Day: 11

Welcome to Lutselk'e

Temperature: -30

Location: Lutselk'e

Latitude: 62deg 24' 13''

Longitude: 110deg 44' 13''

Distance Traveled: 22.9

We made the village of Lutselk’e today, traveling 22.9 miles. We had an absolutely beautiful morning, clear, with the moon rising in the earth’s shadow. It was minus 13, but we were in a sheltered area, so the wind wasn’t blowing.

We traveled all day under clear skies, just a gorgeous day. The temperature dropped during the day, and the lake was cracking quite a bit. When we pulled into Lutselk’e the temperature was minus 23 degrees, but still a beautiful evening. It was about 4:30, and just getting dark when we came in.

The sun was real low today, as usual. By low sun, what I mean is that if you stretched out our arm at high noon and had four fingers stacked, horizontally to the horizon, this is as high as the sun would get. This casts quite a shadow. For a six-foot person, the shadow is at least 100 feet long.

We were traveling along the south coast of the lake today under high cliffs, so we were in shadows most of the time. But the lake itself to the north was lit, and there were huge palisade cliffs lining the horizon, just a beautiful play of colors and shadows all day long.

It was a real festive day, as we knew we were approaching the village. We picked up the actual smell of the village, typical of Indian villages, which smells like spruce fires, spruce smoke, like smoked moosehide they use on their mukluks. It is a very typical smell of the northern Deni Indians here. The dogs also picked up that smell, and their pace was very fast coming in.

We were put up at the same school that I stayed in when I passed through here in 1993. We were in the home-ec room with a stove and a washer, and I recognized the same showers, even though the water isn’t working.

Smoke is rising from the many cabins here, and it’s really a perfect village. The people have been very nice to us. It must be about 30 below, the stars are out, as well as a waning full moon amid high clouds. It’s been a very good day for us, and we’ve got all our gear stretched out in the home-ec room.

We averaged 16 miles a day for ten days, plus one day off, making the 160 mile trip from Yellowknife to Lutselk’e in terrific time.