Driving the winter road to Ft.Chip

Text Box:

Darin Zandee'z Site

It's all part of the adventure

Distance: 300 km

Start: Town of Ft. McMurray

Finish: Town of Ft.Chip

Driving speed: 60-80km/hr

Vehicle: 4x4 recommended

Classification: Winter Road - Seasonal

Time: 3.5-6 hrs

· Drive 80 km north of Ft. McMurray to the end of Hwy 63

· Drive 210 km north on the winter road to Ft. Chip.

· Near Ft. Chip make sure you go right (east at intersection) as a left turn goes to Ft. Smith (intersection is signed)

Text Box: In January'05 we drove up to Ft. Chip to get away from it all for our anniversary. Ft. Chip is a 280km drive north of Ft.McMurray which can take 3.5 to 4.5 hours. 210km of the trip is on a winter road. We stayed with Archie and Dawn Waquan at the Wah Pun B&B. While at the Museum, Susanna McDonald gave us a private tour for 1.5 hours. We visited the 100+ year old Catholic Church with it's amazing art-painted walls. My '89 pick-up prayed to survive the trip, yet, with 260,000 km on the engine it ran perfect except the last morning when in -38*C it wouldn't start without a boost. We spent a lot of time visiting with new friends, drinking coffee. We can't wait to go back again. We went for a dog sled ride in -35*C with Robert Grandjambe and his 6 dog team.

It's all part of the adventure

Text Box: Gear List Extra gasoline Cash Shovel Flashlight Jumper cables Sleeping bags Candles Water First aid kit Extra food Kitty litter (traction) Extension cord