So I'm slowly settling in from my trip to Baker Lake. Trying to return my daily life back to non-travel rhythms. My last bit of luggage arrived last night (and in true northern tradition that "luggage" was a duct taped cardboard box filled with caribou meat). So it is time to revist some of my trip to Baker Lake.
The one week in Baker Lake saw not one, but two blizzards hit. I'm guessing that the Kivaliq region is a little breezier than up here. The first Blizzard was the more intense of the two, with winds hitting 110 kms/hour and lasting two days. It shut down our conference as we weren't all staying at the same hotel, and it was unsafe to wander outside. With nil visibility there is a real danger of losing one's way, as evidenced by the sad news of the young man in Arviat who left the store there, only to lose his way in the storm and perish a small distance out of town.
So how poor is the visibility? This photo was taken from outside the front door of the hotel at 10:00 am. It is the house across the street. And there were times that you couldn't see it at all. At night, at the height of the blizzard I couldn't even make out any other lights in town.
This one was taken about four hours later, when the storm had abated somewhat. It was taken from the warm confines of my room, looking down the street towards the centre of town.