Coordinates: 70.12.253 N, 68.21.114 W
Distance Traveled: 20 mi/ 32 km
Temperature: 3 °F/ -16 °C
Wind: 14 MPH/ 22 KPH
Cloud Cover: Clear skies
Sunrise: 5:32 a.m.
Sunset: 9:39 p.m.

The day broke a brilliant blue above our little camp and neighboring iceberg. The mood was light as we packed for our last day of travel into Clyde River. Our welcome into the small village of about 900 hundred people began 20 miles out. Simon's good friend pulled up on a snowmobile with a big smile on his face just as we were starting to pack up our sleds and the two greeted each other enthusiastically.

 

An hour later, flying across the packed snow and sea ice, Simon pointed to two small dots on the horizon. "Dogsleds," he announced. Minutes later the two dots became two lines, and finally two tiny silhouettes of sleds, riders and dogs. The two dog teams made good time across the ice. Before too long two more sleds had pulled up to welcome us into the village. It was a wonderful sight: nine sleds and close to one hundred dogs out on the sea ice, surrounded by cliffs, mountains and a giant blue sky. One might expect quite a racket from one hundred dogs but it was amazingly quiet. The dogs lay sprawled out in the sun, enjoying the beautiful day as much as we were.

Before too long our dogsled caravan was headed into Clyde Fiord, the village of Clyde River in full view. The silence soon gave way to the sound of snowmobiles from town as people came out to meet us. A large group had gathered in the harbor. Elders, teachers, school children and people of all ages came down to the ice to shake our hands and meet our dog teams. We were very touched by the warm welcome and impressed by how well-informed people seemed to be about our expedition and mission, as well as climate change in general.

We are now settling into our new base camp home, unpacking boxes and drying out our gear. Clyde has already proven to be a sophisticated and lively community. Despite our trail fatigue, we didn't waste any time last night walking over to the community arena to see a hip hop performance by a teen dance troupe from Hall Beach. The head-spins, back-spins and fancy footwork drew gasps and applause from the young crowd.

We also said goodbye to Sarah McNair-Landry who left for Iqaluit this afternoon. We felt extremely lucky to have Sarah on trail with us for the past 13 days, for her good humor as much as her trail savvy and expedition experience. From here she flies to Resolute to work as a guide for a stint before embarking on her Pittarak Greenland Kite-skiing expedition on May 20th. You can follow her two-month adventure at www.pittarak.com. We all wish Sarah the best of luck!

We are excited to be here in Clyde River and look forward to getting to know this friendly northern community even better over the next several weeks!

Abby