When most adventurers go out on expedition, chances are they will be taking along top of the line equipment. Unless, of course, they’re trying to bring awareness to a dying tradition.
This month, a group of young paddlers sets out on a 1,000-kilometer journey across Baffin Island, in Canada’s Arctic Ocean, using only the kayaks they have built themselves following traditional Inuit designs.
The Pittarak expedition includes dynamic siblings Eric and Sarah McNair-Landry, who are no strangers to gruelling expeditions. In 2007, they kite skied over 2,300 kilometers in Greenland in hopes of inspiring youth to get outdoors, and in 2009, they completed the first non-vehicle-supported kite-buggy trip across Mongolia’s Gobi Desert—an impressive feat lasting 35 days in one of the world’s harshest environments. Joining the duo are Katherine Breen, a doctor and yoga instructor, and Eric Boomer, a professional kayaker and photographer well known for completing numerous first descents on raging rivers.
The group built their kayaks at a local high school in Iqaluit, where they hosted interactive workshops over the winter and spring, giving students the opportunity to build their own traditional qajaqs, an Inuit word for kayak. Kayaking traditions in northern Canada date back at least 4,000 years but have been in serious decline over the past century.
“Working with the students and teachers in Iqaluit has been a fantastic experience. Several students showed off their impressive woodworking skills,” says Breen, who’s also a doctor in the community. The expedition aims to inspire native youth to build and use their own qajags, and rekindle a love for the great outdoors.
The first official five days of the expedition will see the team adding the final touches to their kayaks in Pangnirtung. While there, they will sew the nylon casings, lash the boats and apply several layers of polyurethane to the outsides of the qajaqs.
“After a lot of hard work and planning it will feel great to put our boats into the water for the first time,” says Eric McNair-Landry. The team will first traverse the Penny Ice Cap by ski, and then navigate their way through the interior of Baffin Island, travelling through Auyuittuq National Park. For eight weeks they will follow a traditional hunting route starting in Cumberland Sound and eventually leading them to hamlet of Cape Dorset on the coast of the Arctic Ocean.
While the team agrees that the harsh Arctic environment, and things that come with it, such as polar bears and shifting sea ice, pose a threat, Sarah McNair-Landry says the biggest challenge is almost behind them—preparing and outfitting the qajaqs for the two month expedition.
To find out more about the expedition, visit www.pittarak.com.
This article first appeared in the July issue of Paddling Magazine, read it on your Apple or Android device or on your desktop.
