Revisiting King George

Road to Nanisivik.

On Saturday, August 10, I decided to take a break from preparing for the first day of school by hiking up King George V Mountain (KGVM).  Again.  The first time was back in May when there was still plenty of snow on the ground (click to read Part 1 & Part 2).  There were several reasons behind my decision to climb the mountain before the start of the academic year.  First, I assumed that with a full load of 4 classes to teach, I would barely have any time to do the hike during the school year.  Secondly, I wanted to show everyone down south what the Arctic landscape looks like without the presence of snow.  And with that in mind, my third reason was to complete the hike before the weather started to get cold.

            

I left my residence at 10am, carrying a backpack that included sunscreen, gloves, hat, digital camera, several apples, and candy.  The sun was out and the sky was blue.  There weren't that many people outside and the town was mostly quiet.  I was greeted by several people as I passed the Northern Store, school, and power station.  To get to King George, I followed the road to Nanisivik, passing through the town's industrial area that is locally known as the 'Gas Station'.  Here residents fill up their vehicles, ATVs, and skidoos from one of the four large oil tanks.  The Gas Station is located less than a kilometre from the town proper and is also home to Arctic Bay's heavy utility vehicles. 

            

After passing the Gas Station, the imposing mountain that King George is came into full view.  "Guess who's back?" I asked out loud.  I took several pictures of the surrounding area as I walked along the main road.  There was a lot of green flora on the ground, most likely fed by all the melted snow and runoff water from the mountain.  The pyramid-looking mountain across from KGVM reflected clearly off the blue water in the bay. 

            

I moved over to the right at the sound of an approaching truck.  The truck stopped next to me, revealing the driver to be the town's mayor.  After explaining my reason for being out past the Gas Station, Frank wished me good luck in climbing King George, and continued driving.  His truck left a lingering trail of dust in the air.  I turned off the main road and walked towards the secluded landfill.  Naturally, the mounds of garbage were being picked apart by loud seagulls and ravens. 

            

My previous climb had taught me that unless I had climbing equipment, it was best to ascend the mountain from the sides.  I decided to head over to where the skidoo trail would be during the winter, between KGVM and a smaller mountain with a bright red crown.  The crevasse between these two mountains was also covered with grass and small plants.  There was also a stream of clean water.  All the water had made the ground in this area very soft, forming around my hiking boots with every step.  About halfway up, I stopped at a nearby rock for a short break and to eat an apple.  Behind me was a clear view of Victor Bay.

            

"Marble Cake Mountains"

Upon reaching the base of the mountain with the red crown, the ground had turned into an endless collection of rocks.  Many were loose but many were also half buried in the ground.  I treaded carefully, judging every step.  There were still scattered patches of grass, but up here, the rocks dominate the landscape.  After some time, I made it to the slope I slid down back in May.  Back then, it was covered with a smooth layer of snow, but on this day it was nothing but rocks.  After photographing some very large rocks, I proceeded up a grass covered incline to my left, the same one I ventured up some three months ago.  The view at the top was different than my first ascent.  The mountains to the north were a mixture of many colours: yellow, red, brown, beige, green, and white.  For some reason, the colours made me think of marble cake. 

            

I walked over to the familiar odd looking red rock formation with the strange white top and found a way to climb up to a protruding ledge.  From here I closely photographed the white top before sitting down to enjoy the views of Arctic Bay & Victor Bay.  A commercial plane, most likely coming from Europe, soared high above me, its two engines emitting a long contrail.  After several minutes, I continued my hike towards King George. 

            

Mountains next to Victor Bay.

The views from where the
Inukshuk stands are
breathtaking.

As mentioned in my previous posts, the summit of King George V is a plateau covered with beige rocks.  And I mean a lot of rocks.  The way the rocks lay on the ground made me think of the landfill down below.  Standing next to a large, tall, and circular inukshuk of beige rocks, I filmed a 360 panoramic view of the summit and photographed the Greater Arctic Bay Area down below.  I then walked down to a smaller inukshuk that stood on a protruding red ledge and sat down next to it.  I ate some candy as a way of celebrating my climb to the top and observed the area through my binoculars.  The water in the bay and beyond was smooth and reflective, like a brand-new mirror.

            

Arctic Bay

Arctic Bay Airport.

I headed over to the left side of King George and photographed the airport.  The gravel runway could clearly be seen.  Further to my left, I photographed the area that Inuujaq School used for its spring camp back in May.  With enough pictures of the summit and the surrounding area, I decided to try something new by making my descent towards the airport.  I wanted to test the level of difficulty. 

            

The mound of jagged rocks.

The first part of the descent had me walking through a line of red rocks that stretched for several kilometres to my left.  This proved to be the easy part.  The real challenge began after I cleared the line.  Rather than aim for the airport terminal building, I chose to descend along the side of King George.  Doing so led me to a large mound of jagged rocks.  Stepping on a few convinced me that the majority of them were loose.  Taking my time, I slowly descended down the mound, one step at a time.  I was glad I was wearing my hiking boots.  After clearing the rocks, patches of green foliage appeared.  I hopped from one to the other and made it safely down to the main road.  A group of dogs, obviously part of a dog team, eyed me curiously as I began my walk back to Arctic Bay. 

            

I took several more photographs of the town, trying to capture its reflection in the bay.  I walked by two more dog teams before taking one last photo of KGVM.  A few minutes after passing the gas station, the sound of a truck instinctively made me move over to the right.  The truck slowed down and stopped next to me.  It was Frank.  "Would you like a ride into town?"

            

"Sure," I replied.  "Just drop me off at the Co-op.  I have to do some shopping."

My excursion to King George had taken me just six hours to complete.  

King George V Mountain. Elevation: 492 metres (1,620 feet). Source: Google Earth