Exploration Preparation

Human beings, by our nature, can become creatures of comfort and habit. The human brain is a phenomenal part of our anatomy, deeply studied, yet still today... barely understood. Individually, we can create or destroy. Just one of the paths we can take.The curiousity in most of us can be fed by learning. Those ongoing and continuing educational events in our lives...big or small...can lead to a series of positive human traits or is it the other way around?

The method of Arctic Exploration available to anyone connected! 

In today's fast moving and ever changing world, many of us, use a modern method of education...it's called YOUTUBE. Readily available... with a myriad of topics allowing one to tap in and connect to an unlimited array of topics quite easily. I may be slightly ahead of my time here, but I'm waiting for someone to graduate from the University of Google with Bachelor's Degree in YOUTUBE. While said tongue in cheek, it may not be far off. 

I use both...often...at home, for play and while at work. That combination of YOUTUBE and Google today are a formidible force...readily accessible information combined with the many "how to" demonstrations and applications. There are literally millions of videos out there...just waiting to be accessed.

Google Street View allows you to explore the
world while in the comfort of your home!

Pick a topic..."packing for the arctic"...for example. Having been to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut twice in the past eight winters (so feeling somewhat more educated on this topic than many) ...imagine my surprise at the listings that arise once the keywords are entered. Everything from icepacks to cool your picnic and camping goodies to the actual accumulation of equipment needed for an arctic scientific expedition. Somewhere in between, there may be a video of actually putting together an arctic emsemble...the clothing needed to survive the bitterly cold tundra during winter...sped up into a 30 second clip !!!!

Your travel destination determines your wardrobe needs

Whenever a trip is planned, normally one would head to their closets, drawers, and storage containers. The selected clothes, as the piles grow on that spare bed, couch or table, will be dependent upon the direction you are heading, the time of year and the anticipated climate at the destination. The same can be said of someone going north in Winter.

Outdoor gear varies but as we've been told for years the key is layering...for warmth. The elements include good footwear...and outside coverings to protect from the winds including good gloves. Starting from the ground up requires a good set of winter boots. For my first trip up in 2008, I purchased a pair of Sorrells in St. Catharines. These boots lace up and have a snow cuff. They are rubberized with a deep tread and removable felt liners to allow drying when needed. 

A sunny afternoon following the 3 day
blizzard showing the heights of snowdrifts.

Last year, once I got "the call", I checked out my boxed boots...stored up on a shelf. I looked them over carefully for signs of cracking or other defects that would require their replacement. None were found. This coming week, I plan to check them out once again, but am confident they survived the past 8 months. Good boots are not a luxury but a necessity if your feet are to be kept toasty. With a good pair of thick socks, over regular socks, mine have never been cold... even at -50C even while crunching on the snow drifts outside for over an hour.

In March, while in Rankin Inlet shopping for groceries, I would wander the aisles looking for interesting articles and objects common mostly to the north. Among the goose decoys and other hunting paraphernalia in the Northern at the far end of the store...past all the groceries, dry goods and appliances, I turned an aisle and found outdoor footwear...lots of it. The prices were not competitive but the goods fulfilled the need.

A good coat (with hood) is a necessity...mine is medium brown...down filled and currently in the tailor shop having a new zipper sown in. When was the last time you actually replaced a zipper due to wear of the fabric of the zipper??? Near the end of my "tour" last year, I thought it wouldn't last...but it did !  Every journey outside requires its use at the times of year that I've been north. With the current temperature today of -28C in Cambridge Bay (currently it's plus 10C here in Niagara) it will be a much needed requirement.

A Health Centre colleague getting a "lift" for home for lunch

A toque, wool cap, or other headcovering is a requirement. Goggles are optional. A fur trim on the hood is less about fashion but has a more practical use. My hood was almost adorned last year...the functionality is as folllows. With the fur trim and the hood pulled down around the face, the air warms in front of your face as you exhale and mixes with the cold arctic air as you inhale saving your lungs from a direct icy air entry. 

Another necessary item, is a thing called a facemask or a balaclava and well advised for us "southerners". I used my facemask for the first two weeks last February. After that, I had become accustomed to the "colder climes" and only used a facemask when I would be outdoors for a considerable length of time or when I would be walking directly into strong winds...in Rankin Inlet there seems to always be some wind blowing...some days more strongly than others. 

Many flags fly but the harsh & steady winds
make for a short life

With no trees, one can only watch for tell tale signs of wind from inside or feel it directly while outdoors. There are a few flags outside in winter...but most are emblems on buildings. Those that are flying free require frequent replacement. You learn to watch for those subtle signs. Whisps of snow blowing from the edges of snowdrifts or roofs are one indicator. By using illuminated business signs and streetlamps during dark hours you can see the snow flurries travelling by.

Finally, your outdoor "kit" is never complete without snowpants and gloves or mitts. The snowpants break the wind, reduce the need for "long johns" and allow you to wear regular pants and jeans. Mitts are warmer than gloves. In your mitts, your four fingers together in one section, maintain warmth together while individual fingers in gloves can become colder faster. 

The only "lost" orphan glove ever seen 

During my first trip in January 2008, I was able to  procure a pair of beaver mitts, locally made and hand sewn. The long fur and dense hide are much warmer than man made replacements. Originally I used a lined glove combined with a nylon overmitt to reduce the wind cooling effect. In my trips, so far, I have only seen one lost glove....hats and toques are in the lost and found bins in most buildings....but not gloves!!  

Lot's of times at the Health Centre I would come across teenagers wearing sneakers..both inside and for outside travel...but it's more a statement of independence and usually for short durations...darting between trucks or SUV's and buildings. 

Rankin Inlet Post Office flying Canada' finest

Indoor clothing can be same as for any Canadian home centrally heated in winter. With the outside temperatures, most of the year, arctic accommodations are well insulated and heated...provided that the electrical generators in town continue to function. Most have oil fired heating with hot water radiators. The electricity is used for water circulation and furnace operation. There are no wood stoves or fireplaces as we are well above the treeline. 

Maintenance of these systems is crucial both in private homes and the public buildings. Last year, in Rankin Inlet, a couple of times, various public offices and businesses were closed due to heat issues or frozen pipes...my transient apartment included. 

If I were to sum this whole edition into one word..it would be Preparedness. It occurs with most trips, vacations or excursions. The planning allows you to get "the most" from your experience...preparing for the worst, hoping for the best....but more realistically anticipating and accepting something in between.

Next time: The Magic of the North