Arctic Hunting Expedition
Thursday, 6 May 2004
UnrealI returned Tuesday with a nice suntan, but I didn't return from Bermuda.
A call came 3 or 4 weeks before, asking if I'd be interested in accompanying a dogsled trip which would last a few days. I answered 'yes' before saying that I'd hafta get permission from my boss first. I mean, what an opportunity! Of course I wanna go. Although the details of the trip were sketchy at best, the anticipation for such an excursion set off a light that had been dimmed since I got here. Over the following couple of weeks, I heard nothing more and had no idea as to what I could expect. The only thing I knew was that the trip would include 2 other G.I.s and guy from Denmark, and we would be riding with an Inuit (Eskimo) team for 5 days. A few days before is when I finally met the other travelers (Chris and Lance) and got the full scoop. The Dane, Mogens Morgen, organized the trip as a thank you to Thule for hosting a research team from Denmark (they were testing the effects of extreme cold on human muscles). He outfitted our team with over a few thousand dollars worth of arctic weather gear (Canadian Goose parka and pants, sunglasses, sleeping bag, and tons of other camping items), and filled us in on where we were going. First to Qaanaaq (a town 60 miles north of the base), then to Siorapaluk (the northern most civilian community in the world), and possibly even go hunting for polar bears and seals.
Day 1 - 29 April
We all got up early that day; the expected departure time was 0730, but when we got to the terminal, the folks there told us that the chopper was overbooked, and they'd need to make 2 trips. So we had to wait til 2PM. We had left our bags there, got some chow and took care of other stuff before meeting again around 12:30. By two, we were airborne, flying over the fjord and icecap, further north than most at the base had ever been. We arrived at Qaanaaq about a half hour later, still unsure as what to expect. The owner of the hotel in town met us at the terminal and helped us get our equipment to the lodging rooms. In the short time we spent at the small, 5-room hotel, we met a man from Japan, who was there on the 6th portion of his dogsled expedition from Siberia (Russia) to Greenland. Also we met a woman from Germany who was waiting for a team to come that she was going to lead. Plus, Chris noted a picture in the hallway of Kevin Spacey, who had stayed in this very hotel just a couple years ago! Anyway, we started on the journey fairly quickly, and went down to the ice to meet our team leaders. They were all disbursed throughout the town, and we were all split up, not really able to communicate, so it was kind'v ackward at first. After my team leader, Thomas (chamus) kissed his wife and daughter, we set out over the rugged inner ice. The lead dog was a mama, and her pup, "Nyoknyo", tagged along, though not leashed. Well, going over the first big crack in the ice, Nyoknyo hesitated, fell in, and was run over by the sled! He was surprisingly OK though, and just went running out again afterwards. I was worried though. I guess it happens alot. Anyway, we drove on for about 20-30 minutes before meeting up with the rest of the gang. From there, we rode across the flat ice, following a "road" made from other sled tracks, crossing a fjord and, around midnight, stopped for the first night. As late as it was, the sun was still shining strongly, so we were able to easily set up the tents on the ice. The Inuits staked down some pegs where they tied up their dogs. We didn't know quite what to expect that first night, and as we got our tent together (a small 4-man tent), we wondered how we'd all fit in. Well, as soon as we got ours up, the Inuits began building their tent. They pushed two sleds together and removed the equipment. They laid out several thick skins over top and set up an old tent over the sleds. We scoffed at their ancient-looking get up. Hey, we were sleepin' in state-of-the-art technology created housing. We had the best equipment and a sleeping bag that could warm you even in temps of 40 below. We had a heater and matting. And we froze our asses off!Day 2 - 30 April
Even though not totally comfortable, we managed to sleep until just after seven or eight. Mogens had some Muselix-type cereal that we ate with hot water we made from melted iceberg pieces. Let me tell ya about iceberg water. We never had such good water in our lives; and never drank so much hot water before either. Straight hot water... Mmmmm... Anyway, the Inuits (aside from Thomas, there was Otto, Peter and Christian were already up and started taking down their tent. We were a bit uncoordinated, and it took us some time to get into the swing and have our stuff packed up. But by ten, we were all set and riding again. The choice of what to do was still fluid, and even while we mushed on, what to do next was still being discussed. One idea was to go straight out to hunt, but we had asked if we could go to the village of Siorapaluk to check it out. They caved in (plus they needed to pick up some fuel for the boat), so we headed further north following the bottom ridge of the mountain. In the distance we saw the village, and got excited knowing that we were about to visit the northern most civilian settlement in the world!The sleds were parked on the ice a few hundred feet from the village's shoreline, and we walked up into the 40-house town, marveling at their existence. We found the local shop/post office and went in to see what goodies they had. It was a very small mom-and-pop shop, and had miscellaneous items of all sorts for sale. No souvenirs though. So I picked up some Pepsis and a couple of snacks and went outside. Soon we were accosted by several youngsters, but soon it seemed the whole village's kids were out to get piggyback rides and pretend fights. I guess the school was supposed to be in session, but they just came outside to check us out. The school, realizing it was futile to round up the kids now, instead offered to show us their school. It consisted of only 2 classrooms (very small, and I can assume that the older kids were in one, and the younger ones in another). Anyway, they also offered us some postcards the kids had created, saying the proceeds would go to a trip the kids were planning to a city in the south of Greenland. The cost was 40 kroners (about $7) for 5 cards, but it was for a good cause, so we all bought some packages. Outside again, the kids went with us to our sleds to see us off, but we were told the kids couldn't be down on the ice because of the dogs, so we walked them back up. We showed them some new handshakes and said goodbye to the townfolk and returned to the sleds. It didn't seem like it, but we had been there for over 3 hours! We started up again following the shoreline away from town, and even further north. After a couple hours riding, we came across a couple boats dry-docked on the ice, the second of which we camped by for the night. This time, we asked if we could make a tent the way they had, using the other 2 sleds. They agreed and helped us put it up. We also all decided to alternate groups and have 2 Inuits and 2 "tag-alongs" in each tent. It was a good evening. We had some supper (the first real meal since the journey began the day before), and melted some more ice for hot chocolate and tea. The Inuits walked off together to discuss some options, and we just looked around, taking in the silence and scenery. Off to our right, about 300 yards off, was an enormous iceberg protruding from the ice "land", and off in the distance we saw another, even bigger iceberg that resembled a sled. When the hunters returned, they said we'd leave in the morning for the hunting site, but in the meantime, we'd go off to the mountains and hunt some rabbit! While we waited, we organized our inuit-style home, realizing instantly how much warmer it was inside than our previous "abode" from the night before. The sleds acted as rise-up from the ice, creating an airflow underneath that kept the sleeping area warmer. Add some animal skins, sleeping bags and a kerosene heater, and we had a mini-castle! Gotta give 'em credit where credit's due. Hell, they've been doing this for centuries; of course they know how to keep warm. We're beginning to appreciate how they've survived in such a climate. Otto had asked me to go with him to see something, and we walked toward where they were discussing things earlier. He pointed out a huge crack in the ice where water was within reach. The crack was a good mile long, and about 2 feet wide. He tried to explain something to me, but I didn't understand at first, then picked up on what he was really showing me. The ice "land" on the other side of the water was moving slowly up and down, about 1 to 2 inches, creating a small ripple of the water. It was just amazing to see the movement of what we'd been riding on all day, and it was just fluid and normal to Otto. Amazing. We then went back, and Mogens said we'd be going now to hunt some wabbit. Otto was going alone, and us tag-alongs followed behind him as we trekked through the thick upper layer of snow that covered the ice, toward the mountains that were about half a mile from the sleds. Near the shoreline, the ice erupted in large, broken pieces, jetting up and creating a maze which separated us from the shore. But we followed Otto over the obstacle, walking where he walked, and noting where he stuck his spear in certain parts of the ice that too easily broke away. We arrived on the other side and looked up into the mountains while we rested a minute and looked back to see from where we came.
It was nearing 10PM, the sun was off to our left, and Mogens and Otto were discussing something while I went off for some pictures. It seemed that some conditions were bad for hunting, so we'd forego the mountain trek, but instead Otto offered to let us test out his rifle. It was an ancient-looking gun, maybe 30 or more years old, but it had dead accuracy as we shot at some ice chunks sitting off in the distance. After a while, we hiked back to the camp, stayed up and talked for a while and around 2AM finally went to bed. It was indeed a good night's sleep.
Day 3 - 1 May
We awoke late, but were not tied to any schedule. This was the first day we realized that time had no real purpose out here. Chris and Lance had gotten up a couple hours earlier, and razzed us about sleeping so late. But we had no real need to hurry on anything. What was going to happen? We'd loose daylight? Right... So we eventually took down the tents (following breakfast cereal and some tea), and hooked up the boat, which was on a sled of it's own, to 2 of the dogsleds and began our way in the direction of the second, sled-shaped iceberg, which was away from the mountains, and out toward the sea. After only about a half hour, we arrived at the ice's edge. This was our first sight of actual open water and were just in awe. Then we saw it. A head popped up from the water's surface about 50 yards from the edge. Then it disappeared. The hunters said it was a seal. We were in luck! While the hunters worked at taking equipment off the sleds, the rest of us went to the edge to marvel at the site of real-live seals. There was another, and another. Soon we saw about 8 of them. Slowly getting closer to the edge, curiously checking us out. But I think they grew weary, perhaps sensing the hunters' intentions, and slowly disappeared. But what an experience!! We helped unload the rest of the equipment, but I had that huge iceberg in my sites the whole time, and eventually broke free to go explore. Mogens joined me and we went around the behemoth, breathless at its height and width, and found ourselves on the opposite side looking up at it, noticing that a large portion of the upper section seemed ready to break off. As we stepped further back to try to get some better shots of it, we were greeted by several more seals bobbing off in the near distance. They came in just close enough to afford us some great pictures before they, too, disappeared. Then we heard the boat start up and watch from a distance as it bore away in the opposite direction from us, going towards the far-off mountains. In such a tranquil area, the sound of the engine roared across the waters. Soon they were out of site, and not long after the engine noise died down. We continued taking pictures and found that the water reflected perfectly which added tremendously to our "photo session". After only about 30 minutes, we heard the sound of the boat roaring around again. It went back to the campsite, then quickly came in our direction. Thomas and Peter were on board, and pulled up to the ice so we could hop in, and soon we were racing off eastward, ripping through the thin, 2-inch thick ice water. The spray from which was interesting to watch. Instead of splashing up water, the boat just threw back chunks of ice, which slid across the frozen water top, stopped only by other breaks in the ice layer. We worked our way to a couple of iceberg islands that Peter used to get up higher and scout out further in the bay using his binoculars. Suddenly he called back to the boat - he had spotted something! He jumped into the boat and we were heading further into the bay at as high a speed as we could. We soon came upon several icy floating landmasses, and across a couple of them, we could make out the shape of something laying on the ice. Thomas handed me his binoculars, and I saw what looked like a giant walrus (which turned out to be a huge sea lion) sitting out on the ice taking in the sun. Wow! The only problem was that the ice "lands" created a labyrinth between us and the walrus. We had to find a way around. So keeping the beast in sight, we circled around, following the edges until we found another opening. It was sort of like following a stream that narrowed and widened as we went. At one point the narrowing was a bit too much, and the couldn't pass. But did that stop our hunter friends? Hell no! Peter got out of the boat and pushed from the ice so that using his weight he actually pushed hard enough to move the land mass over enough to give us room to pass (and I'm talking a huge piece of land-ice)!We finally parked the boat so that we were about 100 yards away. The hunters told us to stay put, and we watched as the slowly stalked their prey. They laid down on the ice, making themselves smaller so the walrus wouldn't see them, and crawled closer. BAM! Shot taken, but as they told us later, the bullet just bounced right off it's thick skin, and spooked him into slipping into the water and disappearing. Dang it! The next time we sited a walrus, we weren't so lucky with the waterways. This time we were stopped by a thin stream way, with no way across... so I thought. The hunters told us to get out, and we all grabbed the boat, pulled it up on the ice and dragged it to the next body of water just about 50 feet away. Man, these guys just keep surprising me! We went after another sea lion, but again came away empty-handed. So we decided to take a break and head back to "shore" for a tea break and something to eat. I had thought we would have only been in the water for half an hour, but we had already been out for over 3 hours! Five minutes into the break, Peter spotted another giant mass, and we were on the go again. This time, they were able to get off 6-7 shots, but all seemed futile, as the beast jumped startled into the water and was gone. Then the sharp hunter eyes spotted seals jumping out of the water, away from the icy islands, so we were heading back to the main body of water to hunt on the fly. But, alas, after 4 more attempts, and hunter heads low, we headed back to the campsite. Mogens and I had a great time, though, with or without a catch. Back at camp there was a different story. They had shot a seal just off the ice. It was already skinned and bled by the time we got back. They also pointed out that while we were gone (over 5 hours!) a small iceberg floated over to our camp and parked in front of our shore baseline. It was now the other "teams" shot at going out. While they were gone, Mogens and I grabbed a bite to eat and the hunters did some test firing (and proved that it wasn't their aim, but the rifle's accuracy that was to blame). We relaxed in the late afternoon sun, which was actually quite warm, allowing for some sunbathing time. We listened to the Inuit radio, which was bringing in signals from Canada and checked out the dead seal. I also took some more time to get some shots of the big iceberg. While the others were gone, the small iceberg that parked by our camp had slowly made it's way back to sea. When Team 2 came back, they had caught another seal and a little bird. Chris said that after he pointed out the bird, he thought they were getting the boat closer so he could take a picture, but not a second after his shutter clicked, there was a spear in the water, snaring the bird! That evening, we learned some things about the dogs; such as when pinned down for the evening stops, the hunters will separate the males from females; the dogs are fed by having a large sack of dry food dropped in the snow (it's every dog for himself, and it's a real battle!); during the summers, when the dogs aren't used much, they don't eat a lot... most are really scrawny; the dogs typically have a lifespan of 15 years, but sled dogs only live for about 8. That's because after 8 years they loose their usefulness and are shot. But I'll tell ya what, they LIVE for pulling the sled. As soon as they know they're gonna be active, they start barking and running around, eager to get hooked up. Day 3 ended as usual, around 2AM, ready to sleep by the early morning sun.
Day 4 - 2 May
During the night, I was awakened by Otto, who was getting out of the tent and wiping off the sides. From nowhere, a snow storm had crept in, not really blowing, but just heavy amounts of snow. Although we slept well enough, it was around 10 or 11 when we were up, fed and packed up. Today we'd start our way back to Siorapaluk, where we might need to stay if the weather didn't clear up. After we had the boat back on a sled and tied down, Peter saw a seal pop up out of the water, and he was on it. BAM! Sure enough, this one he got! He wasn't leaving without a catch! Now, to us Americans who are so time conscious, we figured he would have left the seal, even though we thought it was wrong to do so. But to our surprise, they unstrapped the boat, put it back in the water and sped off to pick it up. And they didn't come back right away either; they sped off in some direction we couldn't see because of the snow. So Mogens and I went over to another campsite who had caught a sealion the day before. When Otto finally came back, we restrapped the boat, they skinned the seal and packed it on one of the sleds, and we were ready to go. After a short jaunt to the spot where we dropped off the boat, we were off again to Siorapaluk, where there was a large gathering on the ice of other sleds. Turned out some Americans from Minnesota and Illinois were up for their own expedition and were camping for the night near town. The kids from town were out in full force, and mobbed us as soon as they realized we'd come back. Chris said one of the kids that he taught a handshake ran up to him to show him he remembered how to do it. Cute. We spent about 3 hours there waiting to see how the weather would hold, and talked to the Americans to swap stories. "Those were some white teeth!" was a comment made when we left regarding a woman who was with their expedition. Thomas wanted to kick me off in exchange for her. "What?! I'm not sexy enough?!" We opted to make a stretch to the hunters cabins on the other side of the fjord than stay in the new community outside Siorpaluk. It was a long stretch, but the Inuits were determined to make it at least to the other coast point, to ensure we had a land reference if the weather worsened. We only made a couple of 20-30 minute stops along the way to take in some tea and snacks, and let the dogs rest, during the 6-hour trek across the fjord. We arrived at the cabins around 9:30PM Nyoknyo was there, jumping excitedly at our return, and he was quickly released to go play with the other dogs (who really wanted nothing to with him because they were so tired). Only one of the cabins was habitable, and because our team arrived first, we had dibs. There was room enough for 4, but with a lot more move around space. So this time it was me, Lance, Thomas and Otto shacked up, and the others set up the sled tent outside. But for most of the evening we all hung out in the cabin, talking, playing cards, and just relaxing. We made it an early night (around midnight), because we wanted an early start to see more of Qaanaaq in the morning. But an early rise wasn't going to come-to-pass...Day 5 - 3 May
We all slept in til after 9, but not a grumble from anyone was heard. We all knew this was the last real day, and wanted to milk it as long as we could. We finally ate and packed up by about 10:30 and were on our way back to town. On the trip back, our puppy ran with the pack, but again hesitated when we came to another crack in the ice, and again fell in and was run over. Again he ran out and was fine. But Thomas decided it was time he was leased in, to give him a feel of really pulling with the pack. He was very eager to join up, too. About an hour later, we saw some headlights in the distance, so we pulled off the trail and waited for it's arrival. Turned out to be a 4-wheeler and a snowmobile, each pulling sled of south-Greenlandic tourists. The 4-wheeler driver was a big Inuit, who had an air of mafia about him. He had a cigarette hanging from his lip, very expensive fur clothing, nice seal boots and gloves, and knew English and Danish! Setting out again for the final stretch, the pup did pretty good for about an hour. But he soon got tired, and thought that, like he used to, he could just stop and move off the road. But his leash caught up to him and he was soon being pulled along side us, dragging snow and moving closer to the sled. Thomas slowly stopped the dogs "Ayyye", and the sad looking puppy, who couldn't move from his awkward position, was looking up at me pathetically until Thomas came over, picked him up by the harness and threw him back into the pack. He didn't lag behind again... Finally, around 1, Qaanaaq was in sight, and by half past we were up on real land, with our hotel owner waiting on us with his SUV. The Inuits' families were waiting on them, and we quickly unpacked the sleds so they could get home. But before they left, we offered them some gifts: Air Force pins and coins, patches, some cartons of cigarettes and a couple bottles of Jack Daniels! After the great time we had, that was the least we could offer, along with many, many thanks! Saying goodbye, we headed up to the hotel where we'd stay the night.After much needed showers and a real good shit (neither was really accomplished during the traveling days), we had some dinner in the hotel restaurant. Chris and Lance noticed that down on the ice there was a game of soccer going on. Yes, soccer! They even had full size nets up. We rushed down to see them, but by the time we arrived, they were finished and started to disband. Doah! We also went to visit the local store, which was only slightly smaller than a typical K-Mart, and had just about anything you'd need. We picked up some snacks, souvenirs and wine for the evening. The real souvenir shop was closed until the next day, so we made a pit-stop at the local Post Office where Chris found a small butt-sled and stole it for a quick test ride. We found a nearby slope and he was down in a jiff. Yes, we returned it to it's home, but had some funny video clips to laugh at later. Still at the hotel was the woman from Germany and the trekker from Japan. Enjoying some wine and watching the videos from the trip, we had all gathered in the sitting room of the hotel. It's amazing that at such a remote town, in a small 5-room hotel, we had a German, Japanese, Danish, Greenlander and American socializing over wine. Amazingly small world! The night ended around 1AM, as we needed to get up for a flight around noon the next day.
Day 6 - 4 May
Sleep didn't last too long as we were awoke around 3AM by pounding on the door. Suddenly Thomas busted in, and greeted us to almost full wakefulness, and just wanted to talk. He was holding an almost empty bottle of Vodka, and talked about nothing for about a half hour (though he used more English than during our trip!) before I managed to talk him into going home and sleeping. Chris, my roommate for the night, wasn't sure how I was gonna get out of that one! After managing to get another few hours of sleep, Lance woke us around 9:30 to remind us that the souvenir shop would open at 10, and we had to be back at the hotel by 11 to get ready to go. So we rushed down to the shop, found a few gifts, and had to pay for them in the local town hall. We ran back to the hotel so Mogens could get his stuff loaded first. He took back all the cool gear (though he did let us keep the underwear and socks!) and loaded it all in the SUV and went off to the airport. The SUV came back for us, loaded us up, and took us there too. Mogens was to head out on a flight to south Greenland, whereas we would return to the base via helicopter. His flight came in first, and we said goodbye to our fellow expeditioner, and waited another hour for our ride. On the helicopter, we flew a bit lower and saw many cool sites. We even stopped in another small village north of the base for a quick 10-minute cargo pickup/drop-off. We arrived back to the base around 1:30, happy to be back, but sad that the trip had come to close so soon. That evening, we told the story to Lt Eggers (who wrote the article in the Air Force Link story: AF Story) over some beers and a wonderful steak dinner... ahhhhh