The Churchill Manitoba Polar Bear Trip

OCT 16 - 21, 2001

Preamble

No trip, as special as this, starts on the day of departure. It commences with tantalizing professional photographs and videos of polar bears presented in places like National Geographic and Public Television.

For me, it started in 1989 at McGill University (my alma mater) at the first conference on Inuit clothing. There were presenters from all over the northern sphere, Scandanavia, Alaska, North West Territories (NWT), Greenland Thule, Iceland, Nunavut, Ungava, etc. The Russians did not come (cold war). The conference took place after the Olympics in Calgary Alberta, so we were treated to the same fashion show of Inuit clothing that was shown there. The most memorable piece was a parka made of bird skins (what a stench).

In conjunction with the conference, the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal had an Exhibit called Ivalu, traditions of Inuit Clothing, set up by Betty Issenman and Catherine Rankin. We were also lucky to have Jill Oakes who had done her doctoral thesis on Inuit clothing. I learned so much about the arctic; its culture and its history. I learned how to sew stitches that did not make a hole right through so that water could not get through. I learned that seal fur is waterproof, most others are not. I learned that we museum conservators had to be aware of the arsenic that was used to preserve many old artifacts.

My business name is Adirondack Tuktoyaktuk. Tuk Tuk (that's what the inuit call it) is the most northerly of the Inuit settlements. It means "place where the deer cross". I had never been to the arctic. It was inevitable that I go. We had always traveled alone but decided it would be safer to take a tour with International Wildlife Adventures, because I will be seventy-four in December, 2001. {return to top}

Preparing to leave

I would dearly have loved to bring home an amauti, the parka that a mother wears with extra space for the baby at the back above the waist but I knew that there were import restrictions. I consulted with the American Fish and Wildlife Service and Customs and realized that this dream would not come true. No marine animal fur allowed.

The tour starts in Winnipeg, so we did research to extend the trip before and after and planned our flights, our clothing (it was unusually warm), our medications, and points of interest in Winnipeg. We emailed our very detailed schedule to our children. We left our cell phone home. {return to top}

Phase one

We left Upper Saranac Lake (seventeen miles from the Village of Saranac Lake) at noon on Monday October 15, 2001. Our flight out of Montreal/Dorval was at 6:30 p.m. but we needed extra time for crossing the border at Champlain, NY because of the WTC event (it took us 45 minutes). We were advised to park in paid secure parking at Autoparc/Dorval (514-636-8877) next to the Hilton. They transported us and also handled our luggage. Our car was there for 9 days at a cost of $62. Because we had an E-ticket, check-in would take longer and lastly the security check was more complete than it used to be. We landed in Winnipeg at 8:26 p.m. (3 hours). A 7+ mile taxi ride to the Hotel Fort Garry because it's close to the VIA railroad station.

The next day, October 16, 2001, we wandered around Winnipeg. The Manitoba Museum of Man & Nature was, itself, worth the trip. The Hudson's Bay Company had closed their presence in England and had given the museum all their artifacts and they had many of them on exhibit. A full size replica of the "Nonsuch" was pure delight.

There was shopping and fine dining at an area called "The Fork" at the junction of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. {return to top}

The Tour

After early supper at the Remmington, we headed to the railway station to meet the others on our tour. There were 19 of us from Washington, Idaho, Minnesota, California, Texas, New York, Florida, Virginia, British Columbia and Alberta. There were no Europeans or Asians. We had been instructed to pack a separate small bag for the two-night train trip and that our escort would have our tickets and he would check the bags for the baggage car. We had a tour of the Winnipeg Railway Museum while we waited for our departure time, 8:45 p.m.

Our tour escort, Jerry Anderson, was a beaut. He was retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and from Security with the Toronto Dominion Bank. In his RCMP days, he had spent two years in Churchill. He really took good care of us. A very nurturing person.

The train is old. That was a bumpy ride. The rail bed is iffy. Beaver undermine the tracks. There were times when 35 MPR was fast. The compartments are small but we did have our own bathroom. The shower was down the hall. One night I slept in the upper bunk, the second night we swiched. The food was just adequate. We spent most of the day in coach.

I had hoped to be able to talk to some Inuit people on the train. Had a chat with only one gringo who lives in Churchill and he was not born there. He told us about the Churchill bungee - once you live there, you can't relocate.

We were able to disembark twice, once at The Pas and once at Thompson. The Railway Company gave us maps and a book describing the territory that we were traveling through. The advantage of the rail trip was that our tour group was well bonded by the time we reached Churchill at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 18, 2001 and we had time to examine all the literature that we were given to prepare us for our adventure. {return to top}

Day 1 in Churchill

All our luggage was taken to the Bear Country Inn. We boarded a bumpy bus driven by Sheldon Olivier (the owner of the inn) to tour the town and the surrounding areas of Churchill, including the Cape Merry area. We were told to dress warmly (but it wasn't cold) and to be sure to bring our cameras. Whenever we disembarked Sheldon accompanied us with his rifle.

We had a good look at the terrain. The area has three converging habitats; tundra, taiga (land of little sticks), and boreal (northern) forest. It's possible to see a brown bear in the forest and a few miles away, a polar bear on the tundra. Nowhere else does this happen. We noticed that the ground away from the tundra was tan colored clay. When it dried, you could brush it off your boots. The area was originally peopled by the Cree, the Dene, and the Inuit. We saw three polar bears, sled dogs, ptarmigan, bear cages, the bear jail, the Northern Lights Research Center, The Northern Studies Center, the grain elevator and port, and very old artifacts at the Eskimo Museum. Soup and sandwich for lunch at Northern Nights Lodge and later, to our digs. We found that the heat and water lines travel together in these buildings to keep the water from freezing.

There was a large tripod at the side of the road with a line tied to a rock hanging down the center. "Sheldon,What's that?" "Oh, that's the weather rock - if it's wet it's raining, and if it's swinging, it's windy!"

Supper at the Wong Kee Restaurant - they overcharged us.

At 7:30 p.m. at the Town Center Complex we were treated to a presentation, "In the Shadow of the Great White Bear", by Dr. Paul Watts, who discussed the culture, economy, and environment of the region, focusing on some of the unique aspects of Churchill's Polar Bear population. We all wanted to know how they deal with a bear that wanders into town.

Male polar bears do not hibernate. It is winter, after all, that enables them to feed out on the ice. In June when the ice melts in Hudson Bay, they come to the land and do not eat until ice forms again to enable them to hunt seals again in mid November. By the time they start to congregate at Point Churchill - about 45 minutes away from the town - they are starved. Females do hibernate. They give birth in November and the babies stay with their moms for 2 years. All the cubs that we saw were, therefore, either 11 months old or almost 2 years old. Because it was unusually warm, only a few males were congregating and we were able to see mothers and babies. We liked that.

The town Bear Patrol has a zero tolerance for bears in a designated zone. Outside that zone, people are on their own. They are just not allowed in town. If they happen to appear, they are trapped in a cage and transported to the bear jail. When the bears are close to the shore of Hudson's Bay, they are not shot with an anesthesia because they might head for the water and drown. A white button is placed behind the ear. There are 40 cells and the bears are not fed or watered. They are in the dark and released away from the town when the ice forms. If they return, they get a green button, if again, a red button. If a bear with a red button sashays into town, it is killed. There were two bears in jail when we were there but we were not allowed to see them. {return to top}

Day 2 in Churchill

This is why we came. Breakfast at the Churchill Motel Restaurant (they open at 6:30 a.m.) and the bus taking us to the Tundra Buggy departure point left at 8:00 a.m. and it takes about half an hour to get there.

The tires on the Tundra Buggy are taller than Alan. Windows all around but only the tops open. Propane heat, washroom, rear open verandah, and very good soup, sandwich, danish, and coffee, soda, and water for lunch and snacks. We were out there on the tundra from before 9 to after 4.

There are 18 Tundra Buggies and 2 "hotels" out there. Ours was named Chinook. Our driver was a classic pussycat, Everett Olson. You know, he makes you feel like you are the best group he ever guided. Of course we were.

What a bumpy ride. When the buggy was in motion, everyone had to be seated. If you needed to go to the john, you asked for a halt.

We saw, that first day, 7 bears, mostly females and babies, snowy owl, gyrfalcon, ptarmigan. When we had lunch, the bears could smell the food (even 20 miles away) and they came very close to the tundra buggy. One little one chewed on our tire. The little ones are very perky, roll around, bounce around because they are not hungry - their mother is very hungry. She is lethargic, lies around (until she smelled the food). Male bears were in twos, wrestling for dominance but not continuously. They also had to rest between bouts because they were starved.

We were offered helicopter rides for an additional fee but no one did.

We all had supper at the Churchill Motel Restaurant (close to the Bear Country Inn) and enjoyed a free evening. I went shopping at the Arctic Trading Company. At home, in the Adirondacks, I have a large piece of Inuit sculpture depicting a lady skinning a seal. I have owned it for 40 years so I did not try to find another - good thing because the specimens in Churchill were not the best. I found fine ones at the airport in Winnipeg. The same thing was true of stuffed animals. Most of the bears were just white copies of ordinary teddy bears. Again, I found my stuffed polar bear at the airport in Winnipeg - a very life like Gund, pigeon toes and high rump just like a real polar bear. {return to top}

Day 3 in Churchill

Another whole day out in the Tundra Buggy. We saw 14 bears. We were thrilled at how close we were able get to them. What beautiful animals they are, even at that time of year when lack of food diminishes their roundness. None of us will ever forget the experience. Some of our group went back to Cape Merry at the end of the day and saw arctic hare and arctic fox. What surprised us was the fact that the hare is big and strong and could beat up the fox.

We had supper at the Trader's Table. Roast Caribou. Yum. Dessert? Even yummier. Of the places that we ate, the only really good ones were the Trader's Table and Gypsy's Bakery (who supplied lunch for the Tundra Buggy).

That night at the Town Center Complex, we were treated to a photograph slide show by Mike Macri of the four beautiful seasons in Churchill. The Robert Taylor book called "The Edge of the Arctic" was on sale everywhere. We saw gorgeous photos of polar bears and thousands of white beluga whales that populate the Churchill River in summer. A good reason to return.

We all slept very well. {return to top}

Day 4 in Churchill

Breakfast as usual and we all stashed our luggage in one room before we headed out for the Northern Studies Center. We were treated to a very interesting photo/lecture about Eskimo sled dogs. These dogs were not for races. The owner, John Stetson, is world-renowned and had traveled by dog sled even unto the south pole. He told us that it costs $300 a month to feed his dogs and $700 a month to ship it to Churchill. He and his three assistants took everyone for a ride. It was very windy and cold. Reminded me of Nebraska when the wind blows there and there is nothing to stop it from picking up speed.

Alan & I missed the sled dog ride. We weren't too disappointed because we can do that in Lake Placid, close to home. Why did we miss the ride? Well..........

As we left the lecture area, there was a step down. Alan fell. As I ran towards him, I had no idea why he fell. Was it a vision problem (coming out of the dark slide presentation), did his weak leg buckle, or did he have another stroke? I was thinking, how do I get the body home. I asked him where does it hurt? He said that his knee hurt but not too badly. He had done what they told him to do in therapy: if you fall, do so onto your strong side. If the strong side is damaged it will heal faster. Vern, from B.C., offered to stay with Alan but I thanked him and told him not to miss the sled dog ride on our account. The director of the center was an EMT and when we sat Alan in a chair, he cried in frustration. We went to the cafeteria and had a cup of coffee and a good chat with the director about what goes on at the center. It was pleasant.

Later, after lunch at the Gypsy's Bakery, we went to the Parks Canada Interpretive Center to see a series of films on the history, culture, and wildlife of the area.

A quick bite at the Churchill Motel Restaurant, and transfer to the airport. It's called Calm Air and it certainly was a very smooth plane ride. We arrived in Winnipeg at 10:00 p.m. said good bye to everyone and checked into the Sheraton Four Points Hotel which is attached to the airport. {return to top}

Postscript

We wanted to go the Winnipeg Art Gallery but it was closed on Mondays. Instead we took a nap and it was well needed.

Another gotta was a visit to the Jewish Heritage Center of Western Canada at the Asper Jewish Community Campus. Either they would have information about Hirsch Saskatchewan or I would be able to give them information about my father who came to Hirsch from Besarabia, Russia when he was 12 and in a couple of years earned enough money to send for the rest of the family. They told me that they were planning a Western Canada Jewish Agriculture Exhibit. When I told them that I had a couple of audio tapes of an interview with my Dad telling about his days in Hirsch, they got excited and I promised to make copies and send them.

We really enjoyed our meals in Winnipeg and the next morning we flew to Montreal. Driving home was not too great. It was rush hour and it took us an hour and forty minutes to cross the Champlain Bridge. We made up for that time when we were able to cross the border into the USA, lickity split. We arrived home at 10:00 p.m. and crashed the next three days.

It was a great trip. {return to top}

e-molly

Links

Polar Bears, etc.

• Churchill, Manitoba, Canada - all about Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, including its polar bears (facts, lore, and safety), geology, ecology, whales, and other wildlife
• Binky the Polar Bear -- a print and cut-out face mask
• PBS Nature: The Great White Bear
• Polar Bears Alive - not-for-profit organization working to preserve the polar bear. Site includes a lovely Polar Bear Gallery
• Polar Bear Fan Club
• Polar Bear Species Page - International Association for Bear Research and Management

Other Links

• International Wildlife Adventures - Owners and Operators of the Original Tundra Buggies
• Inuit Clothing - Threads of the Land exhibit at Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Manitoba Museum of Man & Nature
• McGill University - my alma mater
• Saranac Lake, NY
• Tupper Lake, NY
• Upper Saranac Lake, NY

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