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.
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