Summer Overlanding in Nunavut at 69 deg. N. Latitude - The Search for the Tomb of Captain Sir John Franklin Continues!! (part 1)

[NOPEC]

Thanks for posting - I can't wait for Part II.

What was the weather like?

It was generally great weather, considering we were 3 degrees north of the Arctic Circle. The wind was persistent and usually cold due to the offshore sea ice but it sure kept the bugs away. We had been warned about (and were ready for) a lot of precipitation in the form of driving rain and sleet but there was virtually none. The folks we were with were very surprised that the weather was so nice. We were just lucky I guess.

Daytime highs were generally pushing 20 C. with lots of clear skies and sun, nighttime pushing down towards low single digits in C. Early in the trip in July we had 24 hrs of sun but that changed pretty quickly to the sun dipping below the horizon at night, leaving a sort of twilight.

 

[johnnyrover]

oh the memories, we canoed a number of northern Canadian rivers, including my favorite the Thelon. Greatly appreciate the post.

 

[NOPEC]

oh the memories, we canoed a number of northern Canadian rivers, including my favorite the Thelon. Greatly appreciate the post.

Ha, yes the Thelon. We had planned to do it at the beginning of Covid but got caught in the fuel price surge. With two hardshell kayaks, we needed a Twin Otter to fly in for the drop off and then do the pick up in Qamani'tuaq, it was going to be like CDN$35K just for the flights (which in fairness, would have included one dropped food cache). It is waay cheaper to do a guided, all in trip (albeit shorter) which we will probably consider when we get old,maybe.......

That river remains tops on my partner's wish list, for the wildlife if nothing else, so it will happen one way or the other......

 

[Mekcanix]

Wow this is very interesting I can't wait to read part 2

 

[smlobx]

Having earlier this year sailed to 72 degrees South all the while reading Shackleton’s Autobiography has led me to a great appreciation for all Polar explorers.
‘Looking forward to the next installment.

 

[Icecap]

Lady Jane Franklin was very persistent and not a woman one would want to cross, at least as she was depicted by historical accounts....

The survival trip by Shackleton and his crew in basically a rowboat, was amazing, not to mention the superb navigation by the somewhat forgotten Frank Worsley on that trip that truly saved their bacon. The "small" hike on Elephant Island they had to do at the end after surviving the Tasman Sea was just insane!

Tough men alright, it was a different island though.

 

[NOPEC]

Tough men alright, it was a different island though.

Good catch Icecap. South Georgia island from Haakan Bay to Stromness.

 

[Icecap]

Good catch Icecap. South Georgia island from Haakan Bay to Stromness.

No worries, I've read a lot about Scott, Shackleton and Mawson.

 

[NOPEC]

Tough men alright, it was a different island though.

Of course your countryman Francis Crozier had the real brains in the whole Franklin affair and if he had been in charge, I think chances were good that there would have been an entirely different outcome...

 

[Icecap]

Of course your countryman Francis Crozier had the real brains in the whole Franklin affair and if he had been in charge, I think chances were good that there would have been an entirely different outcome...

I don't live that far from his birthplace.

 

[Icecap]

I don't live that far from his birthplace.

That's how I found this forum.

 

[Icecap]

It was generally great weather, considering we were 3 degrees north of the Arctic Circle. The wind was persistent and usually cold due to the offshore sea ice but it sure kept the bugs away. We had been warned about (and were ready for) a lot of precipitation in the form of driving rain and sleet but there was virtually none. The folks we were with were very surprised that the weather was so nice. We were just lucky I guess.

Daytime highs were generally pushing 20 C. with lots of clear skies and sun, nighttime pushing down towards low single digits in C. Early in the trip in July we had 24 hrs of sun but that changed pretty quickly to the sun dipping below the horizon at night, leaving a sort of twilight

It was generally great weather, considering we were 3 degrees north of the Arctic Circle. The wind was persistent and usually cold due to the offshore sea ice but it sure kept the bugs away. We had been warned about (and were ready for) a lot of precipitation in the form of driving rain and sleet but there was virtually none. The folks we were with were very surprised that the weather was so nice. We were just lucky I guess.

Daytime highs were generally pushing 20 C. with lots of clear skies and sun, nighttime pushing down towards low single digits in C. Early in the trip in July we had 24 hrs of sun but that changed pretty quickly to the sun dipping below the horizon at night, leaving a sort of twilight.

New to this forum, that sounds like a adventure.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Great thread! That is a bucket list trip to be sure. I too have a deep regard for the heroic era of Arctic exploration. I thought the Terror, based on the fictionalized mystic novel of the same name, was an excellent and wildly entertaining show!

I've always fancied that Captain Crozier indeed made it to Great Bear lake, as rumored in multiple folk tales, and lived the rest of his days among the Intuit. Low probability, but a fun thought.

Another excellent entry into the field is about my personal favorite: Fridtjof Nansen. I'm about halfway through Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole. The history of his boat the Fram is amazing! He purposely built it to be locked in ice in the hunch that it could be "drifted" over the North Pole. Didn't go as planned but an amazing epic on par with Shackletons journey. The Fram is now a living museum in Oslo.

 

[NOPEC]

Great thread! That is a bucket list trip to be sure. I too have a deep regard for the heroic era of Arctic exploration. I thought the Terror, based on the fictionalized mystic novel of the same name, was an excellent and wildly entertaining show!

I've always fancied that Captain Crozier indeed made it to Great Bear lake, as rumored in multiple folk tales, and lived the rest of his days among the Intuit. Low probability, but a fun thought.

Another excellent entry into the field is about my personal favorite: Fridtjof Nansen. I'm about halfway through Locked in Ice: Nansen's Daring Quest for the North Pole. The history of his boat the Fram is amazing! He purposely built it to be locked in ice in the hunch that it could be "drifted" over the North Pole. Didn't go as planned but an amazing epic on par with Shackletons journey. The Fram is now a living museum in Oslo.

DirtWhiskey

I am tracking down Nansen's book.....!

I completely agree with your thoughts on the series "The Terror" and would highly recommend it for winter time viewing. Of course if you believe the screenplay based on Dan Simmons Book by the same name, Crozier would have lived out his days happily mushing around the north with his new Inuit companions. Though, it's all a bit of a sacrilege for the hardened Franklin enthusiasts.....

On another note, as I often do, I read "The Terror" right after watching the series and completely enjoyed it and having watched the series first, it didn't detract from the book at all. As usual, I then went down the Dan Simmons rabbit hole and read " The Abominable" which is another great cold weather tale. Will try more of his stuff as well this winter.

You probably know this but along with all of the computer graphics stuff in the TV "The Terror", AMC also built full size replicas of the ships on sound stages in Vancouver, using archeologists as technical advisers. Pretty neat stuff!

 

[DirtWhiskey]

DirtWhiskey

I am tracking down Nansen's book.....!

I completely agree with your thoughts on the series "The Terror" and would highly recommend it for winter time viewing. Of course if you believe the screenplay based on Dan Simmons Book by the same name, Crozier would have lived out his days happily mushing around the north with his new Inuit companions. Though, it's all a bit of a sacrilege for the hardened Franklin enthusiasts.....

On another note, as I often do, I read "The Terror" right after watching the series and completely enjoyed it and having watched the series first, it didn't detract from the book at all. As usual, I then went down the Dan Simmons rabbit hole and read " The Abominable" which is another great cold weather tale. Will try more of his stuff as well this winter.

You probably know this but along with all of the computer graphics stuff in the TV "The Terror", AMC also built full size replicas of the ships on sound stages in Vancouver, using archeologists as technical advisers. Pretty neat stuff!

NOPEC, I LOVED the Terror, both the novel and the show! Such a great mashup of history/folklore and I'm a huge Jared Harris fan. Everything he touches is gold. Not unexpected being Richard Harris's son. I've had The Abdominal on my list for some time. With the weather turning, seems like now is the time.

One of my favorite elements of these legendary arctic tales is the crafts themselves. Franklin and Crozier's HMS Terror and HMS Erebus were repurposed fortified royal gunships. In their previous life they were both involved with the bombardment of Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore. Francis Scott Key wrote a pretty catchy tune about that one!

Truly enjoying you trip report. Exactly what I come here for.