Unfortunately our time at Arctic Watch has come to an end. We wake up to another frigid morning. All the pipes froze last night despite training all the lines. There is no water to run the sinks and toilets. We all pretty well packed the night before, but finish up our last minute packing and put our bags in the pile to go to the plane before heading in for breakfast.
The plan had been for us to all have breakfast and load into the plane and then touch down in Resolute Bay for fuel and a proper de-ice. A meeting with our pilot this morning has altered our plans slightly. The plane is very icy, and he does not want to risk us all being on the plane and fully loaded. He wants to take a run over to Resolute and refuel, drop off some items for Arctic Watch, and ensure that the plane is fully de-iced before getting us. So we have some time to kill.
The weather is still cold, we have another wonderful breakfast of waffles and fruit, cereal and porridge...and croissants. After breakfast we hang out outside, some play games inside, read our books etc.
At 9:20am, our plane is back to pick us up. We shuttle down to the plane in the Unimog and gator and get loaded. We say our goodbyes to all the wonderful staff. It was truly a remarkable stay. What sets them apart is that they genuinely understand hospitality. They were excellent at ensuring that our needs were met. The food was great...they were gracious hosts. The accommodation was simple, yet had the modern conveniences. This place is a real gem and I would recommend the experience to anyone. I actually would love to bring the girls back here earlier in the season so we could share some of the wildlife with them.
Richard and Josee are also the real key to this place. Richard has a wealth of knowledge on the Arctic. It is fascinating to hear him speak about his expeditions. The real key to this place however is Josee. She is a remarkable woman. She is the glue that holds that place together. She has fascinating stories to tell and is obviously extremely organized, extremely motivated, extremely determined and calm too! I can't imagine waiting at home while your husband is on an unassisted expedition to the North Pole!
Once on the plane, we will no longer stop at Resolute, and flying over it is not an options as the weather has clouded it over. Dean does fly low over Somerset Island for us as we leave so we can look over all the ice in the Northwest Passage.
We head southwest and land in Kugluktuk. A very small native community on the edge of a lake...can't remember the name at the moment! We refuel and then re-board and head another 1.5 hours to Norman Wells, which is on the Mackenzie River.
We are picked up and shuttled by Canoe North Adventures to their lodge where we pack all our belongings into to dry barrels, dry bags etc., purchase our alcohol in town for our canoe trip and generally just get prepared. It is a beautiful location, and they have a lovely deck off the lodge. We all have lots of time to lounge around in the sun and chat and have some drinks while watching the float planes land in front of us.
Our own plane takes a load of canoe gear and belongings and 5 of the guides to Deline (a small native community where we will be starting our canoe trip from). The rest of us enjoy a nice supper of pork chops and salads. There are a lot of us to house, but we all manage to have a dry place to sleep. We get showers and enjoy good conversation with others staying at the lodge and some neighbours. Its also Rod's birthday today, so we all sing him a Happy Birthday and have some pie!
We amazingly spot our first bear at the lodge this evening! It comes out from the side of the lake right into the driveway of the lodge, and then he shoots off into the brush (very near to where Dave and I, and Bruce & Wendy are sleeping in tents!
The final thing to settle on is the canoe pairings and canoe groupings. Canoe North Adventures have a perfect safety record and want to keep it that way. I work alongside the owner to try to come up with strong pairings for tomorrows next adventure. Once that's done, its off to bed for Dave and me.
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