Archive for the ‘kayaking’ Category

That’s a wrap! Glassy seas allowed us to glide past smooth rocky hills of the tundra/ forest transition zone for our last 22km. Spruce trees dotted sheltered valleys, a blanket of low shrubs shrouded gentle slopes and bold rockfaces dominated the horizon. I admired jfs reflection in the clear water as we hugged the coast of the Channel that led us to Nain. The 4km wide fjord narrowed and funneled us towards a pinch point where a riverlike current flowed strongly against us through a narrow constriction called a rattle. We angled our kayaks across the flow and paddled hard to reach the other side before trying to stay out of the flow close to shore. A cosy looking cabin with a wooden walkway and a satellite dish was nestled into a small cove; our targeted accommodation the previous day before the wind picked up. Rounding a low rocky point we had our first hint of a town, 2 phone antenna protruded from a hill 10km away. After a quick pee stop at Rhodes island an hour later, we started our last 5km crossing to Nain. A few buildings appeared from behind the headland. A helicopter with a large section of pipe dangling from a long line flew from the town into another bay, the loud engine noise jarring my ears after so long without loud machinery sounds. A couple of small boats buzzed about in the harbour. "Incoming plane," JF warned and I looked up to see an 8seater heading right over our heads and landing on the airstrip on the edge of town. Two more planes followed. Around the headland, a few hundred colourful houses were visible along the shore and in the valley beyond. Frank was here 11 years ago and remarked that the town had grown from about 700 to 1100 people in that time. A family on a recreational motor boat moored up against the pier waved hello and asked JF if we had paddled from George River. It seems word was out about our trip. Frank asked them "Where’s Noah’s house?" and they replied "the yellow one" and pointed to a cluster of houses to the left of the bay. I love how small communities are often well connected. Noah is one of the few Inuit people who actively paddle, he’s a kayak guide and instructor, builder of traditional kayaks and passionate advocate of kayaking.

We pulled our kayaks up on a low grassy meadow by the basketball field after 922km and 27 days. We paddled every day except one. We saw 10 polar bears, 14 black bears, 1 walrus, many caribou and seals. As we started unloading, Noah appeared racing down a gravel pile to greet us. He said he regretted missing Nigel foster and Kristin arriving 20 years ago after a similar journey so he was very happy to meet us. We used his trolley to wheel the kayaks one by one up a dusty gravel road to his house. Larry went to stay in the hotel while JF, Frank and I spent the afternoon unpacking, chatting to Noah, eating, enjoying our first shower for 28 days and beginning to reconnect with the online world.

Dinner at the one restaurant in town was burger and chips, with a selection of aperitifs.

Tomorrow we start our journeys home after a memorable and exciting trip. I will continue to share stories, photos and videos through social media.

The fog was so thick that we couldn’t see the beach from the cabin this morning. One shade of grey was all that greeted us through the window. As I lugged my second load of gear down to the shore, I was excited to see some recent fox prints running along the wet sand near the gently lapping ocean. Maybe he trotted by as we were having breakfast above, shrouded by the mist. Launching at 6.45, fifteen minutes ahead of schedule we heard a minke whale breathing nearby. Dozens of large sculpins lay prostate on the shallow ocean floor. The sailing directions for the area said there were local magnetic anomalies in village bay. They warned of a five degree discrepancy but it seemed like much more as we tried to follow a westerly bearing to cut across the bay and reach the north shore. I felt like I was traveling in a straight line but my compass swayed 30 degrees. I compensated and the bearing stayed the same until suddenly jumping when I lifted my gaze towards the shore. I’m not sure whether it was some magnetic ricks posting havoc or just the group getting used to the disorientating fog as we all seemed to be zig zagging in different directions. In the end, the group decided to follow a gps instead of a bearing and Larry led us across the bay and tight along the shore for the first hour.
We were heading west then south down Port manvers run, a meandering narrow channel which forms the inside route to Nain. Tall steep mountains lay hidden on either side. A brown bracelet of land at sealevel was all that showed itself. I identified where we were by changes in the orientation of the land and the hammering noise of two large rivers that plunged into the sea. Despite the fog, a cold wind ruffled the sea and chilled my hands. Finding the current with us, we cut a corner using the gps to reach a pinch point in the channel called a rattle. Twenty minutes later when we arrived the current had turned and we switched tactics, hugging the shore in the narrows and paddling partially inside bays.

I followed my compass while crossing 3km to anchor point, not taking my eyes off the needle to avoid getting disorientated. I asked JF to let me know if he saw land and after about 20 minutes he called out that he could see a mountain top to the right. Soon afterwards a shape loomed out of the murk in front. The fog was dissipating revealing pink granite slabs and domes on either side. Raw rock was laid bare on the stepper sections while the gentler slopes were laden with lush green vegetation. The warmth of the sun penetrated through and we landed at anchor point to pull our drysuits down to our waists. Crossing to the east shore for the rest of the day, we started to chat more now. The sky darkened with aggressive rain clouds but they soon disappeared after no more a light sprinkle. A tiny sail boat passed through the middle of the channel in the other direction. We chose a low angled rock slab for lunch, and I noticed an unmoving black pair of ears just above the grass 50 metres further. The black bear sat up as we approached , abandoning its midday snooze and loping away into the valley.

Progress was slow but steady against the current until we reached the vast expanse of Webb bay to the east. A fresh wind funneled down the bay kicking up waves that slammed against our right sides. I tried to time my strokes and angle my kayak to avoid waves hitting the boat and splashing up onto my upper body as I still had my drysuit tied around my waist. I couldn’t win every battle but the sun and sea was so warm that the occasional dousing of my right arm was quite pleasant. An hour later the wind was head-on and progress was slow enough that we abandoned hope of reaching another cabin seven km further on and landed at a small sandy beach tucked behind a smooth rocky point. It’s a pretty spot for our last night of the trip and here I am on my last night watch, the first time I haven’t worn my fleece hat. I’m sat by the driftwood fire to try to keep the bugs away, reflecting on a varied and exciting journey. We have 23km left to Nain tomorrow and plan to be on the water at 7am to try to arrive around lunchtime so we have time to chat with Noah, who is leaving in the evening.

Last night as a minke whale cruised around the May in front of us, Larry said he’d been communicating with his wife about flights home. There’s not many flights from main to Goose bay or from goose bay onwards so we had to make a decision about when we want to fly home. We measured distances, looked at forecasts and made a plan to cover the last 110km over three days, arriving in Nain on 19th and starting the journey home on 21st.

Today on the water had a slightly different feel to it now we’ve got a target and have started to plan the end of a great adventure. We launched into another great calm sea just before 7am. After a 6km crossing in Smokey haze, we paddled alongside the towering granite mountains of the Kiglapait range. They rise steeply from the ocean to almost 1000 metres helping keep us focused on the journey. We had lunch on some gently sloping rock slabs on the sheltered side of a tiny island before heading around the Tikkegaksuak peninsula to Village bay. The wide ankle of the boot shaped promontory was a giant flat topped sand dune, that had partly been taken over by dark green vegetation. It seemed out of place after the steep mountains of the day although it was no less beautiful. We paddled 9km around the isthmus to the other side and landed at another cabin, one that a previous expedition had stayed at. Dark rain clouds gathered above as we pulled ashore on a golden Sandy beach. Rain started to fall as we carried out things up to the cabin. We’re grateful for the roof over our head to cook and eat in the dry and to avoid night watch again. While there are far fewer polar bears as we get further south, there could still be one around so we don’t want to let our guard down. Another minke was blowing peaceful in the bay as Frank did the washing up. 48km today, about 65km to nain over the next two days.

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.