Walking Around Inuvik

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I began my day quite late. I had intended on being up by 9 in the morning, but I set my alarm on my watch for 9. The problem was that it was still on Yukon time, which is Pacific Standard Time, while the Northwest Territories are on Mountain Standard Time. Oops. But that was okay. My plans for the day were nebulous.



I had met some guys at the campground the "night" before. They were from Edmonton and had come up on motorbikes. They were quite nice. But they left early, about 7.



I got up and headed back to the visitor centre to see what I could do for not much money. I was given a couple of ideas. I had already decided to walk around town and look at stuff, such as the igloo church, have a look at some crafts in shops, and that sort of thing.



But the woman in the centre told me I should go and walk the Inuvik portion of the Trans Canada Trail. And I could also have a tour (free) of the community garden. That sounded interesting. That was going to be at 3. I thought that would be perfect timing. I could do that and then leave town and head back towards Dawson City, at least partway.



I headed out and walked over to the igloo church. When I first read about it, I thought it might actually be made of ice, and maybe housed in something to keep it that way. It wasn't. It's just a church that is shaped like an igloo. And it's not very convincing. But it does have the same name as the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.



Then I went into a couple of craft shops, but the prices were a bit high, particularly after the large price of the trip the previous day. And I wasn't sure who had made the stuff, even though it was made in Canada. I would want local stuff so the locals could benefit from the creation of that kind of work.



Then I went to the Boot Lake Trail, Inuvik's portion of the Trans Canada Trail. I thought it was going to be a nice walk. It wasn't. It was a bloodletting. I really wish Canada could exchange it's mosquitoes with Korea's mosquitoes. They don't like me, but Canada's do. A lot. I practically had to run down the trail, and I was still getting chewed to pieces.



But there is an entrance to the trail by the MacKenzie River. There were some locals there. I went to take a quick photo of the river, and they started calling me over and asking me to take photos of them. They were nice. I enjoyed talking to Kevin and Mr. Wilson. I don't really know if those were their names or if they were just having me on a bit. They did give me some leaves to rub all over myself that helped with the mozzies for a few minutes. But not long enough. I hope they didn't think I was rude, but I just had to run off because the mosquitoes were back in force and I was going to die. From blood loss.



I rushed around the back side of the trail, but I just couldn't face the last stretch, so I left it. I left most of the mosquitoes behind after that, with only a few following me, but I could handle that.



I decided to go into the Northmart (which seems to have some association with the Bay), and have some lunch. It wasn't too long before it was time for the greenhouse tour.



I headed over to the structure and waited. A man named Gilles came and gave four of us the tour of the place. About 15 years ago, there was a school that had a hockey arena attached. Then the school was too old and was torn down. Rather than watch the arena be torn down, too, some of the Inuvikians decided to try and see if they could somehow recycle the building. The local soil isn't easy to grow stuff in. It isn't nutrient rich and the ground changes every year depending on how the thaw comes. So they thought to put in garden plots into the arena. The could convert the roof into greenhouse type material, allowing plenty of light in and trapping it as heat. They could bring in soil (even it was poor soil, they could mix in compost to make it better), and give people plots in which to grow some vegetables or flowers. A bunch of people got together and pitched in to make it happen. So did a number of companies with lots of money to enable the conversion. Then a club of sorts was formed. Members had access to the building and a plot of 5 feet by 10 feet in which to grow whatever they wanted. There are also a number of plots that are for charity, a homeless plot, a food bank plot, a plot for the Diabetes society, and so on. There were even two plots that were tourist plots, where visitors could sample the products.



There was, of course, lots of stuff that needed to be done to keep the place running. The charity plots had to be tended, maintenance had to be performed, the compost had to be rotated and tended, water barrels had to be filled, etc. Each member was obligated for 15 hours of “community service” per season. So the whole place functioned, and seemed to function very well.



I thought it was a great project. I was very impressed. I like projects like that that benefit so many people. The most impressive part though was the yield. Their growing season is only about 3 months long, from mid-May or so until sometime in August. Yet because of the constant sunlight for those months and if members watered their plots lots and put on the compost fertilizer, they could get roughly 2 and a half growing seasons worth of yield in that 3 month period. Gilles and his wife had a plot (part of his volunteer service was leading the free tours), and it had been running for only 4 or 5 weeks. But it was huge with the stuff they had. They had potatoes that were almost ready. There was lettuce they were about to harvest. It was absolutely amazing.



After that, I headed out of town. I headed back down the Dempster, mostly not stopping, as I had stopped a lot on the way up. I did stop in one spot that had a nice view over the Peel River valley. However, because of a fire nearby, it was too hazy for a really good view. That was okay. With all the really astounding scenery this trip up here produced, I was not in the least disappointed.



On the way by Fort McPherson, I stopped in for gas. (I think I have to check the air filter in the car. With all the dust on this highway, my gas mileage is falling way down.) I also headed down the street to see the graveyard where The Lost Patrol is buried. About a hundred years ago, a routine RCMP patrol set out from Fort McPherson to patrol the region down to Dawson City. They got lost somewhere along the way and all four died. They were recovered and buried in Fort McPherson's Anglican Church cemetery.



Then it was on down the highway. I had told the man at the Nitainlaii Campground that I would stop and see him when I came back through. I really didn't want to stay the night there. I could have, but I wanted to see another campground, so it was a bit of a relief that, seeing as it was Saturday, the campground office was closed by the time I was going by at about 8 in the evening. I didn't need to feel bad about not stopping because I couldn't have anyway.



I pressed on and was behind a truck for a while. We stopped at a lot of the same spots to be taking photos. He had bombed it on up to Inuvik with a load, but he had nothing on his way back, so he was taking some time to enjoy the trip, taking photos and such. He was quite a nice guy. But he continued on to the mid-point of Eagle Lodge, while I stopped at a campground just past the border between the two territories. The mosquitoes are thick, but the repellent seems to be working now. Even though I hate the oiliness of the DEET, I guess it's the lesser of two evils, so I will put up with it. And I will finish the journey back to Dawson City tomorrow. Then I will finally have the oil changed and have a look around that town.

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Photos

The Igloo Church
This church in Inuvik has the same name as the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, but is in the shape of an igloo.

The MacKenzie River
The east channel of the river runs by Inuvik before reaching the Arctic Ocean.

Locals!
Kevin and Mr. Wilson stopped me in my flight from the mosquito hordes to chat and then to have me take photos of them. They were fun.

Trans Canada Trail
Boot Lake Trail, around Boot Lake (imagine that) in Inuvik is the town's part of the Trans Canada Trail. It was mosquito infested though and not much fun.

The Community Greenhouse
This converted hockey arena has been turned into a community greenhouse where residents get a small plot of dirt that nevertheless yields a lot of produce, 2 and a half seasons worth of growth in southern parts of Canada.

Community Greenhouse
Inside the greenhouse, there are individual plots as well as charity plots and one even tended so visitors can taste what grows there.

The Final Resting Place of the Lost Patrol
Four men set out in the dead of winter on a "routine" patrol to Dawson City. They went without a guide and a storm along with getting lost, claimed them. This cemetery in Fort McPherson is their final resting place.

Stunted Forests
In the far north, trees only have a short growing season and the soil isn't very nourishing. They don't grow very tall or fast. Yet these trees are probably a couple hundred years old, or more.

Rolling hills
The hills and mountains of the border area between the Yukon and the Northwest Territories are beautiful in the endless sun.

Rolling Hills
More of the scenery along the Dempster Highway.

Colour
I was still a bit early for the riot of colour that explodes in late June and early July as the short flowering season gets in full swing. But there was some hints of what was to come.

Into the Lonely Distance
The Dempster flows through the landscape, isolated and lonely as it wends its way back to more populated areas.