Ellesmere Island - Top of the World
Trekking at Latitude 82 ° North in Arctic Canada
Located 1000 kilometers from the geographic North Pole, this extraordinary mountain wilderness provides the setting for our two-week exciting overland traverse from Lake Hazen to Tanquary Fiord. Our trip begins with a Twin Otter flight north from Resolute Bay to Quttinirpaaq National Park. In good weather, the flight is nothing short of breathtaking as we fly over the rugged mountains and expansive glacial systems of Axel Heiberg Island and the spine of Ellesmere. Our aircraft’s destination is a remote tundra airstrip near Lake Hazen, the world’s largest lake north of the Arctic Circle. Famous for its abundance of Arctic char, Lake Hazen has been proposed as an ecological site by the International Biological Programme (IBP) . We will spend a couple of days base camping in the Lake Hazen area. Much of the valley bottom terrain is lushly vegetated, hosting a diversity of over 115 different species of vascular plants. Scattered herds of muskoxen roam and graze on tundra grasslands, while Arctic hare stretch up on their hind legs for a better view as we pass by. Tundra-nesting shorebirds, jaegers and red-throated loons are some of the birdlife to be encountered, and with luck we may stumble across one of the local wolf packs.
"The fact that you're actually working field biologists was a bonus, enabling you to speak with incredible experience and knowledge on all that we encountered"
- Brian Keating - Director of Conservation Outreach,
Calgary Zoo, Alberta
From Lake Hazen, we will hike 120 km to 150 km west either through the Mac Donald Valley or up the Adams River to Air Force Glacier to Tanquary Fiord. Glacial valleys and deep fiords carve the park’s coastline, while several nunataks (peaks protruding through the ice cap) stand over 2,500 meters (8, 250 ft). In the heart of the park, Mount Barbeau, at 2,616 m (8,250 ft) is the highest mountain in east. Along the trekking route the vista which unfolds is outstanding, with great glaciers pouring into the pass straight off the neighbouring icecaps.
While on the trek, we may see signs of peoples who came before us, signs that are still clearly evident even though some are up to 4,000 years old. A stone fox trap, a tent ring, and scattered remains from earlier polar explorations all speak of the adventurous spirit of those who first came to this solitude at the top of the world.
Upon arrival at Tanquary Fiord, you arrive to some outstanding fjord country, where you maybe able to locate marine wildlife such as walrus and bearded seals. The drama of the rugged High Arctic mountain landscape accented by the rich colours exposed over the terrain, offers testimony to the powerful forces of untold millennia of glacial erosion. Meadowland filled with arctic poppies contrasts vividly against the world of barren ice, and will leave you awe struck and inspired to photograph, observe, and explore the ‘land which never melts’.
Highlights
- Overland backpacking traversefrom Lake Hazen to Tanquary Fiord less than 1000 kilometers from the geographic North Pole.
- Quttinirpaaq is an exceptional testimony to the earliest and successful human occupations of the Canadian Eastern High Arctic by the early Palaeo-Eskimo
- Quttinirpaaq has exceptional natural scenic beauty and superlative natural phenomena with mountains, polar desert and a thermal oasis
- Geological processes connected with high latitude glaciation represent outstanding examples of major stages of earth's history
- Scenery of lofty mountain ranges, deep fiords, jutting headlands, calving tidewater glaciers and icebergs.
- Quittinirpaaq contains a diversity of species with possible sightings of Muskoxen, the endangered Peary caribou, arctic hare, arctic wolves and marine mammals.
- Bird life includes Arctic terns, ringed plovers, ruddy turnstones and rock ptarmigan.
- Dramatic arctic light for photography.
- Extraordinary silence and solitude.
- Exceptionally remote.
- Rich archaeology; hike to 4000 year old cultural sites.
Trip Details
- 15-day trip begins and finishes in Resolute Bay.
- Trip includes charter plane flight from Resolute to Ellesmere Island, and return.
- Meals and tents 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 Iqaluit from Ottawa with First Air. Overnight Iqaluit.
Day 2: The group flies north to Resolute Bay from Iqaluit with First Air. Weather, pilot hours and aircraft permitting, you will board a chartered Twin Otter for a four hour flight to our drop-off site Lake Hazen on Ellesmere Island. We will refuel at the Eureka weather station en route located at Latitude 80° N. Upon arrival, we will have an orientation and set up camp.
Days 3-13: We will spend a couple of nights exploring the Lake Hazen area before setting off west with our loaded backpacks. The guides will decide which route the group will take to Tanquary Fiord with their decision dedicated by the weather and the group condition. Our expedition is over uneven terrain, crosses rivers, and requires everyone carry a substantial backpack. The scenery on this trip changes daily, with almost each day becoming more beautiful then the last. 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 14: The group will be picked up by Twin Otter and flown back to Resolute Bay (flight time is dictated by weather). Upon arrival in Resolute, you will be transferred to the South Camp Inn.
Day 15: The day is free to explore the environs of Resolute Bay before catching our flights southward.
