August 29 Thursday
3 am stirrings of sunrise.
Murray Island lies south of Victoria Island in the Coronation Gulf. It’s seldom visited. Our guides speculated that less than 400 non-indigenous people have walked here.
The expedition staff inspected the landing area and environs for polar bears before we were allowed to land, and stationed armed guards along the distant ridges to scan for any approaching bears. Polar bears swim to the island, and the threat of their presence is taken seriously. We kept our life jackets on while ashore and were prepared to head back to the zodiacs immediately if one was sighted.
Our landing was uneventful. No sign of human habitation have been found here, but animal tracks are sometimes found.
Caribou skull, teeth intact, and spine.
From a distance, the tundra looks brown. But we’re at the height of arctic summer. A closer look revealed berries and splashes of color among the ground-hugging plants.
Wild blueberries
The low lying land was wet and squishy, evidence of the thawing permafrost.
Even where there was not standing water, it was soggy. We were reminded to spread out instead of walking in lines. It’s easier for this fragile environment to recover from steps that aren’t all in the same place.
We walked up to a viewpoint and back, spending about an hour on the island.
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