The Race To The Crossing

Friday seemed to have 48 hours as work dragged on and Ikey and I looked at the clock. Since I was the boss I had to show a good example about keeping proper hours. This was a real problem up there during hunting and fishing season. At 2.30 pm I motioned to Ikey to leave and I left one of the girls in charge of the phone. We raced home and changed and prepared to meet at the road to the airport. I never realized how cold it was with the 30 km wind.I gave Buck enough muskoxen bones for three days and left with Buck jumping against the chain as he wanted to come.

The wind picked up as I met Ikey at the arranged place and with few words he said we were going to the crossing. This was a favourite hunting place as it was the jumping off point for the caribou heading to the mainland across the North West Passage. It was 60+ miles away and we planned to travel on the new ice. Winds that swept through our area during the ice freezing time caused large pressure ridges to form. Few of these ridges could be crossed and detours were required to make progress.

Without another word Ikey sped off and I tried to follow. He quickly left me in snow dust and I had a fear that I would never be able to keep up. He had skills way beyond mine and pulling a kamatuk with with over a 1000lbs was difficult and dangerous. I was getting the hang of it when I saw Ikey stopped ahead. I pulled up and learned a lesson I never forgot. Never, never step off your snow machine until your sled is stopped. The momentum of the sled carried it past my snow machine when I stopped because it does not have brakes. Many people suffered broken from this lack of knowledge.

After Ikey gave me a stern warning he advised me that we were going inland as progress was too slow on the ice. Some bare stony land had to be traversed and he told me to keep going at all cost because if you stopped on bare ground the snow machine could not pull the sled. Stopping was to be made on a downward slope on snow. I followed again with the increased tension of another challenge. We made progress and the sparks literally flew when we crossed a stoney section about a half mile long.

After what seemed like forever we stopped at a rise in the land and prepared to set up camp. Actually it took nearly 5 hours to travel that distance which I covered in the summer by atv in 3 hrs.

Making camp in the Arctic was a skill developed over centuries by the Inuit. Ikey gave short orders and our White tent was up. Snow was packed on the windward side and a tarp was thrown over the tent. First rule was to work but not sweat. Sweating can cause severe chills when you stop and could have more serious repercussions. The primer stove was set up first and snow thawed for tea. Meanwhile the hides were placed on the floor and sleeping bags unfolded to warm up.Snow machines covered and sleds secured next to the tent for easy retrieval of supplies. It took 30 minutes to make camp.

Our guns were taken inside and cleaned again making sure the barrel was plugged with a wick to stop any buildup of ice or snow. Can goods are useless in the arctic as they freeze.Only can jam is used and our diet was mipku (dried meat and bannock and tea). We talked for a while and Ikey started up his short wave radio to talk to some other hunters to get info on the location of the caribou. He spoke in Inuinaktun, a dialect used by the local Inuit, and as he spoke I knew he had good news and I also he told his friend he had a white novice with him and he laughed with his friends about this matter.

Ikey actually gave me my Inuit name which was elenok meaning friend. We talked for a bit and all of a sudden I heard him snore. He was asleep. A big day ahead.