The Caretakers’ Report

Our caretakers Chris and Ryan (below) have split the caretaking duties this Fall and Winter. Chris joined us in late September and finally went out on a break end of December. He enjoyed an extended Fall with a late freeze-up. The real snow finally came in late November and we now have a healthy layer covering the area. Chris enjoyed several interesting things. Our local Pine Martens have kept him entertained although he has learned to check his outdoor lavatory for critical paper supplies as his little friends have a developed a fondness for swiping it at the most inopportune of times. He has also had wolves around the camp and a big black one startled him one day as he went for a walk out to our runway. It later followed him back to his cabin. The caribou herd has now migrated into our area and Chris found himself hosting several groups of indigenous hunters from our local communities as they conducted traditional hunts in the area. When I say local, these ‘local’ communities extend from 60- 250 miles away as the closest the winter road gets to us is over 60 miles away. These First Nations hunters continue a tradition their forefathers did centuries ago, as the caribou is deeply ingrained into the fabric of their culture, furnishing sustenance for the communities. The only difference is instead of by dog team, they now travel by ski-doo.

Ryan took over end of December. He celebrated the New Year with an awesome Northern Lights display as his backdrop. He is now enjoying socializing with his new visitors and friends and has spotted the occasional caribou venturing close to the lodge.  Both men have endured some incredible cold spells with temps dropping to -35C at times.  Both have shown the ingenuity and common sense the Far North requires to cope with freezing pipes and other issues. Ryan will ‘hold the fort’ until Chris returns the end of February. Our hats off to both of them for the great job they are doing.