Day: 153

Spring Melt Arrives

Temperature: 32F

Location: Baffin Island

Latitude: 72deg 15’ 52’’ N

Longitude: 80deg 22’ 39” W

Distance Traveled: 30 Miles

It was a travel day again today. I’d like to describe a little about what our scenery looks like. We’re traveling down fjords, narrow at first, but now widening. There were thicker clouds, with a ceiling of about 1,000 feet, maybe at times 1,500 feet, so we didn’t see the tops of the mountains on either side. Some of these mountains have glaciers on them, and we got a glimpse of one glacier today right when we stopped.

The temperature was above freezing all day long, and there is standing water on the ice for the first time. We heard two unusual things today. One was running water - Paul and I heard the trickle of a small stream coming down the mountainside. It was really musical. And then there was the sound of the dogs lapping up water for the first time. This was the first time they had actual puddles of water to drip from, and they were quite happy. There was one scene where our whole team was on a very shallow pool on the ice, and all ten dogs were lapping up water. The mountains in the background were reflecting on the ice, so we had this double image with the dogs drinking and the mountains.

It is extremely beautiful here, and we are hoping for clearer weather tomorrow. The weather was starting to lift when we made camp, so we are hoping it will be clear and we can see the full extent of these mountains. Baffin is of course a very mountainous region.

The trip is beginning to wind down, and we figure we will be in Pond Inlet in about three days from now. At that point we will be making a decision whether we will go onto Clyde. With the conditions the way they are that is rather doubtful, but we are still leaving that option open.

We are definitely gearing down for the trip. For myself, I live day to day, so it is not like there is an ending in sight, but just moment to moment. The time is passing fast. There are some of the first times on the trip that I am not cold, I’m very comfortable, and I don’t want the days to end. I really enjoy the skiing out front, and the dogs are quite happy about the warm weather, although they don’t like the wet feet.