Day: 135

Happy Birthday Mom!

Temperature: 32F

Location: Fox Basin

Latitude: 69deg 08’ 01’’ N

Longitude: 81deg 31’ 46 ” W

Distance Traveled: 28 Miles

We are on the trail from Hall Beach to Iglulik. It is a trail of about 47 miles, well traveled, probably the most well traveled trail in Nunavut. A lot of snowmobiles went by, a few hunters, a family. We traveled 28 miles today, really flat land on beaches. Then we went onto the sea ice and then up into the hills where we are camped tonight.

To the east of here is the Fox Basin, which you can think of as a northern extension of Hudson Bay. There is open water about 20 miles out, called a plenier. A plenier is an area of ocean that doesn’t freeze, due to the ocean current. And this is the reason why Iglulik is in the place it is at. A plenier is where you will find a lot of wildlife: walrus, seal, even whale later in the summer. Iglulik has been established here for about 2,000 years, so it is a very traditional area, based around this plenier. The plenier will have black clouds, almost like black smoke, around it all day long, and you can tell exactly where the open water is. And this is due to steam coming off the water, and the sun reflecting from the dark water up to the clouds, so rather than a white reflection you get a dark reflection, making the clouds a dark color. And the steam will flow out, in this case we had a north breeze, causing the steam to blow way to the south. And now we are covered by these clouds, and it is a very dominating effect.

Given the likelihood of clear weather the next few days and the plenier here, we will likely have thick fog. Tomorrow will be an easy trail, 18 miles to Iglulik, and we are expecting to be in around 3 p.m. And we will be in Iglulik for about a week, meeting with elders, talking about global climate change, and the like.

May 13 is also a special day for me, it is my mother’s birthday. She comes from a farm family, and is the youngest of ten kids. My grandparents were homesteaders, who homesteaded north of St. Paul, Minnesota. And my mother is now the only surviving child of that family, being the youngest. And there are good genetics in the family, as all her brothers and sisters lived to old age. I called my mother today on the phone, and she is doing very well. She has nine kids and about 30 grandkids, and is a dear and special woman to all of us. So Happy Birthday mom! We all appreciate and love you.