The weather has been fairly kind to us today, temperatures have dropped, we’ve had a bit of rain but the winds have been in our favour so we’re all happy to put up with the cold in return for good winds.
Today we saw our version of snow white and the seven dwarfs in the form of a Grizzly and a herd of Muskox (7 of them to be exact). Kevin spotted the grizzly hovering around a steep rocky ridge and we pulled in closer for a better view. I don’t think we were close enough for him to see us clearly (Grizzlies don’t have good vision) but he was definitely aware of us and was trying to get our scent (they have incredible senses of smell). We were downwind of him so I don’t think he could pick us up which is a bit surprising given the fact that we haven’t showered in so long!
The past 24 hours have been arguably the most stunning of our trip so far. We rowed though an inside channel between Victoria Island the Edinburgh and Richardson Island Group. The channel worked its way through an enchanting landscape, a combination of rugged cliffs, soft green patches scattered with rocks and boulders. It felt like rowing through a combination of “The gap of Dunloe” and “The Giant’s Causeway” which are two stunningly beautiful parts of Ireland. The Gap of Dunloe in Co Kerry is similar to what I described above while the Giant’s Causeway in Co Antrim is an area of about 40,000 interlocking Basalt columns the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. I believe the basalt was formed from lava which cools and solidifies.
This was a lovely treat for us today but as I write this, we have a gale warning for tonight so we’re going to pull into a spot shortly to shelter for the night. The direction of the strong forecasted winds would be pushing us in the wrong direction so we reckon its best to anchor in somewhere out of the way. It’s tempting to keep going as we’re making really great progress but that would be foolish given the forecast we have so we’ll air on the side of caution tonight – only 180km to go to Cambridge Bay…..
~Paul
