Garden

Driving over the sea

If you have seen the show Ice Road Trucking, you will appreciate this adventure. I drove the ice road to the Arctic Ocean and the journey was amazing: the road is actually the MacKenzie River frozen and flowing to the Arctic Ocean.

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Credit: Sheena Adams

Taking a few minutes out to do some yoga in the ice road: Engaged in the “tree pose,” I am the largest tree on the tundra – there are a few small spruce in the distance, but mostly pingos (mounds of earth-covered ice) and snow. I did see two beautiful eagles flying above, but, sadly, no polar bears – they must have been napping!

If you have seen the show Ice Road Trucking, you will appreciate this adventure. I drove the ice road to the Arctic Ocean to a small northern community, Tuktoyaktuk or “Tuk,” beside the Arctic Ocean. The journey was amazing: the road is actually the MacKenzie River frozen and flowing to the Arctic Ocean. As you get close to Tuk, you are on the frozen inlet and can see ocean navigational signs as you are driving; and as you drive out farther onto the frozen ocean you get fog and wind just as if you were on a ship. Snowdrifts blow over you and the rule here is to drive steadily through them because if you stop you might be buried by a larger one! Although it is considered a safe “road,” there is a weird feeling that comes from sliding on the ice and drifting around the corners on a frozen river and sea – there is no salt or sand on these “roads.”

My purpose for the trip was to visit Tuk, where I will be helping to build an outdoor community garden with raised beds covered in poly plastic; other areas I will visit include Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic. To put into perspective how small the population of the Northwest Territories is, the listing of inhabitants for the whole area fits in one small phone book, while Inuvik – considered a large community – takes up just seven pages!

The purpose of growing more community gardens in the Northwest Territories is to increase the availability of fresh food. It takes forever for food to be shipped here and in many communities, such as Tuk, once the road melts they can only get it via air. By securing small-scale farming, they will greatly increase how much is available, plus improve the nutritional value and variety of their fresh food.

The ice roads of the Northwest Territories are an adventure never to be forgotten and I totally recommend that if you get a chance to travel them – do it!