Winter Comes Early In The Arctic

Around this time of the year the late fall turns into winter. There is no warning but the animals know. Late August the caribou migrate to the south shore of the North West Passage (NWP) and browse for some nutritious food. They wander almost in a daze with one thing in mind, get over the passage and head south on the mainland. I lived on Victoria Island , home to a huge herd of caribou.The caribou cross the 60 miles over the ice when it is strong enough. One year hundreds were lost when the tried to cross on bad ice. Their bodies were taken by the Inuit and used as dog food.

Muskoxen who live along the coast begin to move inland to unknown hid outs where they use their thick coats to keep warm and big feet to scrape away the snow and ice to find nourishing Arctic Willow. They disappear only to reappear in late June.

The ground or tundra becomes rock hard and ice freezes along with the puddles and small ponds. The Salt water of the NWP freezes quickly but heavy wind turns the ice into a messy mixture of ice clampers and pressure ridges.

The Mute Swans gather at Swan Lake near the passage and the young ones go off every day to test their wings. Anxious parents observe this time proven ritual and meet their youngsters with chatter as if to give encouragement and advice. Some scolding takes place when the fledglings act out. The swans wait for a heavy south wind to help start their journey on a high note.

The tell tale sign is the lack of sunshine. The sun quickly begins to fall further and further below the southern sky and the wind ,once friendly begins to bite and sting to remind you that winter is around the corner.

People bring out their warm clothes and mothers take extra time with their needles preparing mittens and coats for their children and hunters. I personally loved the winters with the low temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius was a warm day. My preparations were obvious and I checked the snow machine, updated my komitick (sled) and cleaned the rifles for winter use.

I still think of those days between summer and winter in the Arctic with warm feelings.