Canadian military on the homestretch in a cross-territory snowmobile trek | CBC News
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Members of the Canadian Forces and Canadian Rangers are nearing the end of their epic trek across the North.
Close to a dozen personnel have spent the past few weeks zipping across 4,500 kilometres of snow and ice on snowmobiles from Herschel Island, Yukon, to Churchill, Manitoba.
It’s part of Operation Nanook-Nunalivut — the military’s annual exercise to shore up Canada’s ability to defend the Arctic and the North.
Crews reached Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, last Tuesday, after days of adjusting to Nunavut’s cold and vast geography — often characterized by its blizzards, shifting sea ice, and lack of trees.
“Seeing it in person was just breathtaking, to see all that scenery and all the cliffs and all the caribou and wolves,” said Master Cpl. Julia Elanik, who is from Aklavik, N.W.T.
They’ve had to brave some harsh conditions to make it this far.
Elanik says setting up camp in temperatures hovering around -50 C was no easy feat, making it tough to even wriggle into her sleeping bag because it stiffened in the cold.
This was the first time Whitehorse Ranger Maya Poirier had driven on sea ice — a feat that is tricky at the best of times, let alone trying it after weeks of travel.
“It’s been exhilarating, but definitely required the most focus and attention … because the ice does not flex,” she said. The jumbo ice, it’s going to buck you off if it wants.”
Before the stop in Rankin Inlet, the Rangers also passed through Naujaat, Nunavut, where they met local Ranger and elder David Nuluk.
He says he was impressed at how resilient the crews have been, and how quickly they’ve picked up traditional Inuit knowledge.
“Even during a blizzard and not having any GPS with them, they can bring them home. Picking up this knowledge for myself as an Inuk … I am proud of that,” Nuluk said in Inuktitut.
Operation Nanook-Nunalivut is set to wrap up mid-April. As the Rangers inch toward the finish line, the thought of this journey coming to a close is starting to hit them.
“It’ll probably, honestly, be very bittersweet because the whole trip is surreal to really think about,” Poirier said.