Wiped out on the Dempster

[brendanseaton]

I can’t say I wasn’t warned. Its well known that the gravel on the Dempster Highway from Dawson to Inuvik is a killer… as I learned 70 kilometers south of Inuvik. You would think that after having driven almost 700 kilometers in the stuff I would be used to it. But no… every patch of loose gravel on the Dempster is different. I was riding my fully farkled DL650 with TKC80 tires.

It wasn’t speed… I was only doing 60 or 70 kms/hour when I hit the gravel patch. It wasn’t weather… it was a beautiful day… about 24 degrees Celsius – 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The back end started to fishtail, the bike went into an uncontrollable wobble and went down low side. In the process my foot went down and I could feel the bones in my ankle snapping. Then it stopped. The engine cut out and there was silence. Total silence. I was in the middle of the road. I knew my leg was broken, but everything else was OK. ATGATT. Never compromise. I was under the bike but not pinned. My Caribou cases kept the bike up off the injured leg.

Fortunately I had decided to bring a satellite phone with me and got the number of the RCMP communications centre in the Yukon before I left. It worked perfectly…. Though I was now in the Northwest Territories. It took a few seconds to transfer the call to the RCMP detachment in Inuvik. From my GPS I was able to tell them how far down the road from Inuvik I was, and was able to give them the precise GPS coordinates. While on the phone a camper van from Washington State driven by a really nice chap named Ralph pulled up. Though you’re riding alone on the Dempster, at this time of year you can count on another vehicle coming by every 10 or 15 minutes. The RCMP asked to speak to Ralph just in case I passed out. He agreed to stay with me until help arrived.

It took the RCMP about 45 minutes to get to me. 50 minutes for the ambulance. In the meantime, a couple from Inuvik on the way home stopped and helped get me to the side of the road and get the bike off the road. Several other vehicles, including one biker, stopped to offer assistance.

Inuvik has a little hospital with very kind and competent medical and nursing staff. They X-rayed my leg and sent the X-rays electronically to an orthopedic surgeon in Yellowknife. It was decided to Medevac me to Yellowknife on a fixed wing air ambulance…. Oh… Insurance…. Don’t leave home without that either. The Medevac bill was $15K.

And the best motel I “never” stayed at? I was heading for the Arctic Chalet in Inuvik. When the proprietor learned that I had been in an accident, she came to the hospital to see me, but I had already been airlifted to Yellowknife. She tracked down my wife in Toronto and offered to help in any way. She and her husband are now making all the arrangements to get my bike, gear and luggage shipped home. If their accommodations are half as good as their kindness….. its unquestionably 5 star.

And a plug for Caribou cases… the laptop this is being typed on was in the case that hit the ground the hardest. The mountings on the left side are bent up, but the cases themselves are still intact and will be on the bike for the next trip.

I was told by the RCMP that the bike is in pretty good shape. Only real damage is bent handlebars, and a broken side mirror. Crash bars and barkbusters helped there.

Yeah… I crashed my bike…. I broke my ankle…. But I made it to the Arctic Circle and had my faith in humanity restored.

Check out the video... YouTube - Brendan Reaches the Arctic Circle