Travels with rarecat: Canadian Arctic

Sunday 8 October 2023

Canada's Arctic & Greenland - Port Epworth

I am sharing with you here a memorable journey to the Canadian Arctic via the Northwest Passage, a historical sea lane through the Canadian Arctic archipelago. We travelled with Adventure Canada and boarded the Ocean Endeavour in Kuqulutuk, Nunuaut, travelling eastward along the passage then north to the high Arctic, crossing the Baffin Sea to Qanak before going down the Greenland coast to our final destination, Kangerlussuaq. Almost all the boardings and landings (usually wet) were via zodiac so I was glad I have had a similar experience visiting Svalbard which helped. Zodiac cruising could be unpredictable, what started out as a calm ride could end up being so stormy on the return trip that even docking alongside the ship could be hazardous.

It was for me a trip of a life time, at times physically strenuous and challenging for both the senses and the intellect in the sense that I was bombarded with new experiences and information, sometimes outside my comfort zone yet at the same time exposing me to exciting new environments and contexts that I have never experienced before. This is not to mention the amazing vistas of the tundra and the Arctic ocean, the Greenland fjords and monstrous icebergs. Breathtaking and mind boggling - but that's what an adventure is all about!

It took me a while to digest all this after the 17 day long trip and the upcoming blog posts will be my attempt to make sense of what I have seen and heard on the journey.

Our route on a polar map

This is the original route but we were unable to get to Grise Fjord on Ellesmere Island because of packed ice.

The top deck of the Ocean Endeavour, where we spent a lot of time with our cameras

As we travelled east, our first stop was Port Epworth or Kuluktuluq, which means Tree River. (You will notice that most places in Nunavut have two names, the English name which is often named after some important person in England but doesn't tell you anything about the place, and the Inuit name, which usually tells you something about the place.)

Port Epworth from the ship

Close-up of the sedimentary rock formation at Port Epworth.

Geology was the main reason we stopped here. This is where we would see stramatolites, layered sedimentary formations created by microorganisms 1.9 billion years ago, the first preserved form of life on this planet. These microorganisms produced adhesive compounds that cement sand and rocky materials together, forming bacterial mats one on top of the other. I

t was a 3.5 km return hike over boggy tundra to get to the viewpoint where there was a platform of stramatolites. Because the hike involved some clambering over rocks without a trail and there was a height gain equiavlent to 14 floors, the operation was declared an advanced hike. No surprise then that everyone suddenly became an "advanced hiker" because they all wanted to see the view of the stromatolites up on the platform!

Boggy terrain - it is best to walk in wet boots over this kind of wet bog, but if you also have to climb up the hillside, the boots didn't have as good a grip as your hikers. But walking in your hikers meant wet feet even if they are waterproof as you could sink right into the bog and the water come over the top!

Brilliant fall colours on the Arctic tundra - what a treat!

Lichens abound on the rocks

Stromatolites

This was the view we all came for! The expanse of the stromatolites in front of us on the plateau, the bear guard in orange for perspective, the Tree River in the distance. Geologist Dr. Marc St. Onge was there to explain the history of the stromatolites. The stromatolites were some of the earliest traces of life - organisms that generated the oxygen we have today. The place we were standing on used to be the bottom of the sea.

Table of daily finds kept on board

Stromatolites come in all sizes and this one gives you a relative size of the ones we were standing on. You can also see some in cross-section on the hillside. The humans are there to provide perspective.

Tbe Arctic Willow, much smaller than its relative in temperate zones because of temperature and precipitation factors.

After the climb up to the stromatolites platform, we took our time going back to the ship, enjoying the many Arctic plants on the tundra. The afternoons on board were filled with lectures - on that particular day it was one on the fascinating Geological History of Arctic Canada and Greenland by Dr. Marc St. Onge. This was followed by another interesting lecture on "How do Arctic Animals Survive".

Postscript: Margaret Atwood was inspired by her trip to Port Epworth with Adventure Canada to write a short story Stone Mattress in her collection "Nine Wicked Tales". It's a murder story but it also gives you a sense of shipboard life!

Next stop: Gjoa Haven

Tuesday 10 October 2023

Canadian Arctic - Gjoa Haven

One of the highlights of this trip was an opportunity to visit northern communities to get a glimpse of their way of life. The third day into the trip, we visited Gjoa Haven - population 1349 living in 339 private dwellings (2021 census). Gjoa Haven, a hamlet on Prince William Island, was named by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen after his ship Gjoa. Amundsen and his men arrived here in 1903 while exploring the Northwest Passage and spent two years here learning arctic survival skills. The Hudson Bay Company opened a trading post here in 1927 marking the beginning of permanent European style settlement. (Wikipaedia)

Gjoa Haven means "lots of fat' pointing to the abundance of sea mammals in the area. It is noted for being the closest settlement to the wrecks of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror from the lost Franklin expedition. This is expected to lead to increased tourism.

The average high in winter is -30C to give you an idea of arctic temperatures. It was above 0C the day we landed but there was a wind chill and it felt colder walking around town as there was little shelter, as you can see from the photos below. The settlement was very sandy as a result of glacial action.

We landed on the beach and was welcomed by a group of local guides. You can see from the photos that this is no ordinary "cruiseport" visit nor is this your average cruise for that matter. Writing this as I sit at home back in the midst of a bustling metropolis, I realized what a culture shock it had been for us to clamber up from the beach and walk through town, to see first hand how different life is in these northern communities.

The beach where our zodiacs landed

One of our guides

Director John Houston who was on board with us took us to the local inn where there was an exhibit of soap stone carvings.

Health & Social Services

The local high school

Random houses

Nattilik Heritage Centre is the Museum. There are some interesting pieces there.

Musk ox horn soup ladle

“Cordless drill” caribou antler, steel, seal hide, rib bone

Tool bag made with fish skin

Community Centre

We were entertained by the local community at the Community Centre. Three drum dancers performed and visitors were invited to try their hand. Inuit drum dancing is often accompanied by song, touching on experiences of daily life, including love, hunting, etc. There is a short video recording of the drum dance here.

The chorus accompaniment

School children performed a square dance - very popular here, with its roots in the round dances from Great Britain left behind by the whalers who were active here earlier. Here is a short video of the performance.

It was heartwarming to see the light in the children's eyes and their beaming faces when they saw the gifts that were donated on our behalf - 50 sets of hockey equipment plus several hundred hockey sticks.

As I walked backed to the ship, I saw this house with an outbuilding labelled "Heartbreak Hotel"... Not to overinterpret the meaning, but this must be quite a desolate place in the winter, smiling faces regardless.

Saturday 14 October 2023

Canadian Arctic - Coningham Bay to Prince Leopold Island

Continuing our journey north from Gjoa Haven, we travelled through the Franklin Strait to Coningham Bay, on the southeast coast of Prince of Wales Island. The bay is very shallow and there is a large sandbar across its entrance that nearly encloses it at low tide. The richness of the waters here made it an ideal feeding ground for beluga whales but at the same time made them prime targets for polar bears when they are trapped by low tide. It was therefore no surprise that when we arrived in the bay, we saw a polar bear family feasting on the carcass of a beached beluga. I was surprised though that the bear cubs were also feeding on the carcass, at least there was blood on their faces.

Polar bear family at beluga whale carcass

The expedition team reported a total of 12 bears that morning plus one dead one. Except for the ones near the shore, the others were quite far away and difficult to photograph.

The one dead bear was very unusual, according to the Inuit couple on board, they have never seen one all these years.

Great care was taken to protect us from polar bears. Whenever we go on shore, scouts were sent ahead to make sure there are no bears around and bear guards establish a perimeter within which we are safe. We are not allowed to wander beyond that perimeter. As we were going into the bay, each zodiac has a rifle just in case, afterall we did see a bear go into the water.

Sunset as we sailed through the Bellot Strait

From Coningham Bay we sailed through the Bellot Strait which separates Somerset Island from the Boothia Peninsula, which is the northernmost point on the mainland of North America. The strait also marks the first meeting of the Atlantic and Pacific tides north of Magellan Strait.

Zenith Point, at the tip of the Boothia Peninsual, marks the northermost tip of the North American mainland. We celebrated on deck with champagne as we passed. It is a significant point in the Northwest Passage. We also saw Franklin's cairn as we passed along the strait.

Cairn on south shore

After Coningham Bay (5) and the Bellot Strait, we travelled north along Prince Regent Inlet
to Port Leopold. Port Leopold is an abandoned trading post and is the site of the first winter camp for the first major Royal Navy search for Sir John Franklin's missing expedition. We were originally going to have hikes at Port Leopold, but the scout sighting of polar bears meant we had to cancel most of the hikes, including the hike to the Hudson Bay Trading Post. It's a good thing we were able to see it from the ship (with a long lens!). We did see the remains of a Thule settlement, with remains of whale bones which were used in their construction. The Thule culture were the ancient predecessors of the Inuits.

Ruins of Thule house

Whale bones at the Thule sites. Whale bones are used in the construction of Thule houses and their placement had a certain symbolism within the culture.

Hudson Bay Trading Post

From Port Leopold the ship cruised to Prince Leopold island just a short distance away. The island, with its steep cliffs rise about 750 feet and is noted for its nesting birds, including fulmars, murres, common eider and kittiwakes, among others. Unfortunately when we arrived, it was too dark to see the birds, if there were any left. Many may have gone south already.

Prince Leopold island itself is an impressive site - shaped like a crown almost, as befits its name!

Tuesday 17 October 2023

Canadian Arctic - Beechey Island & Devon Island 75° N

We are now almost 10° North of the Arctic Circle reaching Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on Earth at 55,24 square kilometres.

We first stopped at Beechey Island, a tiny island off the southwest tip of Devon Island. Franklin's ships, HMS Erebus and Terror, were here over the winter of 1845-6, leaving behind storehouses, and the graves of three crewmen. Then the two ships disappeared and all 129 men were lost - one of the most celebrated mysteries of the 19th century. Over 40 expeditions were launched in search of Franklin's party and the harbour at Beechey Island was the base of that search.

We landed on the beach and the walk on the island was easy compared to the boggy tundra at Port Epworth. It was an easy hike to see the isthmus which linked the island to the big island. There were the graves and the ruins of Northumberland House plus more arctic plants and lots of fossils. It was one of the last sunny days for a while.

Beechey Island

Graves of three crewmen on Franklin's expedition

This is the isthmus (tombolo) that joined the small Beechey island to the big Devon Island

Panorama of the bay where we landed on Beechey Island

A cenotaph commemorating men who died on the Belcher expedition

Northumberland House (what's left of it) - erected with material from wrecked ships, was meant to be a supply depot

We were lucky to see many arctic flowers on the island. This is Mountain Aven.

Thanks to botanist Carolyn Mallory on the expedition team, we were able to identify many plants, including male (above) and female (below) arctic willows! They need each other to reproduce.

Geologist, Dr. Marc St. Onge, collected many fossils on the island to show us -

Fossilized scallops

Horn coral

Branching coral

Fossilized clams

Snail fossils

The first icebergs we saw were very small but since we didn't know what is to come, we made sure we took photos of these!

Our second stop was at Powell Inlet on Devon Island Devon Island is made up of Precambian bedrocks which formed the Canadian Shield, so we were standing on 3 billion years old Precambrian rocks while the mountains above us, consisting of sandstone and limestone sedimentary layers, are only 300 millions years old! Incredible!

Devon Island looks like a chocolate layer cake

Where we landed

The steep climb up to the top of the cliffs.

The surface of Devon Island has been compared to Mars. We had to watch our step as it was very rocky and wet.

The Precambrian beddrock

Rock formations at the top of the cliffs. There is a walrus colony at the bottom of the cliffs but I didn't bring my long lens with me on the hike.

Amidst the rocks, there were surprisingly many flowers, like this Alpine Bistort

and the cottongrass below.

After the Powell Inlet hike, we were supposed to go on a zodiac cruise to the glacier at Croker Bay. But windy conditions aborted the zodiac cruise and we stayed on deck while the captain steered the ship into Croker Bay and through the ice in front of the glacier. There will be lots of ice and icebergs in the next post!

Wednesday 25 October 2023

Canadidan Arctic - Croker Bay and Dundas Harbour

Our last two stops on Devon Island are Croker Bay and Dundas Harbour. Croker Bay is an Arctic waterway off the coast of Devon Island just a short distance from Powell Inlet. We visited after our hike on Powell Inlet. It was late in the day and the light was poor, as you can see from the photos. The weather did not permit an originally planned zodiac cruise so the captain steered the Ocean Endeavour through the ice to let us see the glacier from the ship. It was a spectacular show that brought us close enough to the glacier to see some calving activity then took us through the sea ice and icebergs.

This iceberg on the way to Croker Bay reminded me of a Henry Moore sculpture

The glacier in Croker Bay - I had thought this is the width of the glacier, but as we rounded the corner, there was twice the width on the other side!

One end of the glacier

The main face of the glacier

A fulmar flying in front of the glacier

As we moved further into the bay, there were a lot of ice and icebergs

This is not the end of the glacier. It seemed to stretch on and on...

...one tongue stuck out after another. Would have loved to see a drone view of the glacier.

The visit to Croker Bay was the end of an exciting day on Devon Island. The last stop at Dundas Harbour the following day was an anti-climax, not to mention it was wet with sleet and rain - an altogether forgettable experience. The swells prevented us from landing close to the Thule settlement that we were supposed to visit so we did a long hike to the settlement and back through wet bogland. At the end of the excursion, everyone was wet and exhausted. There was an RCMP outpost on the island but I did not have the energy to hike down and back so I gave it a pass. It was a relief the following day was a sea day!

Dundas Harbour - the kayakers (you can vaguely see them in the bay) were able to have some fun in spite of the wet weather - afterall they were dressed for it!

Storage houses at the Thule settlement

The one and only hill in the area - as usual a bear guard on duty at the top - it must have been hard standing up here for hours in the wet weather. And we were complaining down on the ground...

Our Inuit guide Suzie explaining the Thule settlement

This was the entrance to the house

View of the harbour

Odd outcrops on the ground

This is a view of Dundas Harbour from the top of the ridge. The beach where we landed is on the left. The RCMP outpost is on the right. After the hike to the Thule settlement and back, I was soaked so decided a distant shot of the outpost will do - surely you can see the speck that's the hut on the right?! ;-) This was our last hike in the Canadian Arctic.

Wednesday 25 October 2023

Canadian Arctic - Baffin Bay

After Dundas Harbour, the ship sailed into Baffin Bay, a "marginal" sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is not navigable most of the year because of ice cover and the high density of floating ice and icebergs in the area. Ploughing through sea ice was one of the highlights of this cruise - it was a most amazing experience!

We were originally going to visit Grise Fjord on Ellesmere Island, our most northern reach on this cruise. But the threat of sea ice coming down from the north prevented the captain from taking the risk of going through the opening in the ice but not being able to come back out if that opening closed up. He showed us ice charts galore to explain the risks - we could only trust him to do the right thing.

There was a lot of disappointment about the not being able to visit Grise Fjord, but this was more than made up for by the alternate cruise through the sea ice in Baffin Bay plus a bonus landing on an actual ice floe after pushing through the sea ice. Everyone was on a high as even many of the expedition team members have never set foot on an ice floe before. Thanks to our fearless leader Scott McDougall for thinking up the idea and actually finding a suitable ice floe.

The ice floe experience was beyond our expectations. It was absolutely stunning on the ice looking down on the bay and seeing the ice underneath not to mention cruising into the bay on our zodiacs. It was incredibly beautiful! We were also surrounded by mist making it even more ethereal. Kudos to the zodiac drivers who were able to speed through the mist to bring us back safely on the ship.

Baffin Bay was the beginning of our encounter with huge icebergs - here is one reflecting the setting sun as we sailed into the bay

This one reminded me of a Lawren Harris painting

This iceberg must have been around for a while!

Look at the beautiful colours on it - reminds me of the candy we get around Christmas

Another Henry Moore...but you would never believe the one in the photo below is the same iceberg-

it looks the balleen in the whale's mouth!

Everyone was on deck to watch the ship cruise through the first sea ice. Here are two videos - they by no means do justice to the experience. I was also too busy taking photos to spend a lot of time on the videos.