August 22, 2019
Coppermine
We arose around 7:30 AM to the same cold, windy, and rainy conditions as yesterday. Some of the group members, Paul and Axel, wanted to layover since conditions seemed worse but we voted to continue. We got on the water around 9:00 AM after granola and coffee. We did an 11-mile stretch in ripping current/headwind to a nut break around 11:00 AM. Right before the break we saw roughly 8 to 10 muskox bedded down along the river. They made some weird noises as they ran away. We enjoyed our nuts as we discussed what we would do in the northeast section of the river because the wind was coming straight off the ocean and gusts were well over 30 mph. We did another long stretch and saw a lone muskox that didn’t seem to mind us. We also saw an abandoned cabin that we decided to do lunch at to get out of the wind. We had PB&J and decided to camp because of the weather and because the NE stretch didn’t seem doable. We made a batch of coffee and played cards while we dried all of our wet things out. I am currently making chili-mac “ferda boys.”
This is probably my last time writing in the journal and I cannot say how proud of us I truly am. We have come so far and have become closer than ever. Thank you to everyone who helped make my dreams of paddling to the Arctic Ocean possible.
#LoveMyTeam
-Jame