Flying J's: ᐊᐱᓯᒪᔪᖅ - apisimajuq

Today I got a wonderful surprise of an opportunity to go skidoing with my friend Darlene. Her rental agreement said one rider at a time, so naturally we decided to double. The day was warm, sunny and wind-free. She had already been riding for a couple hours, so she tried taking me on the shoreline trails she had done that morning. What an exquisite view! The fresh white snow contrasted against a bright blue sky was breathtaking. The rough ice continues to crush against the shore, growing in height and form with each tide. Now, I say that she tried to take me along the shore because we sure had our work cut out for us! The sun warmed to snow to a delightful, deep slush that kept getting the sled stuck. At one point it even tipped over due to a big rut that suddenly appeared. It was only due to our sheer stubbornness at not wanting to call a man to pull it out, that we were able to get it right side up again! After getting buried while trying to ascend a steep hill, we decided to give up on the shoreline and head out on the open ocean.

Even though everything is melting on land, the elders figure the ice is still safe to be on until the next full moon. At this time, the high tide will be so extreme that it will likely start breaking apart the ice. We didn’t know when the next full moon was, but we watched at least a dozen other skidoos and dog sleds traverse the ice without falling through. So, we figured we were safe. It was the farthest either of us had been out of the ice, and what an amazing feeling that was. We were completely alone out on the middle of the ice. I still marvel that I live up here, and it still feels like outer space. It’s an absolutely exciting, fresh and untouched part of this country. With the sun sparkling against a million snow crystals, we enjoyed a Tim Horton’s donut and soaked up the spring warmth through our snow suits. It doesn’t get much more Canadian than that!