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Upernavik Greenland 2008 Travel
Notes Innarsuit Gail Ferris |
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At the last minute I
bought a laser jet printer because it prints with waterproof ink. On Google Earth I printed out the maps on
Rite in the Rain waterproof paper with waterproof ink. Unfortunately the definition of the pages
was 20 k feet with 200 dpi and it was worthless to actually try to consult. The Saga 1:250 map was
much easier to read and relate to. The
laser seems to darken the image print out greatly even though I had tried to
fix this problem. The original 72 dpi
is much too vague so that is the story for now and off I am again for another
paddling adventure in the Upernavik region of I am using my folding kayak described in.www.nkhorizons.com/Mark1kayakassembly.htm
Long
Haul Mark 1. I take a ride across the Upernavik Isfjord because I find that there
is too much ice for me to risk the crossing in my kayak. This story is written about in the webpage
at www.nkhorizons.com/Ammassat.htm
finding ammassat fishing sites www.nkhorizons.com/Foggy.htm
very amusing paddling disastrous experimentation 2008 www.nkhorizons.com/GPScrossing.htm moments when GPS navigation works if you
believe it! www.nkhorizons.com/IcebergsSurf.htm
when a wave from a large iceberg surfs a small berg after you in the shallows www.nkhorizons.com/IceSurface.htm
walking on sea ice tricky deal! www.nkhorizons.com/IceViewedfromCockpit.htm
those decision moments what will the ice do? www.nkhorizons.com/LookAtSilverWater.htm
little moments when the water is not flat anymore www.nkhorizons.com/RockViewsKayakCockpit.htm
views of bright minerals on the edge or the water in Upernavik www.nkhorizons.com/StrategizingIcebergPaddling.htm where to paddle without risking ice
entrapment . |
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000 here is
the map that shows where I am taking my photos on my first day my position is
roughly in the center of the circle. |
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#001 and here I am looking out
at the fog over there |
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002 Oh and Where is my kayak? Oops
what is that in those green canvas bags? |
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003 well nice there is no ice
over there on the water but those mountains over there do have some but they
are near the ice cap you can’t see over there. |
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004 Something is funny about
this picture, is it really me or is it the fog? |
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005 Hey there are two or three
green canvas bags over there and it is foggy looking too! I thought there was an island out there. |
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006 Oh this is looking bad glad
I am on land right now, it is getting definitely foggier than it was a few
minutes ago. |
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007 Oh look at those wind
riffles on the water, beats me which way the wind is blowing and those green
bags are just sitting there on the rocks.
What is with those blobby bags anyway? |
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008 this is not good, it looks
darker out there, I think the fog is getting denser – what do you think? |
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009 Well beat that! Something got
switched around? Oh I know - the sun
is over there, I am over here, in the middle I guess, and the fog is guess
what? It is over there, must be coming in from the west because I am looking
down east right now and it is over there to the east. Glad I am here on land, safe and sound. |
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010 Now
what is this doing here? What is with
that rock propped up on a stone must be one of those chance glacial erratic
situations because I shure did not to that. That is
a heavy rock it is about three feet round. Weren’t
there three green canvas bags here last time I looked? This looks like my kayak. Oh nice this is my Mark 1 it is a nice
kayak I am going to enjoy paddling in this I can tell you. |
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011 Oh
this looks just fine. There is that
nice rudder and that is a good one. I
remember last time I had to do a 180 turn my kayak in a good 25 knot wind
normally a very difficult maneuver but I did it with this rudder, no
problem. I was glad I did not get
stuck in irons, broadside in the waves and wind. That yellow
bag on the stern deck is a handy 50 foot throw line, it weighs next to
nothing. The cockpit spray skirt is
the expedition type which really keeps me dry. Tide is
down, nice time to grab some sea urchins just a foot under water now. |
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012
Whew, now I am on the water. Tide is
low but that is okey. I am just out
looking around. |
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013 Is
this water green or what, guess the algae is having a good time growing like
mad in this summer sunshine. I wonder
what is around the corner over there? I am heading
down inside to see what is down there, beats looking at a map and always
wondering what is just inside there. I
passed by this area in 2005 but I never came inside to really take a look. |
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014
Well what do you know it is an opening I wonder if I can actually paddle
through or if there is some sort of shallows there guess I just have to go
and see. |
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015
some interesting stone looks like feldspathic granite. |
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016
nice to see some mussels lots of fucus I am on my way out the little passage. |
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017 Wow
this is a huge amount of filamentous algae this water is really heavily
enriched and it is so convenient to look at the bottom with this white
feldspar. |
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018
there is some ice floating about which has come in from the outside. |
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019 Oh
here I am it is open water and look at that line of icebergs out there all
that is between me and I wonder how many and where they are drifting to. Hope they don’t come in here. |
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020 I
am thinking about that chunk of ice just there. |
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021
There now I am just at the edge of the right side this is the southwest
corner of the island I happen to be camping on. My camp is only just a mile around the
other side. I have come around from the north side down eastward inside the
passage around to the south and now I have emerged on this with a view of the
island a couple miles away |
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022 Now
I am looking across there is a little wind blowing maybe 12 knots. That is sarfaq on Qaersorssuasiaq island I
wonder if those icebergs are actually mile away, that is what they look like
from here but it is difficult to tell. |
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023 Now
I have paddled from the rocks you see on the right side over to the left side
of this opening. Far over there is
Tassiusaq Island about 10 miles away. |
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024 Now
I am looking south at what is called Pamua on Qaersorssuasiaq island across
but I see a huge group of icebergs over there. |
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025 This
is the rocks where some birds are nesting.
There is a really dense group large tabular icebergs with one unstable
dirty one out there too. I wonder what is around the corner for more bergs I
have to consider when I am paddling. |
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026 Here
is a wave probably from a breaking up iceberg over there that has dropped a
huge chunk off. I have to be on the
watch for these steep waves so I don’t get grabbed or flipped by one. These waves can send you surfing suddenly. Farther
away is |
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027 More
waves jumbled together, now I am turning around and exploring inside. I will paddle outside on another day. |
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