We rode our bikes to the Arctic Friggin’ Ocean! It took a lot more effort to get to Tuktoyaktuk than expected, but we’re here!
Some people ride the 95 miles from Inuvik to Tuk in one day. We couldn’t make it, but we attribute it not to a lack of toughness, but instead fervently believe that it was extra windy yesterday and the gravel was deeper than normal. Still, we made it 75 miles. Then we were tired.
The Inuvik to Tuk Highway has almost no pullouts or camping spots but we stumbled upon a gravel lot where locals park snowmobiles in preparation for winter. It was perfect timing too because we were really tired and needed to stop. We weren’t really sure about putting our tent on the delicate tundra, both because we didn’t want to hurt the plants and we didn’t want to wake up in a swampy bog.
We also started seeing pingos! These cool landforms are made when liquid water gets trapped under the permafrost, then expands as it freezes. (This explanation is over-simplified, Parks Canada has more info). The pingos up here are quite enormous!
Tonight we’re camping about 10 feet from the ocean!
That’s it for now, it’s time for us to nijiihaih:
Updated Stats:
1,558 Miles pedaled
70,354 feet climbed
Furthest north: 69.4544° N
Up next: riding back south!