A Final Trip to the High Arctic

An arial photo of the community, probably taken in June or July.
I counted about 40 houses.

March 23rd, 2013

Sunrise: 8:38 am

Sunset: 9:23 pm

Temps: -8'C - -18'C

I made a quick trip to Sachs Harbour, located over 500 km northeast of Inuvik, a 1.5 hour flight away. This small community of about 120 people is the only year round settlement on Banks Island.

For more info on Sachs Harbour, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachs_Harbour

Here are a few pictures of my trip. Enjoy.!










Flying along the coast of Banks Island.
Lots of frozen water!



Muskox skull on the deck of the B+B.



The sprawling metropolis of Sachs Harbour.



A toddler bundled up for the walk home.



Family portrait: walking home in the sunset.



Old boat on the sea edge.



Playing Outside

Gorgeous day for a ski, but chilly.
This is when I got frostbite on the tip of my nose and earlobe!

March 17, 2013

Sunrise: 9:04 am

Sunset: 9:01 pm

Temps: -19'C - -28'C

A random assortment of fun outdoor shots from the last month.

Pretty, frosty eyelashes.

Pretty, frosty...nasal appendage? (We're thinking it's just a rogue thread.)

Pretty and frosty.

Beautiful sunset over the delta.

Walking to the Bootlake gazebo.

Chilling in the sun. A balmy -20'C day!

Down the road to Tsiigehtchic

March 3, 2013

Sunrise: 9:03 am

Sunset: 7:09 pm

Temps: -21'C - -30'C

This week brought me to the tiny community of Tsiigehtchic, population <150. This predominantly Gwich'in community sits at the confluence of the Mackenzie and Arctic Red Rivers.

The 1 hour 45 minute drive from Inuvik to Tsiigehtchic was peaceful and beautiful, with a particularly stunning sunrise. I love the characteristic pastel hues that accompany Arctic sunrises.

To access this community, I drove on the Dempster Highway. In the summer time, one can take the Louis Cardinal ferry to reach Tsiigehtchic; in the winter, crossing the Mackenzie River is made possible by ice road (pictured right).

Visiting Tsiigehtchic requires a slight detour off the main drag, but is community is visible from the ferry or ice road. From the river, you can see the picturesque church that sits high on the bank, overlooking the rivers' confluence.

This little community has a small grocery store, a band office, school, and a few other amentities. The tiny health center has a nurse that visits once per week (from Inuvik) for the majority of the year. During thaw and freeze-up, when crossing the river is not possible, a nurse is stationed in the community for about one month at a time.

As in many other communities, snowmobiles are a common form of transportation, as seen by the trails on the frozen Arctic Red River (left). During my short stay in Tsiigehtchic, I saw several snowmobiles pulling toboggans, carrying 4 or 5 children at a time!

The drive back to Inuvik was also calm and beautiful. I think I passed two vehicles during the entire drive. To the West were the last remnants of the sunset, and I reflected on how normal it felt to have a sunrise in the morning and a sunset in the evening. Only two months ago, the sun didn't rise at all. In another few months, it won't set at all. This adds to the magic of the Arctic, as does the starry night and the hints of northern lights that greeted me when I arrived back in Inuvik.

Flying around the North



Planes are little.
You could just reach over an tickle the pilots.



February 20th, 2013

Sunrise: 9:50 am

Sunset: 6:26 pm

Temps: -29'C - -31'C

In this post, I offer some pictures and mildly humourous reflections on my experiences flying in northern NWT.

I have taken small aircraft to a handful of locations in the Arctic and Sahtu, flying with Aklak Air and North-Wright Airways. These planes have between 6 to 12 seats, and often flown by surprisingly young pilots.

For more info on these companies and their fleets, see http://www.aklakair.ca/ and http://www.north-wrightairways.com/

Landing strips are simple. Flat ground appears to the main prerequisite,
although this landing in Ivvavik was bumpy due to good sized rocks.



Pilots sometimes pull out maps. Others do paper work, in mid-flight.
Planes apparently fly themselves.



"Pogo sticks" can help prevent planes from falling over when parked.
Yes, you read that right.

Planes can get flat tires too.



Toilet paper is a resourceful way to plug up holes in the plane.


Some photos courtesy of Amie Hay. Thanks!

Ice road Dietitian: Part 2



Sign on the frozen river's edge.

February 11th, 2013

Sunrise: 10:28 am

Sunset: 5:48 pm

Temps: -20'C - -31'C

Oh, February. It's still cold, but the days are quickly getting longer. When I returned from my Christmas holiday, the sun had just risen from its month-long Winter rest. Now, a mere 5 weeks later, the sun is up for over 7 hours per day!

Standard local transportation.

The Mackenzie River delta is still very much frozen solid. This, combined with the increasing daylight, makes for easy travelling. Locals take their "snowmachines" out, well, almost anywhere.

Me? I drove to Aklavik.

In a truck.

(You thought this skidoo and "boggan" was my sweet ride, didn't you?)

A view from the ice road: Aklavik and the Richardson Mountains.

My work brought me to Aklavik, a predominantly Gwich'in and Inuvialuit community of about 600 people. Aklavik is situated on the western side of the Mackenzie delta, opposite of Inuvik.

It is accessible year-round by plane, by boat in the summer and by ice road in the winter.

So Aklavik: Mountains, frozen river and frozen boats. And a dog.

What I particularly enjoyed about this hamlet was its proximy to the mountains.

Here you can see the Richardson Mountains in the not so far distance.

These are the same mountains that I see from my apartment in Inuvik, gazing towards which I have seen countless colourful sunsets.

Clearing the road.

The trip to Aklavik had been less than stellar, due to flat light, fresh snow, and driving winds. Due to poor visibility, I drove at geriatric speeds, with the utmost of concentration to keep my position on the road.

In contrast, the drive back to Inuvik was infinitely more enjoyable. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and everything was sparkling with fresh glittering snow.

Junction.

The drive across the delta, between Aklavik and Inuvik, is between 1.5 and 2.5 hours, depending on the conditions and the weight of the driver's foot.

At times I forgot what this northern highway actually was - a frozen river channel - but certain vistas reminded me. What a strange feeling!

Sunset on the delta.

Winding in and winding out of the braiding, serpentine channels was a novelty, and I enjoyed the low-angle sun on my face.

Another great Arctic adventure. :)

Ice Road Trip to Tuktoyaktuk



Mackenzie River ice road in the early dawn.



February 3rd, 2013

Sunrise: 11:03 am

Sunset: 5:17 pm

Temps: -35'C - -27'C

Did I mention that my job brings me to amazing places? I recently enjoyed a trip to Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, aka "Tuk."

Enjoy the pictures.



Driving on the frozen Arctic Ocean. You know, no big deal.



After 2.5 hours on the road, the sprawling metropolis of Tuk greets me.



Sunrise (at noon) in Tuk: Clear, calm and cold (-37'C)



Typical Tuk houses, with the Arctic Ocean beyond.



Looking out over the frozen, wind-swept sea ice... towards...lots of frozen water.



Arctic Ocean selfie. It's always the magic hour with low-angle Winter sunlight.



The Great Art Exchange



A canvas when I received it.
Eek! What to do with such contrasting components?



January 19th, 2013

Sunrise: 12:11 pm

Sunset: 3: 58 pm

Temps: -24'C - -34'C

What does one do in Inuvik in the dark and cold months of Winter? Painting is one option. I recently took part in the first "Great Art Exchange," and it was a great experience.

My additions to the painting. I named him "Old Man Winter."



I was placed in a "team" of 8 people, although it was all very secretive and I didn't really know who my "teammates" were. We each received a blank canvas, started a painting, placed it in an envelope and dropped it off at a common location.


This is the canvas that I started.




Next, we picked up another canvas (following a numbered coding system). That week, we could add as little or as much as we wanted to that painting. Then it again went into an envelope, was turned in, and eventually passed on to the next painter. This cycle was repeated for 8 weeks until we had each worked on all 8 canvases.



This is how "my" painting looked at the end of 8 weeks!



It was important that the progress of each canvas remained a secret, so that artists didn't influence each other too much, and so that the ultimate finished product would come as a surprise.


Our teams' paintings on display at the "great reveal."


At the end of 8 weeks, the project coordinator held a soiree at her house, the "great reveal," and had all the paintings displayed. It was fun to see how the paintings I had worked on had evolved. "My" painting certainly got a facelift!

Next round starts this week, with 4 teams of 5 people, over 5 weeks. I can't wait to get started!!




Oh, and our little project made the news! If you'd like to read more, check out the link below:

http://nnsl.com/archive/pdf-archives/in122012.pdf