Outside Adventure Grant journal entries

July 21, 1998

Tristan samples seal

Here we are in the Hotel Hilton in Montreal. We stayed last night in a hotel in Rockland, Maine, so we could start early today. We picked up a van and our gear at the Hurricane Outward Bound School in Rockland at 7:00 a.m. and drove all morning to Newry, where there is another Outward Bound School. There we switched to a new van and picked up Scott, an instructor there who was to be our driver. Once again, we all slept as Scott got us across the border with ease, and into Montreal.

Montreal — one heck of a town. After checking into the Hilton, Dylan and I roamed the town and tried to understand the French, while Hope headed for the hotel pool. Seafood lasagna and cheesecake for supper ... life is so hard I could cry.

July 22, 1998
Up at 5:30 a.m. today ... uhhg. Not a bad flight — the food was good. In the airport gift shop we found a trip mascot, a stuffed gibbon, as yet nameless. The best aspect of the flight was the captain’s translations. While describing the safety features the fact that English was his second language became apparent. After telling us what to do in French, and Inuktituk, he let the Americans know that we should tighten the seatbelts around our tiny lips — oops, that was supposed to be hips. If we had small children with us, he felt sorry for us. But we should put on our oxygen mask first, then help them; the same if we had those who acted like small children with us!

Landing in Iqaluit, coming in low over the land and sea, the first surprise was how flat it was. Not that it was flat, but not the mountains I had expected. We’ll see what Pangnirtung is like. The next surprise was the ice floes. We came in at low tide (very extreme tides here — 30 feet!) and chunks of ice, Mack size and up, were all over the flats. The ice is a beautiful blue, due to the pressure on it when it was formed.

After we hauled our bags to the hotel and got settled in, we went shopping, and received a third shock — the prices are sky high here; e.g., nine dollars for a gallon of water. We had lunch on the beach, then split up to explore the scene.

Dylan and I went to the Arctic College to see the school and in search of Meeka Mike, a friend of a friend from Bowdoin College back home. Meeka, it turns out, is out of town, but we toured around for awhile anyway. We looked up our Web page to see the new additions and to show the people there. While doing so we met Ruth, a student from a college in Quebec, who received a grant to study here. When we left the college, Ruth came with us to show us around. She took us to see soapstone carvers, a museum, the cemetery, and made for excellent company on the road. She then pointed us toward a sled dog team at the far end of town and headed back to work.

We didn’t make it to the dogs. Instead we met a group of six kids, ages 9 to 11, who were playing on a boat up the shore. They invited us to join them in a game of tag and for an hour we ran around the beached boats in pursuit of each other. Cigarettes in mouths, the kids leapt four-foot gaps between steel barges and wood boats, screaming wildly between drags. When we left them, they cleaned out our supply of hotel toothpicks and American coins, writing down our phone number and promising to keep in touch.

After supper back at the Frobisher Inn, we went to a movie with Ruth and her friends, one of whom was a reporter for the Iqaluit newspaper who was interested in a story on us. She asked for an interview on our return, we got her phone number, and we all parted ways. In bed at 12:30 a.m., the sun is still visible on the horizon. Pull the curtains now, lights out.

July 23-24, 1998
We spent most of today in the park office, catching up on things. It’s nice there, they let us use the fax machine, Xerox, computer, telephone, and coffee maker. Also, Tommy is always around talking to us. Also, we found a lot of natural history info about the park and things on the animals there and identifying them. That aspect of this trip really needs work.

In the afternoon the gallery across the road had a clothing show in front of the center and after it was over we went to the gallery to take a look at the stuff. Most of the carvings had been offered to us on the street for half the price, so we didn’t stay too long. Next we went to the Pangnirtung print shop to check out their work, it was mostly stencil paintings and woodcuts, but very cool. Then to a museum, and back to the office. When we finished there at three we returned to the tents for lunch.

At 6:00, there was a feast for the whale, more maktak and tongue than you could eat. The feast went until 11:00, then an Inuktituk dance started. The dance was mostly very energetic stomping and spinning, with music produced by an accordion, rums, spoons, electric guitars, and bagpipes. We danced until 1:30, finally heading “home” quite exhausted for some rest.

July 25, 1998
Julia and Jamie arrived today at 10:30. We all met them at the plane as it landed and greeted them as they stepped off. Jamie’s boots never came to our office back home, for some unexplained reason, so we went to the Northern Store to buy him some. Jamie is a pretty small dude, and the selection at Northern is somewhat limited, so it took a while to find good hiking boots. Once we got a decent pair we went back to camp and issued the rest of their gear and an orientation.

Besides getting them up to speed on general camping savvy, it’s vital that all the team members get to know each other as well as possible before we set out. Jamie and Julia both have friends and family they want to visit here, so after a while we went back into town. Today is the Nunavut day celebration ... I think there was a storm on the real Nunavut day (July 7). Anyway, games are going on all day, plus more feasting. Today’s new dish: I tried the fat and skin of a walrus killed three months ago and allowed to age for full flavor. Personally, I’ll stick to the fresh maktak.

We’re going for a bit of a hike tomorrow, which requires getting up before 10:30. We agreed to all be in bed by 11:30 tonight. Tonight’s dance started at 11:30, but we have to miss it. No more late night parties for us, at least not until Broughton Island. It’s time to focus only on the trip.

July 26, 1998
Doing some walking again. We started out at 8:30 a.m., with the idea of climbing Mt. Duval, a 2,200-foot peak across the road from camp. We only had light day snacks, but halfway up we decided against the summit and wandered down the valley instead. We followed the Duval River for a few miles, then crossed and went back down the other side. There were some excellent views up on the mountain, and snow in some pockets. We got back to camp around 2:00.

After demonstrating the Outback Ovens to Julia and Jamie by baking cookies, we split up the group gear as it will be. We showed them how to pack their packs, and got an idea of the size we’ll carry. With the exception of cheese, butter, some fuel and tents, we had all the weight we’ll be carrying. We hiked a short way back up Duval to check the pack strap adjustments, then back for supper. After we at, it was clean up and bed. Long day starting early tomorrow.

July 27, 1998
Late-breaking news!! Tommy is coming with us!! The three-man tent will be a little crowded, but other than that it is most excellent. We leave for the park at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Hope

July 21, 1998
This morning we were in Rockland, Maine, and now we are in the Hilton Hotel in Montreal, Canada. We started driving at 8:30 a.m. and got a driver from HIOBS (Hurricane Island Outward Bound School) at 11:30. We crossed the border around 3:30 p.m. and got to the hotel at 5:30. We have been hanging around in the hotel and are about to go to bed. The expedition has begun.

July 22, 1998
It’s 8:00 a.m. right now, and I am sitting in the First Air airplane. We haven’t taken off yet, but are going to in about 20 minutes.

Okay, now we’re hundreds of feet above the ground and the clouds. This is the first time I ever remember flying. I flew to Florida when I was three, but I can’t remember that. The world is such a small place from up here. And you can really see what a small part people play. The clouds are really beautiful up here.

Now it’s 8:45 pm, and we are in Iqaluit!!! We are staying in the Frobisher Inn. This is an awesome town. The people are really nice and smile. There are huge icebergs in the cove. When we got to town it was low-tide, but now it’s high and the icebergs are floating. When we first got here, we got a ride to the inn so that we didn’t have to carry our nine 80-pound bags. Right now, we are going to the movies in the Inn. We are getting on the 9:30 a.m. plane to Pangnirtung tomorrow morning.

July 23-24, 1998
12:15 a.m.: We are in Pangnirtung! What a busy day. This morning in the airport, Tristan and I finally found a mascot. He is a gibbon. He is black with a gray tail and gray paws. He is way cool.

It was a great flight. My ears didn’t pop half as much as yesterday. We were on a much smaller plane today. I am slowly falling asleep. I have tons more to write about but will write it tomorrow.

When we arrived at the airport, Jamie and Julia were not waiting there. We went to the campsite to set-up the tents and get settled. Then we went back to town to do some chores and see if we could find Julia and Jamie. We called Jamie’s house first but there was no answer, so we called Julia’s and Dylan talked to her mother and found out that they didn’t get their tickets today and will be coming on Saturday.

Dylan

Feast of Bowhead Whale

We found out yesterday that a Bowhead whale was killed on an island near Pangnirtung. And today they were going to bring all good eating parts to the landing at about 7:00. We were in our tents resting and heard lots of people cheering and talking. So we went over to the landing and practically the whole town was there to see the hunters come home. We missed the speech (not that we would be able to understand it in Inuktituk!) but we were there when they started pulling up the maktak (the skin around blubber of a Bowhead whale). Lots of the people there took some home to either cook or eat raw. We all tried some raw. It wasn’t bad at all but was something I wouldn’t eat all the time. We went back to camp for supper and then Dylan, Tristan and I went up to the ball field. Dylan played soccer and Tristan and I hung around with the other kids there. We found out that most of the kids our age sleep all day and are up at night.

July 25, 1998
2:30 a.m.: This morning we went into town to fax our last journal entries to John Alderman and to see if we could find any information on wildlife on Baffin Island. While in town, we heard there was going to be a Whale Feast Party at 6:00 p.m. Because if was still just 12:00, we did other chores that had to be done and looked around at things to use up the time before 6:00. After the chores were done, Dylan went back to camp to get cameras and take a nap, and Tristan and I went around trying to find artists and art work. We weren’t very successful, and we started back to town. On the way back to town, we happened to run into an artist who was trying to sell a beautiful three-inch antler kayak with a man in it; Tristan bought the kayak and we went on to town. By that time it was 6:00. There were tons of people at the feast, and tons of whale pieces. There were a lot of speeches, but I couldn’t understand anything they said. We all ate maktak and fried dough and cookies. There was more talking, and then we all went up to the Hamlet Center to dance. For music, there was a drum, the spoons, the accordion and the bagpipes. I didn’t dance because I was too tired, by that time it was 10:30, but Dylan and Tristan danced almost the whole time. The dancing went on until 1:30 a.m. It was fun to watch, but I wish I hadn’t been so tired so I could have danced, too. It was fun to see all the different ages and different styles of dancing.

We got back to camp at about 2:00 a.m. and fell into bed.

9:30 p.m.: This morning we went to the airport to see if Julia and Jamie had come in on the plane. And sure enough they had! Julia and Jamie are very cool, and they have great senses of humor. They are just what we needed on this trip. They came with us back to camp and we issued their gear. We then went to the park center to look at maps there so that Julia and Jamie could see our route. Then Dylan and I wrote in our journals while Julia and Jamie visited some people they known in Pangnirtung, and Tristan took a nap. Later we went down to the shore where there were games to play. At 7:00 p.m., we met back at camp for supper. Dylan made whale tongue stew, but Tristan, Dylan and I were the only ones who ate it. Everyone else had pasta. I thought the stew was good but salty. We hike in two days!

July 26, 1998
This morning we got up at 7:00 a.m. and got ready to go hiking. We started hiking at 8:30 and got back around 2:00. We just hiked with our day packs today, since it was Julia and Jamie’s first day. We hiked around on a mountain in Pangnirtung. It was really fun and a great view of the town. On the hike, Del taught us how to make a “Cat Hole” or “How to dispose of human waste while hiking in the tundra.” When we got back to camp, we had a rest hour and then we divided up the group gear and packed all the gear we will be carrying, except the tents. We then went for a very short hike around, so that we would know what adjustments we had to make to our packs. Now I am going to write some letters before going to sleep.

Dylan

July 22, 1998
What a day. I have a definite feeling of accomplishment. At 12:30 p.m., we flew into an airport that looked like a giant, yellow submarine on the tundra, two miles from the ocean. After we’d moved our gear to the hotel, we took care of things that needed to be done, like exchanging our American money for Canadian and doing some grocery shopping (food is very expensive). Then we had lunch out on the breakwater, surrounded by house-size chunks of ice.

After eating, Tristan and I took off to find the Arctic College that Ann Henshan, Professor of Anthropology at Bowdoin, had told us about. The people there were great; they gave us a quick tour and let us use their internet to check our web page.

Later, we walked around town and visited the local museum and cultural center. There were several soapstone carvers around town. We sat and talked for awhile with three men carving polar bears. The finished pieces are beautiful and it seems to me that carving would be a good way to make a living up here.

Before heading back to the hotel for the night, we walked down to the shore again. A group of 11 year-old kids smoking cigarettes demanded that we play tag with them, so we did. For an hour we chased little kids across the tops of all the steel barges hauled out in the yard.

July 23-24, 1998
Up at 7:00 a.m. for another plane. Flying into Pangnirtung any lingering suspicions of flatness vanished. There is no ice in the fjord, but there is snow on the tops of incredible peaks. Sheer cliffs on either side, the plane (a little two prop job) banked crazily, completely turning around so as to lose enough speed to land on one of the shortest gravel strips I have ever seen. We stepped off the plane into freezing wind.

Julia and Jamie, our fellow hikers from Broughton, were supposed to meet us at the airport. Unfortunately, the Canadian Tourist Board somehow failed to get tickets for them, and no one met our flight. We were offered a ride in a truck to the campsite, a good thing because our nine large bags average 90 pounds each. At the campsite we set up tents and unpacked some gear. Home for five days.

Julia and Jamie are going to fly to Iqaluit and then Pangnirtung, arriving the day after tomorrow (Saturday). The reason for this is that another plane won’t leave Broughton for a week. At the visitor center/park office, we met a 16 year-old, Tommy, who had wanted to come with us but took a job in the office. He is now trying to get sufficient time off to come along after all. He is very friendly and would be great to have along.

NOLS sent us food for hiking only, so we have to buy all our food while in town. We are only allowed five dollars per person per day, so we made a careful list for the next three days and loaded up at the store. We saw very few kids, and almost none our age, around town, which was rather puzzling.

Big news around town: two days ago some hunters killed a Bowhead whale. Today they are bringing it home for a feast tomorrow, so we went down to the desk to watch them unload. Boats, loaded with baleen, bone, blubber and people crowded the shore. Evidently, the meat isn’t very good, all they are eating is maktak, which is the skin and some fat. We cut chunks from a 500-pound flipper lying on the shore and ate it raw as was everyone else. It was actually quite good.

After the whale, at 10:00 p.m., Hope, Dylan and I went for a walk around town. We saw a group of kids and went to talk with them. It seems that nobody is awake until 3:00 p.m. here, which explains why we didn’t see them earlier. We went to the ball field with Tommy and the kids and played soccer until 1:00 a.m. Going to bed at 1:30 a.m., the sun is rising in the sky once again.

July 25, 1998
This is our third day in Pangnirtung. The day after we arrived, there was a feast and dancing because hunters from Pangnirtung had killed a Bowhead whale. It was the first one caught in 52 years. There was enough maktak for everyone, and I was able to try it. It wasn’t bad, just chewy, you felt like you were gnawing on a chunk of inner tube!

The dance was great fun. It was almost an endurance test; Scottish line dances learned from the whalers that once visited Baffin. We started dancing at 11:00, and went till 2:00 a.m.

The fjord is beautiful, and I am looking forward to starting hiking. We aren’t leaving until Tuesday because of some work that needs to be done in town and because we are waiting for a new antennae for our GPS to be sent to us.

July 27, 1998
We have added a new member to the team. Tommy is a 16-year-old who works at the park headquarters. When we first arrived in town he said that he would like to go along. We talked it over and decided that he would make a good addition to the team.

July 28, 1998 — Auyuittuq National Park. Pangnirtung Fjord, Overlord Camp
Last night Jamie decided that he didn't want to attempt the hike. I don't think that this decision was an easy one for him. From the time he arrived we could tell that as much as he wanted to hike through the park, he also had a strong desire to spend the summer with his family on Broughton. This indecision worried the rest of the team because if there is one thing that an expedition requires, it is total commitment. I think that Jamie would have made an excellent member of the team and I am sorry to see him go.

I will never forget this, our first day camped in the park. When we first landed at Overlord at the very end of the Pangnirtung fjord, clouds were settled low, hiding all landmarks. As the morning progressed, the clouds started to break up and we caught occasional glimpses of the 3,000-foot peaks that towered over us. To the east sits Mt. Overlord and to the north Twenweather glacier sends stubby fingers of ice between the ridges. West of us lies another line of ice and snow-capped mountains.