Coordinates: 69.53.365 N, 79.27.136 W
Distance Traveled: 30 mi / 48 km
Temperature: 2 °F / -16 °C
Wind: 10-15 MPH / 16-24 KPH
Cloud Cover: Low lying clouds with blowing snow
Sunrise: 3:15 a.m.
Sunset: 11:20 p.m.

It wasn't the barking of 40 dogs that made me spring from my sleeping bag at two in the morning, though they did wake me from my dreaming. It was the sound of men's voices, the shuffling of feet in the snow, and the opening of the rifle cases. By the time I heard Stetson announce, "polar bear," I was already halfway out of the tent. Sure enough, there he was, a mere 40 yards from camp, a male bear weighing close to 1,000 pounds, swinging his long neck back and forth, catching our scent on the wind.

Intersecting wolf and caribou tracks. A shot was fired into the air to ward him off, but he seemed undeterred. Still curious, he came closer. A second shot was fired, and this time he responded, turning quickly and running out into the bay.

Location: Qikiqtarjuaq, Nunavut

Today Simon pointed out lemming tracks to me in the snow. Other than the polar bear tracks we saw just after crossing the Akshayuk Pass in Auyuittuq National Park, these were the first tracks I had seen since we started climbing over the waterfalls.

The upper reaches of the pass were wind-scoured and almost completely free of snow. Without the snow for shelter, there seemed to be very little margin for life. The low temperatures and the high winds made dangerously low wind chills, even for furry rodents. At the lower elevations near the village of Qikiqtarjuaq and in the lee of some mountains where snow could collect, life seems to be more present.

Lemmings are three to six inch long rodents that stay active all year long. Lemmings are food for Arctic animals like fox, snowy owls, weasels, ermines and skuas.

Coordinates: 68.16.406 N, 66.12.678 W
Distance Traveled: 14.5 mi/ 23.5 km
Temperature: (9:00 pm) -24 °F/ -31°C
Wind: 0-5 MPH / 0-8 KPH
Cloud Cover: Clear skies all day
Sunrise: 5:21 a.m.
Sunset: 7:37 p.m.

Theo spent half the stay standing on top of his loaded sled, a pair of small binoculars in hand. He scanned the horizon meticulously for signs of life, trying to separate the polar bears from the polar bear-shaped ice mounds on all sides. Several times today he called back to us and pointed towards a small dot moving in the distance. The far-sighted amongst us could just pick out the distinctive lumbering shape of a bear moving across the white landscape before us.

'My first polar bear!" I thought, trying to absorb all that I could of that tiny, dark shape.

Coordinates: 68.12.254 N, 65.41.037W
Distance Traveled: 19 mi/ 30 km
Wind: 5-10 MPH / 16-24 KPH
Cloud Cover: Hazy skies in the morning, clearing by afternoon
Sunrise: 5:24 a.m.
Sunset: 7:31 p.m.

I started seeing polar bears as soon as I could start seeing into the distance. Probably right from my mother's back. I don't remember seeing my first one. I grew up seeing them all the time as a child.

The absence of ice is creating more people and polar bear conflicts, driving them inland more. Cumberland Sound was a prime example...because of the lack of ice we saw polar bear tracks where they usually don't reside.

Coordinates: 67.59.840 N, 65.12.466 W
Distance Traveled: 25 mi/ 40 km
Temperature: -20 °F/ -29 °C
Wind: 0-5 MPH/ 0-8 KPH
Cloud Cover: Clear skies all day
Sunrise: 5:27 a.m.
Sunset: 7:24 p.m.

We are traveling through polar bear country. It is early spring in the Arctic and bears are on the move looking for food and mating opportunities. We came across a fresh set of tracks this afternoon from a mother bear and two cubs. I sat down with John Stetson after dinner to hear more about his experience with polar bears and get some tips on being 'bear-aware'.