Road to the Arctic

I was interested in the Jan. 5 article by Barry Schiff about Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. May I point out a misconception, namely where he writes, “Neither roads nor rails tie this place to any other on earth.”

In 1980 I left with a tour by bus from Dawson City north to Inuvik. We traveled the Dempster Highway constructed in 1979. This runs to mile 231 at Eagle Plains, then on to Inuvik for a total of 450 miles. This is a spectacular highway as it travels along the ridges of that mountainous area. It is beyond the tree line, the tundra covered with rough moss and low-growing berry vines.

The Dempster Highway is the only highway to stretch north of the Arctic Circle. How could Barry Schiff have missed this? There must have been tour buses and RVs entering and in Inuvik, as we saw many along the highway. In fact Eagle Plains, where we stopped for the night, has a large camping area.

MARY E. SNYDER

Oceanside