Pingo Paddle July 31-Aug 4, 2008

Well, it was back to Tuk again. Diane and I flew in on Thursday intending to borrow a canoe from the RCMP community canoeing program and paddle out to the Pingo Canadian Landmark right away. At least, that was the plan. There had been an unseasonably violent storm the day before, however, and the seas were still too rough to launch right away. No matter, we'll just camp on the beach and explore the town the first day and head out tomorrow . . . We set up camp on the beach by the RCMP station and set off. Well, we finished the town tour in about an hour. What else do you do in Tuk on a cold wet day? There isn't even a public washroom or coffee shop. Like everyone else in town, we ended up at the Northern store for a hot chocolate and to use the facilities and wandered around some more.

We met Carmelle, assistant to Sister Fay of the Catholic Church who showed us around the chapel. We also met Martha, an artist from Toronto who wanted to paint the 'true' north. She had been in Dawson last year, but felt there were too many trees there for it to be the real thing. So she came out to try again. There were some local children who showed us the nests they made for robins to use. Never mind that it's already time for robins to be leaving. We also met Maureen who moved from Saskatchewan to teach in Tuk for a season - 30 years ago. We chatted with Laurie at the RCMP office who also came out for work and stayed - 20 years ago. What is the magic of Tuk that it caught people in its spell so they didn't want to leave?

We visited with the RCMP for a bit. The constables told us about a concert being held that night at the arena. So we also took in a country music concert by a band brought in from Manitoba. What are the chances of us landing in Tuk on probably the only day they've had a community concert in the past few years?! The locals were pretty friendly, welcomed us to Tuk and hoped we enjoyed our stay. The town could still use a coffee shop!

We paddled off the beach Friday morning and headed for the pingos, where we spent 2 nights. They are fascinating permafrost landforms only found in a few locations in the world. These ice-cored hills appear out of place on the otherwise flat and treeless tundra.  We camped at the base of Ibyuk, the world's second tallest pingo, at 49m elevation and 300m across at the base. On Saturday we paddled around some of the neighbouring pingos and were dive bombed by outraged gulls. They seemed to take particular exception to Diane in the bow while I laughed at her from the stern. There was no wind on Saturday and the bugs were ferocious. We both retreated into our bug jackets and returned to camp late. There would be no relaxing outside.

When we returned to our campsite we saw that someone had a campfire at the base of the pingo and had left it burning. A campfire had burned out of control at Ibyuk a year ago causing damage and Parks Canada has been monitoring erosion and vegetation recovery at the site. However, our feelings of indignation soon dissipated when we found a jar of cranberry jam left on our stove at camp. What a pleasant surprise - how welcoming! All was forgiven, at least on our part, although I'm sure Parks Canada would not be impressed. Pingos are ecologically and environmentally sensitive. If the overlying vegetation is damaged, the ice is exposed directly to the sun accelerating pingo erosion, melt and collapse.

On Sunday, the winds picked up and we had to fight our way back to town. We didn't return via the coastal route because it was too stormy. Instead, we landed close to town and hitched a ride back with all our stuff leaving the canoes in the bush for pick up later. After checking in with the RCMP, we then attended our itinerant artist friend's art show in her rented apartment. We ran into Carmelle again and were invited to spend the night at the mission house with Carmelle and Sister Fay. We readily agreed since the wind was howling by this time and the rain was torrential. We enjoyed caribou stew and fabulous company. They were delightful hosts. Sister Fay, in particular, has such a diverse background and has seen a lot through her mission work in various communities across the north. She is such a positive and gracious person and so interested in everything around her. What a wonderful way to finish off our Tuk adventure.

The trip wasn't anything like what we thought when we first planned to go camping. It was more of a town trip where we met great people and had an infusion of culture; a concert, an art show and caribou stew. It's amazing what can happen when you leave yourself open to it.