Atuat and Ted's most excellent adventure
Two men drive by machine to Rankin Inlet from Iqaluit
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
RANKIN INLET
The tandem of Atuat Shouldice of Rankin Inlet and Ted Irniq of Iqaluit landed safely in the community after travelling to Rankin from Iqaluit by snowmobile earlier this month.
Atuat Shouldice and Ted Irniq, right, travelled to Rankin Inlet from Iqaluit by SkiDoo earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Atuat Shouldice |
The odometer on Shouldice's new machine read 470 km when departing Iqaluit, and 3,150 km upon his arrival in Rankin.
The two men left on March 22 and arrived on April 11.
Shouldice, 29, is a federal resource management officer in Rankin, and he said he and Irniq were sitting in school about four years ago when two men from Alaska arrived for a permafrost study.
He said when he and Irniq learned the two men drove to Iqaluit from Alaska, they decided to make a trip of their own one day.
"We thought if these two guys can do it, then we better drive somewhere too and we did," said Shouldice.
"I bought a brand-new Ski-Doo out of Ottawa, which a friend of mine broke-in for me so it would be ready to drive.
"It took us about a week to get ready to go, so that we were comfortable with everything we had, including having lots of gas.
"We both had satellite phones, a GPS and maps, and I had an inReach device I could update to Facebook and two-way text with family if I got into trouble out there."
Shouldice said the trip was beyond description.
He said Baffin Island is extremely beautiful, while Auyuittuq National Park and the terrain and river-valley changes while crossing into the Kivalliq are spectacular.
"The people in Iglulik, Naujaat and Hall Beach were all instantly willing to help and share, so I'd have to say that was actually the nicest part of the trip.
"We didn't have any scary moments because we made sure not to put ourselves in any sticky situations.
"But there were a lot of rocky valleys between Brown Lake and Lunan Lake.
"We drove about eight to 16 hours on some days, depending on the conditions."
Shouldice said the pair saw more tracks than actual animals.
He said only the tuktu were plentiful.
"We saw a tremendous amount of caribou, but we never saw the wolverine or wolf we wanted to see.
"We looked for them while covering more than 1,600 miles of ground, but we got skunked.
"There were a couple of little lakes on Baffin Island where one side of them was covered with Inuksuit, which was pretty amazing to see.
"It was explained to us that they were used to let others know these were good spots for hunting and fishing."
Bad weather hampered Shouldice and Irniq for about 12 days.
They were forced to stay in Naujaat for almost a week while waiting for the weather to clear.
Shouldice said the trip was quite expensive.
He said the best part for him was seeing all the different artifacts, Inuksuit, tent rings and stone churches.
"We were never the first people anywhere out there, but we got to see what most people don't get to see.
"It made we realize every inch of this territory has already been stepped on.
"Doesn't matter what the terrain, somebody's been there before us.
"All my ancestors lived there and survived, and that's something I'm going to think about for a long time."
Irniq, 38, is an independent outfitter/contractor in Iqaluit, and said his father, Peter Irniq, taught him a lot about travelling on the land in the 1990s.
He said he hadn't made a big trip on the land since then and felt it was time to go.
"When I was a kid my father would take us out on long trips where we'd spend weeks at a time out on the land travelling from community to community, or place to place," said Ted.
"Two summers ago I drove my boat to Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Coral Harbour, Cape Dorset, Kimmirut and Iqaluit from Churchill, Man.
"So I needed another big trip, and I was completely blown away by the one Atuat and I made.
"I choose to spend my holidays on the land in the North because it's so completely spectacular up here."
Ted said the weirdest part of the trip, for him, was driving past a DEW-Line site one morning in the middle of southwest Baffin Island.
He said he didn't expect to see one in that area.
"I'd only ever seen them on the North, west and east coasts, and across to the Kitikmeot and Alaska areas.
"I'd never seen any of them on the inside of Baffin Island."
Ted said the lack of wildlife on the trip made him realize Inuit may one day, have to start farming animals like they do in the south and other parts of the world.
He said one of the more difficult aspects of the trip was having to leave those they met along the way.
"I hated leaving every community after we'd met everybody, including all our family members up there.
"I was able to meet one of my grandfather's cousins, who was still alive and living in Hall Beach.
"That was completely amazing because I wasn't expecting to meet somebody like him.
"It just came out of the blue, and it was a totally amazing experience for me."
Ted said he would recommend a trip like this to everyone at least once in their lives.
He said it's all about preparation and making sure you have, at least, a bit of a background on the things you may need on the trip.
"You need a bit of knowledge in navigation, small-engine repair and woodworking skills to be able to fix your qamutiik.
"You need a bit of everything to be out on the land.
"I'll never forget everyone we met on the trip who were so welcoming and helpful.
"It felt like I went home to every community."
