Final Reflection: Chris

Over the past few weeks we have accomplished a lot. We have hiked, snowmobiled, slid, danced, played, talked, laughed, fell, and all around had a great time in the north. I remember thinking it strange that a culture could be so alike and yet different than our own. I was also surprised when I found out that hip-hop had reached the north and that it was actually having a positive effect within the community. After you walk the entire town and look out from the ridges surrounding it you realize how isolated this small community is, and then you look on the ground, and see a candy wrapper the same as the ones back home. With these kinds of observations you realize how small yet large in other ways the world really is. Over the last week I've made friends who have experienced the north for most of their lives and they've taught me all sorts of things, like how to use my own digital camera which they seemed to enjoy playing with. Being around the GlobalWarming 101 Expedition crew was inspirational, their dedication and commitment to succeeding was an example for everyone of how the human spirit can conquer anything. Overall I've had a great time and aquired memories that will last a lifetime.

Final Reflection By Joe

So as the trip has wound down I have learned quite a bit, not only from within the group but out on my own as well. When we first arrived I didnt quite know what was to be expected way up here in the far north. When we had set out Mr. Johnson had told us that everything is possible and nothing is possible.
When Dalen and I found out that Andy spent a lot of time on the land we were ecstatic. Andy taught Dalen and I many things about being on the land including a plant called heather which the basic fuel for fire starting kind of like our birch bark, and it also makes a fantastic bedding for new born puppies. He taught us everything from building an igloo, to the names of mountains and plants.
It was really interesting to socialize with the young members of the community as well. They were so interested in us and always asking us questions like what our name was, where we were from, and how old we were. When we went out onto the land on Friday I learned the basics of seal hunting and I finally started to realize that something that looked close wasn't all that close and could be 40 kilometers out. The perception of depth is totally different up here because it is so flat and open.
Also while I've been in the Arctic I've learned that plans don't always go according to plan. For instance, we were suppose to leave on Saturday, but couldn't because of weather and there were no flights on Sunday. Also the death in the community basically shut everything down and most plans were cancelled for the day.
The highlight of this trip, for me anyway, was actually two things. The first one was being able to go out on the land so many times with Andy and the group to see the breath taking scenery and meeting up with the Global Warming 101 Expedition once again on the trail. The other was visiting the old Clyde River community on the other side of the bay along with the old cemetery and getting to learn about how it was formed and the reason they moved from where they were to where they are now. I also found a quote by Andy quite interesting. He said, "It's a community that went from the 'stone age' to the technological age, basically overnight" and it really is. It use to be a totally self-sustainable community, but now relies heavily on sea-lift goods which they purchase for the year and recieve in late August early September. This trip has been an extraordinary experience, and will never be able to be duplicated. Even if the school travels to Clyde River again, the events and opportunities that came upon us will never happen again. This truly was a once in a life time experience.

The Final Post,
-Joe

Day Twelve Feasts and Country Food

Taste is one of the most fickle human senses. Have you ever noticed how different people’s taste buds can be? Some like it spicy, some like it salty and sweet while other people prefer it as bland as can be. Over the past two days we’ve had a couple chances to distinguish some cultural (and personal) taste preferences.



As a send-off celebration for the Global Warming 101 expedition team the community of Clyde River held a big feast in the community hall. This feast is an extreme understatement of the generosity present within Clyde River. Around the edges of the gym there were tables sagging under the weight of cut-up turkeys, heaping cooking-pans of mashed potatoes, pots of stuffing, and cans of gravy. And in the center were three humongous blue tarps piled with frozen mounds of caribou and char, complete with heads and tails.


We’ll cut to the chase—the taste!! Actually frozen char and caribou is pretty good. And, yes, it’s frozen; the food is considered to be very different when thawed or fresh from the kill. Char tastes a lot like salmon and raw it tastes like sushi without the sticky rice and kelp. Caribou on the other hand is like rich venison and I (Allison) actually prefer it thawed and raw to frozen and raw (the boys all think I’m crazy) because the texture is more pleasant without ice crystals. In all, these country foods are very high in protein and provide a lot of energy, which is greatly needed when living in the arctic.


We’ve also had a chance to eat some cooked country foods. Last night, Geoff Ivany, his girlfriend Amy, and the lovely ladies from the health center made us a meal. There was a hefty pot of seal stew, cooked caribou (“au ju” as Jeff said!), char with lemon and spices, some steamed veggies, mashed potatoes and the Inuit delicacy muktuk (i.e. whale skin with first layer of blubber.) It was fantastic! There was a unanimous cry of delight for the caribou and char which is excellent both cooked and raw and the vegetable dishes complemented the country food well. It was interesting to note the cultural differences in the preparation and serving, too.


Now we’ve gotten a few questions about the muktuk before so we will try to answer them all here. We were told that muktuk can be served raw or cooked and has a better taste the fresher it is. The muktuk we had was raw narwhal; it was an absolute oral riot! We discovered there are three distinct layers in the muktuk. The blubber, which is a light pink, is rather squishy and chewy like cooked squid but tastes like a strong canola oil. The mottled gray-white skin is chewy too but crumbles into little pieces like aged blue cheese; the taste is very mild. In the middle between the blubber and thick skin is a very thin and very tough layer that is like chewing on the bottom of a tennis shoe. Thankfully, it tastes better than a pair of Nikes.

And after dinner we had the immense pleasure of eating Al’s (the RCMP host of Jeff and Chris) splendid apple-raspberry and apple-strawberry pies as well as a gorgeous chocolate-cherry cake. Everything tasted great!! We’re all very grateful for the generosity of our hosts and community; the food was simply marvelous!


-Allison

Finally on the Land

Today (Friday) we finally got out on the land as a whole group. We took four skidoos (snowmobiles) and three kamotiqs with Andy, Geoffrey (the local science teacher), and our new Inuit friend named Sam. Sam showed us many interesting things like a cave that he knew of that is a sheer wall of ice and about about 50 feet deep. While we were out on the trail he (Sam) was looking for open breathing holes so he could hunt seal. After some searching we saw a black spot out in the distance. We took out the binoculars and it turned out to be a seal. Here is a picture that I (Joe) took through the binoculars. It is the little black dot in the center. As we continued along our short 150 Km expedition we had to stop at an iceberg to chip off some ice for water to boil later for dinner. While we were out, we got to see some magnificent scenery of mountains and glaciers and we even met up with the Global Warming 101 Expedition Team!

After a quick pitstop at Sam's brother's cabin we headed out even further to visit a galcier, which, according to Sam, use to fill the entire valley. We then headed back to the cabin and we ate a freeze dried dinner and headed home. It took approximately an hour and a half to get home and we arrived about 9:45pm. Dalen and I cleaned up and headed to a community teen dance at C-Hall. We met up with Ida, Ruthie, and some of their friends and danced the night away!

Day 11: The Send Off

On a clear, crisp morning 5 dog teams stand ready on a horizon glistening with ice. Eager to complete the last leg of their journey, the dogs were barking, lunging, and jumping with anticipation. The last of their supplies were loaded onto their sleds and sinched down. This included everything from sleeping bags to dog food and everything in between. After waiting for so long the dogs were finally ready to take off with or without a command. Three out of the five dog teams took off with no command and the mushers were lucky enough to grab hold before it was to late. Some ended up chasing them down with a snowmobile. After all that excitement the day was filled with interviews and down time along with a fascinating dinner. The dinner was postponed two hours because the town had bingo over the radio, so we didn't eat until nine. The meal was made up of the traditional land food like raw frozen char and caribou which we all tried and only some liked.

Day Ten: A night in an igloo

The view from the Igloo

Today we, Joe and I, had the unique opportunity to build, or at least try, to build an igloo with Andy our host. We went out about 10-15 kms out by Sawtooth mountain near Clyde River. We started the Igloo on Monday but hadn't finished it, so we were determined to finish and sleep in it overnight!


After arriving at the igloo we found that part of it had collapsed, meaning that we again got to try our hand at block cutting and stacking. We were able to finish the igloo after about 5 hours, and decided to stay the night. After a good dinner of pasta and sauce, we turned down the caribou hides, and climbed into the cold sleeping bags.

While building the igloo and in the time after it was finished, we were able to discuss global warming and climate change with Andy. The albedo effect, or the intensity of sun radiation on certain surfaces such as ice and sun, was at the foremost of the conversation. We also discussed the issues surrounding policy involving global warming such as the lack of political will, lack of legislation and the ultimate lack of knowledge.

While on the ride back to the house we were able to see many natural history features such as cornices, giant snow drifts and frozen lakes. The snow drifts that we saw were about 40 feet high and had about 6 foot overhangs or cornices. We also were able to see glacial deposits and giant boulders.




We awoke at about 5:30 am and packed, then set out to return to Andy's home. Joe and I then went to the house that the Steger expedition has been using as a base while in Clyde River. We took part in the meeting and then went to the school to have a photo taken with the school children and the expediton team.

There is a feast planned for this evening so we are hoping to try some land food such as caribou, seal, narwhal (muktuk) and others.


so until later,



two frozen boys (Joe and I) Out

Day Nine: The Importance of Wearing Long Underwear

Yes, it is very important (especially during a trip to the Arctic) to wear a set of long underwear below your other daily garments. And I do not say this just for cold weather's sake--you just never know when you will be riding on a caribou-skin lined qamutik with a fan-hitched team of 11 huskies with a skilled Inuit hunter.

So, yes we definitely needed our long underwear yesterday. We had a wonderful surprise in store: a call from John Huston (Global Warming 101 base camp manager) telling us to be out on the ice at four o'clock sharp for a short trip with Simon Qamanirq and his sled dog team. It was 4:06. After rushing down without time to grab extra layers (thank goodness for under armor!) we met up with Simon and his team.
Simon's qamutik (the sled; it has a long raised bed) had a layer of caribou skins and was hitched at the front to the harnesses. The harnesses themselves are made of seal skin cut into long strips and are linked to the lines by walrus bone toggles. They are beautiful and practical. (See Arctic Speak for some good pictures!)
Yet nothing could compare to the feeling of traveling on the sled. The 11 dog team pulled Jeff, Mr. Johnson, Chris, Jason (from National Geographic), Simon and myself along with the big heavy qamutik. The sound was incredible; the snow made a sharp sh-sh-shing as the runners cut neatly through it.

The snowy landscape seemed like the moving backgrounds on old movie sets and cartoons. Looking ahead we saw the fluffy plumes of dog tails and haunches, steadily trotting ahead. Simon, between yelling commands, answered all of Johnson's questions which ranged from "Why don't the dogs get tangled in the lines?" to "How many dog teams are there in town?" to "How do you make a seal skin harness?" It was impressive how smooth the system worked; the dogs were well-trained and knew what they were doing. And we barely glimpsed a drop of the knowledge that Simon has gathered and applied in his life. We are fortunate to have had such an experience with such a knowledgable person. And, indeed, we were fortunate to be wearing our long underwear--although I have to admit the warmest parts of my body were the ones in contact with the caribou skins!
-Allison (pictured here with her new best friend)