The Return to Nanisivik

At the beginning of 2015, I published two entries about my visit/tour of Nanisivik in August 2014.  (You can reread Part 1 & Part 2 here).  I visited the former town site, deep sea dock, and airport.  If you remember from Part 2 of the mini-series, I promised myself to return to the airport with my skidoo, and drive up & down the 5,000-foot runway.  The perfect time to fulfill that promise came in the middle of April 2015.

            

In August, it is summer; in April, it is winter.  Wanting to see what Nanisivik looked like during winter was the second reason behind my return trip.  Obviously, I envisioned a lot of snow, but I still wanted to see it for myself.  I recruited Stephen to be my second cameraman.  Stephen is the common-law partner of Kaitlynd, Inuujaq School's Student Support Teacher.  He would film me driving on the Nanisivik runway as a spectator.  I would record the driving from my perspective using my newly purchased GoPro Hero 3 camera. 

            

It was a cloudy morning on April 19th.  Stephen & I did our final checks at my place before we headed off on our adventure.  We were both wearing heavy Canada Goose outer clothing.  We were each packing: an extra 5 gallon tank of gas, extra oil, spare drive belt, spark plugs, and bungie cords.  I was also packing: GPS, SPOT Device, my Maverick 88 shotgun, walkie-talkies, first aid kit, digital camera, GoPro camera, snacks, duct tape, and skidoo helmet.  I had the feeling that I would get the urge to drive really fast on the runway, so it was necessary to wear a helmet.

            

Stephen & I decided to take the scenic route.  We would head north, drive across Victor Bay, and follow the coastline on the eastern side.  We would then drive around Graveyard Point and head east until we reached the deep sea dock.  The next portion of the trip would see us driving alongside the main road, past the former town site, all the way to the Nanisivik Airport.  We would complete the loop by driving back to Arctic Bay following the Road to Nanisivik.       

            

Stephen led the way until Graveyard Point.  He had previously travelled this distance on his skidoo so he would know where the best trails were.  This trip would increase the furthest distance my skidoo has travelled outside Arctic Bay.  The drive to Graveyard Point was a little bumpy but scenic.  I didn't find the driving boring (despite the trail being a straight line) and I had already become accustomed to the monotonous drone of my skidoo engine.

            

I took several pictures of Graveyard Point before we completed our loop around the tall jagged mountain.  The arctic sun hung above its peak.  Since it was mid-April, the sun was barely setting.  In another few days, the sun would always be visible. 

            

After finding our exact position on my Garmin GPS, I plotted the next portion of our trip.  I led the way this time, driving across the thick frozen ice, keeping the coastline to my right, and Stephen in my rearview mirrors.  We couldn't see the Nanisivik dock because of fog.  The more I drove, the more I got the feeling that we were heading in the wrong direction.  However, my GPS reassuringly showed me that we were heading in the right direction.  Along the way, we stopped to look at some polar bear tracks leading towards the coast.  Unfortunately - or thankfully, depending on how you look at it - we couldn't spot the polar bear.  I have been residing in the north for 3 years now and I have yet to capture a polar bear on camera.

            

We finally saw the Nanisivik dock facility after driving for what seemed like a long time.  In my Nanisivik Part 2 blog post, there's a picture of me standing on the dock with Graveyard Point clearly in the background.  The weather was the complete opposite in April.  I should have taken the exact picture again because the point would not be visible at all. 

            

A quick recap: the Conservative federal government announced in 2007 that the old Nanisivik dock would be converted into a naval station for the armed forces.  Several years later, the original plans were scrapped and instead a refueling station would be constructed to service Arctic patrol boats.  (Construction on these boats are to begin soon). 

            

The docking area has changed significantly since August 2014.  Back then, shipping containers, large wooden boxes, and white trailers occupied the docking area.  Eight months later, there were less shipping containers, newly built living quarters, a large shed that I believe houses the heaters and power generators, and big drill machines & gravel crushers sitting next to the DND's Interim Site Office.  When Stephen & I drove off the ice, we were not greeted by anyone.  The place was deserted.  The windows & doors of the living quarters were boarded up to prevent break-ins.  The living quarters would house the many workers who would be labouring on the site during the brief summer months. 

            

Stephen spotted an Arctic hare near the gravel crushers but it ran off before I could get my camera out and take a picture. 

            

We drove up to the former Nanisivik town site and Stephen showed me the directions post with the Pembroke sign on it.  It got me thinking about adding a sign of my own.

            

Nanisivik Airport

Old broken pay phone.

Stephen & I arrived at the abandoned Nanisivik Airport at around 12:30pm.  We parked our skidoos in front of the small brown terminal building.  This was Stephen's first time visiting the airport.  Hungry with curiosity, we gained access to the terminal building by removing the snow blocking the front door with our heavy boots.  I encouraged Stephen to take as many pictures as possible.  The terminal was still a mess with pieces of furniture, old electronics, and papers littered all over the floor.  It was like walking onto a post-apocalyptic film set.

            

We exited the terminal building and walked down the long, dark, and eerie land bridge that leads to the beige maintenance garage.  I didn't explore this building in August.  The garage was frozen in time: figuratively & literally.  Two of the four large garage doors had been left open for who knows how long, causing large amounts of snow to be blown inside.  All the ground floor rooms were covered in snow and ice.  Arctic hare tracks were everywhere.

            

A loader and a very large red bulldozer sat inside the maintenance garage.  I'm not sure how old the bulldozer was but it looked like it was from the 1970s or 1980s.  Naturally, both vehicles were covered in snow & ice.  Stephen & I assumed both vehicles were used to clear snow off the runway & tarmac.

            

We explored all the rooms in the garage, curious to see what hidden treasures we could find.  I felt like an alien archeologist who had come from a faraway planet to explore some long lost forgotten civilization.  All the rooms were littered with junk.  It would probably take an entire blog post to list all the items we found.  I'll let my pictures tell most of the story, but just to give you the tip of the iceberg, Stephen & I unconvered: typewriters, VHS cassettes, maintenance manuals, old maps, printers, fax machines, hard hats, wires, and even two large shelving units that contained hundreds of rusted nuts, bolts, and screws.

            

"It looks like everyone was in such a hurry to leave that they forgot to take anything," I remarked to Stephen.

            

"Yes, it looks that way," he agreed.  "Or they just took whatever they could carry and left everything else behind."

            

Rusted nuts, bolts, and screws lie within.

Me standing on the old bulldozer.

We walked back to our skidoos and had a light snack.  We then drove out to the 5,000-foot runway that happened to be covered by a thick layer of soft snow.  I made my skidoo lighter by removing the extra gas can I brought with me and leaving my backpack & shotgun with Stephen.  I gave him one of the walkie-talkies so that we could communicate.  I instructed him to film me from the middle of the runway with my digital camera.  I attached my GoPro to the side of my skidoo helmet and started the skidoo engine.  I explained to Stephen that I would do a test run to see if it was safe to drive.  He wished me good luck.

            

Me sitting in front of the old bulldozer.

I drove to one end of the runway, turned around, and positioned my skidoo where I believed was the centre line.  After taking a deep breath, I squeezed the throttle.  I drove at a moderate speed, creating my own trail.  When I arrived at the other end, I turned around and repositioned.

            

"Okay, I'm driving to the other end now," I said to Stephen over the radio.  "Start filming. Over."

"Okay.  The camera is rolling," he replied.

            

Stephen standing on the old bulldozer.

I squeezed the throttle and my skidoo quickly accelerated.  My speed peaked and stayed at 60 mph / 96.56 kmh until I neared the end of the runway.  My skidoo is capable of travelling much faster but I decided not to push my luck.  It took me nearly two minutes to drive from one end of the runway to the other.

            

"Okay, I'm coming back Stephen.  Film me again. Over."

"Alright, I'm filming."

            

I drove to the other side of the runway at 60 mph.  I sustained no injuries.

            

Stephen sitting on the ice covered loader.

I thanked Stephen for being my second cameraman.  We refueled our skidoos and drove back to Arctic Bay, following the Road to Nanisivik.  There were less snow drifts on the road this time.  We turned off the main road near the First Bridge and continued across the frozen bay until we reached home.  As always, the adventure was a success and I was glad that we could capture it all on camera.  While I was editing the photos and videos, I wondered where else I could go before the end of the school year. 

Second floor of the maintenance garage.