Winning applicants' answers to supplemental questions

Dylan: Our trip will take approximately four weeks, beginning in late July, as that is when the weather is the most favorable with temperatures ranging between 52 degrees F and 38 degrees F. Our hike will begin after a short boat trip from Broughton Island. This is a change from the original proposal because a north-to-south route is more practical logistically. Before leaving the island, we will spend four days there, to acquaint ourselves with Inuit village life. Here, too, we will seek out and speak with the young people in the village. While in Broughton, we will arrange for transportation to the park and hopefully speak with the staff at the ranger station as well as prepare ourselves for the hike. the route we have chosen follows the Akshayuk Pass, a 60 mile, ice-free trough that cuts through the mountains between Cumberland Sound and Davis Strait. It has a deep u-shaped profile, carved by the glaciers that once filled it. the Pass will take us across the park to the head of Pangnirtung Fjord where a radio station is located for contacting transportation out of the park.

Though we plan to cross the park in two weeks, it is important to remember that while traveling in the north, above the Arctic Circle, our progress will be at the grace of the elements. Accordingly, our schedule will need to be flexible enough to allow for weather that could hold us up for days at a time. (Growing up on the ocean we have all become accustomed to revising our plans due to tides, wind and fog. When a storm comes along and ruins a planned trip to town, we hunker down and make the best of it, or rearrange our plans around it. It is not a problem, but a necessary element to take into account. We know not to expect clear skies throughout this trip). A pace of 8-10 miles a day will give us the opportunity and time to make side trips and explore some of the fantastic terrain in an area known as being possibly the most spectacular landscape in all of Canada.

There are some places that we would especially want to visit during our trek, particularly Mt. Asgard and the Penny Ice Cap. The land is rough and the walking will be quite hard. In many places we will need to hike over and around glacial moraines; mounds and ridges of rock deposited by the movement of glaciers.

Another obstacle we will face will be the many rivers running down from the glaciers. They must be forded and we will need determination and cooperation to cross them. We are used to rough water crossings and over the years have gained a good deal of respect for the hazards it presents, through Tristan is the only one of us with extensive river experience.

Another goal that we would like to meet while exploring the ark is to do some rock climbing. We have had some experience climbing and hope to gain more expertise and increase our skill level. I am excited by the climbing opportunities that will be presented during our hike through the park, and I would like to take advantage of them. We will also be in an area with many glaciers and plan to spend a portion of our time crossing some of them.

This expedition we have planned is unique in that is in an area very few people have ever heard of, let alone seen. The land is largely unaltered by human presence; last year only 1,000 people visited the park. I have always enjoyed the outdoors, in particular the wilderness, and I am attracted to the idea of going to such an isolated, unspoiled place. For our preparation training we plan to hike with full packs on the shores and cliffs surrounding our island home to get used to carrying loads on our backs. We would also like to take a rock climbing training course at the Hurricane Outward Bound School near our home. The three of us have taken a short course there before, but it would be good to do a full course. My brother, sister and I have always spent most of our free time exploring the island we live on, taking walks, climbing trees and pretty much spending our time outside. Baffin Island will be more hard core than anything we have ever done, but I think that we are already prepared to take it on. and, after some training, we will be looking forward to meeting the challenge.

2. Could you be more specific about how you'll visit the Inuit and become part of their culture? How will you achieve this during your expedition in the Park Reserve and during your time in Pangnirtung? Who will you meet, what will you see, where will you stay? How will you insure a meaningful connection to the people and the land? Could you provide some more information about the Inuit who live on Baffin Island? Also, what are the major changes going to be on Baffin Island once the land is returned to the Inuit?

Hope: Forty-five percent of the Inuit population is under the age of fifteen. As young people ourselves, my brothers and I have a distinct advantage in communicating with other young people. We do not expect it to be difficult to find kids, nor do we expect any problem in making friends among them. I believe we share a common factor in that we, too, have grown up in a beautiful, harsh and isolated place. Growing up the way we have, we are perhaps more skilled than some children at making immediate, though sometimes brief, friendships. My older brother Dylan, having just spent a year in Thailand, is particularly experienced at making friends in unfamiliar situations.

Anyone can talk to government officials and tribal elders, but to our knowledge no one is talking to the kids. We want to know what it is like for them to live there.

What we want to do is conduct an informal survey of as many young people as we can come in contact with. Through casual conversation we want to find out what their likes and dislikes are, what bores them, what entertains them, and what they think tomorrow will bring.

We are planning our itinerary in order to spend as much time as possible in the smaller villages of Broughton Island and Pangnirtung. Given enough lead time we will research, contact and arrange accommodations in families homes in those villages.

The Inuit people today have many modern conveniences. Even so, they live in a very harsh environment. The young people are having to make choices between their native heritage and the lure of the outside world. In doing this expedition we hope we might be able to come to know some of these people's past and maybe see into a little of their future.

And I thought over
again
My small adventures
As with a shore wind I
drifted out
in my kayak
and though I was in
danger

My fears,
thought small ones
that I thought so big
for all the vital things
I had to get and to reach.

And yes, there is only
one great thing,
the only thing:
to live to see in huts
and on journeys
the great day that downs
and the light that fills
the world
Inuit Song

3. Could you provide a more concise plan of how you'd like to identify and catalog birds and mammals in the park? Is there a specific goal? A specific species or group of animals that are particularly important or that could be helped by your work? Are biologists or scientists working in the area and would you want to tie into their studies or assist them?

Tristam: I personally have been interested in birds, and wildlife in general, my entire life. For the past five summers, I have done work for the Audubon Society and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. With my brother and adult ornithologists, I have counted nests and eggs of seabirds throughout Penobscot Bay for state reports and surveys. Two years ago we (Dylan, two ornithologist friends and I) started the Fox Island Natural History Museum on Vinalhaven. Professors from the College of the Atlantic (Bar Harbor, Maine) instructed us on the preparation of study skins for display. Our collection has grown sufficiently large that this past winter we took our collection to the Vinalhaven school for display to the students. I am the museum's taxonomist, and I enjoy the cataloging of our finds as well as the field work.

For myself, I look forward to the wildlife of such a virgin country, and I will be on the lookout for anything new to add to my life list (such as the snowy owl). Through photography and accurate identification we hope to record all we see for the benefit of others on our return. We have been asked by the Perry-MacMillan Arctic Museum at Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine) to give slide shows and talks of our expedition to elementary school children in the Brunswick area, should we be accepted. As teens ourselves, we are in a unique position to educate other students through our experiences. We will add our findings to data already collected by our own natural history museum as well as sharing information with colleagues at National Audubon, COA and NFWF.

The Auyuittuq National Park Reserve does have botanists and naturalists involved in a Park Ecosystem Monitoring Plan and request assistance in the form of information or observations visitors may have. They also ask for the sharing of any photographs or film footage for the park collection. With this in mind, we look forward to gathering new information and sharing our findings.

In summary, we plan to study by being keenly observant and through meticulous record keeping. The goal is the education of our group and the sharing of this information on our return. I don't know if there is a specific species that could be helped by our observation, but we will question park staff while we are there. I would be pleased to collaborate with any other professionals working in the field.

4. Could you provide more information about the team members and how you're going to work together to lead a successful expedition?

ABOUT US

Thank you for considering our proposal and including us in your list of finalists.

Growing up on a small island, living surrounded by nature, we feel that we can understand the influence it has had on the Inuit culture. On an island with natural beauty so close at hand, we have never felt the need for televised entertainment. Our activities, both work and play, have kept us healthy and out of doors. Due to the low population on Green's Island and our homeschool lifestyle, we have always been each other's closest companions. We have never felt deprived of a social life, but now, as we reach our mid-teens, we have sought the friendships that our family cannot provide. In doing so we have been exposed to mainstream culture, which has been in sharp contrast to our previous upbringing. We have adapted, but without losing appreciation for our simple lifestyle. Having ourselves reached a threshold of change, we are interested in how the Inuit are reacting to a similar situation.

A benefit of our isolation is that when we meet people we make friends quickly. We have come to realize that friendships take effort, and that the effort is always worthwhile. An example of this is Dylan's recent trip to Thailand, where, despite language and cultural barriers, he was able to get along well in a school of 2,000 students. We look forward to meeting people in the towns we visit along the way.

Another benefit of island life is our ability to meet physical challenges. Dylan has competed in two international rowing competitions, Tristan bicycled two-hundred miles through the Brooks Range of Alaska, Hope has been involved in gymnastics training for the last two years. We all enjoy a very active lifestyle.

We know one another fairly well and know in what ways we can each be depended upon in any given situation. Just as we divvied up the above questions according to each one's strongest interest, we will work cooperatively together to make this a great expedition.

We love to go a-wandering
along the mountain tracks
and as we go we love to sing,
our backpacks on our backs...
valdareee, valdaraaa, valdareee, valdarahahahahahahahahah!