Join us in the Arctic fjordland of Kane Basin on Canada's northeastern Ellesmere Island, at Latitude 79° North. This is a remote rugged coastline-breathtaking fjords, intriguing islands and a wildlife oasis where silence is broken by melt water dripping from stranded, dream-like icebergs. It is a place where 24-hour sunlight hits ancient ice, high peaks and headlands plunge into tidewater and hanging glaciers, and hoards of walrus snore on ice islands. This is home to Narwhal, the fabled unicorn of the sea, and to seals, polar bears, Arctic fox and Arctic hares.

Ellesmere Island is one of the world's most pristine wilderness areas. In this dramatic fjordland we retrace the footsteps of the earliest Polar explorers, and in our kayaks we travel as the ancestral Inuit might have done. Our expeditions pass by numerous and hauntingly "alive" habitation and hunting sites of prehistoric peoples. Strewn along this coast are ancient winter house excavations, tent rings, kayak stands and stone fox traps - ruins of the Thule culture, people who lived along these shores a thousand years ago.

Twenty-four-hour sunlight accents the photographic potential with the magical back lighting of delicate woolly flowers or the glistening spray plumes of walrus and Narwhal blowing in the fjords during the wee hours of dawn. During the past 20 years we have nearly a hundred kayak expeditions on Ellesmere Island, and we remain convinced that this trip is the ultimate adventure for sea kayakers and Arctic aficionados alike.

Highlights:

• Expeditions follow the footsteps of polar explorers Otto Sverdrup and Adolphus Greeley.
• A polar desert with dry, mild summers.
• Exceptionally remote and pristine.
• Scenery of deep fjords, jutting headlands, calving tidewater glaciers and icebergs. Glacial valleys and tundra of sedges, willows and Arctic poppies.
• Dramatic arctic light for photography.
• Extraordinary silence and solitude.

How this trip makes a difference

Over the past 23 years, this operator has successfully guided active, self propelled wilderness adventures. We start our trips by supporting the local communities where we travel, from shopping for our supplies to lodging, and, whenever possible, hiring local guides. Once we are dropped off in the wilderness, we are walking, paddling or dogsledding across a landscape, noticing everything, but leaving nothing but footprints in our wake.

Every visitor traveling behind us will arrive feeling they are the first explorer to the area. Wildlife skulls, antlers, and artifacts are left as they were found. Rocks anchoring tents are returned their original resting place. The little garbage we generate is carried out with us. Fresh water sources are fiercely protected against contamination.

Our trip goals include educating and connecting people to nature and the outdoors through natural history based expeditions. We diligently promote cultural preservation and environmental awareness from our pre-departure information to our no trace practices in the field. As our guests explore the wonders of our world, we hope to help everyone gain new insights and perspectives on other cultures and environments as well as our own and foster a sense of our interconnectedness.

We consider running these trips our way of giving back to the environment as our guests return better educated and likely to vote or support these environments, their culture and wildlife.

Trip Details:

• 15-day trip begins and finishes in Resolute Bay, Nunavut.
• Trip includes charter plane flight from Resolute to Kane Basin, and return.
• Meals, kayaks, tents, satellite phone and HF radio are included.

What is included:

• the services of two fully qualified expedition guides.
• all group equipment including kayaks, paddles, tents; we provide all special group equipment as well as a full ‘cruiser’ suit for each person. A cruiser suit is a nylon flotation suit with closed cell insulation designed to act as a life preserver and prolong life in cold water immersion situations; it is however, quite comfortable, well-ventilated, and nearly waterproof, and many people on these trips even wear them while lounging around ashore.
• air charter transportation between Resolute Bay and Ellesmere Island.
• all meals listed in the itinerary as B/L/D.

What is not included:

• transportation between Resolute Bay and your home for Resolute exit price
• any meals and accommodation in Resolute Bay.
• personal belongings and gear as per ‘Clothing and Equipment List’.
• trip cancellation insurance.
• any extra expenses incurred because of delayed departures of chartered or scheduled aircraft. Also, any extra expenses incurred because of delays imposed by conditions at hand on the expedition (ice, wind, etc.) .
• any costs associated with an emergency evacuation from the trip.
• gratuities for guides