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The last RCMP sled dog patrol in the Arctic, 1969
Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star
Dateline: November 9, 2021. Last update: February 28, 2026.
The Whitehorse Star, March 6, 1969
Two RCMP dogteams will set out from Old Crow, most northerly settlement in the Yukon, sometime on Monday, March 10, on the last long patrol.
The Force is disposing of all its dogteams this year and at present there are dogs being used at only four northern detachments in the Canadian north: Old Crow, Yukon, and Arctic Red, Sachs Harbour and Spence Bay in the Northwest Territories. Motor toboggans have gradually replaced the beautiful Siberian huskies at most northern posts,
and the development of a network of roads and highways, plus airports and helicopter pads,
has eliminated the isolated areas which formerly depended on the dogs.
The tradition of the long last patrol will disappear this year and the Old Crow teams will be the last used for such a purpose. From the Old Crow detachment, 600 airmiles north of Whitehorse, more than 300 north of Dawson City, Constable Warren Townsend, 23, of Fergus, Ontario, and Special Constable Peter Benjamin of Old Crow will
drive the two teams of about eight dogs each, breaking trail across country through the Richardson Mountains to Fort McPherson on the Mackenzie River. Then they carry on to Arctic Red, from there to Inuvik, then to Aklavik on the McKenzie Delta and back to Old Crow.
Inspector R.S. Wood, Officer Commanding the Yukon SubDivision, RCMP, said he estimates about a month will be required to cover the more than 800 miles.
During the patrol, the Constables will check on isolated camps, game and hunting conditions generally.
Preparations are being made this week, with food supplies, dog food and all the gear for the patrol being readied. Toughest part of the patrol will be the first twelve days to McPherson, breaking trail all the way through the mountains; after they
reach McPherson there are well-used trails to follow as far as Aklavik, then it gets tough
again. They are expected back in mid-April. The route will follow the Porcupine River to
the Bell River, then to little Chute, Stoney Creek and McPherson. On the way back they come through the McDougall Pass along the Rat River to Old Crow. (See more page 4).
OFF ON THEIR LAST PATROL: Special Constable Peter Benjamin and the RCMP dogteam from Old Crow, which Rendezvous crowds watched racing here last weekend, will set forth from the Old Crow detachment next Monday with Constable Warren Townsend and a second team on the last long patrol with dogs in the Canadian north. See story. RCMP photo.
ROUTE OF THE LAST PATROL: When the two RCMP dogteams set out from Old Crow next week they will break trail for the first twelve days to Ft. McPherson through the Richardson Mountains, then follow well-used trails to Arctic Red, from there to Inuvik, then on to Aklavik in the delta, back through the McDougall Pass and along the
Rat River to Old Crow. The patrol will take about a month, cover close to 1,000 miles and check on isolated camps, game conditions and hunting in general. It is not the last patrol for the Force in the north, but the last by dogteam.
The Whitehorse Star, March 17, 1969
The last RCMP dog team patrol from Old Crow, Yukon to Fort McPherson, NWT ran into miserable stormy weather the first four days out, according to an RCMP report here today.
The patrol, consisting of mushers Constable Warren Townsend and Special Constable Peter Benjamin with two teams left early last Tuesday [March 11th] and by Thursday had covered only 51 miles through blowing snow conditions. They rested in a patrol cabin all day Friday and on Saturdays left to continue to Fort McPherson.
The patrol was being accompanied by film crews during the early part of its run, to record last long dog team journey before the force switches to snowmobiles.
Two members of the RCMP film crew met the patrol at the isolated camp and remained with them Friday, March 14, leaving in the late p.m. to fly to Inuvik.
Writer Peter Moon and photographer Ken Elliott of the Canadian Star Weekly magazine returned to Old Crow after two days out and were expected back in Whitehorse today.
The article had a photo by Ellingson but in the microfilm it is too dark to reproduce here.
SPECIAL CONSTABLE PETER BENJAMIN is one of the two mushers driving the Old Crow RCMP dog team on its last patrol. Peter is a veteran musher who told The Star that once on the long journey over the Old Crow mountains he and the mountie had to hole up for two days during a fierce storm but later found their way to their destination without trouble. He said he keeps his sense of direction by following the contours of the snow drifts. Peter was in Whitehorse recently mushing the RCMP dog team during the Sourdough Rendezvous. Star photo
ON LAST LONG PATROL: Constable Warren Townsend, 23, of Fergus, Ontario, is driving one of the two RCMP dogteams now making the last long patrol from Old Crow via McPherson, Arctic Red, Inuvik and Aklavik together with Special Constable Peter Benjamin. The dogs are being replaced by motor toboggans in future northern patrols, just as horses gave way to patrol cars and planes. Ellingson photo
The Whitehorse Star, March 24, 1969
The R.C.M.P. dog team patrol arrived in Fort McPherson shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, March 22, according to word received at the Sub Division here today.
Being mushed by Cst. W. W. Townsend and Special Constable Peter Benjamin, the two dog teams left Old Crow, Yukon, on March 11 to make the last patrol of northern settlements before the RCMP convert entirely to snow toboggans working in conjunction with aircraft.
The patrol is expected to last a month and cover about 800 miles. The two teams have already crossed the Richardson Mountains reaching Fort McPher- son on the Mackenzie River, N.W.T. after travelling 76 miles last Saturday.
Their route now takes them to Arctic Red River, to Inuvik and Aklavik on the Mackenzie Delta and back again to Old Crow, possibly by the middle of April. During the patrol the constables are checking on isolated camps and game and hunting cabins, and are carrying a few pieces of special mail. Constable Townsend, 23, is from Fergus, Ontario and S/Cst. Benjamin is from Old Crow.
March 27, 1969: "The RCMP dog team patrol from Old Crow was scheduled to leave Fort McPherson this morning for Arctic Red River, a settlement of approximately 50 Indians
situated on the Mackenzie River about 40 miles east of McPherson and 60 miles south of Inuvik, the next stop."
The Whitehorse Star, May 1, 1969
The last RCMP dogteam patrol which set out from Old Crow, Yukon on March 11 was forced to cut the final portion of the proposed route because of the tough going for their dogs it was learned from the Yukon Subdivision today.
Constable Warren Townsend and Special Constable Peter Benjamin arrived back at Old Crow on April 5 after 20 days hard travelling plus two stops at Fort McPherson, NWT for rest for themselves and their dogs. Inspector R. S. Wood reported the men had covered 500 miles in those 20 days, much of it during severely low temperatures and high winds.
The dogs suffered cut feet on the icy trail and one animal had to be destroyed during the patrol, which was scheduled as the last one to be undertaken with the dogteams. Motor toboggans and aircraft have been adopted in recent years.
The patrol was to have travelled from Old Crow to Fort McPherson, then Arctic Red River, Inuvik and Aklavik and back to Old Crow. It was the Aklavik portion which was cut after the two men had reached Arctic Red River and headed through the Richardson Mountains.
At one point they travelled through overflow water on the ice, then had to set the dogs loose to find their way down a precipice, while the men lowered their toboggans and supplies by rope. It dropped as low as 41 below zero at one time, and March 20-21 the men were holed up in camp by high winds which tore loose their tent at four a.m. Because of the condition the dogs were in, they decided to turn back to McPherson and then came back to Old Crow, using the trail they had already broken.
Inspector Wood said Townsend has now received a routine transfer to the Watson Lake detachment, on the Alaska Highway at Mile 635, but spring break-up conditions at Old Crow have made it impossible for aircraft to land there recently.
May 20, 1969: "Last weekend's CANADIAN MAGAZINE, which is in the Saturday editions of the Edmonton Journal, The Vancouver Sun and Province, etc, has the long awaited story of the last RCMP patrol from Old Crow to Fort McPherson and back. Writer PETER MOON and photographer KEN ELLIOTT have done a marvelous job...they braved the elements for the first three days of the patrol to get their story..."
In 1994, the Royal Canadian Mint struck a commemorative silver dollar for the 25th anniversary of the last RCMP sled dog patrol in the Arctic. The engraving of a sled dog team was created by Ian Sparks. A total of 243,780 of the coins were struck, with 178,485 sold as proofs.
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