Showing posts with label Tuk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tuk. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2011
Making progress.
The Tuk 2012 Arctic Tour t-shirt that I ordered arrived, so now its official, no turning back.
Also, we have decided to tentatively go at the end of June, beginning of July. The hope is that the mosquitoes won't be so bad then, I hear they get pretty bad in August.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Tuktoyaktuk 2012 Arctic Tour Gear
The new Tuktoyaktuk trip tshirt and water bottle are now available.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tuktoyaktuk on Microsoft Streets and Trips
| Over discussion at dinner last night, we have decided that we would like to go to Tuktoyaktuk, but we need to find out what the costs are to get from Inuvik to Tuk. The alternative plan, which sounds cool to me is to visit 2 locations on the Arctic Ocean, Tuk/Inuvik as one stop, and Deadhorse/Prudhoe as the second stop. The other decision was that we want to find different routes for the northbound and southbound legs of the trip. Still working this out, but it looks like may include a short ferry trip on the inside passage on the way up, perhaps Prince Rupert to Ketchikan, Petersburg, Juneau, and Haines. The returning on an inland road with no ferries. Also, we determined that we don't wan't to take the Alaska ferry from Bellingham, as that would be too much time on the boat, and having toured the Alaska Ferry that runs from Bellingham a couple of years ago, it is not the best option.
I ordered Microsoft Streets and Trips 2011 today, to use in planning the route. After reading several reviews, I decided to order the software only version without a GPS, as the reviews claim that the GPS included from Microsoft is not very good. I don't need the usb GPS to connect to the laptop at this point anyway since we are still many months away from the trip. I last used the Streets and Trips 2005 version, and was very happy with it at that time. I hope that I am as pleased with the 2011 version. The things that I want to be able to do with Streets and Trips 2011 are:
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Friday, September 16, 2011
Ice Road Truckers
| As part of the research and planning for this trip, I discovered a TV show called Ice Road Truckers which focuses on the truck route between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and beyond. In the winter they covert the frozen river, and frozen Arctic Ocean into to a road.
After watching the show it became clear that we do not want to attempt this trip in the winter. With the ice thick enough on the Arctic Ocean to drive trucks on it, there is no option for swimming. It looks like summer is going to be the best option for this trip, perhaps July / August 2012. |
Tuktoyaktuk Tour Options
The last leg of the trip from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk is only drivable by the ice roads in the winter. We need to find an alternative option since we will be going in the summer.
Up North Tours offers a tour flight from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk with a chance to dip your toe in the Artic Ocean, not sure on the pricing.
Up North Tours offers a tour flight from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk with a chance to dip your toe in the Artic Ocean, not sure on the pricing.
Another tour from Arctic Chalet / White Huskies is a flying tour priced at $400 per person to get to Tuktoyaktuk and back with a driving tour at Tuktoyaktuk.
http://www.whitehuskies.com/white-husky-summertours.html
Updated 9/20/2011
I discovered another flight option to Tuk.
Aklak Air offers the flight without a tour. Their prices are $441 for adults, and $354 for a child fair. Added up the fares for four of us, the Up North Tours appears to be about the same price.
I discovered another flight option to Tuk.
Aklak Air offers the flight without a tour. Their prices are $441 for adults, and $354 for a child fair. Added up the fares for four of us, the Up North Tours appears to be about the same price.
Where to go, there are not many options...
There are very few places in North America where you can drive all the way to the Arctic Ocean.
Barrow, Alaska - No roads connect here from the outside world, so this isn't an option.
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska - You can drive close, but the last stretch through oil fields is restricted access. Drive to Deadhorse AK, then tour bus to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. This route would be about 5100 miles round trip.
View Larger Map
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada - 62 miles from the Arctic Ocean. We need to determine if there is a way to get that last 62 miles on a tour or some other method. I have heard you can get there by dogsled, but that is only in the winter. This route would be about 4500 miles round trip.
View Larger Map
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada - North of Inuvik, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, available by ice roads in the winter, and by plane in the summer.
Nanisivik, Canada - An abandoned town, that appears to be not accessible by road. Further east that we plan to travel. This doesn't look like a viable option.
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada - Technically on Hudson Bay, and not on the Arctic Ocean. Also much further east that we wish to travel.
There are a few other locations in Norway and Russia, but these are certainly not an option for this trip.
It looks like Prudhoe Bay, Inuvik, or Tuktoyaktuk are the only options.
Perhaps we should travel from Ferndale WA (Home) to Prudhoe Bay, then to Inuvik, then home again.
View Larger Map
This route would be about 6100 miles. Google maps says it would be 7 days of travel time, but 7 days appears too short looking at the routes and road conditions.
Here is another option that includes Vancouver Island BC, Anchorage AK, and less overlap on the same roads on the way up as on the way back. Estimates at 6700 miles.
View Larger Map
Barrow, Alaska - No roads connect here from the outside world, so this isn't an option.
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska - You can drive close, but the last stretch through oil fields is restricted access. Drive to Deadhorse AK, then tour bus to Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic Ocean. This route would be about 5100 miles round trip.
View Larger Map
Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada - 62 miles from the Arctic Ocean. We need to determine if there is a way to get that last 62 miles on a tour or some other method. I have heard you can get there by dogsled, but that is only in the winter. This route would be about 4500 miles round trip.
View Larger Map
Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories, Canada - North of Inuvik, on the shores of the Arctic Ocean, available by ice roads in the winter, and by plane in the summer.
Nanisivik, Canada - An abandoned town, that appears to be not accessible by road. Further east that we plan to travel. This doesn't look like a viable option.
Churchill, Manitoba, Canada - Technically on Hudson Bay, and not on the Arctic Ocean. Also much further east that we wish to travel.
There are a few other locations in Norway and Russia, but these are certainly not an option for this trip.
It looks like Prudhoe Bay, Inuvik, or Tuktoyaktuk are the only options.
Perhaps we should travel from Ferndale WA (Home) to Prudhoe Bay, then to Inuvik, then home again.
View Larger Map
This route would be about 6100 miles. Google maps says it would be 7 days of travel time, but 7 days appears too short looking at the routes and road conditions.
Here is another option that includes Vancouver Island BC, Anchorage AK, and less overlap on the same roads on the way up as on the way back. Estimates at 6700 miles.
View Larger Map
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