Kayaking the Fjords of Ellesmere Island
Hike and Sea Kayak in Arctic Canada at 79° North
Join us in the Arctic fjordland of Kane Basin on Canada's northeastern Ellesmere Island, at Latitude 79° North. This is a remote rugged coastline-breathtaking fjords, intriguing islands and a wildlife oasis where silence is broken by melt water dripping from stranded, dream-like icebergs. It is a place where 24-hour sunlight hits ancient ice, high peaks and headlands plunge into tidewater and hanging glaciers, and hoards of walrus snore on ice islands. This is home to Narwhal, the fabled unicorn of the sea, and to seals, polar bears, Arctic fox and Arctic hares.
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"Every aspect of the trip more than exceeded our expectations from the unseen back room organization that went in to make the trip so effortless, the expertise and knowledge of Scott and Bob in making sure that our safety was paramount, their combined knowledge an enthusiasm about the area and its history, the amount of wildlife that we saw, the way in which care was taken to not disturb the animals in their natural surrounding, the spectacular scenery and even making an airstrip so that we could leave."
- Jane and Alan Glover
Ellesmere Island is one of the world's most pristine wilderness areas. In this dramatic fjordland we retrace the footsteps of the earliest Polar explorers, and in our kayaks we travel as the ancestral Inuit might have done. Our expeditions pass by numerous and hauntingly "alive" habitation and hunting sites of prehistoric peoples. Strewn along this coast are ancient winter house excavations, tent rings, kayak stands and stone fox traps - ruins of the Thule culture, people who lived along these shores a thousand years ago.
Twenty-four-hour sunlight accents the photographic potential with the magical back lighting of delicate woolly flowers or the glistening spray plumes of walrus and Narwhal blowing in the fjords during the wee hours of dawn. During the past 20 years we have nearly a hundred kayak expeditions on Ellesmere Island, and we remain convinced that this trip is the ultimate adventure for sea kayakers and Arctic aficionados alike.
Highlights
- Expeditions follow the footsteps of polar explorers Otto Sverdrup and Adolphus Greeley.
- A polar desert with dry, mild summers.
- Exceptionally remote and pristine.
- Scenery of deep fjords, jutting headlands, calving tidewater glaciers and icebergs. Glacial valleys and tundra of sedges, willows and Arctic poppies.
- Dramatic arctic light for photography.
- Extraordinary silence and solitude.
Trip Details
- 15-day trip begins and finishes in Resolute Bay, Nunavut.
- Trip includes charter plane flight from Resolute to Kane Basin, and return.
- Meals, kayaks, tents, satellite phone and HF radio are included.
Itinerary-in-Brief
More information about this trip is available in our in-depth Trip Information Package. Please contact our office to receive these detailed materials.
Day 1: The group flies north to Resolute Bay from Ottawa with First Air. Upon arrival in Resolute, you will be transferred to South Camp Inn. You will be free to explore around Resolute Bay.
Day 2: You will board a chartered Twin Otter for a three hour flight to our drop-off site in Kane Basin. After a trip orientation meeting, you and your group will pack your kayaks and get ready to head into the fjord country.
Days 3-12: Ice conditions permitting, we will kayak from our drop-off site along to another approximately 130 kilometres (80 miles) away. Our direction of travel each day will be governed by such factors as wind, ice and tides, but some of the things we hope to see include the fantastic Thule winter village sites on Skraeling Island, as well as walrus hauled-out on ice pans. We'll paddle amongst a myriad of picturesque icebergs and then pull ashore to explore inland for muskoxen and Arctic hare. Throughout the course of the trip your guides will provide informal commentary on the flora, geology, birdlife and geographical features of the High Arctic.
Day 13: On this last day of our kayak travels we will pull ashore at a final camp site near the tundra airstrip that will be used for our air charter pick-up.
Days 14-15: The group will be picked up by Twin Otter and flown back to Resolute Bay; overnight at the South Camp Inn. The next day the group will be transferred to the Resolute airport in time for First Air's scheduled flight south to Ottawa.
Inclusive Services
- the services of two fully qualified expedition guides.
- all group equipment including kayaks, paddles, tents; we provide all special group equipment as well as a full ‘cruiser’ suit for each person. A cruiser suit is a nylon flotation suit with closed cell insulation designed to act as a life preserver and prolong life in cold water immersion situations; it is however, quite comfortable, well-ventilated, and nearly waterproof, and many people on these trips even wear them while lounging around ashore.
- air charter transportation between Resolute Bay and Ellesmere Island.
- all meals listed in the itinerary as B/L/D.
Non-Inclusive Services
- transportation between Resolute Bay and your home for Resolute exit price
- any meals and accommodation in Resolute Bay.
- personal belongings and gear as per ‘Clothing and Equipment List’.
- trip cancellation insurance.
- any extra expenses incurred because of delayed departures of chartered or scheduled aircraft. Also, any extra expenses incurred because of delays imposed by conditions at hand on the expedition (ice, wind, etc.) .
- any costs associated with an emergency evacuation from the trip.
- gratuities for guides
