INUVIK - Kevin Floyd makes a snowshoe hunting trip as accessible as going to the pool for a swim.

Kevin Floyd heads out for a few hours in the lengthening daylight for a rabbit hunt off the Dempster Highway on Wednesday, March 30. - Kira Curtis/NNSL photos

After work, it takes no extra motivation for him to set out to a nearby trail and explore the wilds at Inuvik's doorstep.

"Just getting out for walks around town are phenomenal, especially when it's nice and sunny," Floyd said, "or just adjacent to town or anywhere out there going out for a snowshoe or a ski.

"You could go anywhere on the edge of town and you're in the wild."

He detailed how this part of the season is one of the best times to view wildlife as birds begin to return and resident animals begin to wake up.

"I think for wildlife viewing and everything that goes with that - photography or putting stuff in the freezer or the pot - it would be nice to go with snowshoes or skis cause it's just so quiet," Floyd said. "So many more animals come out and you're moving at a really slow pace so you really have time to digest and take everything in."

Floyd recommends destinations such as the hills behind Airport Lake, going across the ice road or becoming a member of the ski club and using the trails to ski toward the end of the tree line.

"You know one of the best parts about going out right now?" Floyd asked, "it's all the (animal) tracks."

Floyd reads the tracks like a guest book. On March 30, while hunting Arctic hare, he followed the tracks of a wolf off the Dempster Highway. The wolf was pursuing a moose, which had left its big hoof marks as well. Close to that were the paw prints of a lynx.

"Anyone with a little bit of initiative can make their own trail anywhere," he said, "and then if you're breaking trail, it's really hard to get lost - you just backtrack."

A tip Floyd gave is to seek snow that's been hard packed by wind exposure, as it's always nice to travel a little quicker on the surface instead of spending hours and more exertion struggling through softer snow.

For these little hikes around the outskirts of town, Floyd said it doesn't have to be a day-long hiking ordeal, he shows you can do it any afternoon after work.

"Take a water bottle, a camera with fully charged batteries," he said, "and then bring a snack, bring a lunch, keep an extra energy bar in the pack in case you go a little farther than you expect."

Though getting out to explore the creatures and shifting landscape is easy and accessible, Floyd said it's a good idea to tell someone where you're heading just in case.

Soon the river will melt and a whole new adventure awaits.

"The benefits of being up here and having all the freeze, is that everything changes," Floyd said excitedly, "and then come June, after breakup, you're no longer going to be skiing or snowshoeing, you'll be canoeing or kayaking."

Floyd is planning to build a set of kayaks with the shop students at Samuel Hearne Secondary School this spring.

"I'm looking forward to breakup so I can take out my next generation of kayaks," he said.

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