Spring may be coming to the North

It’s A Snowy Evening In Nunavut...

...and all through the house – well, what the heck are you going to do in a snowstorm?  I know what we do!  We lay around reading or writing. We were deserted by ‘our’ dog Toque tonight.  There is not enough action here for him.  Today he leapt to his feet and abandoned his post ‘guarding‘the dining room door of the Lodge.  He and Richard Weber tied for first place as the engines of the Dornier 228 spun to a halt before them. Toque was extremely excited and seemed to be on a first name basis with both Sam – the visiting mechanic, and Gutti - the satellite communications specialist.

Before supper Nansen and Brian went out for a few hours to “check the trap”. They have been trying to get photos of a Wolverine – and only recently have managed to get the creature to trigger the Infrared sensor while his smiling, furry little face was in front of the camera. I saw those pics. They are great! You can watch for them too at: http://arctichaven.ca/arctic-adventures/photographers-adventure        I had no idea that these shy creatures are so pretty.

We had only been here for four days and time seems to be flying by. Some visiting workers are billeted in the crew quarters tonight – the paint on the floor having just dried in time. The pilots of the Dornier made a run to Stoney Rapids to get approximately 25 barrels of fuel, coming back before the snow started. Electrics for the entire complex have been running exclusively (and perfectly) on electricity provided by solar photo-voltaics and a wind turbine. This must have reduced our fuel consumption significantly as the generators have been silent since our arrival 2 weeks ago.

One of my jobs this year is to get the solar water system re-connected to the building, and in such a way that the large amount of heat captured is put to good use. There is tons of heat available during the ‘solar’ season – and we are already having 17 hours of quality daylight. Assess first, make a plan, and get to work. As of day eight, we have a strategy which should work pretty well. Some new components and a new plumber are said to be arriving. I expect that he will want to alter the layout of the heating system somewhat before adding more inputs to it from solar and a new (outdoor) wood boiler.

men at work

We are in high gear around the place polishing off loose ends such as unpainted service rooms, unfinished bits of ceilings, walls and floors. Susan and I have tackled the perennial pile of boxes that are placed in the workshop every time another plane brings freight. Tools and materials alike seem to have been left in a 'picked-over but unstowed condition. We are expecting a bolt, nut and screw storage unit on the next plane –which is bound to help.

Also, we are building stowage space for electrical and plumbing supplies which will display examples – in the hope of reducing double ordering when the first items can’t be found.

There is some equipment to modify and a couple of trucks that arrived during the winter which we also have to get ready for service. Two of the equipment operators made a runway a mile long and 200 feet wide on the lake for the Hercules to make the delivery on. The remnants of that runway are still clearly visible - despite melting conditions in the recent 20 degree 'heat wave'.  

The two trucks, an International Loadstar 5000 and a Ford 600, both run as sweetly as any of the medium trucks of my past.  As a bonus these trucks are both four-wheel drive models. Runway maintenance will be 1000% easier when these trucks are configured.

snowmobiles leaving for weather haven 75 kms along the lake

The snowmobiles need attention too. They are something new for me, and I have been looking under the hoods of the Arctic Cat four strokes as these are all overheating when running on the ice for any distance. The guides have towed three different Arctic Cat snowmobiles back (from the ‘out’ cabin -17 kilometers down the lake) in the past three days.  Luckily Ski-Doos don’t have the same issue so business can go on. I have been surfing the blogs and identified a couple of fixes that might apply.  This is just one more reason to clean out the shop.

‘Our’ dog, Toque, has been tied-up lately as he has displayed a proclivity for charging after the herds of caribou that pass by the lodge out on the ice of the lake. A couple of days back Susan dropped Toque's lead line on me while my hands were full, and before I got a proper hold on his line-he was gone, at full speed, down the ice. I hopped onto the Arctic Cat 700cc diesel quad that I have been using as a utility vehicle and ‘found out what this machine can do’. I did not, however, manage to arrest the progress of this type A (the stocky model) Malamute. Toque enjoyed the companionship of a running mate in his chase but refused to be deflected from his ‘mission’. I drove on his line and braked but his pull slipped the line from between the tires and the ice easily.

My presence split the herd so I backed off, going back to the cabin for my parka, while Toque maintained the chase. I had clocked the dog at 27 kph. The caribou were easily doing twice that speed and were in no danger. However, they don’t need the aggravation, so since that occasion he spends all of every day tied, and every night indoors so that he doesn’t mix it up with the wolves. His attitude seems to say: “No freedom, no problem – just make sure you feed me. Oh, and don’t blame me if I escape!”.

 Apparently we had an audience from the Great Room of the lodge during his big chase. Nansen Weber, one of the Arctic watch guides, later confirmed the speed of caribou to me. He found himself in a head-on meeting with a herd at a narrow gap and the noise of his snowmobile caused them to reverse direction, running with him. He clocked them at 70 kph.

Derek unloading with a skid steer

Our supply plane

Two days further along and we are still awaiting the supply plane. We have demolished and reconstructed two bathrooms and don’t want to reassemble them before receiving flooring.  There are a number of other supplies coming, sufficient to fill a Dash Seven to capacity.

 I started the Kawasaki Mule this morning and watched as smoke came from the engine compartment. Switching off, I ascertained that the glow plug electric supply wire had shorted and melted.  Luckily we had a mechanic come to stay for a few weeks. Kevin is a young Volvo mechanic from Aylmer, Quebec. I figure that if he can fix Volvos, he can probably handle any of our machinery here at Arctic Haven. As I write this he has the Mule torn down, looking for the cause of the short-circuit. Being our only GP pickup, we need the mule back in service right away.

Susan, Madison and Beth have squared-off as the all girl construction team while I have joined-up with Seemee and Gilbert for other construction projects. Yesterday, as the day wound down, both teams joined forces to install sheet rock in a cathedral ceiling. It was truly ‘uplifting’!   :)

They are already taking fish out on the lake.  We had enjoyed fresh-caught Trout for dinner tonight thanks to the recent opening of some areas in the ice that make fishing possible.

The guard dogs

Last night, the Czech Shepherd Demon, fell through the thin ice at the edge of a hole where a group had gathered to catch fish. Before he made his way back out of the water he managed to catch a lure in his tail. Demon gloried in a lot of extra attention this morning before breakfast – when we all made a fuss over him.  In addition to Demon, the intrepid fisherfolk caught and released a 10 pound Pike and a few smaller fish as they stayed out nearly until sunset at 11:30 p.m.  These young folk with all of their energy!

chefs at work

trout dinner ala Daniel

there's the bear, our dinner guest missed the trout dinner

where's the bear?

The payoff to all of this fishing: this evening as we were enjoying trout and rice wrapped in puff pastry prepared by our young chef, Daniel and his assistant, Madison. We even attracted an unexpected guest. This beautiful little black bear had tried to get into Richard's cottage last evening. Tonight he decided to see what was being served for dinner at the main Lodge. Thankfully, Toque was in the house at the time, although he was anxious to go out and get acquainted with the bear.

The weather finally allowed our aircraft to leave Yellowknife  –  so the supply plane brought our new wood boiler and the the last of our reinforcements, a log construction specialist. I have found myself humming a corrupted version of a blues song performed by Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and probably a dozen others that goes something like: “tho’ my pocket book is empty and my heart is full of pain, I’m a thousand miles away from home, waitin’ for a train plane”.

I will close out this week’s blog with the closing line of that same song:

“  E-O-delah-Layhee-deLayhee-deHoo” .