Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
25K Likes
5K Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • The Great Outdoors

Accessible Arctic: Ivvavik National Park

  • September 8, 2018
  • Ben Osborne
Total
4
Shares
4
0
0
0
0
0
Total
4
Shares
Share 4
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Screen Shot 2018 09 07 at 11.32.08 AM
The highway to heaven hiking trail.

We’ve been hiking for five hours now. And the Highway to Heaven trail has delivered all that it promised: a challenging, yet rewarding hike in the Arctic Circle. We’ve seen caribou and mountain goats. We reached the summit of Dragon Tors. We explored the barren lands of the North from above the treeline. And now, even though it’s well past midnight, there is tons of daylight left, and we can once again see the place we started from hours ago: the Sheep Creek Base Camp.

Located about 200 kilometres northwest of Inuvik (there are no roads in), we bounced into the camp on a tundra-tire- equipped de Havilland DH-2 Beaver. Getting to the Arctic Circle has always been a challenge. In the old days you risked losing toes or ngers on the trek here, while today, even ying, driving or sailing, it’s an epic task; the epic part of the equation being the price tag. Flying to Inuvik from Toronto costs more than a round-trip ticket to Australia. But that’s what it takes.

For Ivvavik National Park, the price tag is their claim to fame (plus the scenery is to die for). In the realm of Arctic travel it’s relatively cheap: they have a ve-day fully-catered excursion for $3700 per person, or a seven-day, non-catered trip for $2700. So what’s included?

 

Screen Shot 2018 09 07 at 11.32.13 AM
There is tons of light to hike all night long if you want to.

That price comes with a chartered flight from Inuvik (you’ll need to get yourself there) and a bed in the Sheep Creek Base Camp. Surrounded by electric grizzly bear fences, the camp is more than a place to pitch a tent. Fully equipped with a kitchen, a chef, showers, bathrooms, electricity, Park staff and local elders, the main buildings are permanent structures powered by solar and completely self-sufficient and self-contained. Visitors stay in one of six Fort McPherson tents, glamping-style accommodation with either a double bed, or a couple of bunk beds. The tents are super comfortable and homey and they provide incredible views of Sheep Creek itself and the mountains beyond.

We bounced into the camp on a tundra-tire-equipped de Havilland DH-2 Beaver.

As we descend the final hill back into camp, we spot a moose off in the distance, roaming the hills on the other side of the river. It’s 2am and there is no sign of the sun going down.

 

Screen Shot 2018 09 07 at 11.32.18 AM
Sheep Creek base camp.

The next morning we grab shing rods and head to the Firth River. Within minutes we catch an Arctic grayling. Then another. Then another. And that’s when it hits me again: Arcticus feverus. A feeling that Farley Mowat coined, describing an irresistible draw to the North.

There’s something special about the Arctic. Perhaps it’s the wilderness, the wildlife, the landscape, the never-ending daylight, or the people that you meet there. And if you haven’t caught Arcticus feverus yet, the cheapest way to do so is on a trip to Ivvavik National Park. You surely won’t regret it.

DIY: Enter “Ivvavik” in the Parks Canada site: pc.gc.ca

Total
4
Shares
Share 4
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Ben Osborne

Previous Article
  • The Great Outdoors

Manuel Diaz Might Be The Best Big Mountain Snowboarder Alive Today.

  • September 2, 2018
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
Next Article
  • The Great Outdoors

The Landy King: An Ode To The Land Rover

  • September 9, 2018
  • Ben Osborne
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Helly Hansen Presents: Adventure Planning 101 with Squamish SAR

  • Sarah Bulford
  • May 16, 2022
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • The Great Outdoors

Blower Pow and Disappearing Pants

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 26, 2022
View Post
  • In This Issue
  • The Great Outdoors

ML Launches Mushroom Life

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 1, 2022
View Post
  • Leslie Anthony
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play
  • The Great Outdoors

Spring at Sun Peaks

  • Sarah Bulford
  • March 8, 2022
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • The Great Outdoors

Backcountry Skier John Baldwin Headlines VIMFF’s 2022 Best of British Columbia Night

  • Sarah Bulford
  • February 22, 2022
View Post
  • FALL GEAR
  • SPRING GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • The Great Outdoors
  • WINTER GEAR

The Legend of San Poncho

  • Editor
  • December 9, 2021
735990496 1280x720
View Post
  • The Great Outdoors
  • Videos

Friday Flick: Island of Plenty

  • Sarah Bulford
  • July 2, 2021
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • The Great Outdoors

Win Adventures to the Filming Location of the HISTORY® Channel’s “Alone” Season 8!

  • Sarah Bulford
  • June 8, 2021
Featured Posts
  • Fjallraven-Nuuk-Parka-daniel-blom-photo_jacket 1
    Gear Shed: Multisport Winter Roundup
    • January 26, 2023
  • Brian-Hockenstein-surfing-Iceland-water-and-ice-ML 2
    In the Land of Water & Ice
    • January 24, 2023
  • L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec 3
    L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing
    • January 27, 2023
  • Marie-Pier-Desharnais-A-Womans-Experience-on-K2-flag-crop 4
    Marie-Pier Desharnais: A Woman’s Experience on K2
    • January 23, 2023
  • Smith-Survey-JR-helmet-matteBlack-greenMirror_3Q 5
    Gear Shed: Smith Survey Jr. MIPS Helmet
    • January 14, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • Wachs_Fairly-Mellow
    Friday Flick: “Fairly Mellow” at Fairy Meadow Hut
    • January 20, 2023
  • Paul-Manning-Hunter-Kananaskis-River-surf
    Behind the Photo: Rockies Edition
    • January 19, 2023
  • knorthphotography.Beverly-Glenn Copeland-crop
    Beverly Glenn-Copeland: Finding the Universal Broadcast
    • January 17, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 25K Likes
Twitter 5K Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM
mountainlifemedia
22K Followers
ML staff and gear partners highlight the latest jackets, boards, crampons, hoodies, insoles and bindings in alpha order. #Linkinbio to learn more!
Adventures like this one require an inspiring team. @timemmett is a longtime friend, adventure partner and extraordinary human; an explorer, pro climber, surfer, freediver—you name it. @luca.freediver is an incredibly talented freediver, fresh off breaking the Canadian national freediving record (85 metres). The fourth man on the team, @brianhockenstein, is a filmmaker and multi-talented snowboarder always ready to jump into the fray and capture the magic. - words Jimmy Martinello. #Linkinbio to learn more!
We came in search of the connection of the human spirit to both art and adventure, whether climbing from the depths of moulins and ice caves, breaking through ice while paddleboarding fjords, climbing icebergs, freediving between tectonic plates or surfing cold waves.
A thousand and one things could have gone wrong, but she made it to the top:  @mariepier.desharnais is the first Quebecois woman to climb K2.
Mountain Life is a proud member of the @printreleaf_ community. So far we've offset our print by having 1,737 trees reforested since joining in 2019! 🌲
GUESS WHAT! It's FRIDAY! Here's a flick to kick off the weekend for all you warriors.
Behind the scenes of three action photos from ML’s Rocky Mountains edition.
The @banffmountainfestival 2023 Signature Image Search is on🚨
In 1986 @beverlyglenncopeland recorded Keyboard Fantasies using an Atari computer, a keyboard and a drum machine. After releasing it on cassette and selling maybe 50 copies, he went back to writing for Sesame Street and making the odd guest appearance on Mr. Dressup. In 2015, a cassette made its way to Japanese collector Ryota Masuko, a record store owner with a big online presence, who quickly bought, and then sold, all the Keyboard Fantasies cassettes he could find. Record labels worldwide lined up to reissue the hidden gem on vinyl.
MUSIC SERIES TICKET SALE IS NOW LIVE 🗣️
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

ML staff and gear partners highlight the latest jackets, boards, crampons, hoodies, insoles and bindings in alpha order. #Linkinbio to learn more!
Adventures like this one require an inspiring team. @timemmett is a longtime friend, adventure partner and extraordinary human; an explorer, pro climber, surfer, freediver—you name it. @luca.freediver is an incredibly talented freediver, fresh off breaking the Canadian national freediving record (85 metres). The fourth man on the team, @brianhockenstein, is a filmmaker and multi-talented snowboarder always ready to jump into the fray and capture the magic. - words Jimmy Martinello. #Linkinbio to learn more!
We came in search of the connection of the human spirit to both art and adventure, whether climbing from the depths of moulins and ice caves, breaking through ice while paddleboarding fjords, climbing icebergs, freediving between tectonic plates or surfing cold waves.
A thousand and one things could have gone wrong, but she made it to the top:  @mariepier.desharnais is the first Quebecois woman to climb K2.
Mountain Life is a proud member of the @printreleaf_ community. So far we've offset our print by having 1,737 trees reforested since joining in 2019! 🌲
GUESS WHAT! It's FRIDAY! Here's a flick to kick off the weekend for all you warriors.
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.