North Baffin Quest
by Sue Hamilton

As a way of celebrating the creation of Nunavut, this past April there was held a dog sledge competition of sorts, dubbed the North Baffin Quest.  Fifteen teams, some of which came (and returned home) under their own power from Pond Inlet and Clyde River, entered the 276 mile race begun in Arctic Bay. The route took them south down the length of Admiralty Inlet, then overland near the top of Baffin Island, across Fury and Hecla Strait and ended about 8 days later in the community of Igloolik.  Run in the traditional manner and in the fan hitch, this was not a race in the sense most of us are familiar with.  The event was beautifully chronicled (including some spectacular photos) by former sled dog racer/owner, professional photogrpher and freelance writer Lee Narraway in the Summer 1999 issue of Above & Beyond magazine. 

While the ISDI was not able to obtain permission to reproduce this article for you, Lee did tell me she would consider writing a story on the subject for the Fan Hitch.  We sure hope she will be able to find time in her very busy globetrotting schedule.  For those of you who wish to read Lee’s article, you might try contacting the folks at Above & Beyond to see if they have any extra copies of the summer 1999 issue. You can reach them at P.O. Box 13142, Kanata, Ontario  K2K 1X3, CANADA. 

Editor’s notes: 
The map of Baffin Island included here belies the rugged nature of the region and tells you nothing about the conditions that some of the participants may have had to endure just getting to the starting line.  By this time of the year there is very nearly 24 hours daylight and the temperatures may not dip to those of wintertime darkness.  However, the bright sun can soften the snow, making surfaces more difficult to traverse.  There can be lots of heavy ice fog and blizzards are still a possibility.  While it is not likely that there will be leads to cross, there will still be lots of pressure ridges and rough ice to navigate over and around. The transitions from frozen sea to shore can be exceptionally difficult, especially where there are substantial changes in sea level at high and low tide.  Dangerous cracks may be hidden due to blowing snow and other reasons for poor visibility.  Weather conditions may be responsible for poor hunting opportunities and dogs may not be able to be fed as well as their owners would like.  And then there are the bears.   While they may not present the physical hazard one might expect, it is important to consider that many of the participants were licensed guides who may have given up the lucrative (outsiders pay about $10,000 for up to 10 days out on the ice to hunt bear) opportunity to take out a hunter from the south out on a hunt just to participate in this first of its kind event.