Quick Summary
- Our good friend Caleb McDaniels, along with fellow explorer, Henry Penfold, get us up to speed on an ambitious plan to complete a circuit of Baffin Island, returning to Iqaluit, capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, before the winter sets in. Caleb and Henry represent the next generation of adventurers combining a love for far off places and scientific research.
Words and Photos by Caleb McDaniels @calebjmcdaniels
In a few hours, my friend Henry and I will strap on our skis and set out from Iqaluit, Nunavut, with pulks in tow. Over the coming weeks and months, we plan to ski, walk, and paddle along the coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic, with the aim of completing a circuit of the island and returning to Iqaluit before winter returns.
Completing a full circuit of the island is certainly part of the goal, but it is not really the reason we are going. More than anything, we want to have a good adventure: to push ourselves physically, immerse ourselves in the land, and spend time learning from a region shaped so strongly by ice, wind, and currents.
Henry and I met three years ago in college and quickly bonded over our shared love of wild landscapes and human-powered travel. We quickly realized that we ought to try traveling together, so over our 2024 summer break, we set out on a 3-month packrafting trip in southwest Greenland. Still liking each other at the end of that trip, we began dreaming of future expeditions. Having recently graduated, this is our first opportunity to embark on a journey where the timeline is dictated almost entirely by seasons and conditions rather than schedules and obligations, a liberating prospect.
Baffin Island has been on our minds since the early days of our first trip to Greenland. Separated by the icy waters of Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, Greenland and Baffin Island share parallel geology, tundra and fjord ecosystems, but the circulating currents of Baffin Bay and the smaller ice caps on Baffin create dramatically different weather and sea ice conditions on the two islands (Baffin is known to be rather cold and wet, though we are currently baking in the tent as we write this). To us, Baffin has always felt like a place we must someday experience. We are immensely excited that the day has arrived, and we have reached this land where we have so much to learn and endless new sights to see.
While nothing beats the feeling of being here, planning a trip like this can be surprisingly fun too. Over the past several months, we have spent countless hours drawing lines on maps, scanning satellite imagery, talking to people who have spent time here, and considering what food and gear to bring.
Our planning started with mapping routes for a traverse of the east coast, from Iqaluit to Pond Inlet. The more we looked at the map, however, the more curious we became about the west coast of the island. With vast expanses of lake-dotted tundra and river outlets draining from the icecaps to the east, the west coast of Baffin is very different from everywhere else we will pass through. With 700 miles (~7 weeks travel) between resupply points, it is also far more remote. Our ability to attempt this section will depend on sea ice conditions in Foxe Basin, but if everything goes to plan and we reach Igloolik in good order, we are eager to see the west coast.
The other phase of our preparation was gear selection. Since we will often carry three weeks of food at a time, it is critical that our gear is as light as possible. At the same time, it needs to be warm, durable, and in the case of our packrafts, fast. The long intended timescale of this trip necessitates several sets of gear, since we will experience different seasons along the way.
Now, after months of preparation, it is finally time to stop planning and start traveling.
Henry and Caleb
We're proud to support Caleb and Henry on this incredible trip, and honored they trust our gear to help make it a reality. Read more about Caleb's style of adventure and research HERE.
