Great Bear Lake

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Calculating Weight vs. Mileage

Sarah Smith — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:17:06 -0400

It’s the Big Question: How much gas do we need? Too much gas is definitely better than to little gas—to a point. If you carry way too much, you will stress your machine and you are more likely to run into mechanical problems. Good jerry cans are key, or you may have to deal with spillages and leaks, which will definitely knock back the miles you travel. At the end of the day you will have to narrow it down as much as possible until you have to make an educated guess.

The main reason I was successful at bringing the right amount of gas was because I did not just ask the Big Question to myself—I asked everybody I met who had traveled part of the route. How much gas did you bring? If there is a precise equation to figure this out, I don’t know it. Besides, I doubt it would be very accurate. There are just too many variables that affect your gas mileage.

Here are some things to mull over before you have an answer to the Big Question.

• Call the manufacturer to get the exact gas mileage of your machine.

• Is your machine new? New machines burn more gas.

• How much weight are you towing? The more weight you pull, the more fuel you burn.

• What king of country are you travelling through? The flatter the country you are traveling, the less gas you’ll burn.

• Are you using a two stroke or a four stroke?

• How tough will this area be to navigate? Will you travel off your route for a length of time or have to choose a longer route if you find your initial one is unsafe?

• How fast are you planning on going? The slower you go, the less gas you burn.

• Ask people who have traveled your route or parts of it about their experience with mileage—how much weight they had, how fast they drove, how much gas they burned.

• Bring some communication equipment in case you run out. You never know what may happen, you could loose your toboggan or travel the wrong way a couple of times.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: A Culture of Generosity

Sarah Smith — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:51:57 -0400

No matter where we went in the North, we experienced amazing generosity from people. In Tulita, a man named Brian let us stay in his heated trailer when we were getting things organized at the beginning of the trip. Tyler helped us drill out our rail and install ice-scratchers. The job took a lot of his time and all we could do was get him to take a couple gallons of gas in return. Ron followed our progress on our SPOT Messenger to help make sure we were safe. Leeroy in Deline helped us learn how to troubleshoot problems with our machines and showed us a couple great tricks on how to get our machines unstuck. He also fed us and talked about our route.

Isaac and Gerry helped us choose a safer route from Kugluktuk to Ulukhaktok. In Kugluktuk, Allen offered to put us up for the night, and had previously emailed me his waypoints for the route from Great Bear to Kugluktuk. Allens' son John invited us into his home for coffee and we traded stories. Larry drove us around town and was, in general, a good guy. Berry at the Enokhok Inn let us use his heated garage and power tools to fix our toboggans.

Of course Pat and Gene in Ulukhaktok were amazing, too. They fed us and let us stay at their place for a good night’s sleep. Gerry was the one who gave us some of the caribou he killed on Great Bear. The meat was very tender and delicious. (One great thing about winter travel, you never have to worry about your meat going bad, it’s always frozen solid.)

We would not have been able to do the trip if I hadn’t spoken with these people. Most of them have done part of the route before and shared their knowledge of it with me. I picked up many tips on ways to travel, fish, and camp more successfully. It re-enforced the notion that it’s important to learn from people more experienced than you when planning an expedition like this. Even if you can’t find someone who has done your whole trip, ask them about the part they know. Or, if they tried and were not successful, ask how they would do it differently next time and listen to their suggestions.

There is no doubt that life in the North is tougher. It’s pitch black for three months of the year, it’s often 50-below with howling winds. A jug of Tide detergent costs $50, a jug of chocolate milk $15, and a can of pop can be as much as $4.50. Hunting and fishing for food becomes far more important with prices like that. I think people in the North know it will be easier for everyone if they help each other out. I hope I brought a little of that hospitality home with me.

Jim Baird's Arctic Adventure: Keeping an Eye on Your Buddy

Sarah Smith — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:18:02 -0400

We were making good time over the hard-packed drifts on Great Bear lake . I had to focus all my attention on the drifts I was hitting; I got air on a few of them. Meanwhile, Ted’s toboggan lashing had broken and needed to be retied so he stopped. He watched me ride into the distance and disappear. We got split up another time on the trip, too: Ted said he was going to drive over land. I said I was going to follow the coast. We both took off thinking the other one was following. It was pretty scary. With the muffling effects of the helmet, combined with the noise of the machine, and howling winds, it’s tough to hear a word anyone says. There are a few key things you can do to avoid getting split up and steps to insure that you will reunite if you do.

Plan. Part of the stress of being separated is wondering what the other person would do. Are they going to the finishing point? Would they have gone back to last night’s camp? Are they driving around aimlessly looking for me? If you start out with a solid plan your worries become far less.

Communicate. I didn’t carry walk-e-talkies on this trip, but I will on the next one. This can be all it takes to very easily find each other especially if you both have a GPS device. Yell. No one can hear you over the noise of the machine, you have turn the machines off or scream.

Signal. Go over some hand signals. You don’t have to learn sign language or signal like a baseball coach—just a few basic signals like a water skier uses will go a very long way and will be easier on your voicebox.

Follow the route. Before you start the trip make sure you’re both on the same page. If you do get separated you should be able to follow your trail back to the point where you split up and then begin following your buddies trail until you find him. If both of you are doing this you will be reunited faster.

Know the destination. Whether you have walk-e-talkies or not, both people should know where the final destination for that day is. It would also help if you have a rendezvous spot picked out half way to meet at incase you get separated. Make sure you both know where to meet if you get separated.

Turn around. As you travel, look over your shoulder every few minutes. You have to stand up and rotate your body to see behind you, which is kind of annoying, but it’s an important safety measure. If your buddy is far behind wait up a bit. Everyone will be safer if you stay closer together.

Navigate. Carry a GPS, map, and compass in both machines. This way if you get separated, you’ll both have the means to navigate confidently.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Keep Your Mental Focus

Sarah Smith — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:01:57 -0400

We never realized how abrasive the snow could be. Once we got to Kugluktuk, we realized that the runners on our toboggans were worn down to the thickness of a dime and that many of the countersunk screws holding the runners down had fallen out. There’s no way we could have made it to our finishing point in Ulukhatktok, which was over 300 miles away. Luckily we found some runners at the local hardware store. They were not cheap!

In these Arctic communities, if you can even find what you are looking for, you will have to pay big bucks for it. Barry, at the cozy three-bedroom Enokhok Inn, let us use his power tools and heated garage to fix up our toboggans. The job of replacing the runners was taking forever, and we were in a rush. We worked 18 hours straight with no food one day and almost as long the next day. I think I was numb when we shot this video.

Keeping your mental focus is tough in situations like this, but don’t throw in the towel. Just try to focus on what you are doing and don’t think of the time stresses you are dealing with. In the far North, time does not dictate your travel—the weather and your safety do. Just accept that if you want to be safe.

Jim Baird's Arctic Adventure: How to Pack a Sled

Online Editors — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:19:29 -0400

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that packing your toboggan properly is possibly the most important part of a snowmobile expedition. If you don’t do it properly you can run into some big trouble. Your toboggan takes a serious pounding if you’re going at a good speed over uneven ground for any length of time. Your gear will smash. Things will break. Gas will leek. Things will fly out of your toboggan when you’re not looking. It is an art to learn how to pack your sled and lash it down properly. Here’s what Ted and I learned about what to do and what not to do when it comes to packing toboggans on this expedition.

1. Pack your gear into large bags (hockey bags work great) or plastic boxes, but don’t throw stuff in, pack it so everything fits tightly—right down to putting your coffee in a zip lock, instead of leaving it in the can.

2. When you load your toboggan, try to put an equal weight on either side like you do when balancing a boat. This will make your runners wear evenly and your toboggan will be much less likely to flip.

3. Put your gas at the back of the toboggan, and wrap it in another tarp to keep gas off of all your stuff. Jerry cans are obviously a very important thing on a trip like this. We used very durable ones that packed perfectly into our toboggan so we saved a lot of space and were able to tie them down well.

4. Keep lighter things in the front, the front takes the hardest pounding so breakable things like camera gear do better in the middle or back.

5. Be sure your toboggan has ample things to tie down to. The rails in our toboggans did not go all the way to the front. We drilled holes in the gunwales and ran rope through them, which we used to secure our lash down rope to. It proved to be crucial.

6. Wrap your gear in a tarp. This is very important. Lay the tarp out on the floor of your toboggan. Load your gear on top. Before you start lashing your rope, fold one side of the tarp over and tuck it in down the side. Then fold the other side over and tuck it in the opposite side. The tarp helps hold all your stuff in the toboggan but it also prevents a huge build up of snow getting into every possible nook and cranny of your gear.

7. Use strong rope. When you hit a bump your gear will push up against your lash down rope and it can break, especially after miles of use. If it breaks and you are not looking you can loose and/or break your gear. Don’t let that happen. Use strong nylon rope or 8mm climbing rope.

8. Tie the rope off to its self, not to the toboggan. This will tighten your whole rig. Loop the rope around itself at one of the lashings twice, pinch it and put in and put in a tight quick release knot.

Jim Baird's Arctic Adventure: This Ain't No Themed Restaurant

Sarah Smith — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:16:03 -0400

We knew there was a cabin somewhere around. Well, we were pretty sure. Actually I was pretty sure there was one around, but Ted was doubtful at best. The clouds were dark and low. The light was retreating. Night was almost upon us. We were headed for a sheltered bay where we thought we could gain protection if there was a blizzard on the way.

That’s when we saw it: a gathering of three cabins. Beautiful.

We’d found an old fishing lodge used during the short summer season. The door was open and there was some wood inside. I fired up the stove, which immediately took the bite out of the air and soon had the place cooking—much better than sleeping in our tent at 30 below zero. Just the fact that we didn’t have to go through the task of getting our tent set up and then take it down was reason enough to celebrate. I could feel my batteries recharging.

It’s important to have your batteries charged when you are in the middle of nowhere, because you’ll be less likely to have an accident. At that point I felt like we were checking into the Ritz. That’s one of the exciting things about a trip like this: You discover something new around every corner. Sometimes it’s not what you wanted to discover, but more times than not, it’s something way better than what you were expecting, just like this cabin was for me.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: How to Drill Through 7 Feet of Ice

Online Editors — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:10:07 -0400

Seven feet of ice sounds like a lot, but it feels like twice that when you're trying to auger through it. I brought a top-of-the-line auger on the trip with enough extensions to get through ice 9 feet thick. We soon learned that getting the auger out after the hole is pierced can be harder than drilling it. Still, there are a couple things you can do to get through the ice faster and reduce the amount of snow in your hole.

Step 1: As you drill, and your auger gets in past 2-1/2 feet, pull up abruptly every few seconds. Keep the blade spinning while you pull up but don't let the blade come out of the hole. Then let the auger back down quickly and keep drilling. This is more physically demanding but it throws a lot of the snow out of your hole as you drill.

Step 2: Try to keep you auger as straight as possible as you drill. The deeper the ice hole gets, the more likely it is for the hole to become crooked. This can make it a lot tougher to get your bit out.

Step 3: Bring a flighted extension. It would not have been easy to lug one around, and the flights can cut into the ropes on your sled—but it sure would have made it a lot easier to drill holes through 7 feet of ice.

Step 4: It is very hard to dig the snow out of a vertical hole even if you put an extension on your shovel handle. A very large ladle tied to the end of a pole would work.

Step 5: While you drill, keep your downward pressure on the auger consistent. Keep the throttle consistent, too. If the blade is spinning fast, it throws more snow out of the hole.

Step 6: Take turns. It can be a lot of work to drill through 7 feet of ice. Take a break and let your buddy drill so you don’t work up a sweat which can come back to bite you as soon as you start fishing.

Jim Baird's Arctic Adventure: How to Tighten Your Snowmobile Track

Sarah Smith — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:43:20 -0400

Ted’s track was loose. We knew it would start slipping soon and we still had a very long way to go. His track also needed a little bit of straightening. A track tightening could be done in a pinch by flipping the machine on its side (unless it's a four stroke,) but it’s better to perform this fix by propping up the back end. (Read your manual if you don’t know the specs for your specific machine.)

For our machines, we wanted 10 pounds of pressure on the track of the second-to-last wheel. After tightening, we didn’t use a scale to test the poundage; we just compared the weight to a 10-pound lake trout I caught earlier in the trip.

Most snowmobile brands have bolts somewhere near the back of the track. If you want to tighten the track, turn them equally. If you want to straighten it, you will have to turn one side more than the other, depending on which way the track is misaligned. In the North, you need to improvise.

People who find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken track will cut the fender off their machine, whittle screw holes in it, and at the break in the track. Then they take bolts from other places on their machine to secure it and ride on. There are a lot of things you can come up with when you have to. We all know the old adage about neccessity. This video shows what we did.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Tips For Breaking Down Camp

Online Editors — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:46:43 -0400

It’s great to go on a multi-day - wilderness expedition. You see so much of the land and you get to camp in a new spot every night. The only problem is that it can be a pain to make and break camp every day. A few key things that make breaking camp quicker can get you on the water or on the trail much faster every day and will make your style of travel more efficient, and more enjoyable.

Stuff It - In the video you see me roll the tent—a must when you have a canvas tent like we had. But when using your other tents, just stuff them; don’t bother rolling. It takes way too long. Stuff your sleeping bag, to. Seriously, what is the point of fussing with rolling a sleeping bag? It’s a pain.

Start Right Away - Like I say in the video, before you leave the tent in the morning, roll up your ground pad, pack up your cloths bag, stuff your sleeping bag, and throw them out of the tent as you leave. A fire is nice on a cold morning, but then you usually end up hanging around the fire, looking for wood, and taking time to put it out. Just get your water boiling for coffee quickly and cook up what ever you have for breakfast on the stove. If you have a fire going from the night before and a couple extra logs, throw them on but it won’t speed up your departure time.

Get Up - Here is an important one. Sometimes when its 30 degrees below with howling winds—and you are thinking about all the chores you have to do to break camp—you’re not ready to spring out of bed the second you crack your eyelids. But try to think about all the great things you will do that day, and maybe the tasty fish you'll have for breakfast. And get up!

Eat Last - Do everything else you have to do (other than pack away your food and mess kit) to break camp before you eat. This will give you a full belly when you’re on the trail and some motivation to get the job done.

One Final Check - Make one final check around camp to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything before you leave; forgetting things can happen when you rush. Make sure you will have everything for the day out, as it’s a pain to pack up and then realize that you need something that has been loaded into the bottom of your toboggan, trailer, backpack, or canoe.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Lube Your Gun for Negative-40 Degrees

Online Editors — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:27:52 -0400

Two days before I saw this bird, I got a couple ptarmigans for the pot. My gun worked with out incident. This bird in the video got away because my firing pin was frozen. Once the trip was done, I told the story to my friend Pat in Ulukhaktok, and he showed me what he uses to lube his gun in extreme cold.

He uses a fast-drying graphite spray made for aviation applications that can handle extreme cold. Oil-based lubricants get very slow and sticky at low temperatures. In the deep cold, the heat created from firing your gun creates condensation that can freeze your pin. In these conditions, it’s better to use no lube at all if you don’t have a dry lubricant, wiping all the oil-based lube from your gun. I would also consider putting a stronger spring in my gun in future situations like this.

Moral of the story: If your gun freezes up when your ptarmigan hunting, you’ll go hungry. If your gun is freezes up when you’re being charged by a bear, the bear doesn’t go hungry.

Graphite spray it is.