September 10 & 11 Edinburgh Island and Port Epworth

 

NB: The sea is shallow around these islands (lighter blue). Add sea ice and wind
and navigation becomes treacherous

Edinburgh Island is a small uninhabited island on the southern edge of the large Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut (for those interested, it has some historic interest).  The weather was a wee bit fresh but that added to the allure of the place. While a couple of hiking groups took to the higher slopes, I joined the beachcombers' group and explored the tundra on lower ground. It was quite magical. (Lindsay stayed on board.) 

A glorious morning approaching Edinburgh Island

Rocky cliffs dotted with vegetation clinging to the surface

Our beachcombing party aiming for the 'amphitheatre' (centre)

Some remnants left behind by earlier exploration groups

We stumbled on the remnants of earlier exploration groups – junk littered the ground in places.  In spots the plants were ablaze with colourful leaves and berries. It was tempting to simply wander and take photos but we were in bear territory so I had to keep up with the group (and our armed guard!). 

Beautiful willows - Arctic, Netleaf and Dwarf. 
The fluffy seed heads were used by the Inuit as wicks for their qulliq (oil lamps)

Sea Thrift (dried flower), Northern Sweet Vetch, Tufted Saxifrage, Red Bearberries  

Various lichen

It was the wrong time of year to find many flowers but I found some of their remains. I did, however, see many different species of lichen.  Lichen is an important organism in the Arctic and elsewhere. They break down rock and other debris such as animal bones thus creating 'soil' substrate. The species we managed to identify were - Jewel, Geographicum, black and white Tripe and Snow lichens. 

At one stage we had to carefully pick our way across quite treacherous ground – rocks poking out of spongy ground with deep rivulets between - we had to pick our way carefully across rocks no bigger than the size of a gumboot!  The fear, for me at least, was falling on those rocks – but I made it to safe ground only to have to retrace our steps back to the beach and our zodiac. 

A little piece of paradise - but the wind and sea were picking up

While we didn’t see any wildlife we saw evidence of their presence which was quite special – learning to read the signs is quite a fascinating exercise - for instance looking at which side of a rock the bird droppings were, the pattern of scattered feathers, animal scat, crab shells, caribou bones. The area is rich in wildlife such as Caribous, Reindeer, Arctic Foxes, Hares, Ptarmigans and Peregrine Falcons. 

That afternoon we headed further west and south for Tree River, Port Epworth - Kugluktuk - and a more sheltered spot as weather from the west looked pretty threatening. 

The next day dawned pearly and tranquil – quite glorious. That afternoon we anchored at Port Epworth and a few parties went out exploring (I stayed on board and wasn’t alone). Too late now I know, but I wish I had ventured out because Lindsay had the guide to himself most of the morning. He came back on board quite excited because he saw nine Willow Ptarmigan. He also got to see fossil stromatolites – be still my heart!