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

Last week, we finally did some fishing.

The night before, we didn’t reach camp until after midnight, and Ted and I decided not to move the next day to allow for some time to fish. The ice is about five feet thick on Great Bear and, despite our power auger, drilling holes was a workout. We’d drill for a bit, then remove the auger and scoop out the slush. Drill some more...scoop out the slush...this went on for awhile before we had a clear fishing hole.

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By Jim Baird

Finally, Ted and I got onto Great Bear Lake. Now our expedition is officially underway. We used the extra time we spent waiting in Tulita and Delene to soak in all of the local advice we could.

If there was one question I heard from the experienced people we talked to, it’s this: “What are you doing for heat?” People were a worried when we told them we were just using a mountaineering tent and a couple down sleeping bags. So, we took the advice of the locals and bought a canvas tent off a guy in Delene named David and picked up a Coleman stove, too.

I suppose I should have been more acquainted with the style of winter camping in this region. It’s much different than the winter camping I have done. It’s like dogsledding—but with a snowmobile. [ 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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By David Maccar

by David Maccar

The University of Iowa Department of Public Safety has developed a training program for students and staff to prepare them to survive violent incidents on campus and teach alternatives to helplessness.

The program is designed to teach students available options during a dangerous incident, such as the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007.

About 1,000 faculty, staff and students have already gone through the two-hour class, learning five steps: alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate.

The students learn how to improvise and adapt in a given situation by using objects at hand, like tying a door closed with a belt to prevent a gunman from entering,

The students are also taught a technique called “the swarm,” in which, upon the entry of a gunman into a classroom, the students immediately pelt the person with anything at hand, books, bags, laptops (they use Styrofoam balls and rubber guns during the training course) to block his vision as much as possible and maybe injure the attacker, causing him to lower his gun for a moment. Then the group collectively brings the person to the ground while gaining control of the weapon.
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