1st Half of Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut Trek

Saturday 8-11-07

DAY 4

KANGERLUSSUAQ TO SISIMIUT TREK DAY 1

We get up and pack up for the Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut trek. We are in a hurry because the boat from Sisimiut to Ilulissat only goes once a week, so we are aiming to be in Sisimiut by next Saturday. I return the legitimate rental bike and we get our money back for renting the stolen bike! Michael is off to check on paying for the campground and seeing how much a taxi is. We meet on the main road - Michael got a taxi so off we go… via taxi for the first 13 km, 60 bucks, beats walking, right?

Anyway the hike starts boggy (and ended boggy too, more on that later). We pass a couple of guys camped. We wind past some lakes. We climb up about 100 meters to higher lakes... Then we go down to a stream crossing (which we do in sandals, expressly brought for this purpose – my aren’t we clever!) But there are bugs (mostly black flies). We agree to stop at the first water crossing, but when we get there we both are willing to go on. Also the two guys have caught up with us. On we go. Our packs feel almost unbearable. They are so heavy. Michael’s is about 25 kilos and mine is approximately 17 kilos. Neither Michael nor I are having much fun, the packs are heavy (have I said that enough?!) Because of the weight we tire ourselves out fast. After looking at the map we decide to hike to the next hut.

Up we go some more. The trails are marked with cairns. We can see the hut after a lot of ridges. I am very tired!

Finally we get down to the hut at the east end of Amitsorsuaq (a lake). I am tired and Michael is too (we have hiked 23 km today). Alas there are no canoes at the lake, rats (the plan being to canoe this lake). We talk about waiting for a canoe until late the next day. We eat and go to sleep…and five people show up about 10 pm with four canoes! They are RUNNING the trek from Sisimiut to Kangerlussuaq in four days. We move outside the hut since they are cooking late. (23 km)

Sunday 8-12-07

DAY 5

KANGERLUSSUAQ TO SISIMIUT TREK DAY 2

Sunday dawns sunny. It is amazing how hot it is when the sun comes out. It is a beautiful day!

We start to paddle the length of the lake with the canoe – it is nice and sunny with almost no wind. We canoe down the lake 22 km, stopping at the "canoe center” (another hut). It is huge compared to the hut we stayed in. It must sleep at least 30 people. We meet a couple inside. The woman is from Ilulissat and the man is from Denmark; they live in Sisimiut. They both speak English and tell us we can leave our canoe at the far west end of the lake, where there are a bunch of other stashed canoes, so off we go again in our canoe.

It is 3 pm when we throw on our packs on and start to hike. The bog seems to get worse. My boots and socks get wet. At first I try to avoid the bog but get tired, give up and just walk through without avoiding the wet areas. The bog is everywhere!

We end up hiking 7 km further to Kangerluatsiarsuaq (another lake) where we camp. The wind keeps the bugs down but makes it hard to cook! We camp by the lake by an old collapsed tent (from hunters?) Various caribou parts abound… (22 km canoeing, 7 km hiking)

Monday 8-13-07

DAY 6

KANGERLUSSUAQ TO SISIMIUT TREK DAY 3

There is no wind this morning but it is cool. We eat and the mosquitoes stared to come out and that is our cue to leave. We use insect repellant… The sun comes out and it becomes quite warm (20 degrees C?). We are hiking by 8:45 am and it is already hot! What is up with this?! It is hot in Greenland! I am loving the warm days and Michael is not as happy. Did we bring too many warm clothes? Michael notices that the top of my pack is too far back and he adjusts the straps to it is closer to my head. What a difference this makes! Much better! My pack is still heavy but it feels balanced and it is a lot more comfortable. Now I need to figure out the shoulder straps - they are a little uncomfortable. It feels like they are boring into my clavicles.

We climb up to a plateau, about 400 meters elevation gain.

We get to the top and we are hot and sticky. Michael stops ahead and goes for a swim. What an idea! The lake is small and the water brisk, but hey it's swimming north of the Arctic Circle! It does feel good to bathe. The last bath we had was back in Baltimore, four days ago. We dry off in the sun as we eat lunch and the bugs are not bad.

Feeling like a new woman I pack up and go ahead of Michael. He is such a fast hiker. We meet up at a really spiffy hut and decide to continue to the edge of the plateau. We camp at a scenic spot just before the descent from the plateau. (16 km)

Tuesday 8-14-07

DAY 7

KANGERLUSSUAQ TO SISIMIUT TREK DAY 4

It’s cold this morning and it looks like rain. Michael is not stiff this morning. That makes one of us! Michael predicts that the rain is going to hit us in about five minutes. I get up and rush to get the tent down as he makes us breakfast. He sends me down the hill since I am slower and he finishes packing up.

Once I am close to the valley floor the cairns are few and far between and I lose the trail. I climb over some rocks - I know the general direction that I am heading. I see Michael on top of the hill and call out to him - we meet on the valley floor.

We find the place where we are to cross the river. We take our boots off. Michael crosses carrying just the boots to see how deep it is. I can make it but I have to take my pants off because it is very deep at the other end. We cross carefully and find the shallowest areas.

After we cross we find the trail again. And since we are again on the valley floor the bog is back! Again we are trying not to fall in. Michael is in the lead when I see him traverse a boggy area where the entire bog moved. I follow him closely and step where he did. The ground gives way with a sound of thunder. Eeek! And my feet are wet again… Then we notice that there is ice under the bog!




Down the boggy valley we go, over more cool ice-cored pingos (sometimes they shift which is still scary).

We stop for lunch at another spiffy new hut. There would be good rock climbing on the cliffs nearby (Michael says he is moving here and opening a rock climbing center). After the hut we climb up 300 meters to another plateau.

There is a clear trail and a small cairn but we soon discover that it is the WRONG trail (the winter route). We see a cairn for the summer trail on top of the ridge - it is a steep climb, but we make it, and we are back on track! Up and down ridges we go, then around one lake, then around another. The bugs are bad again. The weather is clouding up again. We meet two people - at least they look as tired as us. We give them a bunch of cookies and exchange info on the route (they are going the opposite direction from us).

We know there is another hut ahead, but it is at least four hours away from where we stand. It is about 5 pm and we have been hiking since 8 that morning. Our goal is to get to the hut. It has raining on and off all that day and I want to be dry, and Michael wants to cook in the hut. So off we go to make it to the hut. It seems that I am getting used to the weight of my pack, and our packs are getting lighter as we eat food. But I am tired and the boggy areas are many. Both of my boots have been submerged in the bog. Before my boots were just wet, now they are completely soaked.

Honey is ahead of me and there is no hut in sight... We come to a river between two lakes and Michael stops, and asks me if I want to camp. I should have said yes, but I am so determined to get to the hut.

Then we see our first caribou, who tries to charge us. I just wanted a picture! Back to achy bodies again. Again I quit trying to avoid the bog and just walk straight through. Michael tries to find a *path*… We FINALLY make it to the hut. We eat dinner and fall asleep in our pain and suffering. Michael wakes up and tells me he has been dreaming about the bog, we joke about it and have a good laugh. (28 km)