the fog/mist disappear. After several hours going through the mist we had to stop for around seven hours for a ferry to open. When we finished one ferry, we have to get on another one to get back on the highway. Once we got back on the highway it took us about 3 hours to reach Inuvik. This is the end of our first long ride.

Edwin Cheung

Day 12

Today, we finally reach the Arctic Circle at 11:55pm. IT is my first time, Is maybe my once life time chance be in Arctic Circle. We are in the LAT 66°33N. I can feel the different in temperature and climate change. I can see from line, where mostly the tree short or dead, because of temperature. The far in we reading the lower tempurters. Thank mom and dad, love you J

Day 13

We continue drive through the night, on a bumy ride through Arctic Circle. We have above 5 hour ride in the Arctic Circle. Later, I see moon on the right side and sun on the other side, they move ever ever comple of hours. It is weird to set it move around. Also, we have a crazy fug ride. We reach to Inuvik at 1:30 a.m. Then we were to the Happy Valley campground to settle down. I feel we have shot, it is not that cold as we through. We have reach our detination Inuvik.

Quince

Today is the best day ever. We reached the artic circle, sadly I lost my glasses in the car. Someone saw it fell. But she didn’t pick it up, which leads to a great mess. I can’t see right now, so I have to look for my glasses. Oh, we went to thousand is land and go shopping, so yeah.

Michael Fung

Inuvik literally means “the place of man”. Supposedly, here, the half destination of the whole trip, is where we could find the true definition of a ‘man’, or human beings. When we first arrived here and settled in the Happy Valley Campground, we received a warm greeting and some souvenirs from the mayor Mr. Macdonald. I did not expect his visit at first because it seemed like we thirty people might come here to disrupt the placidity of the 3500-head city. Yet, through the mayor’s eyes I saw the happiness and buoyancy brought the youthful, naïve but also spiritual and emotional kids (and some adults + a pet dog named Hazel). But are human beings supposed to be like that?

When the 7-male tent group and the 8-female tent group picked their roots tent bags, the female group found out that their tent bag was not packed properly – i.e. the tarp got stuck on the zipper. They doubted that the bag they picked were the same one that they packed in the Moose Creek Campground (two days ago). When they said that the improperly packed bag actually belonged to JJ’s group, JJ rejected it and kept on dealing with the one he picked (which was packed properly in comparison). I personally also doubted that JJ has picked up the right one, but without much evidence, the girls could only suck it up and deal with it. Well, in this incident I saw the world filled partially with selfishness, but also forgiveness and well-temperedness. After the strenuous overnight drive, Billy demonstrated another explicitly excellent and representative example of leadership skills – he did not find anyone to substitute him, he figured out the way from HQ to Inuvik by himself, he handled the beautiful 30-men dinner in which we had steak, carrots, corns and tomato sauce (and sometimes the bland and nutrition-wise unattractive instant noodles), he even handled the flat tire of the long-wheel sprinter by himself too! This trip has cost him tons of troubles, but as a leader, he did not utter a single word of complaint in front of us (even though it is not hard to imagine that he did in his heart, but it is merely a guess).

On a second thought, the overnight drive could be so dull and bland that almost no one could interpret it as an enjoyable one.  Yet, he told me that once you figure out a way to interpret the trees and the beautiful natural sceneries (although repetitive somehow) in a different but refreshing way, then it will be so funny, so meaningful and so enjoyable. Before he told be this, I had been thinking about how to deal with the repetitive sceneries… I started to stare at the clouds, the trees, the ponds and the wildlife… almost every surrounding in a different perspective. As the car reached gradually nearer and nearer to Inuvik, my hunger and desire for civilization grew. Before being kept in the Sprinter for so much time, I did not assume myself having a chance or sentiment of cherishing how lovely it is to encounter civilization or witness civilized features! What a spectacular change! Mom and dad, there are a lot more to be uttered here, but since I am short of time (typing all the blogs before 12 in NorthWest Territories and upload them), please wait for me and my 69-dollar piece of artwork (a whale that was made of rusted crap of steel, but somehow it is so encapsulating) once back! Bye! Looking forward to seek for more information about Inuvik, a place of MAN!