By Jim Baird

When we got to Hornby Bay on Great Bear late in the afternoon, we were surprised to see snowmobile tracks. We followed them for a couple minutes until we saw a few walled tents in the northeast corner of the bay. We went over to check it out and met several people. They were mostly high school students, lead to Great Bear Lake by a few older men from Kugluktuk. The kids were learning traditional ways of hunting, fishing, camping, and navigation from the older guys.

We mentioned the route we planned to take to Ulukhaktok once we reached Kugluktuk. Two of the men in the group, Gerry and Isaac, were very experienced travelers and told us that the route we planned would not work. There would be open water on the ocean at the mouth of Prince Albert Sound and our fiberglass toboggans would never make it on the rocky overland section we had planned to cross. Isaac drew a different route out on our topo maps, and we’ve decided to follow his advice. The new route will make the trip longer but hopefully much safer. That night the Northern Lights danced in the sky over the... [ Read Full Post ]

By Jim Baird

Here’s a scenario for you: The wind is howling. It’s 20 degrees below zero. And a blizzard destroyed your tent.

What do you do for shelter?

Build a quinzhee, of course.

The word “quinzhee” comes from the Dene language, and for the first stretch of my journey across Great Bear Lake to the tree line I’ll be in traditional Dene territory. So I think it’s a good bet that a quinzhee should do the trick.

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By Jim Baird

In today’s video I’m practicing my aim in a drill that simulates a charging animal. For the test I rigged a target on a pulley and had it come “charging” toward me. The goal was to hit the target three times before it reached me—or else, I’m bear food. Although this was a good way to practice, it’s impossible to prepare for the kind of fear I’d experience if a bear were really to charge me.

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