Travel blog – Nunavut

My trip to Nunavut was a nice bookend to my NWT trip (the last portion of which is detailed here, this is effectively a continuation and the story picks up in my last morning in Yellowknife).   This entry was written in Iqaluit and is being posted a few weeks after the fact.

Monday morning (bright and early), I got up and headed for the Yellowknife Airport for my flight to Iqaluit.  I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare – even though First Air says you need to arrive 2 hours in advance, you really only need half an hour. YZF is a really small airport.  It also has no security for flights that stay North of 60.  So after returning the rental car, it was just a matter of dropping my luggage at the counter with no queue, and waiting in the departure lounge.

I had a couple of small scares, though.  First, shortly after I arrived, the power went out in the entire airport.  It came back within ten minutes or so, and thankfully there was no impact on my flight.  Then, shortly before we started boarding, they asked everyone who was flying to Iqaluit to come up to the counter so they could stamp our boarding cards.  Which seemed an odd request, but I’ve had that happen for other flights before, so it didn’t stand out.  Until I read the stamp they put on it: “LANDING SUBJECT TO WEATHER. FIRST AIR regulations provide that no hotel, meals, or transportation will be supplied when over or under carried from your destination.”  At first I thought: if the weather’s bad, do we just keep flying until we run out of fuel? I decided not to think about what would actually happen.  When we got to Rankin Inlet (there are no direct flights from Yellowknife to Iqaluit), they allowed us to deplane and hang out in the terminal (which is tiny… I was just happy to have a clean washroom to use), and while I waited they made an announcement with similar content to the stamp… plus clarification that if we couldn’t land in Iqaluit that we would be diverted to Kuujjuaq, Quebec, and returned to Rankin Inlet on the next flight.  With, once again, no provision for anywhere to stay or any compensation for associated costs.

Thankfully, the flight was very smooth and when the clouds cleared I got a good view of Northern Hudson Bay, which is still frozen for the most part and simply beautiful.  We did, ultimately, land in Iqaluit in mildly foggy conditions. Oh, and snow.  Lots of snow on the ground, and still more falling from the sky. A perfect ski destination, if there had been mountains.  And a very Canadian way to experience the moment I arrived in my 3^rd Canadian territory, and final on the list of 13 provinces/territories.  I’m here – I made it!  All 13 provinces and territories.  I shared a cab with a couple others from my flight (which was full; though the first 9 rows were segregated for carrying goods) to my hotel – the Frobisher Inn.

I had expected very little of the Frobisher (or “the Frobe” as the locals call it) – it was the only one I really found any information about online, and their booking system was less than ideal… though it did work. Having stayed in towns with populations similar to Iqaluit’s (or smaller) before, I expected it to be the major hotel which was relatively old, but had sufficient services and clean rooms.  When we pulled up I realised immediately it would exceed these expectations. The hotel is part of a much bigger complex, which includes the local CBC station, a number of offices, a restaurant/bar (with rather creepy bouncers), a café, and a movie theatre.  I felt like I was entering a casino complex (of the Niagara variety, not so much the Las Vegas variety) rather than a hotel in Iqaluit.  The room was, indeed, sufficient – and actually rather nice… and there is free, though terribly slow, Wi-Fi.  After grabbing dinner at the bar & grill (the muskox burger was surprisingly good), I spent the evening just unwinding in the hotel room resting for the next day.  The view didn’t hurt either – I have an amazing view of the bay from my window.  Snow was still falling when I arrived – on June 3^rd!  I really am in the Arctic.

The next day (Tuesday), in -3°C weather, I headed straight for the tourist information centre.  See, unlike the NWT where there was very little information available anywhere, Iqaluit has virtually no information available anywhere. There were a few paragraphs about it in the AAA/CAA Western Canada book, and that’s about it.  I had a rough idea of what the main attractions were, by virtue of a tourism website, but my requests for further information were never responded to. I made my way to the info centre slowly, wandering here and there en route, just to explore the town.

The first thing I made sure to get was a map… Iqaluit is designed like a subdivision of a small suburb somewhere – while there is a “downtown” with two roads that intersect, there’s not much in the way of a grid or any discernible pattern.  There are plenty of cul-de-sacs.  Fortunately, it doesn’t cover a lot of area, so if you get lost it’s easy to find the way back to the main ring roads.  I asked for tips on what else there was to do – most of which I already knew about.  The person at the info centre suggested Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, walking to Apex along the waterfront, and the museum.  She also suggested the name of a local operator I could contact if I wanted to “get out on the land,” but I had no intention of going too far and the only enticing thing about the suggestion was the possibility (though nowhere near a certainty) of spotting a polar bear.  The info centre also has some exhibits on Iqaluit and Nunavut, as well as Inuit life, which was actually very interesting.  It is, effectively, the territorial museum – covering animal life, human history, and modern activity very briefly.

I wandered for a bit and grabbed lunch at the café in my hotel … there aren’t many places to eat out here – there is a restaurant, a bar, a convenience store, and a café in the Frobe, a North Mart (grocery store which includes a mini Tim Horton’s), a takeout-only Pizza Hut/KFC Express, and a shawarma place near the airport, as well as a second grocery store/other goods shop called Arctic Ventures.  I think one or two of the other hotels also have their own restaurants, and there was a deli near the four-way stop in the centre of town that never had its “Open” sign illuminated, though I did eventually visit it later in my trip and it had average food.

I had planned to visit the legislature for a tour, which is advertised as taking place daily at 1:30PM.  But when I arrived, I discovered that the legislature (only 14 years old, as it was opened two days before Nunavut became a territory) is under renovation and there are no tours.  Which I guess explains why the info centre didn’t mention it as something to do.  I did get a chance to look at the mace, but that was about it.  Having just freed up an extra hour or so of time, I wandered down to the (completely frozen, though starting to show cracks) bay and spent some time just looking at it.

At this point in the day, the winds had changed and the sun had come out – it was mild (approaching 5°C).  Everywhere around me – the streets, the snowbanks, the parking lots, and the actual creeks – there was water flowing down towards the bay.  Even in the Tim Horton’s, where the snow on the roof was melting so fast it broke through a seal in the wall and was causing some minor flooding.  Spring had arrived!

From there I headed to my next destination, The Road to Nowhere.  I didn’t rent a car while in Iqaluit, as you can’t go very far from Iqaluit and virtually everything is walkable – despite the snow and mud.  And a taxi anywhere driveable is only $6 per person – taxis are effectively their public transit system. But I had The Road To Nowhere all to myself anyway, so walking was no trouble at all (despite the snow and mud).  The road literally leads nowhere – it meanders its way out of town and the scenery rapidly becomes tundra (again, Iqaluit is small). There is no development, no buildings, no people, nothing – save a small sign indicating a future graveyard site.  Within a ten minute walk, I was surrounded by rolling hills covered in snow which lay just on top of short grasses and some small ponds and lakes. I think it took a little over an hour to get to the end of it, including multiple photo stops.  And there’s no clear indication the road is over, other than the end of the tire tracks in the snow and a sign warning of a shooting range up ahead (so, I guess it’s a road to a shooting range, rather than to nowhere).

At this point I was tired and my shoes were soaked through from the melting snow and mud, so I headed back to the hotel.  I chose to eat at the fancier restaurant this time, and had an “Arctic cassoulet,” which was basically a stew of assorted “country foods,” as wild game is called up here. Country foods are the foods the Inuit used to eat primarily when they lived off the land – and still eat today, but now in combination with other imported foods.  This particular dish had caribou, musk ox, game sausage, smoked bacon, duck confit, and great northern beans, and was pretty tasty.  And, of course, pricey – with a drink, my bill came to just over $60.  I retired to my room where the Internet (which was already incredibly slow to begin with) had stopped working altogether… so I watched TV.

Wednesday morning it was like Iqaluit was a completely different town. Whereas there was about 20-30cm of snow on the ground when I arrived, it was virtually gone by this morning.  The creeks and streams were flowing and washing away what little snow did remain in the town (though in the immediately-outlying areas there was still a lot).  All the paths I had walked the day before that overlooked snowy and icy ditches were now running beside (and often across) small creeks and larger rivers.  It seems every road and building had water flowing all around it – the whole town had meltwater runoff flowing through it.  It occurred to me later that every town would be like this if we hadn’t long ago forced our creeks and streams into underground pipes – an option not available in permafrost, or at least not without significant cost.

Following the directions given to me by the info centre, I headed to the path to Apex, a nearby suburb that was the original town site and contains some old buildings.  On the way, I passed by the breakwater and dock, so I took a walk out to the end. I’m glad I did – this gives an excellent vantage point to see the town skyline all at once, as well as a great view of the bay and harbour.

The Iqaluit end of the path to Apex starts immediately beside the local cemetery, where the plots are actually set above the ground because of the permafrost – each grave has a little mound of dirt and grass in front of it.  I found the trailhead and began my walk, trying to convince myself that the bones strewn about where those of seals and other wild animals that had been brought inland by the ravens.  I never did fully convince myself.

The path, while generally marked clearly and fairly level, was difficult to navigate on account of the melting snow.  It meant hopping over puddles and trying to stick to the rocky bits.  I got about five or ten minutes down the still-mostly-snowy path and came to a viewing platform that looks out over the bay.  Unfortunately, the trail sort of ended here – the snow was still almost a metre deep after this, and since it was melting it was in no way stable to walk on top of.

So, I headed back the way I came – there is a road that leads to Apex too, but it’s a less scenic route.  I got about three quarters of the way back to the road when I stepped on a patch of slushy snow and fell straight through… up to my knee!  And this wasn’t just slushy snow – it appears the snow was sitting on top of a small stream.  Becoming rapidly cold and wet, I got my right leg out no trouble, but my left leg was stuck in, as if by a vacuum (which I suppose is possible given that I fell straight in and slushy snow immediately caved in all around my leg.  After a terrifying minute or two I was able to dig myself out, but I was at this point drenched.  I only have one pair of shoes with me, and my pant legs were soaked up to the knee, so instead of continuing to Apex, I headed back to the hotel on the road.  I spent quite a bit of time wringing out my socks, gloves, and shoes – my left shoe actually had a puddle of water in it even after the walk back.

My plan had been to spend the morning walking to Apex and back, and then after lunch head to the museum for a bit. Since it was already so late I just grabbed lunch from the convenience store in my hotel and ate it in my room to give my shoes some time to dry. I decided to hit the museum next, then go to Apex in the evening (it never actually gets dark here, and there was nothing in Apex that required going during business hours).

I headed to the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, which is right next door to the information centre.  I had expected it to be a bit more comprehensive as a museum (I hadn’t yet realised the information centre served a large portion of what I thought was the purpose of this museum – history and culture).  But what was there was a treat.  This museum was primarily full of art, with a couple of other miscellaneous artifacts thrown in. The main room on the ground floor has a bunch of historical items, including some magnificent whale bone sculptures and various other crafts and practical items related to Inuit and Northern life.  There were a couple of side rooms with modern artworks, mostly paintings and drawings.

But upstairs was a real delight.  Lining the walls in display cases was the most exquisite collection of Inuit carvings I’ve ever seen.  And not the kitschy tourist crap you can buy in stores across Canada, much of which is actually made in China.  These pieces were so beautiful – mostly from the last century or so, they had carvings of various types of stone, whale bone, and other materials that were so beautiful (the photos don’t really do any of it justice).  And as an added bonus, on a table in the middle of the room was a collection of very old photos in binders – I skimmed through a handful of these and they give such a personal glimpse into life in Nunavut over the last hundred years.  I do hope they scan these materials and make them available to everyone at some point, as they were so intriguing.

After buying a caribou antler keychain (carved and polished into an inuksuk shape) in the museum’s gift shop (which is overflowing with locally-produced art, both traditional and modern), I made attempt number two at heading to Apex. Fortunately this time I made it.  It’s a long walk along the road to get to Apex, past a couple of local schools and a gas station, as well as a bunch of private homes and some open hilly areas.

I opted against going into the town itself, which is mostly just private homes and a couple of churches, and headed instead for the collection of old HBC (Hudson’s Bay Company) buildings by the waterfront.  I walked along the sandy beach (which, up against a frozen ocean, was very strange to me) and took in the small collection of buildings, which still have original signage from when HBC set up its business in the 20^th century.  You can’t go in any of them, unfortunately, but they’re nice to look at from the outside.  This is also a really good place to get a good look at the bay and the nearby islands (there are a few points in the walk to Apex that give great views as well).  I sat on a picnic table for a bit just taking it in before calling it a day and heading back to the hotel… with a brief pitstop at the shawarma place for a delicious falafel sandwich of course!

Thursday was like Tuesday again – the winds had once again changed and everything was cold again.  The rivers and streams were still flowing, but now with much less volume.  I had only one thing planned – Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park.

Before I headed out, though, I firmed up plans with someone I met on Scruff (a gay dating/meetup app).  A related point on this – gay dating apps and sites are rather interesting up here (and in all remote places, but Iqaluit in particular).  Location can’t (easily) be faked on mobile apps like Grindr or Scruff, and smartphones are not compatible with the mobile network up here, so there are very few users.  Those that do exist are mostly using iPod touches on their home Wi-Fi networks.  I found only one other Grindr user in Iqaluit, the next nearest was at a US Air Force base in Greenland, followed by two Newfoundlanders and then a whole lot of people near the St. Lawrence River in Quebec (this last group was primarily under 25, which is atypical – I’d be curious to learn about the dynamic in that community!).  Scruff had more local users – seven or eight of them.  Of particular note is Manhunt, which does have a mobile app but is primarily web-based, and users set their own location.  It is apparently a very common thing to “park” one’s Manhunt account in Iqaluit (or Alert) as a way of keeping the account active without being findable in the area you’re actually in.  The first question anyone on Manhunt asked me was “are you actually in Iqaluit or are you just parking your profile?”  It is such a pervasive problem that this is more important than anything else you could ask on a dating or hookup site.  The lesson here: guys, don’t “park” your accounts in other places; you’re fucking with what little connection the queer communities up here have!

Anyways, back to Thursday.  The only information I had on Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park was that there were some easy / short walking trails and a river with some waterfalls.  Apparently the waterfalls depend on the tide – when it’s in they’re just rapids, when it’s out, they’re falls.

I took the long walk there, along a dirt road.  The road, which is well-travelled so each passing car blows dust in your face, goes past the airport and the dump and seemingly towards nowhere.  Fortunately, the park is well signposted, all the way from downtown. The road to each of the two parking lots was plowed, but of course the rest of the park was still covered in snow.  However, since it was colder out, and the snow was more heavily packed (and at a higher altitude), I had no repeats of falling through it.

I got to the observation lookout near the South trailhead for the main trail that goes along the river.  I was glad I made the trek – a beautiful blue river, still mostly icy but slowly breaking up, was laid out in front of me.  I wandered around this part of the trail for a bit, and climbed to the top of the (very small) peak to get a better view.  Eventually the cold and wind got to me, so I moved on.  I followed the road to the North trailhead (the trail itself was deeply buried in snow), and had another amazing perspective on the bright blue river.  Of course, there were no waterfalls – the river was too frozen for this.  But it was still beautiful.  I recommend going later in the summer when you can actually get a closer look at the river, as it was a lot of trekking for only a small peek.

At this point I was very cold so I gave up on any more exploring (the wind was intense, and there wasn’t really much else to see) and I headed back to the hotel to defrost and grab a bite for lunch.  I rapidly realised I had nothing else to do in Iqaluit (except my evening plans with the guy from Scruff) and 24 hours remaining!  I hung out in the room while I ate lunch, and then went for another walk around town, stopping at the North Mart to discover that it was significantly cheaper than Arctic Ventures where I’d shopped earlier – oops.  I also stopped briefly at Nunavut Arctic College again, where I had stopped earlier in the week, to take a closer look at some of the sculptures and statues that surround their small building downtown – they have some really nice artwork on display outside the building and it’s worth checking out if you visit Iqaluit.  This particular work was outside their location near the post office, though the other locations have some works as well.

I had a quiet dinner in the hotel room, then met up for a drink with the local I met on Scruff, because… well, actually I have no idea why. Maybe because he asked nicely and I had nothing better to do.  He showed me around town (I had seen most of it but he had some local insight which was interesting) and we sat in the bar and chatted for awhile, which was nice.

My last day, I had a few hours to kill before my flight, so took a brief wander around town and ate at the aforementioned deli before catching my flight to Toronto, via Kuujjuaq and Montreal – a long day, but one which affords more beautiful views from the plane.  And that was it – my brief visit to Iqaluit complete.  I’m not sure what adventure awaits me next, but only time will tell!

More photos are, as always, on Flickr – the Nunavut set is here.

Travel Blog – Northwest Territories Part 4 – Fort Providence back to Yellowknife

This is part 4 of my travel blog from my trip to the Northwest Territories. Part 3 is here, and this is the final entry (though I will post one about my subsequent trip to Nunavut shortly).  These were written en route and are being posted on a few week delay.

Friday I hopped in the car, grabbed some gas and some food in Fort Providence, and headed back to Yellowknife (which, incidentally, is a remarkably boring drive).  I got to Yellowknife in the early afternoon, checked into the hotel, and went for a walk downtown to pick up a couple of things. I also stopped in the two indoor shopping centres, which both had some basic essentials but were otherwise kind of sad… they reminded me of Jackson Square in Hamilton, Ontario, from about ten years ago – a number of empty stores, and interiors that haven’t been updated in decades.  But I had a really delicious coffee in the lower level of the YK Centre, which totally brightened my day.

After wandering back to the hotel, I took a walk through Old Town and Latham Island which both have a bunch of older buildings with notable histories.  Old Town is also home to Pilots Monument, at the top of a big hill aptly named “The Rock.”  This has an amazing view of both the city and the lake – and is easily accessible with a set of wooden stairs.  After taking way too many photos I went hunting for Wildcat Café, which is cited in every guide as the place that you must go to eat, just for the experience… the wooden building is eighty years old.  Unfortunately, it was closed – it closed two years ago for restoration (it was, apparently, in very poor condition) and is slated for re-opening sometime this summer.

I had one other restaurant destination, though, so I ended up at Bullock Bistro.  This is another place not to be missed… The service is very personal but also very nonchalant – it’s part of the charm.  There are bumper stickers all over the walls and signatures and business cards on the ceiling.  I noted quite a few Australian stickers, as well as queer-friendly slogans, so felt pretty comfortable.  I was told to grab a seat at the bar and the menu was told to me rather than provided on paper – they have a menu that depends on whatever meat is available at the time, and today it was three different types of fish… I chose the Arctic char which was an excellent choice.  One of the best fish dishes I’ve ever had – it came with a side of fries and salad.  Of course, since there was no menu, I had no idea how much the bill would be (though I feared the worst)… it ended up being about $50 including a drink – but totally worth it!

By Saturday, I realised I had remarkably little to do, so I divided things up between the remaining two days.  Saturday morning I went to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre (basically the NWT Museum), which I once again discovered I had completely to myself.  There were a bunch of interesting exhibits about the territory’s history, as well as some of its animal inhabitants, and a history of transportation in the territory.

After some souvenir shopping and exploring the small handful of shopping malls in the downtown, I set out for a walk along the hiking trail around Frame Lake, which lies between the legislature building and the airport (it’s a small city, and the airport is theoretically walkable from downtown).  It took a couple of hours to get all the way around, and despite the unexpected heat, and the expected but still annoying clouds of mosquitoes, there were a number of great views along the way.

I stopped into my hotel for a bit to shower and cool off, and then grabbed dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant (though the food was mostly Chinese) near the hotel.  Having not much else to do, and being tired, I rested in the hotel for a bit, but did head back out to Frame Lake to get a view of the sunset.

Sunday, I had only one thing left to do in Yellowknife: the legislature.  The website was unclear – one page (not linked anywhere on the homepage) suggested Sunday tours took place at 10:30 am in the summer (defined as starting on June 1 – I was there on June 2), another (linked from the homepage) said tours only take place Monday-Friday.  Since nowhere said tours took place on Saturday I had planned to go on Sunday – all sources said that self-guided tours were allowed any time the building was open anyway.  I had asked on Saturday at the information centre and they knew nothing more than what the website said.

So I went at 10:15 anyway, just in case – and arrived to signs on the door explaining that from June-August Sunday tours take place at 1:30 pm.  The only person in the NWT legislature on the weekends (other than, I think, one or two MLAs working in back offices somewhere – there were a few cars parked out front) is a security guard, so I went in and asked and he confirmed the time.  Great!  I grabbed lunch at the only place I could find open on a Sunday (Boston Pizza), and then came back to the legislature for 1:15 or so.

The tour guide had grown up in Yellowknife and was home for the summer from school in Ottawa.  She was so friendly and chatty and had so much information! Not surprisingly, I was the only one there and a got a personal tour of the building!  I learned about the history of the legislature and its location (it was originally based in Ottawa, then for a number of years it would meet in community centres and hotels around the territory, until the legislative building was built in 1993).  The tour also included information about the territorial mace (the original was made in part from a narwhal tusk!), the coat of arms, and other territorial symbols as well as a bunch of the artwork on display in the building.  It ends in the legislative chamber itself, which has a complete polar bear fur right in the middle of it along with numerous pieces of culturally and historically significant furniture.  I learned a little bit about the consensus government model (there are no parties in the NWT, and the premier and speaker are elected by the MLAs in a secret ballot), and some of the logistics of the legislature of a territory with 11 official languages.  The whole tour lasted less than an hour but was so interesting and informative! If you ever visit Yellowknife, it’s worth going!

For some reason it had gotten really cold out so I headed back to the hotel to throw on an extra layer of clothes.  Having not much else to do, I hung out in the hotel a bit and then went for a walk – after less than an hour I was much too cold so stopped for dinner and called it a night.  I had plenty of re-packing to do for the next part of the trip, in Iqaluit, anyway!

For photos, check out my Northwest Territories set on Flickr.

Travel Blog – Northwest Territories Part 3 – Fort Smith to Fort Providence, and Sambaa Deh

This is part 3 of my travel blog from my trip to the Northwest Territories. Part 2 is here, and Part 4 will automatically link in a comment below when I post it.  These were written en route and are being posted on a few week delay.

Today (Wednesday – I will post this all in chunks later on), I woke up and headed out feeling a little tired and becoming disinterested.  I was beginning to think I planned too many days in NWT – the only plan for Wednesday was to stop at Salt Plains Overlook, if it was open, and then maybe Little Buffalo River Falls and then just drive all the way back to Fort Providence.  The day after I had scheduled to drive the dirt road part of the Waterfalls Route (the paved part was where I’d seen all those other falls on the first full day), but looking closely at my guides I figured there was really only one stop to make along that route, and if it was anything like driving anywhere else in NWT, it would be a really boring route.  Then Friday would be spent driving back to Yellowknife (only a 3-hour drive), followed by two full days in Yellowknife where there are only a few actual sights to see and not a big enough population to have very many interesting things to do.  And after a couple days in Fort Smith where there’s very little to do that doesn’t involve a long and complicated hike through a potentially-impassible trail to a sight that may be really interesting or may be terribly average, the notion of a long drive or hike for anything at this point became uninspiring.

I’ve also felt, since leaving Yellowknife, like an outsider.  I’ve encountered zero fellow tourists – I’ve encountered very few people in general, but those I’ve had an encounter with have mostly been locals.  They all seem confused and/or surprised by my non-Alberta-based route (“you flew to Yellowknife??”) and almost suspicious of why I would be here (“so what are you doing here, exactly?”)… That’s when they say more than one or two words to me (such as “that’ll be $21.03 please.”)  Everyone’s been cordial, but I’ve definitely felt awkward and out of place; more so than I usually do when travelling alone (which I do often).  Maybe it’s just the time of year, but there’s definitely been some discomfort.

Anyway, I headed back along the same road as I came into Fort Smith on, and hoped for an open road to Salt Plains Overlook. Sadly, it was still barricaded and closed.  I went on to Little Buffalo River Falls, and got confused about where I was actually supposed to go (there was a picnic area with no signage, adjacent to a trail with an ambiguous map, and a road that continued on – I eventually decided to continue on the road).  I found a place to stop, and discovered the falls are only sort of visible from the top part of the territorial park – unless you go down a road explicitly labelled as “non maintained” and “use at own risk.”  Knowing how rough the conditions are on the roads that ARE maintained, I opted against this and just viewed them from the top of the gorge… and had lunch in the nearby completely-empty campground.

I spent the rest of the day driving pretty well straight to Fort Providence (except for a stop in Hay River for a snack).  As I approached the Mackenzie River, I realised there was no longer any ice flowing in the river – it was just water, with very small patches of ice.  I checked into my hotel where the woman behind the counter told me [of the ice] “oh, it’ll be back – there’s lots more up there.” She was also very friendly – it was the first conversation I’d had with anyone in a number of days that was more than mechanical, and she gave me some good tips on where to get things (including gas) in town.  I immediately felt better about the trip, and this was bolstered by a room with a view of the river!  I had dinner at the only restaurant/cafe in town, part of the hotel complex of course, and took a walk by the river before coming in and typing up all my travels to date.

Thursday, my only plan was to drive to Sambaa Deh Falls, a little under 200km from Fort Providence.  I was worried it was going to turn into another long journey for not much of interest at the end – there were really not many other interesting stops to make on the way.  Nevertheless, there was not much else to do, so I headed out.

After turning onto Highway 1, a little ways over the Deh Cho Bridge outside of Fort Providence, I expected the road to turn to an unpaved one, as every map I looked at suggested it was.  After about 20 km of paved road, albeit in rough condition, I was beginning to get my hopes up that the maps were wrong.  In the end, only the first 40km of the road are paved, and the last 5-10 km of that is really badly chewed up – it’s as if the road was once paved and they just decided to stop bothering to maintain it.  Fortunately, the remaining 100km of unpaved road was in relatively good condition (and being maintained as I drove by), so the drive from Fort Providence took a little over 2.5 hours in total.

I arrived to yet another empty campground, only this time there was a pickup truck parked in front of the caretaker’s residence and a GNWT caretaker was out front chopping wood. He didn’t see or hear me arrive and I went hunting for the washroom, which I discovered was locked so I went in behind it.  I then went looking for the river, as there are supposedly two waterfalls – I wanted a sense of where things were before I stopped to sit for lunch.  I didn’t quite figure out where the second waterfall was (the first one is near the road), but found a river with another pickup truck and two employees working away – not wanting to bother them I stood on the river bank nearby and looked out, still not seeing the waterfalls, so I headed back to the car to grab lunch before exploring further.

The caretaker had by now noticed my car and was looking for me – once he saw me he gave me a very friendly greeting (much friendlier than any parks employees at any of the other stops I’ve made so far on this trip) and explained where everything was, how to get there, and what else was good in the area (including another river down the road which I had no intention of visiting, but I politely listened to him tell me how great it was).  He offered me cookies, and told me all of the buildings had running water that comes straight from the river so it’s great to drink (in actuality, while it was fine to drink, it was a rather off-putting brownish-yellow colour from the sediment in the river – fortunately my water bottle removes sediment).  He also asked that I sign in at the guestbook, as day use visitors are supposed to register upon arrival.  When I did so, I observed that, despite the parks season being 15 days old, I was the first visitor they’d had all year!

Anyways, I ate my lunch at the picnic tables and then followed the trail up to Coral Falls, but only after startling the two employees I had seen earlier (their truck was blocking the sign leading to the trail which I why I didn’t see it the first time).  I learned from the caretaker at the front they’re installing a sensor to detect bats – when I asked, he said he’s never seen a bat there in however many years he’s worked there.  Oh well, science.

Coral Falls were pretty, but hardly felt worth the 2.5 hour drive – especially after the spectacular falls earlier in my trip.  I made my way back to find Sambaa Deh Falls, which are under the bridge where Highway 1 goes over the Trout River.  After wandering for a bit on the road (there was no one driving on it) I found the falls, which were actually quite unique.  The water falls in a complex twisting sort of pattern and bounces off the walls of the small gorge the river has carved before making its way to the bottom… it was definitely interesting and I spent some time observing the waterfalls in the mist.

At some point on the walk back to the car, I felt a sense of ease I hadn’t felt in a number of days – I was feeling tense and anxious for a while and finally felt calm again. Maybe it was getting to watch the falls, maybe it was the feeling that the ‘rural’ portion of my trip was coming to an end (this was stressful primarily because of the long drives on dirt roads), but I felt relaxed again.  It was good.

Ultimately, Sambaa Deh was worth the drive, but if I were to make a recommendation for anyone else, it would be to camp at the campground and spend a couple days just relaxing out there – it’s not really the kind of thing you drive a long way to see and then turn around like I did.  And that is what I did – I then headed back to Fort Providence and planned my time in Yellowknife on a picnic table by the Mackenzie River.

 

NOTE: All my photos are now uploaded and in the Northwest Territories set on Flickr.

Travel Blog – Northwest Territories Part 2 – Wood Buffalo National Park (Hay River to and around Fort Smith)

This is a continuation of my travel blog from my trip to the Northwest Territories. Part 1 is here, and Part 3 will automatically link in a comment below when I post it.  These were written en route and are being posted on a few week delay.

The next day was a shorter driving day – from Hay River to Fort Smith, allowing time to explore the NWT portion of Wood Buffalo National Park.  I also budgeted extra time since a good chunk of this road is not paved – I wasn’t sure what condition it would be in or how fast I’d be able to travel.  Fortunately (or not, depending on how you look at it), it hasn’t rained the entire time I’ve been up here so the road was clear and dry.

The first stop of the day was Angus Fire Tower, which has a giant sinkhole beside it – described as “evidence of the unique karst topography of this area.” It was, indeed, a giant hole in the ground.  It was interesting, but only so much.  I decided to have lunch here, but the mosquitoes were so bad I ended up eating in the car.  Soon after, the road turns to dirt and gravel, and I continued the very long drive onwards.

I was following directions from a few different guides, and one (Moon Guide) suggested stopping at Nyarling River, which is an underground river on top of which lies only an empty riverbed.  The pullout for this stop has a couple of signs explaining this fact (containing all the information I had already read in my guide), but it’s about 100m past where the road crosses the river itself, and there’s no logical trail to get to the river.  It’s possible the trail was just blocked by downed trees (there are a lot of those up here), but combined with no signage towards the river, I eventually gave up and moved on.

The next stop was supposed to be Salt Plains Overlook, which by most accounts is the highlight of this part of the park (besides, of course, the wood bison that roam it freely).  As I prepared to turn onto the road that leads to this spot, though, I was confronted with large barricades saying “Road closed.”  Major disappointment.

After this, my only other real stop was Fort Smith itself.  I checked into my hotel and headed across the street to the Government of Canada building, which contains the National Parks information centre.  I wanted a map of the stops in the park (there’s not much information about this anywhere) and a sense of where to go the next day… and now I wanted to know why the road to Salt Plains Overlook was closed. I got the maps and some guidance on where to go the next day (as well as that evening).  The story on the Salt Plains Overlook was that some minor flooding from rain a week earlier had washed out a couple small parts of the road, and the crews hadn’t gotten to it yet – they were hoping to fix it up some time later this week. He asked what I was driving and he said they were letting trucks and vans through (though there was nothing indicating that on the road), and that I might be able to try it in my car and should give it a go.  I wasn’t really willing to risk getting stuck so I decided to see if it was open on my way back a couple days later.

I began to realise that public parks in this part of the country are not well-maintained – I’m not sure if this is a new thing or not, but missing signs, damaged signs, downed trees, damaged or half-repaired roads, and out of date information are commonplace.  This is true of both Wood Buffalo National Park (which is run by Parks Canada), and the various territorial parks, which are run by the NWT government (or “GNWT” as it’s referred to here).  Obviously, all of these things are normal – trees fall, roads get washed out.  But in most other places, these things are repaired promptly – fallen trees are cleared from trails, roads get repaired.  Granted, it’s early in the season, but on at least one occasion I was advised there would be fallen trees in the trail I was headed to that had fallen in last spring’s floods – over a year ago now.

Anyway, I also got directions for how to go see pelicans in the nearby rapids.  I wandered a bit from the route the Parks employee suggested… I first wanted to see the Fort Smith Mission Historical site, which I rapidly discovered is contained behind a locked fence, so I never got into it.  From there, I headed to the waterfront boardwalk which gives a distant view of the Rapids of the Drowned, which are nearest to the town.

The trails on the map showed that you could walk down close to the riverfront from this viewpoint and then walk all the way along to the base of the rapids themselves.  I got down to the riverfront area and walked along a little way and eventually the trail just sort of… ended.  I’m not sure if trees had fallen to block the trail, or if there had been cave-ins along the water, but there was definitely no trail anymore.  I eventually found a route back up a steep stretch and found my way back towards where I had been directed to go originally.  I skipped past the steep option and went to the “easier access” side, which was further along and then switched back along a slower grade.

I eventually made my way down to the water (after accidentally plunging into mud right near the bottom) and found literally dozens of pelicans swimming around in the rapids diving for fish.  There are a bunch of rocks nearby that you can walk on safely and get fairly close to the rapids without actually going in them, and I wandered out there.  You can only get so close to the pelicans, but I was definitely within 10 metres or so of them.  I sat and watched (and took way too many photos of) them for a while, and found my way back up (this time avoiding the mud).  I had dinner at the only restaurant that wasn’t in my hotel – a little pizza place a short walk away – and called it a night.

The next day (Tuesday), I headed into the Alberta portion of Wood Buffalo National Park.  Before I start on this part of the story, I should mention that after having spotted a handful of bears along the roadside a few times, I began to worry I wasn’t prepared for encountering an actual bear (I wasn’t, really).  Of course, the bears here are mostly black bears which are pretty harmless if you don’t piss them off.  Either way, the notion of walking in the woods alone, with the nearest human possibly hundreds of kilometres away, was beginning to terrify me.  I did it anyway, but only with an intense amount of nerves and regular looking over my shoulder… and making lots of noise so as not to startle any creatures.

Anyway, my first stop was Salt River, where I took the short (800m) walk along the Karstland Interpretive Trail – which features a breeding ground for garter snakes, though they apparently leave in late spring and there were none to be seen.  It was an interesting exploration of some of the karst topography of the area – more big holes in the ground, this time with trees.

I then went across the highway for the Salt River Meadows trail, which is 1.3 km (or 1.5km, depending on which sign you look at) long.  It heads out towards the river, where I spotted a couple of bison grazing, and then over a small creek, through the woods in a loop, and then back over the creek and back to the road.  I got to the first crossing on the small creek, near where I’d spotted one of the bison grazing earlier (it had since moved on), only to discover the bridge in pieces on one bank of the creek.  I didn’t stop to figure out what caused it to be in that condition, but when I arrived I hadn’t yet figured out that the trail was supposed to cross the creek, so I spent some time figuring out where I was actually supposed to go. Once I spotted a small bit of the remains of the bridge on the other side, and looked again at the map I’d taken a photo of on my iPhone, I realised I was supposed to cross.

I crossed, and then followed the trail along and back – when it got back around on its loop, it leads to a clearing with a great view of the meadows and the creek bed, which was quite lovely.  Around the time I arrived at that spot, though, I heard a loud rustling on the trail ahead of me, and spotted something big and dark… I eventually figured out it was a bison (or perhaps a moose), as I could see its hind legs, but I nearly had a panic attack when I thought it was something more dangerous.  Just to be safe, and so as not to annoy the bison, I walked back along the creek bed instead of along the trail through the woods.  The bridge to go back was, fortunately, still intact.

The next stop was just a couple kilometres later, at Grosbeak Lake.  Another bear-paranoia-hampered 1.5 km hike later I found myself at the lake itself.  The lake itself is underground, and at the surface is a coating of salt – it’s quite beautiful (and tasty).  And it’s huge – salt as far as the eye can see!!  I really can’t compare it to anything – but either way, I’m glad I went there, especially after missing Salt Plains.

The only other stop within a reasonable drive of Fort Smith is Pine Lake, which is a big lake about 25km South.  At this point in the day I had encountered literally zero people after entering the park boundaries, so I went for a quick skinny dip (I didn’t go very far in though as after a few metres the lake was rather algae-filled).  I soon headed back to Fort Smith, and got there earlier than expected so decided to explore one of the other nearby rapids.

A friend had recommended Pelican Rapids, as well as Mountain Portage Rapids – the former for the rapids, the latter for more pelicans (strangely, Pelican Rapids are apparently not known for their pelicans).  I was, at this point, quite tired and not in the mood for another lengthy hike in the middle of nowhere, so I chose Mountain Portage Rapids which the map I was given at the information centre suggested was much closer to the road (Pelican Rapids are apparently a 45 minute hike from the nearest place to park).  I drove out there, and the directions provided were accurate… except there was no logical or easy route to actually get down to the rapids themselves.  One easy/logical route leads about 20 m past the rapids, and there’s no way to get up to them without swimming (against the current, I might add!)… the other route involved going uphill, which I tried, and then back down a steep cliff (at least, I think that’s where the route takes you – again, the trail was blocked numerous times so it was hard to tell if I was going the right way). I eventually opted against this after being unable to find a reasonable way down.  It was a bit frustrating to say the least – but I figured I had a good time the day before so it was fine. I had dinner in the hotel and called it a night…. My shoulder was getting quite tired from all the dirt road driving (I broke my clavicle a few months ago and the muscles are still recovering), and I needed the rest.

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 8 – The Long (and expensive) Journey Home

Thursday morning I had another delicious breakfast at my B&B and hit the road. The initial plan: drive back to Prince Rupert (the same way I came; there’s really only one option), making a stop at Lakelse Lake, as well as a handful of spots as I saw fit en route.  When I’d driven to Kitimat I was set on getting up to Nisga’a Lava Bed Memorial Park so didn’t make stops along the way; I had more time Thursday so planned to make some more stops.  The plan had been to arrive in Prince Rupert in the early afternoon (the drive is only about 2.5 hours if done non-stop), grab lunch, stop at the Museum of Northern BC, and then take a wander around town (I wanted a closer look at the beautiful art deco city hall building!), and have a quiet early night for the early ferry ride the next morning.

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 7 – Juneau to Kitimat

Sunday morning I checked out of the hotel in Juneau and went to the ferry docks (not far from the hotel) to check in.  I was quite early, so I had already decided to go and grab lunch before queuing up to get on to the ferry, and asked what time I needed to be back. I was told 2:30 PM, and that the ferry was leaving at 4:30 PM, which seemed funny to me but I didn’t realise why until later.

Since it was around 10:30AM, I headed back to downtown Juneau, and looked again at my ferry ticket.  I eventually figured out that the person behind the counter was looking at the 24h timing, incorrectly subtracted 10 hours instead of 12, and had actually meant I had to be back by 12:30 for a 2:30 (though, really, 2:00) departure. Fortunately I did figure this out as we left before 2PM!

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 6 – To Alaska!

Friday morning I checked out of my hotel in Whitehorse, grabbed a coffee, filled up on gas, replaced the terribly-streaking windshield wipers, and headed to Miles Canyon.  It was very beautiful and I’m glad I went, but there was nothing exceptional about it.  The Yukon River is really wonderful everywhere and it was neat walking over the suspension bridge and checking things out.  I’m glad I made the stop and got to see it.

From there, on to Carcross, through more mountains and valleys, with innumerable rivers and lakes all the way along.  There were some gorgeous lakes that were perfectly still and reflected the mountains above, which was lovely.  The drive really is quite gorgeous… I stopped for what should have been a brief stop for lunch in Carcross, that turned into a lengthy lunch at the only place open that served food.  Still the quiet town was peaceful and attractive, and it was hot and sunny so I sat on the patio with my sandwich (the last one in town, apparently, as everyone after me had their sandwich requests denied).

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 5 – misadventures on the return to Whitehorse

Well, today was weird.  (And by “today,” I mean Thursday.  For those wondering about the timing of these posts, I’m generally writing them in the evenings and setting them to post at a time of day when people might actually see them).

Wednesday night, my last night in Dawson, the power cut out around 11PM.  It stayed out for a while. Since I was about to go to sleep anyway, I figured it would all work out in the morning and since I was leaving anyway it really didn’t matter.  It came back on at some point later in the evening (I woke up at one point to discover the exterior light outside my window was back on).

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 4 (Whitehorse to Dawson, & in Dawson City)

Tuesday was a pretty simple day – I started the day with a stop at the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse as soon as it opened (the museum was otherwise unremarkable, but the Gold to Government exhibit was very interesting!)  From there, I grabbed a scone at Baked (a café I’ve come to rather enjoy – they have almond milk!), and hit the road for Dawson.

The drive was pleasant though nothing ‘new’ – still more gorgeous scenery – so many reds and yellows and greens in the plant life, with many more mountains and lakes to see, and the Yukon River ever spectacular.  I made a handful of photo stops along the way, and really just took the drive easy, which was nice.  I crossed paths with virtually no one.

Travel blog – Vancouver to Yukon part 3 – Pleasant surprises

One thing I’ve learned on this trip is to expect the unexpected, and to be very flexible with plans.  Travelling to the Yukon on the borderline between peak season and off season has meant dealing with things being unexpectedly closed, things becoming unexpectedly available, things being unexpectedly more or less time-consuming than expected, and things I didn’t even know existed being things that would be very interesting to see/do.

My second full day in Whitehorse was no exception to this.

After realising the night I arrived that there was a very slim chance of getting into a Kluane Glacier flightseeing tour, I spent my first full day in Whitehorse as if I had the second day available too.  I still almost ran out of things to do.  But the slate for day two was, nevertheless, not completely blank.  While in Watson Lake, someone there had suggested that Miles Canyon was worth a visit – it was only in one of my guides and I’d kind of glanced over it while planning.  And in my hotel, I came across a flyer for a bicycle rental shop.  Having seen how bicycle-friendly the town was, I made plans to rent a bike, spend the morning riding out to Miles Canyon and back (a few hours total, return), then ride out to the brand new Kwanlin Dun (First Nation) Cultural Centre and take a look around.  Even with those plans, I would still have had many hours to kill – I’m sure riding around would have kept me entertained, though.