Today we woke in the shadow of Thor. Literally, Mount Thor was blocking the sun from hitting our camp and it was cold. We slept in until�7:30 then began our morning ritual of making water, eating breakfast and packing camp. Just as we were almost packed another group of adventurers rounded the corner of the river and came into view.
We had heard there was a group from Japan doing our same route but in reverse. We stopped packing and walked out on the ice to greet them. In this extreme environment, it is exciting to see others engaged in the same journey. Even though there was a bit of a language barrier we greeted each other like long lost friends. Hugs, handshakes, high fives and smiles abounded. It was a very heartwarming moment, we both had places to go and distance to cover so after a big group photo, a few more hugs and high fives we both set on our opposite way.
We headed down the frozen river for almost 9km before we hit Windy Lake Falls. This Gidge is a rumble of powerful water in the summer, but in the winter it is a jumble of rock and ice. It was fun and interesting to navigate our way down onto the river again. Once at the bottom of the falls we only had about 1km to our camp.
The sun was shining so we set up an outdoor happy hour with drinks and snacks, but all too soon the sun dipped behind the mountains and the temperature fell and people retired to the warmth of the tents.
Everyone is now fed and warm and will soon crawl into sleeping bags for the night. It is hard to believe tomorrow will be our last day on the trail. Time flies when you are having fun.
Happy trails from TPL Baffin Island.