To the Canadian High Arctic We Shall Go

Cold! Yes, it will be cold in the High Arctic. But we don't mind. A chance to scratch the "Ice Itch" that has been plaguing us since our first polar voyage in 2007 is worth it!

The specific itinerary we booked with Quark Expeditions, our go-to operator for polar adventures, is called “In the Footsteps of Franklin” — a reference to the fateful and fatal British expedition that set off to explore the Northwest Passage in 1845. A little more than two months into the voyage, after being spotted in Baffin Bay one last time, the two ships simply disappeared. Until, that is, the wreck of HMS Erebus was found in 2014 and that of HMS Terror was found in 2016. Even yet, the mystery of the disappearance remains a tantalizing chapter in polar exploration history.

No worries … we do not intend to disappear as that expedition did.

For one thing, we have modern technology to guide us. More importantly, though, we don't have our egos invested … nothing to prove to anyone. We’re not motivated by glory-seeking. We only want a “ light adventure” in one of our favorite places in the world … the icy Arctic. We know when it’s time to bow out. And even if we don’t, Quark knows when to draw the line between adventure and safety. They will not push the boundaries as I’m sure Sir John Franklin did in his quest to be the first to make it through the famed Northwest Passage. When Arctic conditions say it is time to stop, we will heed the warnings and call a halt … reverse course if necessary. Bottom line, we will respect the “unconquerable Arctic." Respect … the ultimate essence of exploration.

The voyage is roundtrip out of Toronto, with pre- and post-hotel stays included. We’ll be flown up to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland by charter flight and transferred to our ship via zodiac. We’re pretty familiar with this routine as the process was similar for the Greenland expedition we did in 2013 … although our base of operations then was Ottawa instead of Toronto.

Once we sail from Kangerlussuaq, the itinerary will be flexible. After all, we’ll be at the mercy of polar weather and sea conditions … in true expedition style.

The "hoped-for" itinerary has us heading slightly south along the Greenland coast with two stops there … one new-to-us spot and the other in Nuuk, which we stopped to explore in 2013. Nuuk is the capital of Greenland and its largest city, so I am sure we’ll find more things to see and do other than visiting the mummies of Qilakitsoq as we did the first time around.

Next, we’ll cross the Davis Strait and begin exploring Baffin Island from south to north. Up into the Canadian High Arctic we will go. Our final stop will be Resolute. I’ve heard say — or maybe I read it somewhere — that Resolute is not the end of the world, but that you can see it from there. That says something about high up we will be. An exciting prospect even if we have already been all the way to the North Pole.

A charter flight from Resolute will return us to Toronto where we will bid our fellow expeditioners adieu. What we will do next is TBD.Read more