Resolute Bay refuel

Bucket-list marathon complete.  Just a few Arctic days remain.  No runners in the house.  Musk ox scientists, deep-ocean fishermen, fat tire-cyclists from Vancouver, couple über wealthy families & of course, our hosts & staff at the Camp.  Only my solar-charged iPhone remains for pics/videos.  Camera lost in an Arctic Ocean kayaking mishap.  Tough to image-capture musk oxen & polar bear far in the distance — but know they’re there, along with… Arctic white wolves, guides have been actively following.  Pack has pups.  Feeding on summer vermin, ptarmigan eggs & caribou.

Guides: hunters, skiers, fishermen.  ATV’d/hiked with the musk ox scientists for a day.  Read books in the Camp library.  Watched video/listened to stories from adventurers presenting on inclement (high wind/sleet) days.  Time’s a wastin’.  Most likely, my one & only Arctic Circle adventure.

Long run please.  Like… really long.  40 miles ‘cross Somerset Island.  I’ve studied/almost obsessed with maps.  I don’t have a death wish.  I’ve seen polar bear on the ice.  I’m wary, honest.  But… I WANT this.  Paid for evac insurance; they can drone-locate my body — no other human placed in danger.  24 hours of sunlight.  I’ll pack lite.  Eat/drink what I gather.  Back within a day.

Signed a waiver, packed a can of bear spray, BEGGED (no guide could match distance/15-hour goal).  And… my ‘spirit’ run began.  July 8th.  2022.  Aside from the physicality/joy of running & hiking — the opportunity to be alone, all alone… no human noise, no machines.  Just you, your brain/inward-outward talk for company.  Whatta amazing life treat!  Super appreciative.

10 days in: [like a] final exam in school.  Wildlife.  Edible plants.  Drinking snow melt.  Avoiding crevasses.  Canyon climbs. Ocean.  Boulders, wind-swept terrain.  Every bit of info sponged from folks staying at Camp — today, I’d recall stories, strange jargon, words read from books.

Life is meant to be lived.  I was here, inside the Arctic Circle.  Blessed.  I’ve lived an amazing adventure ❤️

Somerset Solo Hike (Part 1)

Somerset Solo Hike (Part 2)

Mighty glam furnishings inside the Arctic Circle.  And as the only solo traveler amongst the wealthy, brother lucked out with his own tent.  My Arctic animal: the Owl.  Choice of 2 cots, both topped with sleeping bag & down quilts.  Hours into my first nite, would raid covers from the spare.  LOL>  Crazy windy, even in the inlet.  Tents well-protected from precip but found myself [in] gloves & beanie as summer night dipped near 10 degrees.

Camp generators kicked-in every morning @ 5am.  Heaters blasted for an hour, taking the chill off while campers dressed, stumbled to the central lodge & community bathrooms.  Lodge, big as a circus tent & heated (50 degrees) 5am to 9pm.  Dining area, library, living space adorned with comfy couches & chairs.  Briefing every morning detailing day’s excursion opportunities (signup first come/first served), most activities lasting 6-10 hours.

Evening meal: Guides stand & reprise excursion highlights, introducing guests & day’s top experiences.  Musk ox sightings.  Wolf tracks.  Birding.  ATV rides.  Kayaking.  Fishing.  Canyon hikes.  Waterfalls.  Permafrost finds.  Ocean ice-shoeing.  Polar bears.  In addition, camp included summer residents — scientists, photographers, float pilots & Netflix crew awaiting [breaking ice] to film season’s beluga whales 🐋

Lotta cautionary speeches/warnings & public shaming Day 2.  Never EVER go on a long run pre- 5am.  Diatribe probably didn’t last more than 10 minutes but mighty humiliating.  Added to the love & opinion many share of Americans.  So... solo traveler/solo vacation first couple of days.  Kept a positive attitude, head high, eventually shed my horrible American persona.

first impressions:  AMAZING DAY hike.  Rugged interior/canyons.  Snow-fed waterfalls.  Hike athletically aggressive.

Slept hard Day 2, ‘though never managed 5am wake-up with 24-hour daylight.  Would layer-up, hat/parka/gloves & sit quietly outside, soak-up ocean solitude ’til the noise of generators (smell of gasoline) denoted morning run-time again.  No further drama 🙂

Somerset Island Day Hike