I have to admit that I didn’t sleep too bad. I did wake up once during the night to pee. I was a little freaked out walking to the “bathroom” in the dark. I had a flashlight with me, but I still thought every rock was an animal!! lol. I was able to enjoy a cappuccino and breakfast before all the students woke up. It was extremely windy in the morning. It was decided that we wouldn’t kayak in the morning. We would see what the weather was like after lunch and possibly go a short distance then. In the morning we all took a walk up a hill and met up with the elders. At the top were 3 Inukshuks and a grave. It is the grave of one of the elders wives. We all stood around the grave while he said a short prayer in Inuktitut.  From there we all spent some time looking around and picking berries. It was a beautiful site. You can see first lake, second lake, third lake, town, the Inlet and the ocean all from there. I am hoping the weather cooperates and I can take Etienne up there to see. I didn’t have my camera with me so unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the second day at all. Sorry! While we were there we noticed that the meal tent had fallen down because of the winds. We hurried down to fix it. We then made lunch and a few people decided that they would kayak in the afternoon. I decided not to go since Etienne’s parents were arriving at 5pm. Just as they were about to leave, the meal tent had fallen again. The winds were insane. The girls tent also needed a little repair from the winds. Etienne ended up driving the Honda out earlier than I was anticipating (I think he learned ). I stayed around and watched about 10 of the students swim. It was quite cold and windy, but that definitely didn’t stop them from having a great time. At around 3pm I decided it was time to come home, shower and put supper on. From what I hear everyone enjoyed the last night out at camp. The winds seemed to have died down in the evening.

I have to admit that in the beginning I wasn’t sure what to expect about this entire adventure. I’ve never been kayaking before, nor have I ever camped overnight in the Arctic. I was a little nervous to start with, but once we started I really enjoyed myself. I had an amazing time. I would love to be able to do it all over again next year!!

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We started at about 10:30am at the beach right next to our house.

Waiting for everyone....

Getting ready to head out

Cool moon! Taken while we were waiting to leave

On our way!

Bye.....see you tomorrow....

From there we paddled around. We ended up breaking into 2 groups. Since there were students that have kayaked before, they were much faster than the first year students. One of the the teachers and another volunteer took the lead. I stayed in the back with the leader to help with the students that were still getting comfortable with paddling. We finished our Ocean leg at around 12:30pm, during low tide, so we ended up having to portage quite the distance into first lake. The first part was quite rocky with a bit of water. This made it challenging because all the rocks were extremely slippery. From there we were able to use our tow ropes and tie the kayaks to ourselves to pull the them through the water as we walked. The water wasn’t deep enough to be able to paddle through it.  We then paddled a short distance before we had to carry our kayaks over some really rough terrain into first lake. We only had to paddle a short distance before we met up with the other group. We all then took a much deserved lunch break. The students also enjoyed some swimming time.

Lunch break at first lake

From there we paddled the rest of first lake. The wind had started to pick up a little bit so this part was a bit more challenging. The portage between first and second lake was much easier. We climbed a small hill and into second lake. This is where I carried my kayak myself. I had always carried a second kayak with someone else. I have to admit that it is much easier to carry one kayak on your shoulder than it is to carry one in each hand. The teacher I was with and I also helped a couple of the students carry their kayaks into second lake. We paddled through second lake and started to portage to camp. By this time, the students were exhausted, and I have to admit that I was too. It was around 3:30pm. It was decided that from there we would have a couple of students that didn’t paddle pick up the trailer to take the kayaks back. We made it back to camp shortly after 4pm.

Below is a map of where we went. If you click on the markers it will tell you where we were. Zoom in to see a more detailed map.

View Qajaq trip in a larger map

Everyone was exhausted by the time we got to camp. Everyone changed from their wet clothes…….well, almost everyone!! I had asked Etienne to bring my clothes and pillow out during the afternoon. I remember telling him that he should have it at camp no later than 4:30. We arrived shortly before that and I looked around for my stuff. Not surprised that I didn’t find it. I figured 10 minutes wasn’t too bad to wait. Some people felt sorry for me sitting in wet pants and a t-shirt, so I was wearing a borrowed sweater, vest and parka. It was too bad that they were about 4 sizes too big and the wind was just blowing right up them! 4:30 came and went…..4:40 came and went…..4:50 came and went….By this time I was COLD and CRANKY!! Finally at 5:00 Etienne pulled up. I don’t need to finish the story, I’m sure everyone has an idea what happened next! LOL. Let’s just say there were a few choice words spoken! A few minutes later we kissed and made up, so everything turned out. I don’t think that he’ll ever be late again!

By this time everyone was getting hungry so we all started to make supper. Each group made different meals. Our group made hamburgers. I have to admit that I’m not really a fan of frozen patties, but it was one of the best tasting burgers I’ve ever had! I think that had a lot to do with how hungry I was. Like one of the teachers said “I don’t like Klik or macaroni and cheese, but this is the best Klik and macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had”! I admit that I stole the phrase from him.

Camp

Making food

After eating a few of the students decided they wanted to swim. They put on the dry suits and spent some time swimming and jumping in third lake. I have to give them credit for having the energy. After that we all gathered in the meal tent. There were a couple of elders camping at the site as well. We spent the next little while asking them questions. They mostly speak Inuktitut, so the students would translate the question to them, they’d answer and then the students would translate that back to us. It was really interesting listening to their stories of hunting and kayaking.

Everyone huddled in the meal tent with 2 elders

Once we were done asking questions it was bonfire time. It took a little time to get the fire going, but once it was started, it was probably one of the biggest bonfires I have ever seen!! The students really seemed to enjoy it. From there it was bedtime and lights out. It really didn’t take long for everyone to fall asleep.

Beginning of the bonfire

Burning....

Almost done

The "Bathroom" I know it's gross...but I had to post it!!!

Pretty sunset.....

A really nice picture

….to be continued……..

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The school had rented the Hino (Calm Air’s large truck they use to load/unload cargo from the plane) as well as a pick up truck from a local. We started the day by loading up the Hino with all of our camping gear and headed out to third lake to set up camp. It took 3 pick up trucks, 2 hondas, and the airport taxi van to get all the students out to third lake. There definitely was a lot of gear to load. There were four groups of students. 2 groups of boys and 2 groups of girls each group having between 7 – 12 students. There were 2 – 3 tubs per group. 2 tubs contained what they needed to cook. Utensils, dishes, tub to wash dishes, dish cloths, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. The other tubs contained non-perishable food. Cereal, ketchup, snacks, tea, hot chocolate, etc. Each group also had a cooler full of fridge/freezer items. There was also 4 stoves, 4 lanterns, 4 cans of fuel (for the stoves and lanterns), a caribou skin for each student to sleep on, numerous tarps, 5 tents, sleeping bags, etc. They also loaded up all the scrap wood from the school to burn during the evening bonfires. It was quite the convoy to get all the students and gear there. We spent a couple hours setting up a “meal” tent, a girls tent, boys tent, a “poo” tent and 1 smaller tent. We also set up a drying rack to hang up all the dry suits. From there we headed back into town for lunch.

After lunch we sent all the students back to the grocery stores to buy the rest of the groceries (fruit, vegetables, milk, etc – basically anything that would have been spoiled or expired if bought the prior week). The food was then put into the fridge/freezers and the students were dismissed for the day.

Digging the "poo hole"

Unloading the Hino (Calm Air airport vehicle)

More stuff.....

Starting to set up camp

Setting up the first tent

Setting up the "meal" tent

Setting up the girls tent

The "bathroom"

Inside the meal tent

Setting up the drying rack

Camp

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10 of us loaded up on our honda’s and drove out to do a little berry picking. We first stopped at third lake. We had a few people that are new to town and who haven’t yet had an opportunity to go explore past town. After looking around we continued on to the gravel pit. We stopped here to pick berries and have a small snack. There were quite a few blueberries here. I picked about half a container full before I got bored of it!! lol. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with them, but I’ll figure something out. We didn’t find any cloud berries here. We then headed off as far as the road will take us. There is a section of road that the water washes away regularly. The culverts they have put in just can’t handle the large amounts of water in the spring. We spent a little time here before we headed home. We stopped on our way home when we saw some large patches of cloud berries. Everyone spent a little time picking a few. Most of them were too ripe.  It was a really nice day.

This guy decided to come and visit us for a little while

Having fun picking berries

Checking out where the water washed out the road

Where the water meets with the ocean

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Wednesday morning the weather was not cooperating so it was decided that we would not be in the kayaks, instead we would stay inside and start the long list of “to-do’s” to prepare for the overnight trip we will do next week. The students were divided in 4 groups. 2 groups of boys and 2 groups of girls. Afterwards they brought in all the supplies and had to sort through it all to find everything they think they will need. This included items like pots, pans, utensils, cups, kettles, etc. In the afternoon, they were instructed to come up with a meal plan for the days that we will be out. This included 2 dinners, 2 breakfasts and 2 lunches. They were basically told that they could plan to eat anything they want with a few exceptions (chips, pop, chocolate, beef jerky – basically anything that is empty calories). Most groups planned for the same types of breakfast – bacon, eggs, french toast, cereal, etc. Lunches had to be something simple as we will probably be eating in our kayaks. Sandwiches and snacks (Granola bars,etc) were planned for lunch. Suppers is where things vary. There is everything from hamburgers, spaghetti/meatsauce, pizza wraps to macaroni and cheese. Once their meals plans were completed, they then had to decide how much they needed of each item. It was interesting to hear what they thought were adequate numbers. From there they made grocery lists.

Thursday morning the weather still wasn’t cooperating. It was really windy. What made it worse was the wind was blowing out to sea. So we continued with the prep and planning. They were told to go through their list one last time to make sure they have thought of everything (salt, pepper, mustard, butter, etc). From there we all headed to the Co-Op so they could shop. I have to say that I felt sorry for the staff. It had to have been a little nerve racking seeing close to 30 students walk in with lists in hand ready to shop!!! It was quite chaotic. I think the students learned a few things during the shopping. #1 being – Don’t put your bread at the bottom of the cart and then proceed to fill it with cans, juice boxes, frozen meat, etc. I think I saw all 4 groups do it!! lol. There was quite a bit of squished bread afterwards! The afternoon was spent organizing all of their food and boxes. It was a busy day.

This morning the wind finally died down. It was still around 30km/hr, but it was decided that we would go out and just stay close to shore. A lot of the students have done the kayaking program last year, but there are a few new ones. Since the new ones haven’t paddled in the ocean before we really wanted them to experience short distances before we do our big trek from Tuesday until Thursday next week. We got dressed and headed out. We paddled across to the Northern Store and then up to the Point. From there the students jumped off the rocks into the water. They loved it. The cold water didn’t seem to bother them. After they had a short break we headed back for lunch. In the afternoon we went back out the same way. We had some of the students that didn’t make it in the morning. We spent some more time jumping off the rocks. I even took a few turns. The water wasn’t as cold as what I was expecting. The only difference that I noticed from the lakes is obviously the salt water. Overall, it was a successful day. I can’t wait until next week when we do our full days of kayaking.

Stay tuned for the rest…….

Here’s a map of where we went. Click on the markers to show what they’re marking.

View Paddling in the Bay in a larger map

The kayaks....we left them on the rocks during lunchtime

Heading out to the water....it was low tide

The building in front of the students (in the above picture) is where we went. We had to follow shore, so it was quite a bit farther than what you can see.

Paddling out...

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It’s not very far from town, but it still takes a bit of muscle to get there. We can fit fourteen kayaks on the trailer, the rest need to be carried to the drop off point. From there, everything needs to be unloaded. We paddle across the lake and then portage to deep water lake. Monday we spent most of our time practicing wet exits and self rescues. This lake is deeper than Police Lake so everyone had to successfully do both in water that is over their head. Once that was done, the students enjoyed swimming and jumping off rocks more than paddling. A few of us paddled around for a while. It was quite windy, but generally warmer than last week was.

This morning we loaded everything up. We also loaded the kayaks onto Hondas to drive out. No one had to carry a kayak. We paddled and portaged the same as yesterday. We did some more wet exits and self rescues. A few of us paddled over to a small island and picked berries for a while. It was really cold and windy today. My fingers were numb while we were picking berries. We decided to pack up a little earlier today as most of the students were cold.

Tomorrow we are hoping the weather co-operates and will be able to go out on the ocean. That should be a lot of fun!! Looking forward to it.

The trailer

The kayaks

The Adults! lol

Having fun

Playing around

The Watch Dog!

Self Rescue - Geting in

Self Rescue - Back in

Self Rescue - Pumping out the water

A leaky suit!! Trying to drain some of the water out

Enjoying a swim instead of paddling

Jumping off the rocks

Town

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This is where we finally found the Cloud Berries. There was a lot of them. We picked a few and tried them. Etienne didn’t like the ones that were overripe. From what we’re told, the locals prefer them this way. They were better tasting the less ripe they were. They start off as a bright red and turn orangey/yellow as they ripen.

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By the time we got to first lake it was foggy, windy and just cold!! We stayed for a little while. Mario was also there fishing. He had already caught 2 fish and was hoping for a third, which would be his allowed limit for the day. Etienne’s first cast ended up getting caught on a rock. It took both him and Mario to finally get it unstuck. I walked around and took a few pictures. The berries are starting to grow, so I took a few pictures of them. I am still looking for the “cloud berries” that were in the yoplait tubes. We were told they were around first lake.  I guess I’ll have to look more next time.

Trying to unstick his lure....

Berries

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On Wednesday I went over to the school to help organize and set everything up. This is where I got to meet all the kids that are participating. We spent a couple hours sorting all the clothing. There are enough dry suits (and accessories) for all of the kids to wear. I was also shown all the kayaks. They are all hand made here in Chester. There are 3 different “generations” of kayaks. Built in 3 different years. I am impressed at the entire arrangement they have here. Everything seems to be well organized and executed.

Yesterday morning we met at the school at 0900, got dressed, grabbed a kayak, pump, paddle and headed on our way to Police Lake. It is luckily right in town. Each student had to pair up and between two students they had to carry two kayaks to the lake. There is definitely some weight behind the kayaks. My hands were sore by the time we arrived at the lake.

As soon as each of the students (and us adults) were in a kayak they had to do a “wet exit” before they were allowed to paddle around the lake. A wet exit is the process of getting out of your kayak if it has flipped over. So each student was tipped over and had to get out of the kayak while upside down. Everyone did really well. I was a little nervous at first, but once I recovered from the brain freeze from the very cold water, it was all good. From there everyone spent the rest of the morning paddling around the lake. We broke for lunch and met back up at 1pm. We had a few more students join us in the afternoon so we did wet exits with them and sent them on their way. We also had a student from Naja Isabelle home out in a kayak!! They dressed him up, drove him down in his wheelchair to the lake where they put him in a Kayak and pushed him around the lake. He seemed to absolutely love it! It definitely was an impressive sight! There was some hard work put in by the staff and a few of the students. My hat’s off to them!  I have to say that overall the day was a big success. Everyone seemed to have fun and no one got injured. I do have to admit that it would have been even better if the weather had cooperated. It was only +9, raining and windy! Most of us were wearing toques for the day. I didn’t bring my camera yesterday so I don’t have any photos.

This morning the weather was looking more promising. Rain/Fog in the morning and clearing by the afternoon. The forecast was exactly right! This morning was a little chilly, but by the afternoon it was warmer. We did wet exits with the new students and then we gathered in a group and did wet exits and self-rescues all together. Most of the afternoon was spent doing cannon-balls off of rocks by the shore. I think the kids enjoy swimming/diving more than they do in the kayaks! lol.

Since police lake isn’t very deep (you can touch bottom pretty much everywhere) half of next week will be spent at a deeper lake. By the end of next week we will probably be out in the ocean. Stay tuned for more of our adventures!

Getting ready for Day 2

Everyone getting into their kayaks

Paddling around the lake

Yes, that is a wind sock in the background. The end of the airport runway is on the other side of those rocks. It was pretty impressive when a plane came in to land, what seemed like, only a few metres over our head!!

All the kayaks and the tent we set up

Time to jump in instead.....

Cannon-ball!!

The kids liked to blow up their suit and jump in the water...it was hilarious!

Me!

Carrying the kayaks back to the school...another successful day

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He grabbed a bag and pulled out a box. It was a “Chop and Grate”. It is a knock-off version of the Slap Chop! I just shook my head and asked him what would posses him to buy that? Well this is what he showed me…..

That's right.....It is 25 cents!!!

He said that it was such a good deal that he couldn’t turn it down! So, now I have a $.25 “Chop and Grate” thing that I will probably never use. I was thinking this would be a good Xmas present for someone?? LOL. I guess I can’t do it now that everyone has seen this!! Who says you can’t find a good deal in the North!!!

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