Better grab a coffee, this might take awhile.
I’ve used this cartoon in the past, but it is a favourite and it’s message bears repeating. Life is good when you can get out in the world.
I had a couple of guests cancel for this past Friday and Saturday, and that coupled with the fact my other clients were pretty self-sufficient and took their meals elsewhere, I took the opportunity to get out on the land for a night of camping. It will be some time before my next days off. By the look of things it will be mid-September. So with the idea of striking while the iron is hot, er, rather while the only time the iron is likely to be hot, I packed up to go hiking.
Originally I had wanted Travis to come with me, and while he was quite excited at the start the enthusiasm waned and he announced he wanted to stay to play with his friends (I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen until he was 13). So the plan was that I would head out after supper Friday evening, overnight by the Peregrine’s canyon, and come back in late Saturday. It was late by the time I could get away, and suddenly Travis announced that he wanted to come. So I quickly re-arranged my pack, adding a camp pad, pillow, 2 warm blankets and some sundry other items, excited that he was coming along.
Leah dropped us off at the dump and we set off for the canyon. Right away Travis began pointing out Snow Buntings, butterflies and spiders and I knew that this was going to be fun. He was excited, the weather (despite the prediction for rain) was great, birds, bugs and flowers abounded. He picked some “new” flowers for mom and we pressed them in my notebook. In slightly over an hour we were at the canyon around 11:30 that night.
We set up camp in a level spot in front of the smaller of the two streams,
drank deeply from the cold cold water, had some noodles, granola bars, chocolate and tea (note to self, next time bring the eating utensils and cups) and settled down for sleep around 1:30, after smushing the three or four mosquitoes who had made it into the tent.
The mosquitoes were mildly annoying, which is to say the worse I’ve ever seen them up here. Before I lived here I lived at a place called Fort Providence, on the MacKenzie River in the NWT, which was the unabashed biting insect capital of the free world. The “mildly annoying” level of mosquito population was about the best you could ever hope for there, so even though I’ve never seen so many mosquitoes here, it really wasn’t bad at all.
We were both up early the next morning. Travis actually surprised me as he likes his sleep. But after breakfast at 7:00 we started climbing higher to see the Kiggaviarjuk.
And higher,
And higher,
Until our tent was quite small, and we were perched at the edge of the canyon.
I now have a better appreciation for my mother’s admonitions that I stay away from the lip of the canyon (although I have been an adult for a few years Mom). I was almost besides myself every time Travis shifted or moved (“Dad, you’re holding on to my jacket!”). We almost made it to the spot without being noticed, but the male was returning from a hunting foray and spied us as we crossed the last bit of tundra. He then perched on our side and called for us to leave.
This time I was actually close enough to take a decent picture, but instead I was trying to guide Travis through using the binoculars so he could get a good look. I don’t mind missing the photo op at all.
This shot was taken a little farther back.
We then made our way back down to the camp, where we tossed sticks in the stream
and explored the fauna. There was an incredible amount of butterflies, such as this fritillary
(smaller and obviously not the Polaris Fritillary) American Copper, and Travis found a weevil, amongst some cast off lumber that someone had brought in for firewood.
Not sure of the species, there is an Arctic Willow Weevil up here, but I couldn’t find a reference picture, and this particular beetle might be associated with the lumber. I really don’t know.
After an early lunch, we struck camp, and sallied forth. Now when we had our climb earlier I had pointed out some tents at Victor Bay and Travis decided he wanted to go to Victor Bay instead of home via the dump. Now I figured it was a longer trip, I just wasn’t sure how much longer.
After the first hour, we had crossed the Valley and started to climb up the other side.
By now Travis was starting to tire and we began to stop frequently for him to rest. We also stopped to examine absolutely every spider along the way. You get much more of an appreciation for the health of the High Arctic wolf spider population when you travel with an (almost) 6 year old. Quite a few of the spiders were sporting egg sacks. It sure does my heart good to hear my boy, not only excited, but curious about spiders and other things that go bump in the 24 hour light. There were hundreds of butterflies, and the odd moth, including this one.
I’m not sure, but I think it might be the moth of the Arctic Wooly Bear caterpillar, enjoying its all too brief flight after freezing and thawing for the last fourteen years.
We covered a lot of ground, much of it broken and hilly, and saw a lot of bird life. Scores of Lapland Longspurs, their breeding colours already beginning to fade, American Pipits, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks and sandpipers. Travis’ interest in things wild never flagged, although he was starting to drag.
As we crossed the hills across the bottom of Arctic Bay, dotted with wildflowers,
one hour walking turned to two, then to three and finally as we neared our fourth hour, we dropped off a crest to see our destination, Leah’s family’s tent at Victor Bay.
I had called Leah earlier to pick us up, but she hadn’t arrived yet, and as I unzipped the tent I glanced at my watch to see that it was now four hours since we left the campsite.
Travis, finding cousins and friends to play with suddenly found a vast store of energy and ran off to play. I was just happy to take the pack off my back, and to discover that there was bannock in the tent.
Comments
9 responses
Wonderful pictures. Looks like you two had a nice night!
Funny you mention Fort Prov. The summer before Matt and I moved to Hay River we had the camper on the truck and we drove around the NWT thinking about where to move. As we approach Fort Prov we thought it was raining and then realized it was the bugs hitting the windshield. We stayed at the campground there and had to lock ourselves in the camper where the mosquitoes were still managing to get in through the seems on the doors and windows! So we put duct tape around everything and then remembered that our camper does not have a bathroom! So we used a nice bucket for the night. Fort Prov did not make it to our short list of communities we were thinking of moving to!
Kara,
The bugs are bad there, but it is a really nice community. I quite enjoyed my two years there and was more than willing to stay longer. I probably keep in touch with more Providinians, (Providoids?)… people from Providence than any other place I lived at.
I remember my first night there, I was asleep (my bedroom was on the second floor of a great old house, gone now) and woke up to a droning. I looked and my screen was covered in mosquitoes. I thought that if they started pushing and pulling in unison I was in trouble. I ordered a bug jacket the next day.
A great time with your boy Clare, thanks for telling us all about it.
That looks like a great place for hiking! I think there are photos from my childhood of my mother holding one or more of us by the shirt or jacket while we were standing near a cliff.
By the way, are you sure that’s a fritillary? It looks to me like an American Copper. We have those around here, too.
Nice!
If you look closely around the canyon area, my mom and her friends used to pick up soapstone there. I am certain there are some still there, the soapstone are usually by the wall of the cliffs or close to it.
It is a great place to hike John, and startlingly beautiful. I’m actually not sure that the butterfly is a fritillary. I’m only relying on a general guide to the four main genus up here. What this country needs is a definitive guide to Arctic insects. Looking at a photo it does look like a Copper. Thanks.
Thanks Joanasie, I’ll have to have a look the next visit there, although I’m not sure what I’d be looking for in it’s uncarved state.
Kia ora Clare,
What a beautiful post and photos. Travis did himself proud. Amazing how the stores of energy get renewed quite quickly in the little ones. I took my 5 year old son on his first mountain tramp here in New Zealand a few weeks back and we both had great fun, though my eyes were on him constantly. Kia ora Clare.
Cheers,
Robb
Wow – amazing photo’s Clare! And glad to hear that you and Travis had a good camping trip.
Thanks again Robb. He’s an excellent little trooper my boy. It is great to be able to get out with them isn’t it?
Thanks Kennie, we had a great time.