Winnipeg to Inuvik Trip -- 2008-June23--July17
Here is map showing the substantial portion of North America we traversed on this trip, along with a day-by-day summary (both planned and actual), and a table showing the petrol prices we encountered on this route (petrol is sometimes called gasoline, gasolene, or regrettably "gas").
| Map Legend:
|
Winnipeg MB
Saskatoon SK
Edmonton AB
Dawson Creek BC
Fort Nelson BC
Watson Lake YT
Carcross YT
Whitehorse YT
Haines Junction YT
Beaver Creek YT
Dawson City YT
Inuvik NT
Inuvik Trip -- PLANNED Itinerary (4618 + 6903 = 11,521km)
| Mon | June23 | TCH Winnipeg to Indian Head SK |
| Tue | June24 | TCH Indian Head to Regina; Hwy-11 to Saskatoon; Hwy-16 to Edmonton AB |
| Wed | June25 | Hwy-AB43/BC2 Edmonton to Grande Prairie AB to Dawson Creek BC |
| Thu | June26 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-BC97) Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson BC |
| Fri | June27 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-BC97/YT1) Fort Nelson to Watson Lake YT |
| Sat | June28 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-1) Watson Lake to Teslin to Whitehorse YT |
| Sun | June29 | KlondikeHwy(Hwy-2) Whitehorse to Carmacks to Pelly Crossing to Dawson City YT |
| Mon | June30 | DempsterHwy(Hwy-5) Dawson City to Eagle Plains YT |
| Tue | July01 | DempsterHwy(Hwy-YT5/NT8) EaglePlains to ArcticCircle to FortMcPherson NT (PeelRiver ferry) to Tsiigehtchic (McKenzieRiver ferry) to Inuvik NT |
| Wed | July02 | in Inuvik |
| Thu | July03 | DempsterHwy Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic to FortMcPherson to Eagle Plains YT |
| Fri | July04 | DempsterHwy Eagle Plains to Dawson City YT |
| Sat | July05 | KlondikeHwy Dawson City to Whitehorse YT |
| Sun | July06 | AlaskaHwy Whitehorse to Beaver Creek YT |
| Mon | July07 | AlaskaHwy Beaver Creek to Fairbanks AK |
| Tue | July08 | AlaskaHwy Fairbanks to Beaver Creek YT |
| Wed | July09 | AlaskaHwy Beaver Creek to Whitehorse YT |
| Thu | July10 | AlaskaHwy Whitehorse to Watson Lake YT |
| Fri | July11 | AlaskaHwy Watson Lake to Fort Nelson BC |
| Sat | July12 | AlaskaHwy Fort Nelson to Dawson Creek BC |
| Sun | July13 | Hwy-BC2/AB43 Dawson Creek to Edmonton AB |
| Mon | July14 | Hwy-43 Edmonton to Lac la Biche and back to Edmonton |
| Tue | July15 | Hwy-16 Edmonton to Saskatoon SK |
| Wed | July16 | Hwy-16 Saskatoon to Winnipeg MB |
Inuvik Trip -- ACTUAL Itinerary (4907 + 5976 = 10,883km)
| Mon | June23 | TCH Winnipeg to Indian Head SK |
| Tue | June24 | TCH Indian Head to Regina; Hwy-11 to Saskatoon; Hwy-16 to Edmonton AB |
| Wed | June25 | Hwy-AB43/BC2 Edmonton to Grande Prairie AB to Dawson Creek BC |
| Thu | June26 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-BC97) Dawson Creek to Fort Nelson BC |
| Fri | June27 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-BC97/YT1) Fort Nelson to Watson Lake YT |
| Sat | June28 | AlaskaHwy(Hwy-1) Watson Lake to Teslin to Whitehorse YT |
| Sun | June29 | KlondikeHwy(Hwy-2) Whitehorse to Carmacks to Pelly Crossing to Dawson City YT |
| Mon | June30 | DempsterHwy(Hwy-5) Dawson City to Eagle Plains YT |
| Tue | July01 | DempsterHwy(Hwy-YT5/NT8) EaglePlains to ArcticCircle to FortMcPherson NT (PeelRiver ferry) to Tsiigehtchic (McKenzieRiver ferry) to Inuvik NT |
| Wed | July02 | in Inuvik |
| Thu | July03 | in Inuvik (awaiting Dempster reopening - washout-repair) |
| Fri | July04 | in Inuvik (awaiting Dempster reopening - washout-repair) |
| Sat | July05 | DempsterHwy Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic to FortMcPherson to Eagle Plains to Dawson City YT (2 days in plan) |
| Sun | July06 | KlondikeHwy Dawson City to Whitehorse YT |
| Sun | July07 | AlaskaHwy Whitehorse to Beaver Creek YT |
| Tue | July08 | in Beaver Creek (sidetrip to Fairbanks AK was omitted, to get back on schedule) |
| Wed | July09 | AlaskaHwy Beaver Creek to Whitehorse YT (back on schedule) |
| Thu | July10 | AlaskaHwy Whitehorse to Carcross (via Hwy-8) to Watson Lake YT (back on schedule) |
| Fri | July11 | AlaskaHwy Watson Lake to Fort Nelson BC (back on schedule) |
| Sat | July12 | AlaskaHwy Fort Nelson to Dawson Creek BC (back on schedule) |
| Sun | July13 | Hwy-BC2/AB43 Dawson Creek to Beaverlodge AB (most of day in Beaverlodge awaiting car repairs; car broke at noon) |
| Mon | July14 | in Beaverlodge (awaiting car repairs) |
| Tue | July15 | Hwy-43 Beaverlodge to Whitecourt AB (most of day in Beaverlodge awaiting car repairs; car ready at 6pm) |
| Wed | July16 | Hwy-43+16 Whitecourt to Edmonton AB to Saskatoon SK (side-trip to Lac la Biche AB was omitted) |
| Thu | July17 | Hwy-16 Saskatoon to Winnipeg MB |
-- note: we encountered two delays of 2.5-days each, however by driving longer days and eliminating 1000km of sidetrips, we ended only one day late.
Table of Petrol Prices & Fuel-Consumption Data
| Date | Odometer | Where | Price | Litres | Dollars | kms | km/l | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June23 | 40340 | Winnipeg-MB | n/a | n/a | 0.000 | 0.00 | 000 | n/a | tank full, jerrycan empty |
| June23 | 40767 | Broadview-SK | Coop | 1.399 | 33.595 | 47.00 | 427 | 12.710 | |
| June24 | 41416 | Maidstone-SK | Mohawk | 1.368 | 45.300 | 62.00 | 649 | 14.326 | |
| June25 | 41904 | Whitecourt-AB | Shell | 1.349 | 33.955 | 45.81 | 488 | 14.371 | |
| June25 | 42185 | GrandePrairie-AB | PetroCan | 1.379 | 21.214 | 28.51 | 281 | 13.245 | |
| June26 | 42413 | FortStJohn-BC | PetroCan | 1.394 | 16.862 | 23.51 | 228 | 13.521 | missing odometer-reading was estimated |
| June27 | 42800 | FortNelson-BC | n/a | 1.499 | 28.539 | 42.78 | 387 | 13.560 | the receipt went missing, but we had notes |
| June27 | 43313 | WatsonLake-YT | CampgroundSvc | 1.529 | 38.620 | 59.05 | 513 | 13.283 | |
| June29 | 43795 | Whitehorse-YT | FasGas | 1.449 | 47.430 | 68.73 | 482 | 14.862 | 15-litres went into jerrycan |
| June30 | 44364 | DawsonCity-YT | BonanzaKlondike | 1.681 | 37.200 | 62.55 | 569 | 15.295 | |
| July01 | 44780 | EaglePlains-YT | EaglePlainsSvc | 1.780 | 33.710 | 60.00 | 416 | 12.340 | |
| July03 | 45247 | Inuvik-NT | Esso | 1.690 | 40.007 | 67.61 | 467 | 11.672 | some "city" driving |
| July06 | 46074 | DawsonCity-YT | BonanzaKlondike | 1.679 | 47.660 | 80.00 | 827 | 13.198 | used 15-litres from jerrycan enroute |
| July06 | 46466 | Carmacks-YT | Sunrise | 1.589 | 48.390 | 76.90 | 392 | 13.808 | 20-litres went into jerrycan |
| July07 | 46811 | HainesJct-YT | Shell | 1.599 | 25.654 | 41.02 | 345 | 13.448 | attendant wanted to charge $4.12 due to a typo but I insisted on paying more |
| July09 | 47233 | BeaverCreek-YT | FasGas | 1.609 | 30.020 | 48.30 | 422 | 14.057 | |
| July10 | 47703 | Whitehorse-YT | FasGas | 1.479 | 35.030 | 51.81 | 470 | 13.417 | |
| July11 | 48265 | WatsonLake-YT | PetroCan | 1.529 | 34.420 | 52.64 | 562 | 16.327 | |
| July12 | 48791 | FortNelson-BC | Esso | 1.539 | 37.687 | 58.00 | 526 | 13.957 | |
| July13 | 49257 | DawsonCreek-BC | ExtraFoods | 1.437 | 32.752 | 47.06 | 466 | 14.228 | |
| July16 | 49701 | Whitecourt-AB | PetroCan | 1.349 | 31.137 | 42.00 | 444 | 14.259 | |
| July16 | 50143 | Lloydminster-AB | Shell | 1.329 | 30.016 | 39.89 | 442 | 14.725 | missing odometer-reading was estimated |
| July17 | 50570 | Dafoe-SK | TR-Petroleum | 1.389 | 29.030 | 40.32 | 427 | 14.708 | |
| July17 | 51223 | Winnipeg-MB | Coop | 1.344 | 25.300 | 34.00 | 653 | 14.415 | used 20-litres from jerrycan, to end with tank full, jerrycan empty |
| TOTAL | 783.528 | 1179.49 | 10883 | ||||||
The average cost of petrol was $1.505 per litre, which is 12% higher than the "within civilization" price at this time. In general, the price goes up as one goes north, however the steepest price is encountered in EaglePlains-YT, at a petrol-vendor that happens to be the only one on a long lonely unpopulated stretch of road near the arctic-circle.
My car averaged 13.9 km/litre (39.2 mpg) or 7.20 litres/100km, which is 20% worse than its "highway" rating of 6.0 litres/100km. Most days we did way too much stopping, to photograph animals, birds, plants, etc, for optimal fuel-efficiency; and when not driving too slowly I typically drive too fast; however, on the night of July05 when the Eagle-Plains Service-Station was closed by the time we got there, then we made every effort to drive for economy from there to Dawson-City:-) Unfortunately our efforts don't show, because the first part of that tank was used in "city" driving in and around Inuvik. Note: the Litres and Dollars columns show the amount purchased; the km-per-litre column takes transfers into- and from- jerrycan into account. Those per-tank computations, although useful chiefly as an anomaly-detecting aid, also appear to show that at its best my car can deliver close to the rated 16.7 km/litre (47.1 mpg) for "highway" driving.
Update: a "slideshow" of photos from this trip by myself, Doris, and Peggy is available at www.nativeorchid.org/IT-InuvikTrip.htm.