Inuvik Journal

Back at the Helm...

2011-03-17T23:23:00.005-06:00

Hi Folks:

It has been a long time since I posted on this blog and recently I have been thinking about changing that. Time is the issue of course. It's not like I don't have things to talk about! We have lived here for more than five years now, and there have been plenty of experiences worthy of a blog posting. It's time to share those experiences, and to end the posting drought.

When I first started writing this blog (and it's predecessor), the concept of blogging was relatively new. Now six years hence, it is still a popular source of posting on the Internet, and I have to say that that surprises me a little. Sure there are lots of new methods of web publishing, most notably all things wiki - pedias, leaks and whatnot, facebook, twitter, etc., etc., but blogging remains a popular method. So there is no danger of not being relavent. At least for now.

Unlike the past, methods and systems are no longer the challenge in publishing one's thoughts. The media is here, and virtually free for all (even in the Arctic, where precious little is free). No, the challenge these days is time. It seems that the more technology and "time saving" devices invade our lives, the less time we actually have. And that is a very curious phenomena indeed!

But some things are important enough to find the time, and lately I have been thinking that writing this blog is one of those things. So, I will try my best to find the time to write this blog on a regular basis (who am I kidding, semi-regular basis at best!)

If the media is relevant, and more importantly, if the content is relevant to you, leave a comment. If not, leave a comment saying that. If you have questions or suggestions, let me know.

While most of the posts in the future will be based on living, working and playing in the Arctic, there's plenty of things on the go in the world that beg comment. Most recently the disaster in Japan, the situation in Libya, Egypt, and plenty of others. I'll try not to get too political, not only because I find the subject essentially uninteresting, but mostly because opinions and debates about politics often get out of hand way too quickly. That said, I have definite opinions on most subjects, so when I say that I will attempt not to get too political, I will try, but I cannot guarantee.

Cheers for now, and I promise I will be back soon with something a little more interesting to say.

Lorne

Caribou, The Jamboree, and Fire

2007-04-15T23:02:00.000-06:00

In February, Lorie and I drove to Whitehorse for supplies. Some might call that an inconvenience, having to drive 2500 kilometers round trip for groceries - but for us, it's a chance to get away and see something different for a change. Here a couple of picutes of caribou that we spotted just on the Yukon side of the border:

It was pretty cold that day and the batteries in the digital camera lasted only a few minutes before they were dead (batteries do that in the cold). Because the batteries were short lived, I couldn't use the zoom lens much - another reason why the pictures aren't great. Here's another:

So, in this picture you can see the faraway image of about two dozen caribou. What you can't see (and what we didn't realize at the time I took this picture) is the 300+ caribou on the hill just to the left. They blend in so well that you they are difficult to see. Unfortunately, by the time we realized the hills were alive with caribou, the batteries in the camera were dead.

The survival instincts of the caribou are impressive. The routinely ignore cars speeding along the highway - they are of no danger. However, if one stops, it gets their attention. For the first minute or so after we stopped, we were pretty much ignored. But after a short "grace period", we were apparently worthy of attention. We could even see some of the calves playing in the distance. As the herd started to move off to the west (slowly at first, then more quickly), the adults ran off leaving some of the calves behind (these would be almost yearlings at this point). It was poignant watching these calves struggle to catch up to the safety of the herd. They eventually did catch up, and the herd moved off as a unified group.

Every year Inuvik hosts the Muskrat Jamboree. It's a variation on any of the thousands of community festivals held across Canada each year. Most of the rest are held in the summer, but Inuvik being in the Arctic, must hold theirs in the winter. It's a pretty unique event consisting of such events as the snowshoe races, snowmobile races, muktuk slap, muskrat skinning, and the harpoon throw. The real draw though is the dogsled races. Here are a couple of pictures of that:

This finish was one of the closer ones we saw.

Another of the events at the jamboree is the tea and bannock making contest. Contestants have to build a fire, chop ice, put it in a kettle, melt the ice, boil the water, make tea, and make and cook bannock. First person to get all that done wins.

Lorie having herd of this back in the summer, decided that it was time that she knew how to make a fire. This was back in August or September, I think. And when Lorie gets something in her mind - it happens!

So off we roll, down the highway to a quiet area in the bush...on a Sunday morning. My task - to teach her how to build and light a fire, and boil water. She did a pretty good job, if I do say so - here are a few pictures of that:

I chopped the wood, since I didn't feel like rushing her to the hospital that early in the morning!

So she's got the thing going and she decides to guard it with a rifle! Just kidding, we were actually doing some shooting as well. A girl's got to have skills after all! To her credit, there was a light dusting of snow and the temperature was about ten degrees below zero (both factors which make it harder to light a fire), but she did just fine.

Here's a shot of Lorie tending to her "creation" and boiling the water in the can. The cup of tea she made me was good. Also as you can see, animals aren't necessarily afraid of fire. Well, I guess most are but, in Ripley's case the need for heat is stronger than the fear of fire. I think he would have crawled into the fire if we'd have let him!

Finally, here's a picture of the jeep after the short run down the Demspter highway on a wet day. It's a muddy highway, to say the least.

Well, that's about it for this edition of Inuvik Journal. I am starting to run out of pictures to post, so that means I will have to get out and take some more. That shouldn't be hard since the daylight lasts till midnight now, and the temperatures are getting quite comfortable. Before we know it, it's going to be getting above zero again. Sigh! I guess I will just have to hang on until the snow flies again in September.

Cheers!

Even More Trip Photos

2007-04-10T05:52:00.000-06:00

Here are a final few pictures of the Dawson City trip Lorie and I took last summer. These are actually shots taken along the Dempster Highway. You have read about this highway in previous posts, but for those who haven't - it's a 740 kilometre long gravel highway that runs north from the Yukon. The scenery along this highway is quite a sight!

I don't exactly remember where along the Dempster this is, but I am guessing it's North of the Tombstone range in the Yukon.

Here's another shot of the Arctic Circle crossing marker. It's about 30 kilometers North of Eagle Plains, or 340 kilometers south of Inuvik - however you'd like to look at it.

That's about all of the pictures of that particular trip. Starting tomorrow, I'll post some of the other many, many pictures we have taken since we have been here.

Cheers!

More Trip Photos

2007-04-01T21:47:00.000-06:00

Hi all:

Here are a few more photos from our trip to Whitehorse and Dawson City in the summer of 2006. This first picture is a shot of one of the mountains of the Tombstones. The tombstones are a mountain range along the southern part of the Dempster Highway. The mountains pretty much mark the half way point on our trip to Whitehorse. There's lots of scenery in this area and tons of wildlife too. Unfortunately, we are usually in such a hurry that we just drive right past.

That won't be the case this summer; we specifically plan to spend time camping and hiking in the tombstones. I'll be bringing a rifle since the bears are always on the lookout for unsuspecting hikers!

This is a shot of Lorie walking down one of the restored streets in Dawson city. They have done a good job of restoring the town, and many of the buildings are painted bright colours such as these ones.

There is discontinuous permafrost in Dawson City, and this issue plays havoc with buildings. If the foundations are not constructed properly, the result is this:

This would be one of the buildings from the original gold-rush days. And yes, Lorie is leaning a little bit to accentuate the lean of the building...or perhaps she's had one too many cocktails at Diamond Tooth Gertie's. More on Gertie's in a future post - you will just have to wait.

Cheers!

Back...again

2007-03-31T19:32:00.000-06:00

Hi everybody:

After an inexcusable absence, I'm back. I'm so busy these days that I won't have time to post long entries...however, I have a ton of pictures that I can post. My plan is to post two or three pictures a day...with a little commentary, maybe! Click on the picture for a proper sized view.

Cheers!

Here's the first installment:

This is a typical view of the mountains that border the Dempster Highway. On a trip south to Whitehorse and Dawson City in the summer of 2006, Lorie took this picture. As you can see, the views are astonishing. Only in the north!

This is a picture of one of the many boardwalks in Dawson City. This is a neat place to visit, there is a lot to see, even though the place is small. Lorie and I went there in the summer of 2006. We had a great time even though our stay was short...and, we will be returning. In a future blog there will be more on Dawson City and its famous (or infamous) sour-toe cocktail!

Cheers for now!

Lorne

Home Again

2006-12-31T04:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks:

It's been a while since my last post. Most of that time has been used either for getting ready , travelling to, or enjoying the visit on the east coast.

It's New Year's Eve now and the last few weeks have been great. I visited with tons of family, friends and former co-workers. It has been great seeing you all again.

Lorie will be joing me today. She has been spending Christmas so far with her family in PEI. We will have another 10 days or so in the south, then it back to the Arctic for us.

Although it's been a good trip, we are looking forward to getting home to Inuvik. Isn't it weird how fast a place becomes home. I guess that's where the job and all your stuff and the routine is - so that makes it home.

There should be a little bit of daylight available when we get back, and I will have to use that light to get a few pictures of the town. I have had multiple requests for pictures of the town itself. I will do my best to accommodate those requests.

Here's a link for you to check out if you are so inclined:

http://www.yukonquest.org/

It's all about the the Yukon Quest dogsled race from Whitehorse in the Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska - 1600 kilometres. It's billed as one of the toughest races in the world.

Well, that's all from Canada's most easterly province. I'll be writing much more when I get back to the Northwest Territories.

Cheers!

2006-11-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks:

Looks like we are in for the first cold night of the year...so far. The forcast is calling for minus 30 and it looks like we might get there and then some...it's already minus 29.

Overall it was a good long weekend, too short of course, but nice nonetheless. We did a little bit of walking and a bit of snowmobiling, watched some movies, cooked some good meals and generally took it easy. We are just four work weeks away from the trip back east. It's been a year of change for us...a long year and in certain ways a hard year - but a rewarding year. The hardest part is working a whole year and not having any time off. Well, that's not exactly true, we did have a few days off for a trip to Whitehorse. And Lorie had a few more days off for a trip to Edmonton. The month off over Christmas will be great. It will be great for us to see our families and friends, and have the time off work.

Lorie and I, and another friend of ours Eric, did one short snowmobile trip yesterday; only about an hour off into the bush, but it was fun. We also brought Ripley along and ran him so that he would be tired for the rest of the evening. It was good to get out on the land again. Unfortunately the wind was coming up and a bit of a blizzard was forecast, so we turned back. There will be plenty of more opportunities.

That's all for now. I have been taking some flak for how infrequently I have been posting. One reason is that I'm not sure what people want to read. If you have any questions, be sure to post them and I will do my best to answer them. If you have requests of things you'd like pictures of, post those too. I'll do my best to accommodate. Once the ice roads to Tuk and Aklavik open, we will travel a bit more and take some picture for you.

Cheers!

Curling with Granite

2006-10-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

This past Friday was my absolute first time ever curling. Yes, yes I know I should be ashamed of myself, being a Canadian and all. Well, I've finally done it - no more shame.

Lorie and I, and another couple, friends of ours, are part of a team called "Qilrik" which means hawk in Inuvialuktun. Some us have curled more than others but I was the one that had never held a rock before. Needless to say I didn't do that well. I tried though. And it looks so easy on TV!

As part of our membership we have the option to pay an extra $35 and spend an extra evening per week on the ice practicing. I guess I'll have to spend that extra $35 becase I need the practice. I made one decent shot in the game, but the rest were not so impressive. We lost the game, which I am okay with, and we actually managed to get one point at the end of the game, which was great so that it wasn't a shutout.

I hope there's at least one more team with our level of "expertise".

Cheers!

Lost and Found

2006-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hi all:

Early this morning I packed up the jeep and the dog and went down the Dempster about 50 kilometres to do some target shooting. A typical Sunday morning really. As we drove down the highway, I sipped on coffee from my thermos and listened to CBC radio while Ripley sat next to me and watched the world go by.

It was a nice morning - calm and about minus 15 degrees, the sun was just coming up as I drove down the highway.

Once I got to my usual target practice spot, I let the dog out to run around while I set up my target and loaded the rifle. I fired two or three shots, and checked to make sure the dog was out of the way before I fired any more. He was no where to be seen! I looked around until I spotted his trail. Apparently he had bolted up the little side road I was on, across the highway and into the bush on the east side of the Dempster. The dog completely ignored my calls. He was gone.

I unloaded and stowed the rifle and started in following his tracks. Before too long I realized that I was not in a good situation. I had hiked about four kilometres into the bush (in about 50 centimetres of snow) without any gear or supplies. My calls to the dog must have fell on deaf ears because he was no where to be found. I decided to end the search and returned to the jeep on the highway.

I made the drive back to town trying to figure out the best way to search for the dog, but given the geography and the conditions, the only real way was to do what I had been doing - follow his trail. The one thing that worried me is that at about the three kilometre mark I picked up the trail of what was proably a Lynx. It looked like the Lynx was tailing the dog - probably looking for an easy meal - but it's impossible to say for sure. The Lynx trail was fresh, but it could have been laid before the dog was in the area - who knows.

Once I returned home - I got some gear together and recruited a second searcher - Lorie. We let a neighbor know where we were going and why - just for that margin of safety in case we got lost too. We set off down the highway this time armed with a copuple of GPS's, appropriate clothing, and some high energy snack foods.

Once we reached the spot where Ripley bolted, we headed into the bush. It was hard going and it was chilly too. Before long both of us were huffing and puffing, and frost began to form on all our clothing. Ripley had been out in this for well over two hours at this point and I wasn't sure if he could survive the cold, and possibly being hunted by a wild cat. He was a house dog, entirely oblivious to the dangers of being in the bush, alone, in Canada's arctic.

Lorie started to get really tired (in truth I was too - the going was very difficult), so I agreed to go on ahead, but only on condition that she kept calling for the dog. That way I would always hear where she was, and I could cover a little more ground. After another half hour, she was starting to lag behind too much for comfort, so I held up for a while until I could hear her calls again. I used the time to look at the trail I was following, and after some examination, I concluded that the dog was getting tired - the footfalls were closer together and the snow was increasingly more disturbed - it was obvious that he was dragging himself through the bush rather than just running along. I kind of figured that he might be just up ahead, resting. We had come over six kilometres, and I wasn't sure how much further it was safe to go. We still had the trek back out of the bush to consider and the daylight doesn't last to long this time of year. And this bush was dense growth of willows and alders - a real nightmare for walking.

I hadn't heard from Lorie in some time, so I started calling out to her. Finally I got a faint reply in the distance. I couldn't make out what she was saying, so I backtracked a little until I could hear her more clearly. What she was saying was, "I GOT HIM!".

The dog had apparenlty looped back to answer her calls and he had found her. He was none the worse for wear - except maybe a little cold. We had a quick reunion and a small snack, but we were all more than a little tired, so we started the trek back out to the highway. A couple of hours later we were all back home safe and sound. I had walked about 20 kilometres, Lorie had walked about 12, and as for Ripley, well he's curled up and sleeping, he doesn't have much to say about the experience.

I guess you have to find the positive in everything. In this case I didn't get much target shooting done, but at least I got lots of exercise and a decent story for the blog. It's a better story than my first experience curling Friday night. I guess I'll do that one another time.

Cheers!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2006-10-23T19:08:00.000-06:00

Hi Folks:

Well by all accounts the snow this year is late, but as they say better late than never...and besides, it's still an early snow by most people standards. It's been snowing for two days now. Although I woundln't call it a storm, it is snowing at a steady rate. If the snow keeps up at this rate there will be enough to use the snowmobiles by the weekend. The ice isn't really strong enough, but there are plenty of trails around here that don't involve ice. Funny thing about living here is that you buy almost no gas for your car or truck, and tons for your snowmobiles. Well, at least it's lots of fun!

The second and last mud season of the year is over, thankfully (yes, there are two - spring and fall). With the freezeup over the last few weeks and now the snow, the town looks so clean and...well...so much like it should. If you live in the north you expect to have snow most of the year, and although it might sound funny to folks down south, the snow is a welcome sight.

It's getting pretty dark this time of the year as well and the snow seems to brighten everything up. It's quieter too and the snow absorbs sound and makes everything seem like it's going to sleep for the winter. No us though. We have plans.

We were a little late getting the snowmobiles last year, and so we had limited time on them. That won't be the case this year. I , for one, plan to get maximum snow time. At least the gas companies will like me!

Cheers!

Two in a Row!

2006-10-03T22:06:00.000-06:00

Will wonders never cease, huh?

I took a road trip today to Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson. It's a four hour round trip by truck, but waiting for the ferry at the river crossings is a real pain. It cost me another hour and a half or so. It's always nice to get our to the communities though. It's funny that they see Inuvik as the large centre. Some of these smaller communities have only about 200 or 300 people so it's not hard to see why they think the nearby town (which has only 3500) is the "big city".

Of course the travelling comes in blocks around here and I am off tomorrow to visit Norman Wells. It's just a day trip though and I should be back tomorrow evening. The only community for which I have responsibility that I have not yet visited is Paulatuk. I just haven't had the chance. One has to be careful travelling to Paulatuk though, the area is prone to bad weather and one can end up staying longer than one expects!

Cheers for now.

2006-10-02T22:18:00.000-06:00

Hi Folks:

It's been a while since my last post, I know. Things have been really busy here in Inuvik and at work too. Lorie and I both joined a softball team this summer, so we had lots of fun playing ball, and we met plenty of folks too.

This summer sure was hot! Much hotter than I thought it would be this far north - much hotter than I am used to, for sure. I could barely handle it in fact! If it wasn't for air conditioning, I'm not sure what I'd do. And the mosquitoes - they were absolutely brutal. Ahhh - but I don't have to worry too much about that any more. Fall has arrived with a vengeance. All the folks around town are talking about how late the snow is this year. It was just below zero this morning and it was cloudy. I have started walking to work again - at least I can do it comfortably now.

This morning I saw a fox on the way to work. That in itself is not an unexpected event in Inuvik, however I saw this particular fox right in the middle of downtown. I guess he was a little lost.

I have had the opportunity to do a little hunting so far this fall. A friend and I bagged seven or eight ptarmingan a few weekends ago. They are not hard to find here. It's a real treat to go ptarmingan hunting and come home with some virtually every time. We are hoping to get a moose within the next few weeks. It's getting colder now and they should be on the move soon.

I have been pretty busy with CASARA this summer and I have been involved in two searches. On the first one the lost folks were found, but the person who was the object of the second search has not yet been found and things aren't looking good for him. I spent most of the days Friday and Saturday hovering just over the treetops in a helicopter. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

It's about nine weeks or so till Lorie and I head back to the east coast for a nice long break. It will be good to see friends and family again. It will also be good to have the break away from work and to eat at all those restaurants that we don;t have here. Can't wait to have a nice big juicy steak!

Well that's a short update too short for after a four month break, I know. I can't promise I will write every day, but I'll try to keep up to posting a few entries a week at least. Be sure to post your questions or comments .

Cheers!

Back in the Saddle

2006-04-24T23:05:00.000-06:00

Temp: -4 C
Sunlight: 17hrs 03min

Hi all:

I know it's been a long time since my last post. To be honest it's been a combination of laziness and busy-ness.

There is a lot of light now. The sun technically sets just before midnight, but it's actually light out till well after 1AM, and on the other side of the coin it gets light out at about 5AM, and the sun rises at about 6AM. It's still cold some days, at least the air temperature is cold. There is plenty of power in the sun though and snow has been melting for the last week or so. We will have plenty of snow and ice well into June though.

So what has happened since my last post? Plenty, actually.

I made a trip to Yellowknife a few weeks ago, and I spent a week there. It's a different sort of town. Where Whitehorse (the capital of the Yukon for those readers not familiar with Canadian geography) is spread out and squat, Yellowknife, by contrast is tall - the buildings I mean - and congested. While the town only has 20,000 people, it sort of has the feel of a larger city. There is one exception however. I arrived in Yellowknife on a Sunday evening and never did find a restaurant to eat in - at least not in the downtown area that I called home for a week.

Although Yellowknife is the capital city of th Northwest Territories, it is not a place I will visit often. It is basically impossible to get to, except by air. To get there by car, I would have to drive through the NWT, through the Yukon, through BC, into Alberta, and then North back into the NWT. That would be a four-day (or more) trip and I would pass through other cities like Whitehorse and some much larger cities like Edmonton. Basically there are much easier cities to get to than Yellowknife. I'll likely travel there on business only.

What else? I have a trip coming up in early May. I will be going to Fort Smith in the southern part of the NWT - basically on the border of NWT and Alberta. This is a CASARA-related trip to an area that I would never normally get to visit on business. We have some meetings and training to do down there. Should be fun.

Also, Lorie and I are the proud owners of two snowmobiles! We have one each. They are not exactly new - they are 1997 models - but they are in excellent shape and work well. We went for a trip yesterday and logged about 80 kilometres round trip with no problems. Lorie did very well for her first long distance snowmobile ride. There's about a month of snowmobiling left in this season, but I'll be away for two of those weekends. Best thing is, I will only have to wait about three months till the season for riding is back. I love living in the North!

A couple of other news items... I have a new rifle. It's a 243 Winchester with a monster scope on it. The other is that we went to a Gwitch'in wedding in Fort McPherson this weekend. But I have written enough tonight. More on those items later.

Cheers!

A Belt of Logic

2006-04-03T22:46:00.000-06:00

Temp: -18°C
Sunlight – 14.1 Hours

Well I think I have finally figured out something that I have been wondering about for a while now. Just what exactly is the purpose of a belt anyway? Obviously women wear them for fashion purposes. Well I have never really been into fashion. I know that some people use them to hold up their pants. My solution to that, like a true Industrial Engineering professional, is to simply buy pants of the correct size. So what exactly is the purpose of this strip of leather with a bit of metal on one end – these things that have been given to me as gifts on countless birthdays and Christmases and such?

Thirty-three years old and it took living in the north before I finally figured this one out. Everyone up here carries folding tools (you know, the ones with the pliers and all the other little bits and pieces), and knives, and various other survival implements with them at all times. But where to put all these things? To carry them in your pockets is dangerous and impractical – your pants would fall down – umm, unless you are wearing a belt. But wait! If you are wearing a belt, why not hang the nineteen kilos of hardware of the darn belt! After all, these various knives and folding tools all have little loops in their sheaths that coincidently fit very nicely with a belt.

So this little nugget of wisdom slapped me across the face sometime yesterday. Now I too, carry a folding tool with me everywhere I go. One never knows when one will have to perform emergency on a snowmobile, or oneself. More satisfying, I finally have a use for all those belts I have collect over the years. Some of them are out of fashion – but then, I have never really been into fashion anyway.

I know most people are probably tired of reading this, but it is really strange to have a perfectly sunlit sky at 11PM. There! I won’t mention it again – for a few days at least. I promise.

Cheers!

I'm Back!

2006-04-02T16:32:00.000-06:00

Temp: -8°C
Sunlight - 13.57 hours

I know, I know - the Blog hasn’t been updated in a week. Trust me I’ve had no lack of reminders. Truth is there just hasn’t been much to write about lately.

The days are getting longer, but that’s no surprise. With the change in time last night, it will likely stay light out till about midnight within a week or two. It seems as though the time has come to cover the windows – at least in the bedroom. It’s impossible to sleep with all that bright light coming in on you.

The weather steadily improves too. The temperatures are getting warmer by the day. These are the real fun times if you own a snowmobile or like to go ice fishing. Both of those could be in the plans for us depending on the availability of equipment…and time.

I spend most of yesterday flying. I had my first flight as navigator. It went ok, but it’s clear that I need quite a bit of practice. We did some low level flying near the Richardson Mountains. The sights were awesome. Unfortunately, as navigator, I didn’t really have any time for pictures. Maybe next time.

Lorie and I walked the dog around Boot Lake a few times this week as well. With the sunlight extending well into the evenings now, we find that there’s more time and more desire to do outdoor things after work. That’s good because it’s good exercise and lots of fun too.

As well, this week saw the installation of our NWT license plate. The polar bear shape is one of the most recognizable license plates in the world as far as I know. Auto insurance is cheaper here too. We are paying just over half of what we were back in Newfoundland. It’s good to know that there are some breaks on some things up here. Potatoes are one of them, unfortunately. Lorie bought ten pounds of potatoes today for the low, low price of twenty dollars. That’s no fun!

I’m reading a book on the Yukon Quest Dogsled Race. It’s one of the books Lorie bought me for Christmas. It a complete account of the race that was run in 2003. This 1650 kilometer dogsled race runs between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks Alaska every winter. It’s an extreme test of the endurance of human and dog alike. It’s pretty exciting stuff and you sure hear lots of talk of the various races up here. It’s the sport of the North.

Cheers!

Social Times

2006-03-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Temp: -23°C
Sunlight - 12.54 hours

Had a little bit of a lie-in today - it’s all preparation for the party tonight. Only in Inuvik does one prepare this much for a party. Tonight is actually a party for all those of the group that have a birthday in March – and this includes Lorie. I have already been told that I need to prepare to drive tonight. Someone is planning on having a good time. I suppose I better be a good boy and drive - of course there’s always taxis!

In the afternoon a buddy came over and we had a few beers and watched TV and played some trivial pursuit. We actually encountered a question about Inuvik. The question asked how many traffic lights there were in this town. There is, of course, only one.

Cheers!

Lucy in the North with Diamonds...

2006-03-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Temp: -21°C
Sunlight - 12.46 hours

Another week has flown by. The plans this weekend are social and not outdoor related. It’s supposed to be a pretty decent weekend, temperature-wise, but we may be expecting a little snow – not much mind you.

The big controversy in the NWT these days is the state of the iceroads. Not so much up here in the North, but more so down in the South – where the diamond mines are.

Truckers have been loaded and waiting for days waiting for official word on whether the road will be stable enough to use a few more times. There are big dollars in the diamond mines and there is huge pressure to get all the supplies and equipment in for the summer. To be honest, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year. Failing the roads, the diamond companies will have to result to the much more expensive mode of flying in supplies and equipment.

If you were in the market for diamonds, be prepared for higher prices this year.

Cheers!

Discussions on Nothing

2006-03-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Temp: -16°C
Sunlight - 12.38 hours

I made a trip to Tsiigehtchic today. Enroute I encountered some British magazine writers who were making a trip to Tuk in Jeeps. They were doing some vehicle testing and some exploring at the same time. There’s a lot of this up here. The extreme climate attracts all sorts of adventurers. In fact it is one of the basic common attributes of people who come here, or of people who live here is adventurism. One gets used to it rather quickly.

We are still short a couple of snowmobiles in this household, and the deficit is getting a little more painful each day. There are more and more snowmobiles on the go around town now that the temperatures are warming up, and that almost makes the want become a need. Oh well! Maybe next year!

Cheers!

Warm and Sunny!

2006-03-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

Temp: -17°C
Sunlight - 12.31 hours

It has been getting milder day by day. Well, by mild I mean closer to mild, at least. I have no doubt that the temperature will get cold again at some point, but I think we have turned a corner toward spring.

Plus the sun is so bright now, and it lasts all day long. The amount of sunlight is only going to get stranger from here on in. I’m already beginning to think of window shading techniques. Topping my list, is aluminum foil.

Cheers!

All About Adventure

2006-03-21T23:37:00.000-07:00

Temp: -20°C
Sunlight - 12.25 hours

It seems like everyone I know is developing grandiose plans for adventures this summer. Everyone, that is, except me. There are talks of grand canoeing and kayaking trips up and down the Mackenzie. Plans for skiing trips from Tuk to Inuvik this spring. Plans for 100 kilometre hiking trips. I guess the big question I have is how are these folks going to do this stuff with all the mosquitoes and black flies. Apparently there are lots of them here. Anyone who knows me knows that mosquitoes and black flies drive me mad. It will be curious to see how well I cope. Lots of fly spray and a good bug jacket I dare say.

It’s Tuesday night and that means Scotch at the Finto. We usually head out for this treat. There’s always a crowd there and, more and more, we are coming to recognize people and they recognize us too. It seems that we are beginning to get to know many of the people in the community.

In that regard there seems to be a very reserved aggression in this town. It seems that you clearly know which people like which other people, and likewise, which people do not like which other people. You can tell, but there’s never really much said about it. Let’s face it, in a town of this size, if you have it out with someone, you’ll be seeing them again later that day, and tomorrow, and the day after. And that’s where the reserved part comes in. It’s a weird vibe.

And I would be remiss if I neglected to mention that Lorie passed her firearms safety tests. This means that she can get her firearms license, and eventually apply for hunting licenses. That will be of value the year after next when we qualify for big game licenses. It will be of even greater value if we ever end up in Newfoundland again, where licenses are much more scarce.

Cheers!

Plans for the Weekend?

2006-03-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

Temp: -17°C
Sunlight - 12.16 hours

Monday, Monday. I kind of hate that day!

Minus seventeen. Can’t beat that for March…in Inuvik that is! It is definitely mild by our standards. Most of the locals have swapped out their heavy mitts and fur hats for light gloves and knit toques. It is definitely much more comfortable outside today.

Our plans for the weekend are already in full swing. There is a party for March birthdays on Saturday night. There seems to be an inordinate number of people in our group who have a birthday in March – so we’ve decided to have one big party for the whole group. So that’s Saturday – on Sunday we are having some people over for dinner. That leaves only Friday for the two of us to do something alone. A nice quiet dinner perhaps.

Cheers!

Lazy Days

2006-03-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Temp: -24°C
Sunlight - 12.07 hours

This is the lazy day. Not having gotten to bed until 5AM, I didn’t get up until late and was still pretty tired. Consequently nothing happened today. I don’t even think I went outside once.

I suppose one interesting thing that did happen today was that the sun crossed the 12 hour threshold. We now get more sunlight than darkness. It usually gets light out about 8AM and stays light till at least 8PM. That’s very different than back on the East Coast. It’s probably dark back home by 6PM. I guess we are on that inevitable march towards 24 hours of sunlight. I’m not sure if I’m going to like this!

Cheers!

The Evaluation

2006-03-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Temp: -30°C
Sunlight - 11.98 hours

I am actually writing this entry on Sunday…for good reason.

We had our evaluation. Mostly everything went by the book. We had a couple of small glitches – every mission does – but nothing we couldn’t handle on the fly. The evaluators kept a sharp eye on everything we did and they sure asked a lot of questions. It was a long day, and it had some stress, but in the end our practice and rehearsals served us well. We passed the evaluation with flying colours! We are now fully military certified and we will be given the opportunity to train on a variety of military gear – of special interest to me – the C-130 Hercules. It’s one of the biggest planes in the Canadian Military and I am told that it can perform some pretty wild acrobatics. The Herc will be up in our neck of the woods in September, and like a lot of CASARA members, I will be lobbying for a spot on that flight.

After the evaluation and a break, we all headed off to the RCMP mess for some food and a few well deserved drinks. It was an opportunity for us to wind down after an eventful few weeks. And we did that in fine style. There were poker tables, pool tables, a big screen TV and dart boards all set up for us. We had a great time.

A few of the guys came back to our place and we were up till about 5AM drinking and talking. Most of us are from the east cost so there’s nothing new there!

Cheers!

The Preparation

2006-03-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Temp: -34°C
Sunlight - 11.86 hours

It’s the end of the week again…thankfully!

It’s St. Patrick’s Day and, although I’d love to have a few drinks tonight, I can’t. We are under strict orders not to drink because of the CASARA exercise tomorrow. We have a party planned after the evaluation (to either celebrate our success or drown our sorrows), and we will make up for it then.

Tonight we have a meeting with the evaluators so they can give us our mission. Once we have that information, we will start the process that we have practiced so often over the last few months. The navigator will be drawing flight plans on maps, calculating fuel needs, identifying the search area, and determining approach and departure vectors and all that fun stuff.

I have been assigned the Chief Spotter role. It’s quite an honour to be assigned such an important role, me being so new in the organization and all. My job will be to assemble and brief the spotters (those are the people in the plane who actually look for the downed aircraft and survivors), test and install the equipment on the aircraft, and calculate all the weights of passengers and gear. It’s a busy job, but not half as busy as the Navigator’s or the Pilot’s jobs.

The evening so far has been spent reviewing protocol and procedure and getting ready for tonight’s meeting. It’s looking like it will be a CASARA weekend – and that’s just fine by me.

Cheers!

Lorie's Birthday

2006-03-16T23:11:00.000-07:00

Temp: -39°C
Sunlight - 11.73 hours

Today is Lorie’s Birthday. She received several packages in the mail, right on her birthday – now that’s planning! There’s not much shopping up here, so I ordered her gift from Sears mail order – of course it’s not here in time – no surprise there.

It is really cold today (even colder than yesterday) and I couldn’t get the Jeep started again this morning. In fact, before noon I was out inspecting some abandoned buildings (read – no heat on in them), and I actually got a touch of frostbite while inside one. Now it’s definitely cold when you get frostbite when you aren’t even out in the weather!

I had a CASARA meeting tonight and after that myself, and some of our friends took Lorie out for dinner. We had a pretty good time.

The pressure is really on with CASARA now. We have our Military certification this Saturday and preparations are in full swing – well they have been for some time now. We are going that extra mile to ensure that we make the grade. It’s really important to all of us, and we have been putting lots of energy and effort into the planning. Tomorrow night we meet with the Military Certifiers and begin the exercise which will span two days and put every aspect of what we do under a microscope. I think we will do ok, but everyone is definitely a little edgy. All I can say is that I hope it warms up a little for Saturday because there isn’t a lot of heat in those small planes.

Cheers!

Cold, You Say?

2006-03-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

Temp: -36°C
Sunlight - 11.58 hours

This was a cold day, and hence we didn’t really do anything after work but take it easy inside.

Cold is a funny thing. We always think of it as the presence of something that causes us pain and discomfort. It is however the absence of something - heat, of course. Humans are truly delicate creatures. If we are subjected to too much heat then we become uncomfortable, and if there’s not enough heat then we become uncomfortable. I figure that we can survive in about minus seventy degrees for a while at least. On the other side of the coin, we could probably survive in fifty-five or sixty degree temps for a while too – maybe more. Given the choice, I would prefer the minus temps…but that’s just me.

When it’s this cold, lots of things don’t work well. You’ve read about my square tires, perpetually iced up windows, and frost burnt skin. Here are some others. The vehicle wouldn’t start today; I forgot to plug it in. I had to use my emergency power box to get it going. When I finally did get the thing started, the radio didn’t work. Hours later and it still doesn’t. I suppose it’s frozen. Also, if you have the need to carry a pen in your pocket in these temperatures, you can forget about using it for a few hours – the ink will be frozen. Even joints don’t work well. I find in particular, that my knees cease up pretty quickly. A few minutes at room temperature and they are back to normal.

It’s not all bad though. If you find yourself at home on a Friday evening with a warm case of beer – no problem – fifteen minutes on the back step and you’re good to go. And what’s that? You’re having a party and run out of ice? No problem! Simply fill the tray with cold water and place outside for twenty minutes. Voila! Fresh ice. I’m sure there are other, non-alcohol-related benefits of the cold too, but I’m not sure what they are right now.

Cheers!

The Visit

2006-03-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Temp: -34°C
Sunlight -11.45 hours

I made the trip to Ulukhaktok today. The flying time is about 2 hours directly North of Inuvik. It’s an interesting place with a population of about 480 souls. There are two stores in town – a Northern Store and a Co-Op. The prices of items there are high, as you would expect.

A local resident had shot a polar bear the day before but it had been long since skinned and the pelt sent South. We didn’t even catch a glimpse of it.

I had planned to get some Arctic Char while in Ulukhaktok, but it was a poor year for Char and no one really wanted to give any up. Understandable, I suppose. I did pick up some really decent Inuvialuit prints, however.

We had lunch at the local hotel which was surprisingly modern and very well appointed. They were only too happy to accept Interact and Credit Card. I got lots of funny looks. When you are new in town, you tend to get the funny looks. Everyone wants to know who you are and why you are there but most are too shy to ask.

While I was eating at the hotel restaurant (basically a cafeteria) a tiny little Inuvialuit girl, about three years old, outfitted to the nines in traditional clothing came right up to me to do what the rest of the folks wouldn’t. She wanted to know who I was, where my home was, and why I was in Ulukhaktok. I would estimate that she was about the cutest little girl on the face of the planet, and as she was asking me these questions, the din in the restaurant quieted, and before long all eyes were on us. I answered her questions as best I could, which did nothing but spur more and more questions. I decided to turn the tables on her, and I questioned her on her clothing – asking which types of furs adorned her hood, and cuffs and fringe on her coat. She knew all the answers, but she was curious as to what type of fur my hat was made of. I told her it was beaver’s fur and that finally satisfied her. I took out a toque that I had just bought at a local shop and asked her what the animal in the picture on the hat was – and she burst forth with “NANUK, OF COURSE!!”. Sure enough – it was a Polar Bear. That got everyone in the restaurant to laughing, including me.

I have a few pictures of Ulukhaktok, but you will have to wait for them, because I forgot them at work.

Cheers!

Ulukhaktok

2006-03-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

Temp: -34°C
Sunlight -11.31 hours

Back to work today. This week will be broken up a little for both of us though. Lorie has a trip to Colville Lake again this week for some more work on her project down there. I will be going to Ulukhaktok tomorrow. Ulukhaktok is a community on Victoria Island far to the North of us. It will be my first time in that community, and as usual, my camera will be with me for some pictures.

I am hoping to procure some Arctic Char while in Ulukhaktok. One thing I really do miss from back home is the ready availability of fish. It is both expensive here, and of poor quality. The best possibility for fish is locally caught Arctic Char. It tastes very good and is nutritious.

I have to go now and pack up my survival gear for my trip North. I will report the details tomorrow, along with any pictures I manage to take.

Cheers!

The Importance of Firearms

2006-03-12T22:59:00.000-07:00

Temp: -30°C
Sunlight -10.78 hours

Today was R and R for me. This was really a quiet day because Lorie is out doing a course all day. What course, you might ask? Well, the firearms safety course, of course!

I have been pressuring her to do this course for some time. There are many advantages in this for me – and it’s all about me as we all know! First of all she can buy her own guns – well ok – buy me guns. And that’s good. Second, she can qualify for hunting licenses which means the potential for more wild meat in the house – and that’s good. And third, and most important, she will have the wherewithal to defend herself against bears, if she happens to encounter any while in the woods. It’s a common occurrence here, and to know what to do and be able to do it, could save your life and the life of your companions.

So what did I do on my time to myself? Why, watched TV, of course! Watched TV and nothing else!

Cheers!

Cold! Cold! Cold!

2006-03-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Temp: -31°C
Sunlight - 11.08 hours

I made the trip today. Unfortunately, I only got half as far as I had planned. Some preparation delays and the extreme cold conspired to keep me from the intended destination.

I did make it to a place called Beer Hill. It’s about 12 or 15 kilometres out on the Tundra. We started out as a group of three, but one person decided to turn back early on. It was cold in town and very cold in the bush. Myself and the other guy estimated that it was at least -40 Celsius, not including any wind chill – which had to be significant.

We got to Beer Hill and set out the ELT and waited for the plane to find us. And waited. And waited. In retrospect it was not a good idea to stand on top of a hill in -40 degree weather with the wind whistling around us – for an hour and a half! We both suffered some minor frostbite for our troubles. Me on my right cheek, bridge of my nose, and thumb and first two fingers on my right hand. My companion, one patch each on his cheeks.

This time I left the helmet home and wore a specially designed face cover. Lorie actually sewed it up for me the night before. In addition to that, I wore my new beaver skin hat, and another full face cover. Only the areas around my eyes were left exposed, and that was the area that got frozen. Looks like there are a set of goggles in my future.

We left around 11:30AM and got back about 4:30PM and that was more than enough time out in that cold for us.

I was just happy that I did it and survived. Next time I will shoot for more distance and less frostbite!

Cheers!

Planning the Trip

2006-03-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

Temp: -28°C
Sunlight - 10.94 hours

Another week is done and there are plenty of plans for the weekend. First, tonight there’s a birthday party for an acquaintance of ours. I don’t intend to stay too late though because I have plans for tomorrow.

The day will be consumed by a snowmobile trip to deploy an ELT (Electronic Location Transmitter) for a CASARA mission to attempt to locate. It will be my first trip out on the land by myself – well I won’t be alone, but I will be leading the mission. I have spent much of the evening getting set – preparing maps and getting the GPS’s set up, and getting my gear together.

Later tomorrow evening we are hosting a birthday party for a CASARA colleague. All in all it will be a pretty full day.

Cheers for now!

Colville Lake

2006-03-09T23:20:00.000-07:00

Temp: -30°C
Sunlight - 10.78 hours

Here are the pictures of Colville Lake that Lorie took on her last trip there. Enjoy!

Cheers! for now.

A Slight Northerly Wind

2006-03-08T23:43:00.000-07:00

Temp: -23°C
Windchill: - 36°C
Sunlight - 10.65 hours

Lorie made a trip to a place called Colville Lake yesterday. It’s a pretty unique community South of here. Colville Lake was founded on the principle that modern life was erasing the traditional ways of the Aboriginals. The elders in the community decided to set up a community that was pretty much traditional. So about 70 or 80 people left Fort Good Hope and tramped their way about 150 kilometers into the bush and set up a community on the edge of Colville Lake. They have no running water and, I believe, only relatively recently allowed electricity in the community. Most of the buildings there are made from local logs and the traditional language is still spoken.

Lorie took some pretty interesting pictures of Colville Lake. I will post some of them tomorrow night. I plan to visit the community myself in the next month or so, and I will be able to give you my impressions of it then.

I have added the Windchill indicator to the header tonight. There really isn’t that much wind out there compared to what one sees on the East coast – only about 26 km/h and gusting to 37 km/h – but even that slight wind has a pretty devastating effect on the temperature when it’s this cold. That little wind makes -23 feel like -36. Basically it is immediately uncomfortable when you go outside.

That’s all for now.

Cheers!

That Northern Feeling

2006-03-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Temp: -20°C
Sunlight - 10.50 hours

Already we are up to ten and a half hours of light. Each day now, between 11 and 16 minutes more are added – that’s an hour and a half more daylight each week. It’s all very strange.

There’s a prevailing attitude in the North that if you are not from here, if you were not born here, then you are a visitor – even if you have lived here for a decent part of your life. It’s a bit of a holdover from the days when men came North in search of what they could take back – like during the gold rush days - to make them rich or famous. There were some though, that just took good stories back with them.

I was aware of this feeling/attitude before I ever came North, and I am even more acutely aware of it now. Not to say that people aren’t friendly – because they are, but there still a sense of being a “come-from-away”. That’s generally a Newfoundlander’s term for anyone living in Newfoundland that…well…comes from away. Although I haven’t heard the term used here, it very well could be.

I suppose, in a way I am doing the very thing that I said I wouldn’t – no I’m not taking away gold, or other natural resources, but if I ever do move from here (no plans right now, by the way) then I will take my memories and some great stories too.

And I have to be honest – I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.

Cheers!

Driving - Northern Style

2006-03-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Temp: -18°C
Sunlight - 10.37 hours

Today I started a mandatory driving course for work. Today was in the classroom all day while tomorrow is driving. Back in the classroom on Wednesday and then driving again on Thursday. The focus of the course is on proactive and defensive driving, especially as it pertains to driving on the ice road and other northern roads. The classroom session was very informative, and as always I learned some valuable things to improve my driving.

There’s not much else to report today. These are pretty standard days, go to work, come home, relax, go to bed, and then back to work the next morning. Once the weather turns a bit warmer, and the light gets longer, I likely will be filling my evenings with more fun stuff.

Cheers!

Ice Road Trip - Pictorial

2006-03-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

Temp: -11°C
Sunlight - 10.24 hours

We took a little trip up the ice road today. It’s something we’ve done a few times before, but we just wanted to get out of the house for a few hours and I was too lazy to actually walk anywhere.

I am also too lazy to write much in the blog today, so you get pictures. Here they are:

A random shot looking east from sightly west of the middle of the Mackenzie River (frozen, of course).

Another random shot looking East across the Mackenzie This time I am on the West bank of the river. The hills on the other side of the river pretty much mark the East bank. As you can tell it's a very large river. That's Lorie and Ripley there in the foreground to give you an indication of scale. From this distance, you can't even see the Jeep.

Some cottages at the base of the hills there. The folks with cottages on the Mackenzie just love this time of year because it is so easy and relatively inexpensive to get to the cottage. This is also the time of year that they take any large items to the cottage - like furniture or lumber. It's much easier to take them in a truck than in a boat.

Another shot of Lorie standing on the river apparently upset that Ripley won't do as he is told. You don't want to get her to the point that the hands are on the hips! Bad things can happen!

An example of the type of drifts that build up. This snow might look soft and fluffy, but it almost as hard as concrete in places. When you walk across it, you don't even leave footprints in places - it's that hard.

Here's some softer stuff and a shot of the Jeep back on the iceroad - basically in the middle of the Mackenzie River.

Another shot of the Mackenize - this one looking North towards Tuk.

That's all for now.

Cheers!

The Greek Weekend

2006-03-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Temp: -16°C
Sunlight - 10.10 hours

With the sunset today we will have crossed the 10 hour mark for sunlight. It’s really astonishing to realize that just two months ago we had virtually no sunlight at all. Now it continues its ceaseless march toward 24 hours of light.

In many ways I think that will be more difficult to deal with than the darkness issue. Already my light/dark cues are being thrown off. I constantly guess the wrong times based on the daylight. At about 8Pm tonight I guessed it was about 6PM just because it was so bright.

As I mentioned, we are planning to take it easy this weekend. I have all the ingredients I need to cook a special Greek meal for Lorie, and make her favourite, of course – Greek salad. That’s fine by me because Greek salad is about the easiest thing in the world to make.

Cheers!

The No-Plans Weekend

2006-03-03T22:50:00.000-07:00

Temp: -18°C
Sunlight - 9.97 hours

I am in the process of rediscovering TV. Having done without it for so long has changed the way I watch it too. Gone are the mass marketed shows that everyone watches. Gone is the channel flipping attitude.

One of my new finds is “The Military Channel”. There are dozens of different shows about the various wars that were fought, the machines of war, the tactics of battle, and so on. I find it all very interesting.

It’s also great to have the Discovery channel back too. There’s a great show on there called “Myth Busters”. On this show the hosts attempt to prove or disprove various myths, saying and old wives tales. They use defined scientific theory and principle to draw their conclusions. Oh, and they blow up a lot of things. And they sometimes hurt themselves in the process. So these things make it great TV!

I plan to go for a walk around town tomorrow. I’ll be sure to take some pictures of Inuvik in the daylight.

Cheers!

A Day Like Any Other

2006-03-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

Temp: -22°C
Sunlight - 9.84 hours

Thursday – a day like any other, except that it is only one day away from the weekend. Ah, the weekend! A time to relax. Just like last weekend, I have all my plans set. Unlike last weekend, my plans involve an extra pillow on the couch and fresh batteries in the remote. It’s gonna be great!

My body is fully recovered now from the tortures of the last weekend, and strictly speaking I am ready to do it all again. But this is time for a little rest, and time for Lorie and I to spend some time together.

I just need to get through that last day of work!

Cheers!

Nothin' Goin' On

2006-03-01T22:58:00.000-07:00

Temp: -26°C
Sunlight - 9.70 hours

Aside from work, it’s a time of relaxation. My body has pretty much recovered now.

We have a new arrival in the house - Cable TV. There’s a channel called the “Military Channel”. It’s got tons of programming on there that I’m interested in. All about planes and tanks and troops and more. It’s all pretty interesting and I am watching a lot of it. There’s lots of other stuff to watch too. But most of all, it’s great to be able to watch TV of any sort that has a clear picture.

I’m tentatively planning another tip to Whitehorse. Lorie quickly opted out of any trip to Whitehorse – she has to work anyway. So If I do make a trip, it will be alone. It will have to happen soon since we are starting to run out of many supplies. If it’s just me going, then there will be plenty of room in the jeep for supplies.

Tomorrow is Thursday and my plans for the weekend are set. I plan to do absolutely nothing! Can’t wait.

Cheers!

Trip to Tuk - Pictorial Continued

2006-02-28T21:45:00.000-07:00

Temp: -28°C
Sunlight - 9.55 hours

Here are more pictures of the trip to Tuk:

A picture looking across a small section of Husky Lakes

Another picture looking across a larger section of Husky Lakes. It is a huge lake!

Back on the Tundra

Confiring on direction again

A caribou antler sticking up out of the snow on the Tundra. With such limited opportunity for vegetation to grow, every possibility is explored. Here you can see the small tuft of field grass that grows on the antler in the summer.

In this shot we are nearing Tuk. This picture shows the frozen Arctic Ocean. It's the first time I have ever been on the Arctic Ocean. Hopefully this summer I'll see it in its liquid form.

Fast forward several hours and here's me cooking dinner for the guys. Moose of course!

That's it for the pictures. Hope you enjoyed. Remember, if you want to see a larger version of the picture, just click on the small version.

Cheers!

Trip to Tuk - Pictorial

2006-02-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Temp: -24°C
Sunlight - 9.41 hours

I have a lot of pictures from the trip last weekend, so the next couple of entries will be largely pictures and captions for them. Here we go…enjoy:

This is a picture of the sunrise over the tundra. It's 10AM here. The rise of the sun actually warmed things up a little, and provided some excellent scenery too.

This is a picture looking North East from John's cabin. As you can see the Tundra is pretty desolate. There is no protection from the elements.

Here's a shot of Julian starting to unload one of the sleds. John's cabin is in the background.

This is John having a snack while sitting at the kitchen table. Notice the cup of tea? John drinks a lot of it. I have never met someone who could drink so much tea in one sitting!

Here's the wood stove that turns the cabin on the Tundra into a raging inferno! Notice the teapot on the stove? It's never empty!

A decent shot of the Tundra. I will be sure to post this picture to contrast the explosion of vegetation in the summer.

This is a shot of Julian and John conferring on directions. I, of course, had no idea where I was at any time! It's amazing how these guys find their way around the Arctic. They are experts at it.

That's all the shots for now. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Trip Continued...

2006-02-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Feb 26 2006
Temp: -22°C

I woke up (woke up is a loose term considering I didn’t really sleep), to even more pain and a higher fever, and an even sicker stomach. I did my best to carry on as normal, but I really couldn’t. They guys went to gather some wood and look for Caribou, and I didn’t have the strength to go. While they were gone, I decided I would gather my gear and prepare for the trip home, although I had no idea how I was going to endure that trip. It took me a full hour to gather up two bags of gear and get it ready for travel. I tried my best to hydrate and stretch but it wasn’t doing much for me.

The guys eventually came back and we prepared for the trip home. John was staying put for another night, so it was just Julian and I for the trip back. My fever had subsided slightly, but I was still sick and my muscles pained terrifically. It took everything I had to drag myself to the snowmobile and start out – but I did it.

At first the ride hurt badly, but eventually I loosened up a little. We made excellent time and two and a half hours later we were home. Lorie was there to pick me up. We quickly stowed the snowmobiles and I headed home – and straight into a hot bath. Add some fruit juice, some ibuprofen and I was feeling a little better. By seven-thirty I was in bed for a short nap. I slept for twelve hours!

A couple of things had happened to cause my discomfort. First of all I was dehydrated, seriously so. This had caused the sick stomach and headache. The pain and the fever were probably caused by the destruction I had done to my muscles by so much work that day. Riding a snowmobile may sound like fun, and it is, but it is also a lot of hard work. Driving over the tundra had shredded my muscles, the same ones I needed to get me back home…hence the pain.

That’s it for now. Tune in tomorrow for pictures and more.

Cheers!

The Trip

2006-02-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Feb 25 2006
Temp: -32°C

The day started out at 7AM – breakfast at the Eskimo Inn. We got rolling at about 8AM. It was fairly chilly, okay, quite chilly. The first part was quick - real quick. We blistered along the ice road at about 100 kilometres per hour for about 15 minutes. It was cold and I could tell. Within only a few minutes I could feel a burning sensation on my cheeks. I had my full face helmet on so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. Pretty soon the pain went away and I kept going.

Following the ice road we turned towards the woods that would take us off the delta and up to the tundra. We weren’t traveling too long before we encountered a group of Canadian Army soldiers who were doing some Arctic training. We stopped to talk to them, and I noticed one guy in particular staring at me. I was about ready to ask what his problem was when he proclaimed that I “had serious frostbite”. I went to one of the snow machines that had a rearview mirror to take a look. Sure enough I had two enormous white patches – one on each cheek. There was a grey patch in the middle of each white patch. The reason the pain had gone away earlier was because the nerves were dead. Luckily, these army guys were in the middle of a briefing on how to deal with medical issues while in cold weather, so they told me how to “fix it”. Once I was taken care of, my traveling companion - Julian - handed me a spare face cover that I put on under the helmet, and I was good to go.

What followed was one of the roughest snowmobile rides that I have ever experienced. The trail was hard, rutty, and uncomfortable. It was a bone jarring ride. After three and a half hours we finally reached the cabin we were going to stay at that night. This was John’s place on Husky Lakes. John is an Inuvialuit guy, who invited us to his place for the weekend. More on John’s Cabin later.

But the ride wasn’t over. We had a cup of tea and started out again to Tuktoyaktuk. Another three hours of muscle ripping, bone jarring, snowmobile riding and we made it to Tuk. The scenery was incredible and I rode on the Arctic Ocean for the first time. Don’t worry, there are plenty of pictures. I’ll post them over the next few entries.

Once we were in Tuk we went to John’s Uncle and Aunt’s house, where we were greeted with mild suspicion at first (after all, we were three red faced, frozen guys – two of us white at that), but eventually we were welcomed with open arms. We were given hot tea, coffee, food and great stories. More on those in a future entry.

After a few hours we left to make the trip back to Husky Lakes. Yet another three hours at a blistering pace across the rough tundra. Something told me I was going to pay for this. In fact my body was already talking.

At about 9 PM we arrived back at John’s cabin. We refueled the machines, secured our belongings and set inside to make camp for the night.

Julian and John have done this before, so we were welcomed into the cabin by a nice heat and a hot stove ready to cook on. Being who I am, I had to bring some of my home to this home; and so I made some Moose stew. It was enjoyed by all. Before long we got set to sleep for the night. I was beginning to run a fever, and I was obviously dehydrated, my muscles were beginning to cramp, and I was a little sick to my stomach. Nevertheless, I tried to sleep.

My condition worsened throughout the night and before long I was in serious pain. I had endured almost 300 kilometres in one day on a snowmobile, in brutal conditions - cold, windy, and mostly dark.

Tune in for more, but that’s it for now.

Cheers!

Short and Sweet

2006-02-25T00:32:00.000-07:00

Temp: -24°C
Sunlight - 9.15 hours

This will be a short one.

I have spent most of the evening getting ready for the trip tomorrow and I need to get some sleep. We leave early and it will be a long trip. The Blog entry for Saturday will be delayed until some time on Sunday due to the fact that I will be in the bush. You will get your daily Blog entry though, I promise.

The machines are fueled, the komatiks are loaded and ready to go. And the bags are packed. Land-based travel in the Arctic is not light travel.

Catch you on the flip side.

Cheers!

The Best Laid Plans

2006-02-24T00:36:00.000-07:00

Temp: -29°C
Sunlight - 9.00 hours

Well the plans are set for the weekend. We leave Inuvik early on Saturday morning for an estimated 400 kilometre trip on snowmobile. The trip will take us from Inuvik to Husky Lakes, north to Tuktoyaktuk, back to Husky lakes where we will spend the night in a cabin, and then back to Inuvik on Sunday. There will be three of us on snow machines making the trip. It will be part CASARA training exercise, part surveying exercise for the Canada Trail, part hunting trip. Should be fun.

We had originally planned to leave on Friday evening and make a two night trip of it, but availability of one of the party forced us to change those plans. It will still be a good trip though - perhaps a little ambitious. The weather has changed a little too. What was originally forecast as a weekend of low to mid minus twenties temperatures, has now changed to mid minus thirties. It should be a good test of cold endurance too.

I plan to take the digital camera and a good supply of batteries, but they won’t last long in the cold. The cold drags down batteries quickly. I have experimented with keeping them warm (usually by keeping them close to my body) with varying results. There are all sorts of funny thing like that associated with living in the north. Another example is trying to use a lighter in temps below minus forty – they just don’t work! Matches are a better choice.

That’s it for now – more tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Olympics

2006-02-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

Temp: -20°C
Sunlight - 8.73 hours

Lorie had her trip to Sachs Harbour today, and made it back safely. Unfortunately, despite my admonitions, she wasn’t able to get any pictures. Something about being too busy working to take any…or something.

There’s wind today, the most I’ve seen here yet. A 24 KPH wind is not much by Newfoundland standards, but it is a near storm here. That wind with the -20 degree temp creates a wind chill of about -31 degrees.

My earlier comments about Canada’s performance at the Olympics seems to have been premature. Canada is now tied for third place in the overall medal count. That seems to me to be one of the best performances for Canada, but I am not really sure how we have done in past winter Olympics. I have to say that I have become more and more interested in the Olympics as they have progressed. I was however, very disappointed when I heard that the men’s hockey team were put out of the medals all together today. The excitement of the ski jumping and speed skating make up for the hockey loss - a little.

I may have plans for the weekend. They could be pretty good plans too. There are several variables that come into play though – like the weather, so I won’t talk too much about the details right now. I have a meeting tomorrow night to discuss the plans, so I will let you know what happens at that meeting.

That’s it for now.

Cheers!

Dusting and Dishes

2006-02-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

Temp: -18°C
Sunlight - 8.58 hours

It was cooler today that it has been for some time – but still very nice for the time of year. In addition to the cold temperatures, there was a steady dusting of snow, although a very, very light dusting. The snow here is very, very dry and light. When it falls on your skin, it tickles. It was a unique and neat experience at first, but pretty soon it became annoying.

And why was I outside during this dusting? Well, I was trying to install a satellite dish. That’s no easy task around here. The dish is huge compared to the ones down south – at least three times the size if not more. In addition, since it has to be essentially pointed at the ground to get a signal, the dish is secured atop a huge long pole, which easily weighs three or four times the weight of the dish. The whole heavy, unwieldy thing has to be set up within very tight tolerances, and needless to say, it didn’t go well tonight. Turns out that our area is a little too crowded with other houses, and the dish must be mounted on the roof in order to get a decent signal. Unfortunately, the roof is a little too high for me, so we are now investigating cable TV.

Lorie is off to Sachs Harbour tomorrow. I made sure she packed the digital camera and extra batteries. Hopefully we’ll have some good shots to share with you tomorrow.

Cheers!

Warm Days

2006-02-20T23:26:00.000-07:00

Temp: -6°C
Sunlight - 8.45 hours

Another warm day on the delta. The forecast is for colder temperatures in the next few days; but not too cold; not near as cold as it should be. The nice weather is a reprieve for sure.

There was a little storm here yesterday afternoon. I was napping at the time, but I’m told that the wind came up and a little snow fell, and the wind whipped the snow around for a while. I did hear the wind whistling about when I woke up. It was the first time I experienced any appreciable wind in Inuvik. The lack of wind here is one aspect of the weather that is comfortable.

The days grow longer all the time now. Although it’s not light when we go to work, it’s light out by the time we come home for lunch and stays light well into the evening – at least 6:30. The low sun and its powerful rays reflecting off the snow can be blinding at times, so sunglasses are a must.

That’s all for now.

Cheers!

Sweet Sunday

2006-02-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Temp: -9°C
Sunlight - 8.3 hours

Today was pretty simple. A little food shopping, a little house cleaning and a lot of relaxing. Typical Sunday, I suppose. Well, typical with the exception of a few bags of groceries costing almost $200. That’s life in the north!

It was another warm day today and I didn’t even have to wear a winter jacket. A few days of this was a novelty, but a week or more is just strange. Hopefully it will get cold soon.

Friends of ours, Ken and Karen, just got back from Cuba - they went there to get married. They had a little party last night to share some pictures and some good Cuban rum. We got there about 8PM and stayed till about 1AM. It was a great time, and we met more interesting people.

Cheers!

The Snow Story

2006-02-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

Temp: -10°C
Sunlight - 8.2 hours

The day started out later than I am used to for this type of adventure. That’s the Inuvik way. At about 11AM we joined a friend for brunch and by about 12:30PM we were on our way. Our friends Jenn and Eric shared a machine, as did Lorie and I. The leader of the trip, Julian loaned us his machine while he borrowed another machine. Here’s a picture of Lorie on Julian’s Polaris. She’s a great snowmobile driver by the way!

Our objective was to head to a camp (Julian’s camp actually) about 10 kilometres from Inuvik, and then to do some snowshoeing. It didn’t take too long to reach the camp. There were some nice straight-aways for me to reacquire my snowmobile piloting expertise. After all, it has been a year or more since I’ve been on a machine. It’s like riding a bike, though and it didn’t take long to get back into the game.

There was some beautiful scenery along the way. The sun is still very low in the sky and that can make for some really great visuals. For most of the day, the sun burns through the scant standing timber. The result is an interesting array of shadows as seen in the picture below.

The snow is very sugary; very granular, and it picks up the low sunlight in a spectacular way. If you look at the right angle, you can see hundreds of tiny rainbows. Turn your head a degree or two and you see a billion crystalline structures glinting sunlight at you. When the sun is so low in the sky, the light seems more extreme, more powerful, more able to create phenomena like these.

Snowshoeing is hard work. Normally the party exchanges the lead shoer, like geese in a flight pattern. The lead person “blazes” the trail and makes the walking a little easier for the second person. The second person “makes” the trail and the walking is easier for the third person. So goes the process, until finally the subsequent walkers break the trail completely. Here’s a shot of a blazed trail. Truth known, I was so tired having snowshoed this far that I had to take a break…and a picture.

Inuvik is essentially on a river delta. The Mackenzie flays out into any number of lakes, and this makes for great snowmobiling since one gets a good mix of tight trail driving and wide open screams across the lakes. You couldn’t ask for more.

Even a short trip into the Delta requires some supplies, and the easiest way to do that is with a sled. The sled shown in the picture below is a good specimen of the ones you’ll see around here. Light, functional and efficient.

All in all, we snowshoed about seven kilometres and snowmobiled about twenty kilometres. It was a good day!

Cheers!

Friday...Sweet Friday!

2006-02-17T23:48:00.001-07:00

Temp: -10°C
Sunlight - 8.1 hours

Today was my last day of work for the week and tomorrow will be the first day in twelve that I will have off. I can’t wait! It’s going to be great to have some fun for a change.

The plans are on for a snowmobile trip to a friend’s cabin somewhere out on the Mackenzie Delta. I don’t think it’s very far away – only about 10 kilometres or so. Nevertheless it will be a nice trip. I will take along one of my guns in case I see any game. A fresh rabbit or grouse would be an excellent addition to the day.

I am continuing my quest to buy my own snowmobile. In fact today I heard a rumour that someone in town is selling two fairly new long track touring machines and a trailer to tow them with (although most people here just leave from their house on the snow machines), for a very reasonable price. If I can track down the seller, it might turn out to be a very good thing. There really is no point in us buying just one machine. In order to have maximum fun, we each need our own machine. And owning a couple of snowmobiles up here is fully justifiable too; there so much opportunity to use them. After all, there’s snow on the ground for eight or nine months of the year.

It’s supposed to be nice for tomorrow too – minus ten and sunny. The weather really has been great here this year. It hasn’t been nearly as cold as I though it would be (I’m told that will come to an end soon enough though), and already there’s more sun here for the time of year than there would be back home.

The other bit of news that I have is that I have finally settled on a gun. I’m going to get a 30-06 from Winnipeg. I will order it this weekend and should have it in my hands in two or three weeks. That gives me plenty of time to become proficient with it before I am permitted to go big game hunting.

That’s it for now. I’ll be sure to bring my camera with me so I can get some pictures for tomorrows Blog entry.

Cheers!

Is there anyone out there?

2006-02-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

Temp: -1°C
Sunlight - 8.1 hours

Welcome to Inuvik Journal! Happy to have you! I hope as many of you will find this one as interesting as my other Blog. Here are the promises I will make to you. I won’t make this blog a showcase of what I can do with my web development skills. I won’t pollute this Blog with cheap graphics or gimmicks. I will keep this Blog simple and sleek, and honest to a fault. If I’m feeling bad, or good, or apathetic, I’ll write that way. I won’t be afraid to tackle topics that may be controversial, but I will keep it clean. And I will do my best to post every single day (although some posts may be late from time-to-time, especially if I am busy adventuring).

That said, if you have any thing to say, say it. You are invited to comment as often as you like, about whatever you like. I will only edit the comments in the event of hatefulness, racism, or spam.

I had planned to start off by discussing how cold it was and how tough one would have to be to live here, but it turns out that it is probably warmer here than it is in most of the rest of Canada! No one here can quite believe it. A sweatshirt was all one needed today.

I am planning a snowmobile trip on Saturday. I don’t know yet if my plans will pan out, but if they don’t, then the snowmobile trip will quickly get changed to a snowshoe trip. In any event, I will be taking a few pictures. The best will be posted here.

Cheers!

The First Post

2006-01-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks for visiting. This blog is under construction and will eventually replace Travelog Inuvik.

Please visit my other blog at www.traveloginuvik.blogspot.com

Cheers!