Category Archives: Arctic Circle Trail

Final Thoughts on the ACT

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I find I’m at an age where I no longer get quite so angry at other people’s carelessness and thoughtlessness. The Arctic Circle Trail is a walk through a pristine landscape one that most people will never see or appreciate. There are rumblings in the jungle both on the official website and Facebook pages of the amount of rubbish and excrement left by thoughtless trekkers.

Before I go into those rumblings, I think it wise to maybe put over a point of view that I know will offend the purist, that is, those that want to keep the trail selfishly to the chosen few, the hardy multi day backpackers that maybe are just a little elitist in their thoughts. Greenland, like many other up and coming tourist destinations are advertising themselves as a unique place to travel to. It is in many ways similar to Spitsbergen, with its wildlife and culture. Both Spitsbergen and Greenland have European Overlords and from talking to the locals, Greenland would very much like to slowly release their reliance on Denmark.

This piece, however, is specifically about the Arctic Circle Trail. In recent years a track has been built called the ATV track that runs from Kangerlussauq to Sisimiut, following the same line as the ACT track for some distance and like for example the road that now connects many parts of the Annapurna Circuit, has caused uproar amongst many in the trekking community. In answer to this apparent ‘intrusion’ there is now a suggested Southern Route that bypasses where these two collide, which ultimately gives walkers a choice. Is the path set in stone? Not in my mind, a trail is what the individual want’s to make of it. We chose to do the northern route and found that the ATV was in no way an eye saw most of the time, even where running parallel it was hardly noticeable. Another couple we ran into along the trail did the southern route and they too, loved the experience as did we. Who’s right… it’s a choice!

Who am I to object when the local people want to improve their infrastructure, and in doing so improving their way of life. Who are we, just visitors to the country, to tell them otherwise.

Most of the discussion, though, on the Facebook pages are about rubbish and the state of some of the huts along the trail. I 100% agree some are disgusting, sometimes with rubbish thrown away without a care and worse toilet paper and excrement that is so obvious around some of the huts. The Official Arctic Circle website has been extremely successful in advertising this unique trail, which creates a double edged sword. If you attract more people the trail looses its lofty statues as an elite walk, for only those that are prepared to stick to the code of ‘leave no trace’. It is, unfortunately, human nature, I’m not condoning it, it’s what happens.

With the success that the website has had in attracting more visitors then maybe the responsibility needs to shift slightly from the individual to the Greenland tourist board. I can hear my ears burning now, disgusted at the thought. People should take responsibility for their own actions and I absolutely agree, but time and time again it’s proved that they either aren’t willing to or just don’t understand the concept of ‘leave no trace’. If you provide bins people will use them, if you provide compost toilets again people will use them and probably abuse them. I’m going to mention an extreme example of where a trail has become so popular that limits are placed on the number of people that are allowed in any one season to walk it. Both the ‘O’ Trek and ‘W’ Trek in Torres del Paine have limits and those limits are set by the number of camping places and Refugio beds that are available at any one time. Those of you that have walked either of these treks will know how far in advance you need to book. A fee is paid to the National Park Service, which is basically a permit and you have to stay at the designated Refugio and camping areas. As I said an extreme example, but one that works as does the permit system in the USA and many other country’s that have long distance trails in them.

Yes, I’m suggesting a permit system and coming from the UK, that whole concept of a permit is alien to me. However, the money raised could be used to help clear up the debris, provide bins that are regularly emptied and compost toilet facilities that are useable. As I said at the beginning I know that this solution will not be popular with those walkers that truly want to wild camp and are diligent in the way they go about it. But ultimately Greenland wants to attract more visitors and quite rightly so, but in doing so has to take on some of the responsibility in keeping the trail in a pristine condition and those that walk the trail need to pay for that privilege.

After saying all of that, the walk from Point 660 to Sisimiut is up there as one of my favourites. I don’t think it’ll be long before the Arctic Circle Trail starts officially at Point 660 keeping to the ridges that run parallel with the dirt track, bypassing Kangerlussuaq and running all the way to the coast. What ever route the individual decides to take it is their decision and theirs alone and no one should be judged for what ever route they decide to take.

We didn’t meet many people along the trail as we did it in late September and we were also blessed with wonderful weather. Uncle Les, one of my mentors, would have loved this trail as that, in the whole of the 11 days of walking we encountered only five other people actually on the trail and a number of hunters at the end of their season. It was a pleasure to talk to them and get first hand knowledge of the area and its wildlife. I know at the height of the season it can be a problem finding any room in the small huts… isn’t that why we all carry tents? However, we were lucky enough to share a hut only twice.

The Finalé

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A Change in the Weather!

Day 9: Modern technology meant that we were prepared for the day of constant rain that lay ahead. The Garmin InReach gave us a fairly accurate forecast every day and today’s was to be the complete opposite of the last eight days! Rain from beginning to end. Forecasts have been known to be very wrong and we hoped this was, but no, it was as accurate as the other days had been. Rain it did, all day.

A Black & White Day

The guide book said that, although this was the last day the scenery was worth taking your time over as most people rush through this last day eager to finish after nine days on the trail… well there was very little scenery to be seen as the cloud blanketed all the mountains above 500m. So like most people I put my head down and covered the 20km in just over five hours, without any breaks! I’m not going to complain, as we’ve had exceptional weather, for this time of year. Hopefully we’ll get to see some of the scenery looking back from Sisimuit during our stay.

A Service Area Along the AVT Track – A Toilet with a View
Service Area

The hotel is excellent, good beer and food… it is nice to eat fresh food again. The rehydrated food we have been eating was very good, in fact, far better than it ever used to be, but Reindeer Stew from a vacuum packed bag bares no comparison to the rare Reindeer steak that I ate in the hotel restaurant!

First View of Civilisation!
The Hotel!

A successful walk, where next???

Down the Valley All the Way!

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Warmth Melting the Cold Ice!

Day 7: Started as all the others. The blue hour’s cold hues tried to penetrate my sleeping bag, it tryed hard to find an opening as I snuggled deeper into its warm interior, knowing that I would have to unzip it sooner or later and drag on as many warm clothes as quickly as possible. The blue hour is only temporary, normally only about 15 minutes and is always followed by the golden hour, when the sky lights up in orange, red and purple hues and suddenly the day has begun. It’s the same with your clothes, firstly they feel cold, often damp and uncomfortable, but like the sunrise the warm slowly filters through. For every day to start with a visible sunrise, is worth putting up with that 15 minutes of cold and I have to say, so far we’ve been blessed!

Stephen and I leave the hunter in his temporary home and make our way up to a distant cairn on the top of a pass. From there the day was a gentle downhill wander to our hut for the night. It was an easy day. A day we could look up from our feet and admire the high snow capped hills on our left and the rugged cliffs of the lower mountains on our right. A day to daydream, which is something I’m very good at.

The Snow Topped Mountains become more Rugged

The penultimate hut was probably worse than the first. The first was a rambling, tumbled down disjointed hut that needed some TLC, however Nerumaq hut was probably the worst kept of all the huts we stayed in. It was surrounded by litter and toilet paper, with rubbish bags that had been scavenged by the local wildlife. Why this hut was worse than any other, neither of us could fathom, but it definitely required some attention.

The Gentle Walk to the Penultimate Hut

Tomorrow is our penultimate day and our rucksacks are getting ever lighter!

Day 8: Started like all the other mornings, a perfect start. We were staying in a hut that was surrounded by high mountains in a deep cut valley. The sun is past its Autumn Equinox and the days have got noticeably shorter whilst we’ve been here and the sun is lower in the sky. I’m not trying to give anyone a geography lesson, I’m just giving the reasons that in this deep East/West cut valley the sun struggled to rise above the Southern mountains and it wasn’t until midday and a lowering of the mountain barrier did the sun finally give me her warmth. Stephen was probably about an hour behind me so the power of the sun came even later to him.

Only a couple of things worth mentioning and they were two river crossings. Let’s just say I had to take my boots off twice to wring out my socks and realised that this old man’s balance isn’t as good as it should be! The rest of the walk was similar to yesterday with the path wandering slowly down the valley, through the familiar birch and willow scrub and the never ending peaty bogs.

The Last Nights Hut

The hut for the night, like many of the others is situated in a prime location giving uninterrupted 360 degree views.

Tomorrow is our last day and with that always comes mixed emotions… looking forward to a beer or two and a meal that I don’t have to rehydrate and of course a comfy bed. On the other side of the coin, walking in such a pristine environment and seeing the mountains and the flora and fauna will be very hard to give up.

I’ve mentioned many times the one man that taught me how to appreciate the mountains. And that even now I know he walks with me and constantly reminds me to always look back, as the view behind can often be more spectacular than the one in front. He’s always there in the back of my mind and he always will be, but more especially on these trips as he loved the mountains so much. One other person who always gets my special thanks and love, who tolerates my continual need to walk all over the world. Although the mountains bring me peace she brings me complete happiness… Carolynn.

The View from the Hut

The Infamous River Crossing!

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Spectacular Morning

I slept on a bench that had a window that was at eye level when I laid down. And as with every night so far the moon rose flooding the night sky with cold white light at around 21:00 and made its way in a high ark taking the same path as the sun. Chasing each other like Tom & Jerry, night after night! At around 01:00 I woke up and my eyes were drawn towards the window and there dancing green and pale purple were the Northern Lights. We both jumped out of bed and went to stare, mesmerised by the ever changing light show. Obviously I took photographs and as with all cameras the colours and intensity are far more intense than the you can see with your naked eye. Eventually the cold got to us both as we were only dressed in our long-Johns and down jackets…

The Northern Lights

Day 5: The morning started like all the others, nearly cloudless with the sun rising over the mountains. We packed and left separately as we often do and the terrain was similar to yesterday afternoon’s. The river crossing that we’ve both read so much about loomed at the far side of a wide reed and birch scrub covered valley. I got there about an hour before Stephen. The crossing didn’t look too bad, just over knee height, it has been known to be chest height at times of flood, but it was still running at a fairly brisk pace. The shallow rapids ended with a broad deep pool, before the river continued down towards the fjord.

The Broad Valley of the River Crossing

After much consideration neither of us got our feet wet crossing this stretch of water as we decided that the offer of a lift to the far bank in a boat by a family of local hunters was by far the more sensible way to cross!!!

Tying up the Reindeer’s Pelt – One of the Hunters Children

The hunters were a local family, three children, the youngest, a boy, who appeared to be the most industrious, was about seven years old. A young girl, who spoke perfect English and on the odd occasion corrected her Fathers grammar, who was about 12 and an older boy who was about 15. As well as their Father, their Uncle and Grandmother were there. Apparently the 75 year old Grandmother never misses a hunting trip! They were hunting Reindeer and had a license to shoot 20, but after eight days had only managed to bag 14. So they were moving downstream to try their luck. It was fascinating spending an hour talking to the Father and children. The Father was a helicopter engineer in Nuuk and spent his holidays hunting as his ancestors did and he was hoping to pass on the tradition to his children, although he did admit his daughter preferred to spend her time indoors, apparently she was not so keen on the outdoor life!!! I’d certainly like to give a big thank you to them for the lift across the river.

The afternoon consisted of a boggy walk on burch and willow scrub and cotton grass as a gentle rise took us away from the valley and fjord to tonight’s hut. Slightly larger than last nights, nestled in a valley over looking the Maligiaq Fjord, again a bedroom with a view. It’s not a view ‘to die for’, no vista is worth that, but definitely a view to savour whilst taking in the last heat of the afternoon Arctic sun.

You can just make out the Hut

An early finish has meant there’s been time to dry out wet socks and hopefully boots as well and, of course, 40 winks for two old men!

Lakes & Mountains

Day 6: Stephen and I walked separately all day. He’s like Jeremy he can talk to strangers and they seem to like to talk to him. I spent too many years walking with Uncle Les. He would divert off a path to avoid anyone that was walking towards him, although as I’ve said in my blog about the Wales Coast Path, I am getting better, Jeremy is working hard to improve my sociability. During the walk Stephen and I keep in touch using our Garmin InReach so we’re reasonably aware of each other’s positions. I know that today Stephen spent quite sometime talking to a local hunter, that he met on the trail, so his eta was going to be a couple of hours after my arrival.

Our Hut for the Night

Today’s walk was gentle in many respects after an initial 350m ascent the route stayed high for a few kilometres then descended into a valley which we followed until the hut was reached. The valley path was wet and boggy, fortunately still partially frozen making what would be an extremely wet route, just a wet route. As with every other day my boots and socks are wet through! So it was good to reach the hut. There’s a hunter staying here for the week and is very house proud… the place is spotless, the only downside is that he never stops talking, but to make it worse he doesn’t stop talking when an answer is required… he just talks over you! But after saying that, I’m learning how to butcher a Reindeer and cook it ready for storing. So it’s quite interesting if not a little gory!

The scenery is changing slightly as the surrounding mountains are getting higher and have snow covering most of the summits and the small ice sheet of Aqquititsoq is glimpsed tantalisingly in the distance.

Ice Crystals

Stephen had the same issue I did with the digital route map… it basically took you the wrong way! It happened at exactly the same place. I was a little concerned where the gpx route was taking me and checked the guide book and realised the digital routing was either corrupted or wrong and I altered my course accordingly… Stephen, however, didn’t realise and crossed a fairly major river and went up onto a hill, the opposite side of the riverbank to where he actually wanted to be. Now as compensation he did get some great photographs! The down side was that he had to wade back through the river and make his way to the correct path. These few short sentences of mine have not really told the gravity and the possible consequences of such a miscalculation in this environment. I walked into camp at 15:30 and Stephen walked in at 19:15. He should have walked in at about 17:00… two hours is a long time to be off route, especially when you are tired and hungry. I was getting very concerned about how long it was taking him even though we were in contact through our Garmin InReach.

Sunset

Stephen and I generally walk at different paces and we therefore rarely walk together unless safety dictates otherwise. We are both experienced at solo walking, but sometimes relying on a purely digital method of navigation can cause serious problems and we are both very capable of reading and interpreting the paper maps we each have with us as a backup. I know there will be people out there who say that you should always stick together, but we both love our ‘me’ time, and we are both fully aware of the possible consequences.

Again the Northern Lights Came Out to Play

The Trek that Includes a Canoe!

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A Perfectly Still Day for the Canoe Section

My last words on the previous blog were very premature. At 11pm two people entered the hut, head torches blazing and a herd of Elephants would probably have been quieter! They were two local Greenlanders walking the trail for the 8th time. If I said that this hut was about 3.5 metres sq. and slept six people in theory and is made up of only the one room, you’ll understand our dismay when they started cooking their dinner, then proceeded to chat until after midnight. I’m not innocent myself when it comes to snoring, but let’s just say that one of them had rhythmical snoring that made the last part of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture seem very quite by comparison and to top it all the snorer got up every hour for a pee!!! Anyway some fitful sleep was had!

The Second Hut

Day 3: This morning we were far more considerate than our room mates were the previous evening, we, quietly as possible took all our belongings outside to pack as well as making our breakfast drinks there as well… butane/propane camping stoves sound a little like an express trains when lit. What good fellows we were. We expect to meet them again at the next hut, as Stephen would say… Jaysus!

So before sunrise we were in the canoe starting our, well I am going to say, our voyage into the unknown, as you could write what we both knew about canoeing on the back of a postage stamp, although postage stamps appear to have got a great deal larger these days. The sun rose over the mountains giving the near perfect reflection of the cliffs and vegetation at the side of the lake, a wonderful brown/red hue as our paddling caused the only ripples that slowly spread and vanished into the near perfect reflections.

Near Perfect Reflection

Stephen is younger and definitely stronger than me so keeping a straight course was not easy, but the 20km was covered in 4 hours 45 minutes including a 30 minute break on a sandy beach for lunch. It made for a short day, so in the afternoon we dried boots, socks and aired sleeping bags in the glorious Arctic sunshine… an afternoon spent blissfully unaware of this mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Beached!!!

It’s now early evening and what little wind there was has now gone. The lake is again at perfect peace with the surrounding mountains, unable to tell where the reflection stops and the mountains begin. The late evening Arctic sun still has a little warmth in it, but that will disappear fast as the sun gets lower in the sky… absolute silence, absolute tranquility.

The Canoes
Sunset Over the Canoe Centre

Our friends from the last hut did turn up at about 20:45, one of them totally exhausted. They are sleeping in a separate room… May everyone’s god be praised. The good news is that they are spending two days at the Canoe Centre hut!

The Canoe Centre

Day 4: Today started as yesterday, a near cloudless sky, with the waning moon still dominant in the sky as the sun was still waiting to creep over the horizon. The first half of the day was a gentle walk down a wide valley to lake Kangerluatsiarsuaq. As we stopped for launch it was difficult to judge where reflection and reality merged.

Reflections

I’m sat just North of the Arctic Circle next to a crystal clear tarn, it’s only the slight breeze that indicates that there is water there at all. The surprisingly warm breeze is blowing the white cotton grass seeds through the air, sticking to the rusty red of the beach and willow scrub, which is in the last throws of its Autumn transformation. In the distance are snow capped mountains separated by deep turquoise lakes, the mirror like reflections exaggerating the size of these white topped peaks. I wish I could describe the scene better, they say a picture paints a thousand words, but no picture could do this justice.

A Typical View

After lunch the trail took us into the mountains, crossing boiler plates with erratics dotted all over. The hut, most people might call it a shed, was perched at the head of a small valley. The late evening sun was still warm enough to be able to sit outside in a polo shirt… I was expecting temperatures of -5 to -8 at night and in the low single figures during the day, but today has felt like a beautiful Spring day in the UK at about 10 to 12 degrees.

It was a late finish . It’s the longest day on the Arctic Circle Trail itself. The book says 22km, but my GPS made it 25.5km. Which ever is correct it was still a hard long days walk. The scenery, though, never disappointed.

From the Hut
The Northern Lights

Tomorrow hopefully only 11km… but through a ford that could be waist deep!

The Reason We Went To Greenland

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The Road Walk out of Kangerlussuaq

Day 1: Started with a hearty breakfast, fresh orange, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash brown and sausage… I think I forgot to mention we were still at the hotel! The day had finally arrived the actual start of the Arctic Circle Trail. It’s not an overly interesting start as the first 12km is along a road to the harbour that feeds Kangerlussuaaq. Then another 4km ascent up a dirt road, but unlike the harbour road this section took us into the mountains. The scenery changed with every step of the ascent, there were mountains and lakes, rather than a never ending road cutting, starting to dominate the views. At the apex of the hill, a look back, was rewarded with a final glimpse of the Ice Sheet, 60km away and the vista in front unfolded the land that would be our home for the next nine days.

Stephen took the obvious route, me, well, I took the wetter route! We eventually both ended up at the Hundesó hut… how do I describe this hut, well, even Steptoe and Son might have been too ashamed to call it home!

Our Home for the Night

Its positioning was, though, exceptional. The hut stands on a peninsula with an uninterrupted view of the lake and mountains beyond, it’d be a perfect spot to build a log cabin for those long Winter nights. As it is, it’s the perfect spot to get away tomorrow morning as early as sunrise will allow!

Early Morning View

Day 2: Started perfectly, a three quarter moon high in the Western sky as the Sun slowly rose in the East, not a cloud to be seen or a ripple of wind on the lake. We started out at about 8:45, you have to remember that the sun doesn’t rise until 8ish, so it’s never going to be an early start.

The difference between yesterday and today couldn’t be more stark. No more dirt road walking. In fact the path is very reminiscent of the Dark Peak paths over Bleaklow and just as hard to follow. Fortunately the weather must have been fairly dry over the last few weeks as the marshes that the path had a fondness to go through, were fairly dry and helped to be firm under foot by the nights frost. The trail, at this stage anyway, is not too hard, although it did take us two hours longer to do 20km today than yesterday… but it was far more enjoyable.

Morning Has Broken

One incident worth noting that the guide book neglected to mention. We wandered over the brow of a hill and looked across to the brow of another small hill, in between was a small valley. The path going down was obvious as was the path going up the other side. In between the two small hills where the path should have been was instead,the merging of two lakes! I don’t mean that there was a little stream between the two, I mean they had merged. What I think was just boggy ground there was now one metre deep water… so off came the trousers, boots and socks, and we waded in to near waist height. I have to say it was cold and there were some very strange sensations in between my toes. No mishaps to report!

The Small Stream between the Two Lakes!
Getting Ready for the Crossing!

There can’t be anything more satisfying than turning a corner and seeing below you a hut peacefully nestled by the side of a lake. It is positioned such that it has stunning 360 degree views, but most importantly I would recommend this one to the royal family and definitely not Steptoe & Son!

The hut is called Katiffik Hut, the first official hut on the Arctic Circle Trail. Again we are the only occupants.

Ice Sheet

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A day of contrasts. Eagerly waiting, endless cups of cof’fee, watches ticking by in slow motion and conversation stalled as both of us stared blankly out of the window as our thoughts wandered along the Arctic Circle Trail.

We made slow progress in the big arctic bus that took us to the Ice Sheet. The dirt road was built in 1999 by VW so they could test their cars in extreme conditions on the Ice Sheet, only to be abandoned four years later as the ice sheet retreated and the maintenance of the road became too expensive.

We arrived at Point 660 at four O’Clock. An hour and a half later than we expected. Although we only had around 12km to walk, so daylight wasn’t going to be an issue. We crossed the moraine unceremoniously dumped by the retreating ice sheet and onto the ice itself. The start.

Stephen on the Ice Sheet – The Start

The Ice Sheet and the grey sky merged into one infinite sea of white. A place, for me, to stand and stare and admire the vastness of this white wilderness. However, we needed to get on so we made our way back to the bus and the dirt road, said our goodbyes to the other passengers, put on our sacks and started the 37km walk back to Kangerlussuaq. A straight forward walk, no navigational skills required, just retrace our steps along the dirt road.

Reindeer Stag

We only got 8km down the road when we reached a high spot that looked out over the side of the Russell Glacier. A breathtaking view of one of nature’s most powerful creations. The retreating glacier left behind stunning waterfalls, ground out of the hard Greenland rock and gigantic unstable lateral moraines, with thunderous rock falls, followed by absolute silence. And to top it all, there was a picnic table there with our names on, so we could cook dinner in comfort!

The only noise throughout the night was the calming noise of the waterfalls… a perfectly peaceful night. As we had only did 8km the following day was going to be long. Seven hours of dirt road, dusty and hard on your feet, all 29km of it! Our own fault for being led astray by the view the previous evening. It was a day of being able to walk side by side, just two boys in high spirits on a little jaunt!

Our Campsite – Looking out over the Russell Glacier

The scenery passed by slowly as we made our way back to a beer or two! The long low ridges, that ran either side of the wide sandy valley were punctuated by hills just as a child would draw a Crocodiles back, sharp regular protrusion. The Autumn colours were in full swing, vivid shades of reds, browns and yellows. There were no trees because of the permafrost, the ground instead was covered in broadleaf willow and beach scrub, that spread low just above ground level, Arctic Crowberry’s and Arctic Blueberries… it would be nice if they are still in fruit as we travel the trail.

The last hour of the walk was hard on our feet and our willpower, but as Kangerlussuaq comes into sight that long awaited beer pulls us in.

Today we start the trail, with a rucksack heavier than I have ever carried, but getting lighter as the days progress…

Outside it’s a crisp and sunny day.

They Say it’s All About the Journey!

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The act of travelling from one place to another, especiallyin a vehicle. That is the first definition of the word journey in the Cambridge Dictionary, it’s how I would define a journey, the sitting, the waiting and the endless queuing. Its main purpose, to get you between point A and point B. The Cambridge Dictionary also describes a second definition – ‘A set of experiences that someone has over a period of time, especially when they change the person in some way’. It’s a popular definition and the phrase ‘especially when they change the person’ is a phrase I struggle to to find any real purposeful meaning, every experience, no matter how big or small, can have a profound effect on a person, but all too often the dictionary definition is banded around and its meaning lost in what appears to be people’s inflated egos. So for me it’s not very the journey, it’s about the destination. The journey is a means to an end, sometimes enjoyable and sometimes a pain in the proverbial!

So the journey begins, that is Heathrow to Copenhagen and then on to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. A journey to the start of the Arctic Circle Trail. I’d like to travel back in time and explain why I chose this rather remote trail. Stephen and I were going to go to Patagonia and walk the ‘O’ Trek in Torres del Paine, but after looking it up Stephen suggested that the estimated 300,000 people who visit the trail every season was 299,998 people too many! A challenge was set to find an accessible trail that was rarely visited.

How I came across the Arctic Circle Trail, I can’t remember. The trail jumped out at me for one main reason though, only 300 people a year walked the trail… only 1% of the people that visit Torres del Paine. I’d found a trail that suited the introverted Irishman down to the ground! A trail easy to book and easy to self guide, well that’s the theory, anyway!

The first stage of the journey is to Copenhagen, which unfortunately I’m going to see very little of. A good excuse to bring Carolynn back for a weekend break, I think, but for now it’s a necessary stopping off point for Greenland. I could have gone via Iceland but the cost was at least double, I can only assume that Denmark subsidises the flights. Stephen and I are rendezvousing at an airport hotel before we fly to Greenland tomorrow morning.

I can’t really give an opinion on Copenhagen. I am a little put out that the hotel bar and restaurant are closed on a Sunday. It’s not as if the hotel is a small private affair, it’s a large chain, Best Western. So I’ve had to walk to the only local restaurant open, I have to say it’s been worth every step of the 2km walk from the hotel. The food is excellent as is the atmosphere, could be because it’s the only place open for some considerable distance!

Tomorrow Greenland and the start of a ‘journey that will profoundly change me as a person’ !!!

Arctic Circle Trail – Greenland

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The Arctic Circle Trail

It’s been six months since I last posted a blog. Laziness really, I have done a couple of trips walking the Wales Coast Path with Jeremy, but I haven’t got around to writing them up…

The title gives the trail and destination away, really. Stephen and I will be Polar Bear dodging in the West of Greenland, roughly following the 66 degree longitude line, where daylight and darkness fight for dominance. We’re there during the stalemate, where neither daylight nor darkness has the upper hand. Even so, the daylight hours will diminish by more than three hours in the two weeks that we’re walking.

Don’t ask me to pronounce our start and end points, as it would be an insult to the local Inuit population. Although we will be adding 35km to the already 160km long trail by taking the trip to Point 660 at the edge of the largest ice sheet outside of the Antarctic. An ice sheet that is up to 3km thick and one that holds 8% of the worlds fresh water, and walk back to Kangerlussuaq the official start of the Arctic Circle Trail. I think most of you that read any of my blogs will know that I have a fascination with the colder climates of this world and although I’ve been to Greenland before I’ve never walked on the ice sheet itself. So, Stephen and I will wander back to Kangerlussusq, camping under the 60m wall of ice that is the Russell Glacier before starting the trail proper.

From the trails start, at Kangerlussuaq to it’s end at Sisimiut there are no resupply opportunities so your existence relies on being able to carry 10 days worth of sustenance and all the other essentials required to survive in the wilderness! What one man calls essential another calls useless, such as my luxury blowup down filled pillow and my Salted Caramel Costa Latte! Whatever our vices are they have to be carried… I’m sure some of these vices will soon be dropped by the wayside!

Our journey begins on Sunday, traveling to Copenhagen before flying out to Greenland on Monday.

I will put the Polar Bear question to bed, sightings are very rare in this part of Greenland and not one person has been attacked whilst on the trail…

Black: fight back

Brown: lie down

White: goodnight

So it’s au revoir and not goodnight.

This blog won’t be updated as often as I’d like as for most of the trail there is no phone signal… absolute bliss.