It’s a dream trip for many people — a 15,000 kilometre round trip through some of Canada’s most beautiful natural landscapes.
And Kitchener’s David Hartwick managed it all on a motorcycle.
It took him 19 days of riding — plus one day of rest — to get from Kitchener, Ont., to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T., and back.
“I always wanted to say I’ve been to the Northwest Territories. I’ve done that now,” Hartwick said.
His adventure to the north took him through Stewart, B.C., to see glaciers. He also drove as far west as he could go to enjoy the natural scenery. He took just one day off from riding when he got to Whitehorse, Yukon, to put on some new tires.
“The whole trip was to ride this Dempster Highway,” he said.
The Dempster Highway is a roughly 740 km remote, unpaved road that connects Yukon to the Northwest Territories. It is currently the only way to drive to the Arctic Ocean in Canada.
“I spent basically nine days just to get to the Dempster Highway, to spend four days on the Dempster. Two going up [north] and two back.”
Hartwick’s daughter, Breanna Hartwick, said she had “no doubts” he would make the trip safely.
“I am beyond proud of my dad,” she told CBC News in an email.
“Of course I was worried about his safety but my Dad has taught me everything I know about being safe on road trips and camping trips,” she said, adding Hartwick would send his GPS location every night to Breanna who lives in Ireland.
“Every morning I would make sure I got that notification and check out his progress on the trip,” she wrote.
Father and daughter often do hiking or portaging trips together. Last year the two met in Europe and hiked part of the Camino trail in Portugal.
“It was an incredible experience for us,” she said.
Hartwick says he was inspired to take the trip during a 2023 trip to Dawson City, Yukon, while visiting friends.
“When we were in Dawson City I saw all these adventure motorcycles and I just couldn’t figure out what was going on. And I got talking to a few of them and they were all talking about this Dempster Highway,” Hartwick said, adding that he soon began preparing for the long trip by buying a specialised bike and buying the proper camping gear he would need.
He also took care to learn about all the potential dangers of riding the Dempster.
“You have to really be careful. Some people get a little carried away, go a little bit too fast or having fun. And then there’s no bailout. You can go over cliffs that people will never see you again unless you have a satellite responder of some type, which I carried with me.”
But despite all the potential danger, Hartwick felt the trip was worth it.
“I had a very intimate moment with a wolf crossing the highway up just after the Arctic Circle. He stopped and I stopped and we just stared at each other for a while. He was just a beautiful gray wolf. I saw an Arctic fox and it was the same scenario… I just stopped and watched them,” he said.
“We got to the Arctic Circle and it was beautiful seeing what I saw. [There were] 500 more kilometers to get to the top. You don’t realize the size of Canada.”
He says once he finally reached the coast of the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, he went for a well-deserved swim.
“I walked all the way out to the end, thinking I was going to just go to my underwear… no one could see me so I went for a little skinny dip which made the trip even better in the Arctic Ocean,” he said.
“It was a quick one, but I can say I’ve swam in the Arctic Ocean now.”
Hartwick already has another road trip planned for next year, but it won’t be nearly as long: a 6,000 km round trip to and from Newfoundland and Labrador.
