Dispatch from Churchill
As I sat at 30,000 feet with the world passing below me - my eyes were glued to the window. I peered out from seat 14F as the sun warmed my skin — there was nothing and everything at the same time. Glassy lakes, snaking rivers, tundra, marshmallow like clouds, blue skies for as far as the eye could see and somewhere out there wolves and polar bears. Being just that, wolves and polar bears. And here I was, hurling through the sky just for a morsel of time with them.
Having woken up at 4am you’d think I would be tired but to be honest it’s the exact opposite. I tried to close my eyes but my mind just wandered and wondered leaving me wide awake. I was, still am, buzzing with what feels like electricity in my veins. I don’t know what’s ahead and that, that’s exciting.
When we set out on experiences like this we always have expectations or set goals or simply have a photo in mind. But one of my greatest, and hardest, lessons learned has been to trust that the wild will reveal just what you need. Nothing more. Nothing less. So while I don’t know what’s ahead, I know that this is all working out exactly how it’s meant to.
As I write this, I’m in Churchill. Not quite the final destination, but almost. About 15 minutes into our flight to the Kaska Coast, we turned around due to ice on the wings of our airplane. The Hudson Bay is just beginning to freeze and this lack of frozen water creates more moisture in the air this time of year. And when it rises, its freezes. Our pilots made the call to circle back and try again in a few hours. Conditions worsened, our flight was canceled and we will try again tomorrow. Welcome to the arctic.
The Kaska Coast is nestled on the Hudson Bay - this confluence of arctic and sub arctic conditions make for a unique landscape with, to my surprise, a swath of uniquely adapted wildlife. The winter here is unforgiving, I’m told the same of the black flies in the summer, the sea ice on the Hudson Bay is taking longer to freeze making it harder for polar bears to reach their main prey - ringed seals. Here, there are always many factors at play that ultimately affects the livelihoods of these wild animals.
I’m here with Churchill Wild on their Wolves of the Kaska Coast trip. It’s part photography part citizen science. The objective is to track wolves and polar bears to further understand how the two interact and coexist in such harsh environments. And the wolves here, referred to as Cloud Wolves, are thought to be a subspecies of Canis lupus (gray wolf) called Canis lupus nubilus or the plains wolf. In Latin, nubilus means cloudy. So the name, is an affectionate nod to their coats, which come in various shades of gray (whites and blacks) and buff (warmer tones like brown and yellow). These wolves have never been officially studied so with the help of Jad Davenport and First Nations, Churchill Wild created this Wolves of the Kaska Coast trip, inviting guests from all over the world to participate in a ground breaking citizen science program that will help us all better understand these wolves.
So, will I make it to Nanuk Lodge and see the Cloud Wolves of the Kaska Coast with my own two eyes? Will I see polar bears? Right now, in this moment, your guess is as good as mine. But I sure hope so. More soon.
