It seems like we’ve gone through a lot of transitions the last few days. It’s hot! At least by arctic standards. No more hot water bottles during night watches and I was overheating paddling yesterday in my thinnest thermals. It really feels like a different climate. It’s pleasant, except for one thing … Of course that brings bugs. They’re not so bad if you keep wrapped up. Yesterday after landing, I walked around in my thermals, so they could fully dry but thin merino is no match for long mosquito stingers and I soon added long pants and a jacket.

The landscape too is taming. The mountains are still dramatic with rugged ridge lines and steep cliffs towering above us. They’re beautiful, but suffer from their proximity to the even more dramatic Torngats. They’re lower with more green meadows and less bare bones. In the Torngats, contorted ridges, stark intrusions, active scree slopes and gravity, defying cliffs, make you feel like you’re watching them being created.

And we’re back in the land of people. Seeing Joey, Belinda and friends at Hebron was a wonderful surprise. We realize we’re now in boat driving distance from Nain and other communities further south. Yesterday we had a relaxed morning at Hebron. I woke rested after a full nights sleep in a cozy cabin. Our friends let us use their big propane stove to make a double dose of pancakes. The four of us ate the same amount I usually make for 10 people on a guided trip despite pigging out on the delicious Caribou stew Belinda made the night before. My appetite is in hyper drive with all the kayaking, moving boats and gear and until recently the cold. We left Hebron about 10 AM wishing we could have done a bit more in return for the kind hospitality we received. I am also very grateful to Noah who let us use his cabin in Hebron. Noah is an accomplished kayaker who, amongst other things, is introducing many Inuit to Kayaking and interviewing elders about Kayaking here in the past. He’s been really helpful about our trip and I hope we’ll see him again in Nain.

The hardiest mosquitoes followed us about 500 m out to sea before we lost them. We paddled into the same light headwind thats marked most of our days on the East Coast. The waves barely splashed the deck apart from around a few headlands where the wind picked up. Joey told us this is the calm time of year. By August they don’t come here by boat as the seas are too rough.

The tidal range is about 2m here compared to over 10 m on the Ungava Bay side so we have to worry less about where and when to land and tidal currents. We still often have to paddle an hour or two between landing spots. We chose a small cobble beach for lunch and another wider one for our campsite. A lush Meadow, and berry laden scatt made us think we might see black bears. It wasn’t long before we saw one a bit too close. JF was sat down behind the tent, changing his trousers when he suddenly shouted “bear”. I looked around in alarm scanning for something white or black. 5 m behind JF on top off a grassy slope a curious shaggy furred black bear gazed down. JF jumped up with his trousers half on. I think my laughter scared the bear away. We were recording a Time-lapse on a GoPro that was resting on a blue dry bag. The bear had come to investigate and knocked the GoPro over. I wish it had been filming in the opposite direction. The bear retreated a bit, but wasn’t very scared of us. We shot a bear banger to make sure he didn’t hang around. Half an hour later, Frank saw a larger bear in the meadow 100 m away. And an hour later, a third one ambled around behind camp.

It rained overnight, but it’s clearing up now. I am on last bear watch and it’s nearly over. Time to get breakfast going.