Following the Signs

Our days at the Lodge were spent enjoying this unique landscape and looking for photo opportunities…..especially looking for caribou or other large wildlife to photograph. The caribou, which were migrating through this area, could be found anywhere……close to the lodge, or along the hillsides surrounding the lake, or just over the next ridge……

We would go out in small groups…….always with one of the guides, who not only provided protection and the security of knowing that we would not get lost, but also had an uncanny knack for knowing where the caribou might be ‘hanging out’. 

And……if caribou were spotted…….we would try to get as close as we could….’sneaking’ up on them, staying out of sight….doing a bit of a ‘belly crawl’ up to the top of the ridge, if necessary. Then, we would set up our cameras…and shoot as many pictures as we could get…until they caught wind of us and decided to take off!

While hiking along on the Tundra, we would keep our eyes open for interesting things to photograph, as well as signs that the caribou, or any other creatures were in the area. On the left, is a caribou print. We saw MANY of these crossing over the land. On the right, a wolf print…..following the caribou. Oh…we watched, and watched, but we never did see the wolf……It was Rob, who had stayed close to the beach, rather than hike up the ridge, who happened to see the wolf, as it came strolling by. With a heart beating FAST, as one would imagine,  Rob managed to get several INCREDIBLE shots.   And, speaking of wolf prints…..the next day we happened to notice a fresh set of wolf prints around our cabins!

For as long as people have been hunting caribou, they have  communicated with each other over where the caribou might be found. These stone monuments, called Inuksuks, can be found throughout the Arctic region. They were first built by the Inuit people to communicate about the caribou, or a travel route or hazard, or some other bit of important information. The word ‘inuksuk’ means “to act in the capacity of a human”. They are often built in a form resembling a person, and their form can convey a specific message.

They have an uncanny way of making this vast region seem just a bit more ‘hospitable’……..

Along our hikes we also saw evidence of the life, and death, of the caribou……

These teeth were found close to the Lodge…..likely scavenged by a wolf or other animal.

Across the Barren Lands, we walked in the tracks of the thousands of caribou who have crossed this stretch of ground on their yearly migration……. over thousands of years………