Early July In The High Arctic

Early July in the high Arctic is a wonder to behold. First there is the return of the first Snow Birds who arrive to freezing cold and sit outside the homes of the Inuit. They eat what they find and endure the chilling winds and cold nights. Suddenly there is a change in the air. The North West Passage shows Leeds where there once were cracks in the ice. Next the blanket of white which covered the entire north shows black tips of rocks peeping out of the white. There is a warmer wind and rivers which were dormant for the winter begin to trickle under the ice. Spring and summer is approaching.

People who were settled in there homes during the long winter begin to emerge and take in the cool sun. The airline pilots who fly in to the north tell of huge herds of caribou moving to the north shore of the mainland and are staging to cross to the islands for the summer. The water melts near the shorelines of the lakes and the ocean moves with creaks and groans. The ice moves and opens up Leeds and soon open stretches of water appear.

Birds from the south come in droves. Snow geese and Canada geese sit on the cold ice waiting for the signal to return to their ancestral homes. Swans  come by the thousand and stay in a flock until one day as with a instinct fly away in pairs to distant lakes to have their chicks. Smaller birds come through but do not stop long as they are anxious to get to their space as the summer is measured in weeks not months.

People emerge from their winter habitat and crowd the shorelines and jig for the Arctic Char. The Char come from the lakes in numbers and feed on the abundant food for 6 to 8 weeks and retreat to the lakes for the winter. Excitement is everywhere and Inuit use this short summer to stock up on caribou and char to hold them over the long cold winter.

Summer here is so compacted that a day is like a week. Through the snow, finally comes the first flowers and they come in every colour in abundance. Their life cycle might only be a few weeks but for that time they really make a great show.

I loved the spring and short summer and one of the joys I realized was visiting the Inuit as they retreated to the land for the summer. Really all the Inuit moved from their hamlet homes to a preferred tent on the tundra and welcomed visitors with tea and pilot biscuits and jam with conversation about the fish and caribou. Always they were happy just to relive their past when they lived a free life on the Tundra.

Yes the spring and summer was beautiful and I loved it but with the warming of the Arctic new challenges will be presented to the Inuit but I have no doubt they will prevail and live and flourish on the Northern Tundra as they have for 10,000 years.