Expedition Route

We begin our journey in Qikiqtarjuaq a small island community off the Eastern Coast of Baffin Island. From Qikiqtarjuaq a local inuit guide will ferry us by boat up Coronation Fiord until reaching the Coronation Glacier where we will be dropped off and begin our crossing of the Penny Ice Cap. After five days of skiing, we will descend the glacier and pass below Mount Asgard eventually reaching Summit Lake where we will trade our skis for rafts and a kayak. Erik Boomer will attempt a first descent down the dangerous rapids of the Weasel River and the team will exit Auyuittuq National Park at Pangnirtung Fiord. We will spend two nights in the community of Pangnirtung where we will resupply and ready our traditional kayaks for the next leg of the journey. 

We will cross Cumberland Sound, home to the Cumberland Sound Beluga whale, a species known to reside year-round in the sound, with summers spent at the northern end. We will follow a route traditionally used by the Inuit to access the excellent fishing waters of Nettling Lake. Strong tidal currents and tough rapids in the freezing Arctic Ocean waters will make this a challenging and exciting portion of the expedition. 

Nettling is the world's largest lake on an island and it is Nunavut’s largest lake. Its name is of Inuktitut origin, coming from the word for the adult ringed seal which live in the lake. The eastern half of Nettling Lake has many small islands while the western half is deeper with no islands. From Nettling, we will paddle into Amadjuak Lake, the second largest lake on Baffin Island. Amadjuak was a traditional gathering place for Inuit from Kimmirut, The Soper River Valley, Pangnirtung, Cape Dorset and Forbisher Bay. It is also notable as a summer feeding grounds, calving grounds, and migration route for the Southern Qikiqtaaluk herd of Barren-ground caribou. 

At Amadjuak Lake we will reach our resupply cache and the half way point of our journey. From here we will continue to Mingo Lake and will eventually portage southward to Hudson Straight on the west coast of Baffin Island. Heading through a labyrinth of islands and old soapstone quarries we will eventually reach the end of our expedition in the hamlet of Cape Dorset.