50 miles to Shingle Point and “Chez Larry”

MONDAY 16/4:  It’s snowing and blowing when we get up at 7:00am. We have quite a distance to cover today, so we pack the tents and gear, and have breakfast (cereal & fried zucchini bread) before organizing the snowmobiles and dogs. Because of the wind and fresh snow, we are putting jackets on the dogs and booties on their feet. The jackets give them some protection from the wind, particularly when it’s blowing from behind, and the booties protect their feet from the snow that will otherwise collect in their pads and freeze, causing significant injuries.

It's a very long process with 28 dogs – that’s 112 feet to be fitted - and so it’s midday before we head off, going inland, rather than around the coast. The terrain looks very tricky, and I’m quite comfortable to be on the snowmobile again rather than the sled! Both Bob and David come off at various times as the dogs work hard through the soft snow. We traverse rivers and lakes and I enjoy the wonderfully rugged beauty around us.

We have a number of stops to give the dogs snacks and a rest. Our lunches are eaten on the run: a combination of water and hot soup, personal snack packs of nuts and delicious dehydrated fresh fruit slices, frozen smoked salmon, beef jerky or salami slices which are best kept in our boot liners so they thaw as we travel.

After lunch I’m back on the sled with 10 dogs. Generally they’re very good-natured and well-socialised. But they have their moments when we stop, and Martha and I have to break up a nasty fight between Danger and Puma. Puma had been “niggling” Danger for quite some time, and finally Danger had had enough! He pinned Puma down on the ground by his ear, causing a nasty cut. So we separate the dogs and move them around so they are not near each other.

Meanwhile, sweet Lyla is having a difficult time coping with the conditions, and so she is put into a duffle bag, and then tied into my sled. Each time we stop, she looks out at me quietly. And of course, she receives lots of pats on the head and behind the ears. So it isn’t too bad a ride for her, although clearly not what a sled dog prefers – she’ll be fine after a rest day!

The sun is trying to come through, but doesn’t quite manage it, and we head back to the coast where the snow is harder and the going easier. Near Shingle Point, a peninsula juts out to our left, and there are tee-pee structures dotted along it, interspersed with cabins. The cabins are used by the First Nations People in the summer and winter, and the tee-pees are smoking and drying houses.

I’m now driving the snowmobile so that Rod can take photos and Martha can sled. “Faster, faster” says Rod as I drive like a maniac to pass the dog sleds, then stop while Rod takes photos, then fly passed them again. It’s great fun, particularly towing a huge toboggan. We arrive at a frozen lake below a hill; the cabin at the top of the hill is Larry’s. He has built this from logs which have drifted onto the coast and has sited it with magnificent views across the bay and the Beaufort Sea. Larry is a great host, and is happy for us to have our meals in his cabin.

Bed-time is around midnight, and this is the first and only time that I use a lamp to read. I layer face cream onto my face and hands to protect against the low humidity, strong wind and sun, and take note of David’s warning to not look in a mirror during the week – I’m sure he meant it in the nicest possible way when he said to me “I really wouldn’t look in a mirror”!

TUESDAY 17/4:  We sleep in until 9:00 and have brunch around 11:30 – hash browns and fried banana bread – yum!

This is a rest day, and after good morning cuddles with the dogs, Steve and I take a snowmobile across the bay to Jonas’ cabin. Jonas is a friend of Larry’s and he, his wife Thelma and son Kyle, came to see us yesterday. Jonas’ cabin is warm and cozy, and Thelma serves us tea, Nanaimo bars (Canadian equivalent to hedgehogs with cream), caribou soup and freshly made donuts deep fried in lard. It’s hard to believe that I lost weight on this trip, but I did!

Jonas is a proud hunter, and shows us the skin from a wolverine he shot a few days earlier. Wolverine skin is very valuable because it doesn’t hold snow, so he’ll give the skin to his mother to use in clothing for the family. We spend the afternoon learning about hunting and fishing: polar bear, grizzlies, caribou, wolverine and fox, and fish netted in the sea just off the coast. Although many of the traditions of the First Nations People are no longer followed in this area, hunting is still a major activity. During the summer, people from Aklavik come to Shingle Point. There are parties and activities for the children, and from the flyers that Thelma showed us, it seems to take on quite a carnival-like atmosphere.

In the evening, we go back to Larry’s cabin where we meet 2 Mounties (RCMP) from Aklavik, and a National Parks ranger. They are going to Herschel Island to do some maintenance, and have dropped by to meet us. Disappointingly, they are on snowmobiles rather than dogsleds, shattering my romantic memories of Sergeant Preston and his dog, King. But then in many ways, I’m living that right now!