Sleeping with Rhinos by Robin Karpan

Author:Robin Karpan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, travel, world, world-wide, wildlife, wild places, photography, international, nature, robin karpan, arlene karpan, parkland publishing, saskatoon, canada, outdoors
Publisher: Parkland Publishing
Published: 2014-02-06T05:00:00+00:00

Sand at varying depths forms the riverbed of the William.

The William River seen from the air. The varying depths of sand on the riverbed give the look of butterscotch pudding marbled with whipped cream.

The exhumed forest of Thomson Bay is bathed in a red glow as the sun sets over Lake Athabasca.

Cool Digs

Igloo Homestay on the Arctic Tundra

Building an igloo.

Quick, name the centre of Canada. No, it’s not Toronto, Ottawa, or even Winnipeg. The closest community to the geographic centre of the country is Baker Lake, Nunavut, about 1,600 kilometres north of Winnipeg, and a bit south of the Arctic Circle. Walk down the streets of this town of fewer than 2,000, and chances are that most conversations you’ll hear are in neither of Canada’s official languages.

It’s mid-April. At our home in Saskatoon, everyone is enjoying the warm spring weather. Well…almost everyone. With down-filled coats, boots, and other winter gear in hand, we’re off to the airport, catching a series of flights to Baker Lake where winter is still in full swing. We’ve been invited to take part in a practice run for a new tourism venture, where visitors would experience life in a traditional Inuit winter camp, living in igloos on the Arctic tundra. We’ll be the guinea pigs. How can we resist?

Next day, we’re in a completely different world. Gliding across the endless expanse of treeless tundra, our sled barely makes a sound except for small thumps as its runners cross low solid snowdrifts. The dogs, spread out ahead in a fan hitch, run at a steady pace until suddenly they sniff something in the distance. It's the familiar scent of caribou somewhere in the hills. Instinctively, they veer to the left and pick up speed. With no reins to control the dogs, the driver Samson relies on voice commands to steer. “Whoosh-ka, whoosh-ka” he calls out in a loud whisper, and the dogs understand they are to turn right and remain on course.

We are part of a caravan of dog sleds and snowmobiles heading south from Baker Lake, a 50-kilometre journey to the frozen shores of Pitz Lake where we will spend nearly a week living in an igloo. After a three-hour trip bouncing across the snow and ice we arrive at our new home – a large three-room igloo. We have to crouch to walk through the two-metre-long entranceway that opens up to a spacious living area. Connected by archways just high enough to crawl through, are two bedrooms, each with snow platforms for beds. We prepare these by laying down a canvas tarp on the snow, followed by layers of muskox and caribou hides, and finally down-filled sleeping bags.

We need three more igloos to accommodate everybody, so work begins almost immediately. Paul Attutuvaa noses around the camp, probing the snow here and there with his long knife to find the right type of snow. A younger member of the group, David Akaswnee, acts as interpreter for the older Inuit who speak only Inuktitut, and tries to explain what’s happening.

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