We paddled in a bubble today, about 2km around in all directions. Everything beyond that was hidden by smoke. The sun peeked through as a tiny orange circle, benign to look at. A few times it was overlaid by wispy black smoke giving the impression of craters, like on the moon.

We glided out of Moores island tickle with a swarm of dedicated mosquitos in hot pursuit. The occasional extra loud buzz of a horsefly caused me to be on high alert as all of us wore our drysuits tied around our waists in the hot muggy air. My thin thermal top was no match for their long probing proboscis. The okak island shore is low and guarded by a wide reef of boulders of different shapes and sizes. Sometimes we could weave through the bigger ones. As the tide fell we were forced around a few hundred meters of rocks. The sea was like a mirror, grey water reflecting the grey sky. It was almost hard to see where the ocean ended. Our bright kayaks were in duplicate, lit up by the weak sun.

We detoured a few kilometers to a river as water is getting less easy to find. The hills are lower and there’s almost no snow melting. Crossing to the Tikkigaksuk peninsula we felt the swell again, a gentle roll , just enough to be heard slamming against the rocks. A couple of icebergs gently rocked. A few minke whales emerged from the depths with a blow and a flourish of a fin.

By the end of the day we were tired mentally. Keeping on paddling with limited stimulus or challenge can sometimes be more tiring than battling into conditions. We landed at a small hut, probably the tiniest one yet. We’ll be shoulder to shoulder on out mattresses on the floor. It’s better than bear watch!

We probably have three more paddling days to Nain.