Patti’s Story Part 10 ©

Arriving Tanquary Fjord Camp on the 4th of July     

Good morning! Our next move was to prepare to walk the rest of the way to Tanquary Camp. In order to make the trip we had to abandon our sled. We intended to go back by boat and retrieve it later which we did. We began the long hike with backpacks on ourselves and the dogs. We each had to manage as much weight as we could carry. As part of our gear I had designed and made saddle packs for all of the dogs. It was a welcome change for them the be free of the cold water and then being loose on land! Wow! The weight they carried didn't dampen the thrill of freedom! The trek took us two long days. We three Americans and all of our American dogs except Creswell arrived at Tanquary Camp on The 4th of July! How apropos!

Tanquary-Fiord

The Camp that was currently housing a couple dozen Canadian and European Scientists and staff members including two cooks and a Camp Manager. We received a warm welcome, especially the dogs! We were immediately invited to join them for supper. It’s always an attractive thought to me, after spending any amount of time on the trail and in tents, that I might be soon sitting in a chair. I love chairs to this day and have an unnatural attachment to them. I should design chairs instead of footwear!

We found a fairly flat spot a good distance from the main camp. When you have dogs, any barking can be an annoyance. We were always conscious of that fact. It helped that our sleep routines were opposite. We made a comfortable camp and then walked to the mess hall (quonset building) and enjoyed something more extravagant than the rice, noodles, cheese and beans we were accustomed to. We were also aware that the following day Bob would be flying out and we would be traveling alone for the foreseeable. Our last supper together. The only other American influence in this midst was a helicopter pilot named Webb who had married a Canadian woman and became Canadian. The  next morning we said our sad goodbyes and Jim Webb flew Bob back to Eureka Weather Station where he would catch a Twin Otter to Resolute Bay, then a Commercial flight from Resolute Bay to Yellowknife and on and on south. 

We spent a few days at Tanquary Camp getting to know people and preparing for the next leg of our journey, a 300 mile dog packing trip. I don’t have photos of Tanquary Camp so have grabbed one from Google images. The surrounding mountains were spectacular and I was anxious to see the terrain.   

Peace

Patti Steger

Steger Mukluks
mukluks.com

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