Storyline: Dogsledding Nunavut Apr. 2000
Thursday April 27 2000—7:30 a.m.
Thursday dawned bright and cold, about -12°C according to Bob’s thermometer. It was blue to the north, and there were high, bright clouds to the south. Denise made pancakes and sausages, and we’d be starting for Iqaluit around noon. In the morning we’d hike across Faris Island to a polynia about a half hour away.
A polynia is an area of water that never freezes. There are many scattered throughout the arctic and are caused by wind, wave, tide and current. Wednesday had been was great—with the normal few mishaps. It had started out cold, and after we broke camp (had a good night’s sleep in the cool tent) we were off down the Armshow River valley. For one 20-minute period we flew over ice that had a couple of inches of snow covering that gave the dogs good traction and provided little friction for the runners. We meandered back and forth across the river, seeking a flat route for the dogs. At one point we caught up with Denise’s team. The qomatiq was on clear ice and the dogs had milled around between the runners of her sled. The dogs really don’t like ice! I braked our team with a belt over a runner. When Denise got her team over the ice, I stepped off to remove the belt and sank trough the snow up to mid-calf in water…a real soaker! We had to haul young Zeus over the ice—he was running the other way, and the qomatiq rolled over him. Fortunately he was OK when I lifted the runner off him. It was his first experience with ice, and unfortunately not a good one. Later on, the same thing happened, but I was able to keep him away from the runners.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful as we traveled down a beautiful valley that alternately widened and narrowed. At times the valley seemed to be a kilometer wide, while at other times it squeezed to less than 50 metres. We lunched at a relatively narrow spot. Above us at the top of the cliffs, snow buntings performed an aerial dance. Zazu was fascinated. We then had a nice run in beautiful sunlight down to the sea ice and across to the back of Faris island. As we crossed over towards the cabin, we came upon nine, then another three caribou. In their winter white coats they looked magnificent, as across from us, they stared curiously at our three teams and qomatiqs.
Friday April 28 2000—4 p.m.
It’s all go, isn’t it! This was the first opportunity to write since Thursday morning. We hiked across Faris Island in cold, beautiful sunlight. Above us a pale blue sky was broken by scattered white clouds that were being herded by a biting breeze from the west. After about ½ hour of hiking across beautifully stark rolling snowfields—occasionally crossing fresh caribou tracks—we crested a ridge topped with a stone cairn of rounded rocks. A 50 metres below us was the polynia, a 200×100-meter rectangle of open water between Faris Island and a small island to the north. Snaking across the water was a flock of hundreds of birds that, from our vantage point, looked to be mostly ducks of some kind.
We stood and watched the moving water for a time, then all too soon turned back towards the cabin and our departure for Iqaluit. We had a quick lunch, packed up snacks and hot drinks for each qomatiq and headed out to harness up for the last time. First came Ulu and her brother Savik. Ulu, having been demoted from the lead position because she had slacked off on both teams, was Savik’s only ‘friend’. All white, with a clumpy coat and some inherited skin problems, Savik had been the target of adolescent Qimiq and Zazu earlier on. All Savik wanted to do was to be left alone, and to pull. Ulu’s presence and overall bitchiness kept the other dogs at bay. Next up were Wilson and Oates, brothers distinguishable from each other mainly by the colour of their collars and, as we had learned to ensure earlier, the colour of their harnesses. Seldom needing more than an encouraging word and always the most well behaved when the “down” command was given, Wilson and Oats were now co-leaders who would pull shoulder-to-shoulder all day. Patricia harnessed Zeus next. This had been Zeus’s first long trip and he had performed exceptionally well, pulling in the middle of the team, and after the first few times, responding well when instructed to “down”. I harnessed Zazu. Exuberant as always, instigator of at least half of any trouble between dogs and of late put firmly in his place in turn by Ulu, Oates, Wilson and even Zeus. I managed the dogs, keeping them down while Patricia went for Qimiq. Ahh Qimiq. Another adolescent, strong puller but intractable. Wouldn’t’’ go “down” Had a real go at Savik’s ear on day three, but I couldn’t dislike him.
Then we were ready. There was time for one last look at the cabin and Denise was off, threading through the slalom while we held our team back until Denise was clear. As soon as the brakes were off, the dogs jumped forward. We fought the qomatiq to the left to get lined up and, as usual, one of us fell off. I stood on the brakes and Patricia hopped back on, but we were misaligned and got hung up in the same place as before. Patricia heaved the qomatiq around and we breezed through the last of the ice chunks. The dogs, as usual, slowed for the easy stuff.
We followed Denise, keeping a reasonable 100-200 metres between us. Bob & Sean’s team wasn’t pulling again and began to drop back. We stopped, as we were about to leave the lee of the island and head across Frobisher Bay. Denise warned us to keep drinking and snacking if we got cold, and to don our parkas before we got chilled. This was the first and only time I needed to wear the goggles with nose guards.
Most of the week, I’d just worn sunglasses. I’d seldom needed more than the polypro glove liners I’d taken and had worn fairly minimal underlayers. For this trip I’d gone all out and worn my warmest combination. So I was toasty warm and well-protected from the wind as we set off across the bay.
We stopped a couple of times and Bob transferred to Denise’s qomatiq for the last third of the trip, giving Shawn’s team the break they needed to keep up with us. Paul and his daughter Sarah met us in the dog yard and helped us tether the dogs.
We fed the dogs and gave each one a final chat and thanks before pushing the qomatiqs back up to NorthWinds, where we returned the borrowed clothing and had a bite to eat in the workshop (we were too doggy and dirty to head into the house).
Denise drove us to the hotel and we had a couple of hours for luxurious showers before heading to the dining room for a celebratory dinner.
In the morning, we toured Iqaluit and nearby Apex, stopping in at several galleries, then returned to NorthWinds for a final lunch, presentation of our ‘Mushers Certificates’ and NorthWinds t-shirts, then were left to our own devices for the afternoon. I wandered around town some more then headed back to the airport to catch up on my journal.
On my last trip to Baffin, I reflected at the end of the trip on how deeply the land had attracted me. I hadn’t expected to have the same depth of feeling this time, and I didn’t, but I did have a wonderful time. The north still beckoned and pulled, and it was still a place of wonder for me. I hoped to return some day.
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