Driving on the Mackenzie River to Inuvik

The wind has calmed down overnight, and we wake up to clear skies. After breakfast of fried muffins and Vegemite (well I knew I’d get to enjoy it at some stage!), we load the dogs and our gear into the trucks, and go to the gas station to get fuel for Steve’s truck. Unfortunately, it’s closed until noon, so we sit in the sun and chat until it opens. Some local children wander by intrigued by the dogs. “How many dogs to you have in there?” “28.” “Holy shit” says one of the 9 year olds, as he goes off to Sunday School.

Then we learn that the gas station has no gas! Various options are explored – we can call “the man from Esso” and he will deliver for a fee (time and cost unknown); we can go as far as possible on the gas in Steve’s tank and then get the other truck to bring fuel back from Inuvik; or we can siphon fuel from the 2 snowmobiles and see how far Steve can go on that. The third option is agreed, and we head onto the Ice Road. The “Road” is the frozen Mackenzie River, snowploughed to create a path. It takes us about 2 hours to drive the distance, and as we get closer to Inuvik, we see barges and fishing boats tied up along the river, waiting for the thaw. Inuvik must be a very different place in the summer.

The Eskimo Hotel in Inuvik is our place for the night – coming into the lobby, we really are concerned that we might clear it out after no shower for nearly 2 weeks, and smells of dogs!

David heads off for some lunch while I enjoy walking around in bare feet and wearing a single layer of clothing. I unpack clean, very cold clothes that are hidden down the bottom of the duffle bag, thaw the frozen shampoo and bath gel and look in the mirror for the first time in a week. Lo and behold, straight hair! So all I have to do is wear a hat 24 hours a day for 2 weeks!

Dinner tonight is at a table using a fork and knife, and eating from plates – I nearly ask for a bowl and plastic bag, but the waiter doesn’t seem to have a sense of humour. We reminisce about the week over good food and wine, and although looking forward to sleeping in a bed, we all find that the rooms are just too hot, and we long for the cold air of the tent. I’m sure this feeling will pass quickly!