What a drive today. That was tough.
I had no idea what six and a half hours of washboard, potholed, slick, muddy road driving was like.
And, now, I do.
I get to do that three more times and I think I’m done for life!
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After the first 100 miles, I didn’t think I was going to make it. Every time I’d hit an especially rough patch, I’d tense up my body. After three hours of that, I was completely worn out and didn’t know how I would survive 800 more miles of the same.
Desperate, I recognized that I had to focus on keeping my body relaxed as I hit the hard spots and flew around on the road.
I realized that it was not so much the Dempster that was wearing me out, but my overly tense response to it. (Seems to be a theme in my life.)
Once I remembered to loosen up, it got a lot easier. That said, it was a constant mantra that I had to keep repeating to myself and did not come naturally.
(The mantra also didn’t help when I was going down a muddy decline, felt my Mini loosing traction, and started to slide sideways down the hill.)
***
Okay, so now that I’ve told you how challenging it was, I can show you how extraordinary it was!
I was a lucky driver with a rare blue sky day.
This must be the arctic
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Early in the morning on the Dempster Highway
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Not much traffic
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I saw my second moose in Two Moose Lake
The long and winding Dempster
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13 Comments
WOW!!!!
(The scenery & your determination)
You’re an amazing woman.
Jennifer, what would you have said a year ago if you could go back in time and show yourself these videos? You probably wouldn’t believe it. Imagine what you’ll be doing in another year? Senator Jennifer, perhaps?
The only thing I want to caution you about is a sense of “what now?” since you’ve been looking toward this trip as an ultimate goal for so long. Once it’s over, I hope you will choose another lofty goal that is a little outside of your “comfort zone” and strive to reach it. You’ve proven that you have what it takes, and that’s a truly rare quality. Very admirable!
AMAZING!!! Good for you!
how awesome, you have made my morning.
2nd moose in two moose lake
i’d suspect that many of life’s most fatiguing experiences were mostly strenuous because of how we dealt with them. i can just envision the white knuckles on that guy that was hosing off his rig.
may your words ‘loosen up’ be virtual valium for all of us this holiday weekend!
YEAH!!!!!!!
Ditto.
And you are doing a great job of bringing us along for the ride.
May I suggest a theme song?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUDtFdnn9oQ
Bob
Bob. Actually I keep hearing the Wonder Woman theme song in my head when I was watching the videos. Sadly though, it’s been playing in my head all week. I think I need help.
I’d drive that road at 50+mph. At a higher speed the shocks help the tires skip over the top of the wash boards for a smoother ride. Of course driving at the higher speed means you have to also slow down from the faster speed for the bad sections. Give it a try on wash boards, you’ll be amazed at the difference.
Thanks for nice videos. On your way home check out the North Canol Road from Ross River. It’s a truly a “least traveled road” with great scenery. I did all these roads (Dempster, Top of the World, etc.) on a long distance equipped dirt bike. North Canol road was my favorite.
So happy for you! Congrats!
See you tomorrow???
Great post. I loved the videos. I can imagine the dishes, pots and pans flying about in the back. Did I hear you say Eagle Plains was the half-way point? Maybe a rest day is in order. Crawl around underneath your rig in the mud just to kill time. Check if everything seems secure and tight. Then press on the next day.
Don’t be afraid of getting onto the loose stuff on a gravel road. I used to maintain gravel roads for a living and can say with certainty that you will encounter less pot holes and washboarding than if you stay in the tire tracks. Take it easy and you will soon get feel for what a safe speed is there, and remeber that even when driving in the wheel tracks you can end up in the loose stuff with out warning, so it’s best to drive at a reasonable speed for it anyway.
If you are in a heavy vehicle like the truck shown in the above video, then you have to be more carefull of collapsing the shoulder which can cause a roll over, but as demonstarted by that truck, the shoulders are pretty good on that peice of road. (It wouldn’t have gone so far to the side if even slightly unsure). That looked like a large two lane road to me.