80 degrees north

 September 7

0ver night we cruised north up Eureka Sound. We got up early to be sure to watch as the ship passed the 80th parallel. Many more passengers were up early today, as there was great enthusiasm for this milestone. This continues a long standing tradition. Throughout the trip we have been learning about explorers, mostly European and in the 19th century) who were dedicated to the challenge of mapping these far northern lands, with or without the added goal of reaching the north pole.  When you consider that we have been traveling through waters for the past 5 days that freeze solid in the winter, the challenge is clear. On the other hand, Thule and Inuit peoples have lived and thrived in these same areas for many centuries, perhaps millennia, so we should take the European view with a grain of salt.

We went about two miles further north from the 80th parallel and then turned around, as the polar cap starts very soon thereafter. There was a tell tale glow on the horizon that indicates the presence of ice. If we wanted to go further north ( a welcome idea to many passengers), the Canadian Coast Guard warned the captain that we would be on our own, meaning, if we got stuck, it was our problem to solve. He declined to take that challenge. 

Right at the 80th parallel, on a crossing body of water, is a meteorological research station. It was interesting to see their huge satellite dish, but this would truly be a remote posting!  It was also amazing to realize that between yesterday (when we awoke at the 77th parallel) and today, we gained over an hour of daylight (to a total of 18 hours today). 

In the afternoon we sailed into the north arm of Veslefiord, south along Eureka Sound but further north than where we hiked yesterday. The weather was mild (3-5 degrees Celsius and 10 knots of wind). We went for a three mile walk across a rocky plain and up to a canyon with beautiful sedimentary walls and dangling icicles. The plain was full of hillocks referred to as “Arctic patterned ground” because of the action of the freeze-thaw cycles on the top layers above the permafrost causing heaving and cracking. Similar to our previous hikes, we saw a variety of plants which adapted to this environment. We also saw a new species of bird (for us), and beautiful patterns of ice in the stream. 

One of the great things about these trips is that there are National Geographic naturalists who are experts in geology, botany, mammalian physiology, Arctic history, and even divers. Today while we were hiking the divers explored the waters of the fiord, brining back amazing pictures of anemones, brittle stars, feather stars, whelks and even sea spiders. While the diversity of underwater species decreases as the water gets colder, the concentration of creatures does not decrease… it is amazing to “see what they saw”. 

Pictured: the glow from the ice cap, Lapland Longspur, proof of 80 degrees north from the ship’s instrumentation, icy steam bed with our ship in the background, canyon with icicles