As we moved ahead we descended towards a glacier and the view was stunning. The colours of the landscape had changes and new hues made the view breathtaking. What was also interesting was that for miles one had to trudge through sand, which made the trek rather difficult. We didn't bump into any wild animals. Just two hares and some wild geese flew overhead. But we did see the tracks of what could have been either a wolf or a fox or a dog. These parts are not known for much wildlife. Polar bears and other arctic creatures inhabit areas many miles north of the park.

At strategic points are located the cabins of the park rangers and the attached shelters for campers. If you needed help they were there. But they too moved around on foot. What was wonderful was the absolute pindrop silence. Usually Marsha and Laura would be a 6 or 7 lengths ahead or behind me, and one was alone. It was so calm and quiet. There was a lot of time to think, no worries, no deadlines to keep and one was not under any pressure of any kind. The surprise of what lay ahead, every time you crossed a hill and came up against a wonderful new view, kept one going.

We did get lost on day two between Windy Lake and Thor. We crossed a bridge and discovered the cans that marked the path were not visible. So we ended up walking in the wrong direction for five hours. That day the trail was particularly arduous and went up and down hills which were actually huge rocks and we were quite lost. Marsha decided that maybe we should camp the night and figure out the plan for the next day. It was Marsha's duty to locate a site to pitch a tent and then Laura and I would move in to pitch the tents, while Marsha would start cooking. That evening as we were about to begin cooking, it began to rain. But Marsha and Laura, who were so terrific, immediately rustled up shelter with a waterproof sheet.

The next day instead of backtracking, we decided to cross a stream that would bring us back on course. The stream looked very shallow and calm. But when we actually tried to cross it we realised it was deep and the currents were rather strong. So we decided to strip down to our underpants and attempt to cross because the water was too deep. You can well imagine the agony of wading through such cold water. But that still didn't work and we abandoned the idea because whenever one tried to walk very fast towards dry land and fight the currents, one's legs became too numb to move.

So we decided to walk the five hours back to the bridge and get on the right path to reach Thor. Thor was as magnificent as Overlord At times it looked even grander. More majestic. As one trekked along one would pass the park shelters. These shelters made interesting stopovers because one always encountered other hikers and it was an occasion to trade trek stories. The first question was invariably about the weather. I stayed at these shelters for the night twice on the trek. My tent was not roomy and big like Laura's and Marsha's and was little decrepit. On the first night I was so claustrophobic and then I discovered I was sleeping in the wrong direction.

Although it was tedious to carry cooking equipment, cooking was fun. I mean if you have been eating bread and three types of cheeses for most of your meals, a little cooking breaks the monotony. And for a treat we would open a can of turkey or tuna fish.

On the final leg of the trek from Thor to Summit Lake was the worst day of the trek. We thought the rains would spare us. When we started off in the morning and scanned the sky we felt the rain would hold out. But after we set out in a matter of minutes it began to rain and it did not stop for four hours. We had to trudge through wet, windy, icy terrain.

When we arrived at the edge of Summit Lake on day Five, we were pleasantly surprised to find seven tents already pitched. They were a group of Spaniards from Pamplona. Experienced in rock climbing, they had already climbed Mt Asgard, the king peak of this terrain. The stories they had to narrate had me spellbound, for it took them 17 days to climb the mountain and two days to descend! They were really a jolly bunch. My Spanish came in handy for I struck a rapport with them while we awaited our turn too cook at the shelter.

After finishing dinner, I headed for their tent, while Laura and Marsha went back to theirs. The tent of the Spaniards was really a little paradise because there was a compact disc player with Spanish music, a nice bottle of Cuban rum and some hors d'oeuvres that they had whipped up. I played cards with them. They were playing in teams and the deal was that the losing team had to prepare dinner the next day. Invariably it was the youngsters who landed up with the cooking duties.

We were disappointed that we could not see Mount Asgard and walk towards the Turner Glacier because that was what we had planned. But we were fogged out. And our plan to stay there for two days had to abandoned due to bad weather.

On our return journey down we encountered two days of sunshine and that brought our spirits up. Especially for Laura and Marsha because they had by now been out in the open for two weeks without the sun. We took this opportunity to wash our hair and give ourselves dry sponges. On the way back we also bumped into a Japanese tourist who was planning to climb Mount Thor. The trek back was relatively simple and relaxing because we knew the trail.

On the eighth day we radioed Pangnirtung to inform the boatman to come and fetch us.

We spent two days in Pangnirtung. We went to the craft centres and saw the weavers at work and just strolled around town. The young carvers in Pangnirtung and at Iqualit tried to sell their crafts to the campers. Some of the work was very good. A lot of it was very cheap; just five to seven dollars a piece.

I tried to meet the Innuit artistes because I was keen on seeing their dance and hearing their music. But there were no dancers around. And the dancing I saw was Scottish which the missionaries had taught them. Their throat singing is also of a unique style but here again I was just able to get a tape recording because the two main artistes were away.

The Innuits were a sad lot. The men were mostly drunk and young teenagers were pregnant. And inspite of the subsidies and assistance that was available for them, very few people took the chance to make something of their lives. But at the same time there was a great spirit of sharing amongst them. Whenever the menfolk went out hunting and brought back caribou or a seal or char (a typical fish of the area) they would share it amongst themselves.

In Iqualit, Laura took us out for a caribou meal. Our last three days in Iqualit were pretty laid-back. Before I arrived Laura and Marsha had made friends with a local who very sweetly offered her apartment for us to stay in on our return. So we were spared having to camp for the last few days. And could have warm showers everyday! Bliss.