(Post 2 of 2) Ice Pilot Germain Tremblay stands on the bridge of the National Geographic Explorer at 2 a.m. We are southbound, approaching Hell Gate, and looking for a safe passage out to southern Ellesmere Island. “It’s going well,” he says. “Look to the horizon and you see how it is black? Black is…
sea ice
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Lindblad Epic, Canada and Greenland
I’m traveling aboard the National Geographic Explorer on an epic voyage. Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic are the generous sponsors of Meet the North, and their ship is taking me up the west coast of Ellesmere Island as I type. In an hour, we will enter Eureka Sound and begin to explore the world between two mythic…
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On the ice, Scott Inlet, Nunavut, Canada
When we first spot these bears from our ship, the male is separate from the mother and cub. After a few minutes, the male gives chase, but only briefly. When the mother changes direction and comes toward us, she doesn’t appear to see that the male is curving closer, behind a burm of ice. I…
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Prince Regent Inlet, Nunavut
Gifts come in all shapes and sizes. I wanted to include at least one introduction to the polar bear with #meetthenorth. Here are two yearling cubs hanging out on the sea ice below the bow of our ship. This is an iPhone photo. No zoom, no filter.
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Iqaluit farewell, Nunavut
Farewell for now, Iqaluit. This beach was home base all week. Each day, I watched the tide, and the ice, come and go. I saw a beluga between these ice floes and wondered each night if the ships would still be around in the morning. I loved the flowering tundra and met many new people….
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Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada
Time for a journey to the Canadian Arctic. This is my new and unexpected back yard in Apex. I am held over in Iqaluit due to weather, and the bay is still packed with #ice. No boats in or out. Lots of flight changes. When in doubt, look at plants. I’ve been taken in by…
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Spitsbergen, Svalbard
Welcome to Svalbard. Come for the ice, stay for the people. I’ll be exploring life in and out of Longyearbyen with @eric_guth this week.
