Northern lights, Sissimiut and sled dogs

 Thursday August 28

Our day started very early. Our expedition leader woke us at about 1:45am to inform us that the northern lights were worth seeing. So we and many of our traveling companions threw coats on over pajamas and headed out onto the observation deck. The display was magical. It was our first time seeing the northern lights and it was well worth getting out of bed to watch the continually changing display of light and colors. After about a hour, we returned to our cabins to get a few more hour of sleep before the start of the scheduled activities.

We docked at Sissimiut about noon. Sissimiut is the second largest town in Greenland (5600 inhabitants). After lunch we went for a hike on the Arctic Circle Trail, which winds for 140 km to the next town. We only did 8km of it. It was good to be out and hiking. We started at the edge of the town. On our way out of town we walked through Dog Town— yes, a whole area filled with dog pens and dog houses for the sled dogs that are still a vital part of this culture and community. People are no longer allowed to have the working dogs in their homes and they must be restrained (usually on a long chain) once they are a year old.  This is largely to protect the dogs from one another.  Visitors are also not permitted to approach or touch the adult (working) dogs. On the other hand, puppies are allowed to roam freely, though they stay close to mom. If a puppy approaches you, it’s okay to pet them, as it assists with their socialization.  It was clear that the people of the town take great care of their dogs. Our hike was delayed as we all ooh’d and aaah’d over the little fur balls. 

The Greenland sled dog is a specific breed and is believed to be the oldest sled dog species (perhaps 4000 years old). There is a serious effort to keep the breed pure. No dog that has been below the Arctic Circle may be brought into the community, and breeding is carefully regulated to maintain diversity as well as purity in the blood line. The dogs we saw had a wide variety of appearance, reinforcing that effort at diversity. There are currently 1000-1200 sled dogs, down from about 3000 in the recent past. While sledding is still an important winter transportation mode, it is threatened by snow mobiles. 

The hike itself was over a mix of dirt roads and paths through the tundra. The clouds settled in so the lovely view from the top became, in the words of our young local guide, “the promised land— I promise you that it is there”. 

Pictured: northern lights, Greenland sled dog puppy with mom, Katharine with a potential stowaway, an adult dog on their house