Day 8/163.0 miles
After much consideration, the team made the decision to use today to prepare for the bad weather coming. High winds and rain was expected along with gusts up to 40 mph. All of our indicators showed the rain starting on Thursday.
After sleeping in, the boys scouted out the best place to settle in. They found a derelict research station, of some sort. There are 5 buildings with windows broken out, doors missing, and dirty. It was obvious it had been abandoned long ago. There used to be a very large generator and other seismic measuring equipment. They picked the building with only 2 windows. They found some old boards, maneuvered the nails out of them and boarded up the two windows to keep the upcoming rain out. They moved all of their gear the 250 yards to the buildings, secured the kayaks next to the shed and hunkered down. It was a lot of work. As soon as all gear was moved, the rain started…a day early. Rain isn’t an issue but the cold weather with the rain, makes a very cold, miserable day. They found two extremely broken run-down brooms to sweep the room. The entire building is made of plywood, not painted. West is using his headlamp to see around the room but otherwise it is very dark. To keep them occupied, they found several magazines and a Financial Journal newspaper. The magazine is “UP HERE”, a flight magazine from Canadian Airlines dated October 18, 2006 and covered the upcoming Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
While stowing their gear, they observed pods of seals and lots of Beluga whales, still fascinating each day they see them. They’ll check in each day for a weather report in order to continue along the north coast of the Borden Peninsula. We’ve been reminded by Parks Canada, who are following the team’s progress, that they are only allowed to camp in the Inuit Owned Lands because the Sirmilik National Park is closed until September 30, 2022. In addition, we have to report any polar bear sightings to the park office in Pond Inlet.
–Barbara Edington
