Volume 4, 1951 - The Arctic Circle - Home

Through the courtesy of the R.C.A~F. the party of
three men, Dr. Y.O. Fortier and R. Tho~steinson~ both of
the Department of Mines and~eohnical Surveys, and myself,
were flown in to Resolute. The Air Force went to considerable
trouble, because t.he transport of a 22-foot canoe,
even in these days, is not an easy problem. The canoe Was.
finally lashed into the bomb-bay of a Lancaster aircraft,
and a reasonably cOmfortable trip was made to Resolute.
Our party a~rived on June 1. and although spring
was well advanced and open water was visible fifteen miles
away in Lancaster Sound, we had to wait until July 17 to
complete our final preparations for departure. The interval
was filled in by a detailed survey of the Resolute area and
in running several minor surveys for the various groups at
the weather station.
. On July 15 a very strong northeasterly gale,- accompanied
by snow and sleet, commenced and lasted three and a
half days. It was apparent that this heavy wind would clear
the eastern approaches to Cornwallis Island and our party
prepared to set out as soon as the gale abated. By early
morning of July 21 we could ha reasonably certain of at
least one calm day~ The canoe was therefore loaded, in
fact overloaded, with 115 gallons of fuels, 1,500 pounds
of food, and 1,500 pounds of personal and technical equipment.
This outfit was intended to last us until September
20, with an ample margin of safety. At last, at noon on
July 21, we departed from Resolute Bay eastward.
The sea was fortunately flat calm, and an easy run
was made to Assistance Bay where a stop was made for lunch.
The ships of Captain Penny and of Sir John Ross spent the
winter of 1850-1 in this bay, and traoes of their stay,
including piles of tin cans and the remains of a blacksmith's
shop, could be seen on the eastern shore. Here,
for lunch, we started our diet of K rations. These rations,
although perhaps monotonous for long periods, turned out to
be Ideal for lunches and emergency snacks. After a cursory
examination of the rocks in this vicinity, a start was once
more made, and by 6 p.m. we had rounded Cape Hotham at the
southeast corner of the Island. The cape, which in the
early evening light was a most impressive sight, is formed
by a bold bluff of limestone beds dipping 45 degrees eastward
into the sea. A large landslide had occurred on the
point and Thorsteinson, who had seen the slide at Frank,
Alberta, considered that the slide here was quite as
large.