Even further north???

No I haven't lost my mind - my goal today was to go even further north... up to Tuktoyaktuk (or Tuktuyaaqtuuq or Tuktuuyaqtuumukkabsi depending on your language - "Tuk" to the those in the know).  Tuktoyaktuk means "resembling a caribou" and historically the Inuvialuit harvested caribou and beluga whales in this area and many families today still practice traditional activities "on the land", enjoying hunting, trapping, fishing and berry picking.

The only way to get to Tuk is to fly and so my day started with this mode of transportation.

 The steering wheel on the right was the one I got to use --- not.

The view from my seat in the plane

We followed the Mackenzie River and the delta north

 These two photos above are Inuvik

 Barges on the Mackenzie River

The Sandy Mountains, north of Inuvik

to Reindeer Station.  Reindeer Station was established in 1932 as the headquarters of the Reindeer Project which introduced reindeer farming into northern Canada.  Lack of caribou in the coastal area prompted the Government of Canada to herd about 3500 reindeer from Alaska to provide a supplemental food source for the Inuvialuit.  Led by Sami, or Laplanders, the 1,500 mile "Great Trek", initially expected to take 18 months, stretched into a 5-year journey beset with perils of severe weather, high mountain ranges, supply shortages, wolves and other predators. In 1935, the surviving herd of 2,382 arrived in Kittigazuit, NWT. The Laplanders stayed to teach the Inuvialuit how to look after the reindeer herd.  During its heyday, Reindeer Station had a population of 90 - mainly herders and their families. It was a self-sustaining community with its own post office, generating plant, school, church, Hudson's Bay trading post, and it also served as a supply centre for trappers operating in the area.  Due to a short season for vegetation growth, movement of the herd closer to the winter range, and introduction of modern herding techniques, employment opportunities diminished and the population of Reindeer Station dropped drastically.  In 1969 Reindeer Station was abandoned and the residents were relocated to either Tuktoyaktuk or Inuvik.  Today Reindeer Station is used by the Inuvialuit as a place for healing.

Now we turned towards Tuk, and you can see that we're now north of the tree line... where did they all go?

Pingos, huge ice covered hills, are an unusual feature near Tuk.  Formed by a combination of frost and abundant water, pingos are massive hills formed by ice building up under the tundra.

And here is the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, with a current population of about 900 people.

Tuk is located on the Arctic Ocean and so I did what every good Canadian has to do --- I went wading.  Had it been a bit warmer than about 8 degrees I might have thought about going in a bit deeper, but since there was no way to warm up afterwards, going in to my knees was quite enough.

The terminus of the Trans-Canada Trail is in Tuktoyaktuk and I can now say I've walked the most northern end of it.

Sod houses can still be found, and are used, in Tuk,

I loved just wandering around Tuktoyaktuk - it is a very peaceful place to be.

 The Anglican church

There is a community freezer known as the "Ice House".  Built 30 feet below ground there is a maze of hallways and rooms surrounded by walls of permafrost that are used to store meat and fish.  I was absolutely stunned in the Ice House - it's like nothing I've ever seen before!!

 The entrance into the Ice House

 At the top, looking down

 At the bottom, looking up

 This is the same hallway in the Ice House, above is not using a flash and below is with a flash

 Storage room # 10 - of maybe 30 or more

A close up of permafrost

I would have loved to have spent much more time in Tuktoyaktuk - but eventually it was time for the flight back to Inuvik again.

Goodbye Tuktoyaktuk

And goodbye to the Arctic Ocean

Hello again to the Mackenzie River delta

And hello again to the trees

Hello again to Inuvik