Day: 63

First Day in Baker Lake

Temperature: -40 F

Location: Baker Lake

Our first day in Baker Lake. The temperatures are cold in town, minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, as I’m walking down the street in the evening. There is probably a 15 mph wind, so it is a little chilly.

We spent most of the day kind of settling into the village. I had a bath for the first time in 62 days last night, and that was a really nice event. We are starting to meet the elders. We are talking with the elders about their observations of global climate change, as well as their stories about life living on the land. A lot of these elders are in their 80’s, and they date back to being the very first people here, before white people came. Their stories are almost dying out, literally.

In a way I speak their language - not the Inuktitut, but I understand the land, and have a very close report with them. My dogsledding experience really helps form a bond with some of these older people, and it is very comfortable talking with them.

We are collecting stories here for the next six days. Jerry Stenger, from the University of Minnesota, my good friend who has documented my expeditions for the last dozen years, arrived tonight. We’ve got a full six days here to meet with people in the village. So I will be talking a lot about our meetings and so forth. When we leave again and Jerry heads back to Minnesota, there will be a lot of great footage of these experiences.