'Nunavut Island' Dubawnt Lake - Island Northern Dubawnt Lake
Distance 47 km [689km]
Portage 0 [14]
Very Fast Water 0 [30]
Rapids 0 [24]
The weather and ice gods smiled on us, the sky was clear and we started the day with a fair wind which eventually dropped off to virtually no wind and glassy water.
We paddled as far as Snow Island where we found ourselves cut off by ice so we took a long detour towards the west shore and spent the rest of the day within sight of it, ducking in and out of bays and around islands avoiding the long fingers of deteriorating ice that had been blown towards the shore. Three times we were forced out of the canoe. Once we managed to ram our way through with Big Red doing ice-breaker duties and twice John pulled the canoe across the ice and in and out of icy pools, sometimes up to his thighs in freezing water.
Heading north up the western shore of Dubawnt Lake
Hauling Big Red across tongues of shore fast ice, the tongues were often separated by only 100m or so of open water
Hauling Big Red over tongues of shore fast ice
More canoe hauling
Final haul
Due to low water levels ice was not our only obstacle. In one narrow passage we had to get out and clear a path moving boulders so we could float Big Red through. Despite the detour and a very long and winding paddle we were lucky that basically the whole west shore was open. We are now in the northern section of Dubawnt Lake and there doesn’t appear to be any major ice ahead. Just as well as there are some long open stretches before we reach Outlet Bay tomorrow.
Despite the ice, on shore it is spring, we passed large areas of colourful wildflowers
We have often commented that we wished we could carry some books on the botany of this amazing land, unfortunately weight and volume made that impractical
We are camped in a beautiful spot just above a pebble beach with sweeping views. The clear light and line of the horizon between the lake and the sky is so indistinct you feel as if you are floating. We arrived at 6pm and five minutes later John had caught a beautiful pan-sized trout on the first cast. The water is so clear he watched it following the lure and strike. This really is a surreal place and you cannot help but feel privileged to be one of the few to visit here.
Kate prepares dinner at our island camp in northern Dubawnt Lake
Evening July 13th looking south across Dubawnt Lake, beyond the islands the lake remains frozen all the way to the horizon