A visit to the Northwest Passage
From whale watching to hiking there is a lot to do in this remote land
The camp known as Arctic Watch lies at 74 degrees north on a large bay overlooking the Northwest Passage, said Ruaridh Nicoll in the Financial Times. Run since 1999 by the Webers, a family of polar explorers, it sleeps 25 in tents made of aluminium and canvas, and on beds "thick with fleece and blanket". The people who choose to visit this remote place are a mixed bunch: on my visit, I met a surgeon who had pioneered stent technology, a retired murder detective and an art dealer.
To reach the camp, you have to fly for three hours from Yellowknife, "the already remote capital of Canada's Northwest Territories", but it's worth the journey: I knew I was going to love it the moment the plane landed. A key draw is that every summer – "all seven weeks of it" – beluga whales turn the bay into their personal kindergarten. But there is much to do besides watch whales congregate. On a walk on the Northwest Passage itself, the icy route across the north of the Americas that has claimed so many lives, we search in the distance for "patches of yellow" – and one eventually resolves itself into a polar bear and its cub. Hiking through "ground-hugging" Arctic willow back on land, we spot muskoxen, and gather clumps of their qiviut, "wool so warm that it seems to heat the hand". A chopper is also available to fly guests south, to see icebergs and narwhals, and "fly-fish for sea-run Arctic char".
Before leaving this "unique and precarious" place, I go on a group kayaking trip. "We start in a gorge, the never-setting Sun making green glass of the water. But after several hours, a fog rolls off the passage and I become separated from the others." I happily thread my own way, safe in the knowledge that the camp and its "vast dinner and hot-water bottle" aren't far. "But for now, I am immersed in endless shades of silver – glistening fog, sparkling rock, mercurial water."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up to The Week's Travel newsletter for destination guides and the latest trends
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
-
Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
-
Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
-
Roasted squash and apple soup recipeThe Week Recommends Autumnal soup is full of warming and hearty flavours
-
6 well-crafted log homesFeature Featuring a floor-to-ceiling rock fireplace in Montana and a Tulikivi stove in New York
-
Film reviews: A House of Dynamite, After the Hunt, and It Was Just an AccidentFeature A nuclear missile bears down on a U.S. city, a sexual misconduct allegation rocks an elite university campus, and a victim of government terror pursues vengeance
-
Book reviews: ‘Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife’ and ‘Make Me Commissioner: I Know What’s Wrong With Baseball and How to Fix It’Feature Gertrude Stein’s untold story and Jane Leavy’s playbook on how to save baseball
-
Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into ArtFeature Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, through Dec. 7
-
Music reviews: Olivia Dean, Madi Diaz, and Hannah FrancesFeature “The Art of Loving,” “Fatal Optimist,” and “Nested in Tangles”
-
Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
-
Ready for the apocalypseFeature As anxiety rises about the state of the world, the ranks of preppers are growing—and changing.