Road to Nanisivik. |
On Saturday, August 10, I decided to take a break
from preparing for the first day of school by hiking up King George V Mountain
(KGVM). Again. The first time was back in May when there was
still plenty of snow on the ground (click to read Part 1 & Part 2). There were several reasons behind my decision
to climb the mountain before the start of the academic year. First, I assumed that with a full load of 4
classes to teach, I would barely have any time to do the hike during the school
year. Secondly, I wanted to show
everyone down south what the Arctic landscape looks like without the presence
of snow. And with that in mind, my third
reason was to complete the hike before the weather started to get cold.
I
left my residence at 10am, carrying a backpack that included sunscreen, gloves,
hat, digital camera, several apples, and candy.
The sun was out and the sky was blue.
There weren't that many people outside and the town was mostly
quiet. I was greeted by several people
as I passed the Northern Store, school, and power station. To get to King George, I followed the road to
Nanisivik, passing through the town's industrial area that is locally known as
the 'Gas Station'. Here residents fill
up their vehicles, ATVs, and skidoos from one of the four large oil tanks. The Gas Station is located less than a
kilometre from the town proper and is also home to Arctic Bay's heavy utility
vehicles.
After
passing the Gas Station, the imposing mountain that King George is came into
full view. "Guess who's back?"
I asked out loud. I took several
pictures of the surrounding area as I walked along the main road. There was a lot of green flora on the ground,
most likely fed by all the melted snow and runoff water from the mountain. The pyramid-looking mountain across from KGVM
reflected clearly off the blue water in the bay.
I
moved over to the right at the sound of an approaching truck. The truck stopped next to me, revealing the
driver to be the town's mayor. After
explaining my reason for being out past the Gas Station, Frank wished me good
luck in climbing King George, and continued driving. His truck left a lingering trail of dust in
the air. I turned off the main road and
walked towards the secluded landfill.
Naturally, the mounds of garbage were being picked apart by loud seagulls
and ravens.
My
previous climb had taught me that unless I had climbing equipment, it was best
to ascend the mountain from the sides. I
decided to head over to where the skidoo trail would be during the winter,
between KGVM and a smaller mountain with a bright red crown. The crevasse between these two mountains was
also covered with grass and small plants.
There was also a stream of clean water.
All the water had made the ground in this area very soft, forming around
my hiking boots with every step. About
halfway up, I stopped at a nearby rock for a short break and to eat an
apple. Behind me was a clear view of
Victor Bay.
"Marble Cake Mountains" |
Upon
reaching the base of the mountain with the red crown, the ground had turned
into an endless collection of rocks.
Many were loose but many were also half buried in the ground. I treaded carefully, judging every step. There were still scattered patches of grass,
but up here, the rocks dominate the landscape.
After some time, I made it to the slope I slid down back in May. Back then, it was covered with a smooth layer
of snow, but on this day it was nothing but rocks. After photographing some very large rocks, I
proceeded up a grass covered incline to my left, the same one I ventured up
some three months ago. The view at the
top was different than my first ascent.
The mountains to the north were a mixture of many colours: yellow, red,
brown, beige, green, and white. For some
reason, the colours made me think of marble cake.
I
walked over to the familiar odd looking red rock formation with the strange
white top and found a way to climb up to a protruding ledge. From here I closely photographed the white
top before sitting down to enjoy the views of Arctic Bay & Victor Bay. A commercial plane, most likely coming from
Europe, soared high above me, its two engines emitting a long contrail. After several minutes, I continued my hike
towards King George.
Mountains next to Victor Bay. |
The views from where the Inukshuk stands are breathtaking. |
As
mentioned in my previous posts, the summit of King George V is a plateau
covered with beige rocks. And I mean a
lot of rocks. The way the rocks lay on
the ground made me think of the landfill down below. Standing next to a large, tall, and circular
inukshuk of beige rocks, I filmed a 360 panoramic view of the summit and
photographed the Greater Arctic Bay Area down below. I then walked down to a smaller inukshuk that
stood on a protruding red ledge and sat down next to it. I ate some candy as a way of celebrating my
climb to the top and observed the area through my binoculars. The water in the bay and beyond was smooth
and reflective, like a brand-new mirror.
Arctic Bay |
Arctic Bay Airport. |
I
headed over to the left side of King George and photographed the airport. The gravel runway could clearly be seen. Further to my left, I photographed the area
that Inuujaq School used for its spring camp back in May. With enough pictures of the summit and the
surrounding area, I decided to try something new by making my descent towards
the airport. I wanted to test the level
of difficulty.
The mound of jagged rocks. |
The
first part of the descent had me walking through a line of red rocks that
stretched for several kilometres to my left.
This proved to be the easy part.
The real challenge began after I cleared the line. Rather than aim for the airport terminal
building, I chose to descend along the side of King George. Doing so led me to a large mound of jagged
rocks. Stepping on a few convinced me
that the majority of them were loose.
Taking my time, I slowly descended down the mound, one step at a
time. I was glad I was wearing my hiking
boots. After clearing the rocks, patches
of green foliage appeared. I hopped from
one to the other and made it safely down to the main road. A group of dogs, obviously part of a dog
team, eyed me curiously as I began my walk back to Arctic Bay.
I
took several more photographs of the town, trying to capture its reflection in
the bay. I walked by two more dog teams before
taking one last photo of KGVM. A few
minutes after passing the gas station, the sound of a truck instinctively made
me move over to the right. The truck
slowed down and stopped next to me. It
was Frank. "Would you like a ride
into town?"
"Sure,"
I replied. "Just drop me off at the
Co-op. I have to do some shopping."
My excursion to King George had taken me just
six hours to complete.
King George V Mountain. Elevation: 492 metres (1,620 feet). Source: Google Earth |
Hi Adrian,
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher from Ontario and have been following your blog for some time now. I see that a job has been posted in Arctic Bay. I was hoping I would be able to ask you some questions?
Thanks,
-Chris