Spring Camp 2018

           

Warning: this post may contain pictures that some viewers may find graphic.

Inuujaq School’s annual Spring Camp occurred during the last week of May.  I barely had time to unpack, shower, rest, and launder my clothes after Operation Spring Fix 18.  As soon I came off the land, I was right back out.  The situation reminded me of that scene in The Godfather Part III: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”  I’m not complaining.  I like being out on the land. 

            

The first day of camp was Monday, May 28.  I left my formal attire at home and wore more casual clothing.  A shirt, tie, and dress pants would be very uncomfortable out on the land.  High school students & teachers were heading out on the first day to set the camp site.  They carried the food supplies down to the shoreline where the convoy of skidoos & qamutiks were waiting.  Once all the necessary supplies were packed into the qamutiks, everyone found seats on the qamutiks and skidoos.  Numerous skidoo engines roared to life and the convoy was moving towards the south.

            

I followed the convoy at a slow pace.  I could have easily overtaken everyone because I wasn’t pulling a sled, but I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I let the elders lead the way.  We ended up at last year’s camping site.  I parked my skidoo closer to the shoreline.  The qamutiks were also brought up to the shoreline to make it easier unloading supplies.  Three tents had already been set up the day before.  The students immediately went to work setting up the remaining tents.  The camp was fully operational after an hour of hard work.

           

I explored our surroundings and took pictures of the camp.  There were ten tents in total.  The weather was overcast and a little gloomy.    

            

The highlight of the day was the evening seal hunt.  The elders took the high school boys several kilometres out into Adam’s Sound to look for seals.  We drove in crisscrossing patterns, scanning the flat ice for holes.  The elders stopped several times and poked the ice with long sticks, testing the thickness.  If the sticks easily went through the ice, there may be a seal hole underneath.

            

Six hunters, one skidoo.

We did find plenty of breathing holes and left the high school students standing over them with niksiks & harpoons.  The skidoos drove around the perimeter, trying to convince any seals under the ice that their human predators were gone, and it was safe to surface for air.  Unfortunately, our efforts did not work . . . for a while.  In the distance, I saw an elder’s hand waving to everyone to come over.  Everyone was picked up and brought over to the breathing hole next to the excited elder.  Several high school students helped him pull out a seal he managed to harpoon.  The breathing hole was covered in blood.  The seal was tied to a qamutik and brought back to the camp.

               

The seal was skinned and the meat was consumed.  The fur was left out on the ice the next day to dry out while the intestines lay in a separate pile, waiting to be consumed by hungry birds.  Breakfast for us humans consisted of scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon.

A convoy of eight skidoos & qamutiks left for Arctic Bay, tasked with picking up & bringing back the middle school students and teachers.  Several high school students went as well.   Senior students were only required to stay overnight and Tuesday morning.  Of course, some students were granted permission to stay at the camp to assist the elders. 

            

Middle school arrived at 9:30am.  They all looked very excited to be outside.  Many greetings were exchanged.  The elders had prepared snacks for everyone: hot dogs, soup, and bannock.

            

Snack Time.

The middle school students & teachers were taken out seal hunting soon after the snacks were consumed.  I joined in again, hoping to see another successful catch.  We did go back to the holes that were found on Monday but we didn’t stay long.  The elders wanted to explore new areas. 

We proceeded to drive deep into Adam’s Sound.  The convoy spread out in a line formation, driving at a steady speed.  I drove near the middle of the line.  The scene reminded me of the 2015 film, Mad Max: Fury Road.  I wish I had a GoPro camera strapped to my head to record the impressive sight.  We drove over two cracks forming in the ice.  They weren’t wide enough to be of concern.  The driving continued for some time.  We even passed Qajuutinnguat, a small isolated fishing area, 33km to the southeast of Arctic Bay.  I quickly broke off from the convoy and drove to the place to mark it on my GPS.  The last time I was here was in May 2015 with the cadets.

A Polaris skidoo driven by a high school
student.  Yes, it works.

We stopped a few times and examined a few seal holes but we didn’t catch anything.  The convoy turned around and headed back towards the camp site.  I was glad that I refueled my skidoo and 3-gallon gas tank the day before.  I stayed with the convoy for another two hours, looking for seal holes & revisiting the old ones.  We followed the same routines as the day before, dropping off students at certain holes and leaving them with a harpoon.  They would be picked up after some time and then transported to another location.  By the time I left, the catch was still at zero.  Maybe their luck turned after I returned to Arctic Bay in the late afternoon.

Overall, this year’s spring camp was good.  I did much more driving than the previous years and actually saw a seal being caught.  And the weather was better & brighter on Tuesday.  Perhaps I’ll catch a seal all by myself next year.