Jawaad Mahmood in Tokyo

For an year my heart has been consumed by a terrible desire to see the Canol Highway. The only highway to ever directly link the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, it was built by Americans in World War 2. The project, which was intended to bring oil from NWT to the Yukon and Alaska, fought minus-40 degree weather, horrible insect infestations, as well as the sheer logistics of buliding a road in the northern-most parts of Canada. However, the Americans were fueled by their desire to see the Japanese humbled, and they completed the 236 mile highway in an year and a half. By 1944, oil was being pumped out in Whitehorse, and it was possible to travel between Norman Wells and Whitehorse in about 8 hours.

Unfortunately, this is no longer possible. After the war, there was no economic impetus to leave the oil fields open, and the entire $108 million dollar project was shut down. ($108 million in 1944 dollars – that is 1.8 billion dollars, going by the consumer price index, or 7.93 billion dollars if you look at the relative GDP which was represented therein). The road was completely ignored by the NWT and Yukon governments, and fell into disrepair until the Yukon re-opened a part of it. Unfortuantely, this road is only partially accessable in the summer, and is utterly impossible to drive past the Macmillian pass – the border between the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories.

I wish I was man enough to hike 20 miles a day for 2 weeks, ford 3 hard rivers, and protect myself from the bear attacks. One day… one day…

If you want to know more about the Canol trail, here are a few good sites.

• Canol Heritage Trail Website (Warning, popups)
• Canol by Motorcycle (No, he did not make it the entire way – it isn’t possible on bike or motorcycle)
• Armed to the Teeth – A hiker’s log of his trip.
• Backpacking the Canol Trail – Another hiker’s guide, with a lot of pictures.
• Oil for Victory – A great historical reference.
• Cycling the Canol Road
• CANOL Project – Fantastic historical insight into the entire project’s history.
• Walter Muma’s brief encounter with the Canol – Walter Muma is one of my Canadian Heroes. If I could pick a life to live, other than my own, it would be his.

I almost get teary eyed reading this stuff.