by Jim Coles
The following article originally appeared in the Spring 1990 (Vol. 2, No. 1) issue of Qayaq. It is another in a series of articles from our first quarter century that we are reprinting as GLSKA marks its 25th anniversary. This was the first article that featured original pen and ink artwork; something that has since become a Qayaq signature. The artwork is by Peter Graham, who first suggested using artwork in the newsletter, and was our resident artist for a number of years.
Ellesmere Island is incredibly beautiful. From a kayak, the geography is so massive, the colours so vivid, and the silence so pervasive that it is difficult to find motivation to paddle. Absorbing it all in perfect stillness is an awe inspiring delight.
Getting there and back was half the fun. Resolute is a principle jumping off place for much of the eastern Arctic and was reached by jet from Edmonton. At Resolute we boarded a Twin Otter for the two hour trip over Cornwallis and Devon Islands to Grise Fiord. Canada’s most northerly permanent civilian community is in a magnificent setting. Towering cliffs split by a river valley seem to come to the ocean’s edge with just enough room for a landing strip, several homes, a community centre and a Hudson’s Bay store. After refuelling at Grise Fiord we spent another two hours getting to Alexandra Fiord. It is difficult to imagine 10 people, all their gear and food for tea weeks, and fuel for the return flight being crammed into an Otter, but the spectacular scenery more than offsets the discomfort. The interior of Ellesmere is very mountainous with perhaps two thirds of the land area covered with glaciers flowing out the various valleys to the sea.
We landed at a former RCMP post on Alexandra Fiord which is about latitude 79 degrees. The landing strip, like others on the island, was situated at a valley mouth on a gravel beach deposited by the receding glaciers. The Otters with large, soft tundra tires can handle these conditions as long as the large irregular boulders are removed. The RCMP post, with three or four huts, was permanently manned years ago, but now serves only as a drop off point for scientists and outfitters. Here we met our two guides who had just finished a tour with a group of photographers.
The individuals in our group were an interesting assortment from very diverse backgrounds. Some were very knowledgeable and fit outdoor types with lots of kayaking experience, while others were less fit with no experience. Myself and a great couple from Toronto were the only Canadians. The kayaks were folding double Nautiraids and Feathercraft. In view of the lack of experience of some group members, I found it surprising that no safety or paddling instruction of any description was given. All group members were issued full length survival suits. These were constantly worn when on the water and were reasonably comfortable except when paddling hard, which seldom happened.
Ellesmere Island in early August is not devoid of People. We met Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams, at the RCMP post. As many of us were reading Arctic Dreams at the time, we now have autographed copies. He willingly spent several hours with us recounting the history of the area. A real treat. Bache Peninsula, at the end of Alexandra Fiord is close to Greenland and was a jumping off point for the various early cultures which migrated through here. On a small island a kilometre or so from the RCMP post, the foundations of several Thule winter homes remain along with some evidence of the Arctic Small Tool tradition, a much earlier culture. These were fascinating. The Thule apparently passed through the area about 900 years ago. An archaeologist from the Arctic Institute of the University of Calgary was at the site but he believed tourists had no place on Ellesmere, so chose not to speak with us. We also met two biologists and two students from Queen’s University who were studying diatoms in a fresh water lake on Ellesmere.
The weather during the first two weeks of August was absolutely superb. Night temperatures were around -5° to – 10° C while afternoon temperatures reached 5° to 10° C. We had crystal clear skies virtually every day. It was daylight 24 hours a day but the sun did go down behind the mountains in the late evening. The colours of the sky, surrounding mountains, ice, and sea were extremely vivid; likely because of the low humidity and unpolluted air.
Days were spent kayaking and hiking. A typical day would consist of about three hours for breakfast and packing, a 5 to 10 kilometre paddle with stops at interesting sites, fol- lowed by unpacking, set-up and a meal. I was amazed at the quality of food prepared by the guides. You do not expect a cheese-cake after living out of a kayak for 12 days. A great deal of effort must have gone into planning and packaging food for 12 for 15 days. Late afternoons and evenings were usually spent hiking around the surrounding valleys and hills. Some entire days were spent hiking up to and on the glaciers and snow fields. Overall, I found the hiking more enjoyable than the kayaking. The geography is tremendously varied. The ground, for the most part, is devoid of vegetation – mostly bedrock, boulders below the steep slopes, and gravel in the valley bottoms. Only where sufficient moisture is available does vegetation, mostly arctic willow, saxifrage and sedges, occur. These areas are found in depressions in the landscape, seepage areas or large, low plains emanating from the foot of glaciers.
The kayaking was extremely pretty when amongst ice flows and icebergs. Apparently it had been a cool summer as the ice conditions in the outer portion of the fiords were worse than usual and did restrict our movement. I had hoped we would travel to Cape Sabine where the Greely expedition had been finally located, but ice blocked the way. We did spend an interesting three or four hours paddling over melting ice. In one sheltered bay the ice did not break up but rather seemed to melt from the top down leaving narrow connected channels approximately 50 centimetres deep over the surface. Navigating through a kilometre of this was great fun.
Beyond the spectacular geography, the highlight of the trip was the wildlife. We were very fortunate in that we saw virtually the complete gamut of Arctic species. Huge, ornery walrus were very plentiful. On two occasions, both in the same general area, walrus attacked our kayaks. Once, two very surprised Americans were paddling about a metre above the water for a second or two, but the second incident was a little more serious. A 40 centimetre hole was ripped in the bottom of one of the kayaks while some distance from shore. The kayak half filled with water but remained afloat to reach shore. All this within the first four days; from then on we avoided, when possible, walrus. We saw a number of arctic fox – extremely curious creatures to the point of sticking their noses in open tent doors with the inhabitants resting inside. Several seals, arctic hare and musk-ox and a mother and a cub polar bear were also seen in addition to many species of sea and shore birds, the red throated loon and the ubiquitous snow bunting.
The trip ended no more than 50 kilometres from our starting point, but we had paddled a lot of intervening bays and climbed a lot of hills. Loading the Otter for the flight back to Grise Fiord and Resolute was even more of a challenge. This time there were 12 of us, our gear, the 6 kayaks, pet rocks and the fuel drums. But again, the spectacular scenery made it all worthwhile.