The snowfall I’d dealt with the night before was still falling heavily by the morning and the road north was now closed. Luckily the southern part of the Dempster was still open and waiting for me to embrace a challenge of snow and ice.
I knew the drive would be perilous but I couldn’t shy away, a thick snowfall was forecast to continue for days. The landscape took on a new appearance with the compounding snow, adorning it with a layer of fresh powder like a woolly cloak.
The highway cut through Tombstone Provincial Park, an appropriate name for such a location. Tall mountains appeared through the fog, towering over the icy rivers that moved through the valleys far below. The highway may have been dangerous but its views certainly rewarded the adventurous traveler.
During the last 40 km of the highway the snow turned to rain and the white path I’d traveled on became a mix of mud and slush. It was much worse to drive in than the snow. Rain would fill the pot holes and it was a gamble on what you were gonna drive through when you hit one. I managed to make it though and arrived at the bridge that marked the entrance to the Dempster Highway. Phew, what a drive it had been!
I managed to make it another couple hundred kilometers before turning in for the night. Fatigue was becoming as issue as driving a highway like the Dempster is stressful, draining your stamina quicker than you may have thought. Being aware of this, I finally found a place to pull over and dozed off in my car for the night.
