ARCTIC CIRCLE TRAIL_2014
DAY 11: SKI LIFT TO SISIMIUT
On the eleventh and final morning of our Arctic Circle Trail trek, we woke up around 5:45am. Fan slept decently, but Jie did not because she couldn’t fall back asleep after Fan had woken her up at night. In stark contrast to yesterday afternoon, this morning was cloudy and cold. For breakfast Fan made MH beef stroganoff, chili mac with beef, and tea. Jie packed up the inside of the tent so we could stay warm eating breakfast inside. The only freeze-dried meal we had left over at the end of this trip was one packet of BP huevos rancheros (which we didn’t like very much). After today almost all of our trail snacks and bars will have been consumed. We congratulated ourselves for having planned and rationed our meals well.
We left camp around 8:30am after both making use of a very large, deep, well-excavated cat hole that Fan made. It was cool with partly cloudy skies. Soon after starting on the trails this morning we caught a glimpse on the horizon of a long grey rectangle that turned out to be the runway at the Sisimiut airport. Gradually more and more parts of the town came into view. Bright blue, red, green, and yellow wooden houses dotted the rocky harbor in which Sisimiut was situated. Civilization at last!
On the descent into town we passed a fjord with perfectly still, glassy water that reflected the surrounding mountains. A group of small school kids were out with their teacher trying to catch something in the water with hand-held nets. A young lady bumped down the trail on a bicycle. It was odd to see so many people all at once after being in the backcountry for so long. The trail turned into a gravel road as we approached the town. Groups of sled dogs hung out on the side of the road, some napping, some pacing about restlessly, some chained and some free. The smell of rotten fish, their main food supply, hung in the air. We passed storage sheds, industrial warehouses, and a bus stop, then light poles appeared on each side of the street.
We walked into Sisimiut around 10:30am and ran into Alain and Veronique on the street. It was nice to see friendly faces. They had arrive safely the day before and were on their way out of town to hike up Nasaasaaq for a day trip. We walked with our backpacks down hilly streets to the harbor to officially complete our Arctic Circle Trail trek.
Daily totals: 5 miles, 2 hours.
From the harbor, we hiked back uphill into town toward the youth hostel. Luckily, we bumped into the hikers from Hamburg, who told us that the receptionist desk at the hostel was only open after 4pm and the door was otherwise locked. They were kind to walk back to the hostel with us to let us in. We stowed our packs in the lounge in the back of the hostel. We then headed back into town with only our day bags, feeling light on our feet. The first stop was the bakery (next to the cemetery), where we had a very filling and satisfying lunch around noon. Fan started with a foot-long baguette sandwich with meat and butter and a 6-inch sandwich with fried pork. Jie had a large sandwich filled with chicken and napa cabbage salad. This was washed down with two cups of hot tea (with lots of sugar for Fan), and followed by two danish desserts. The fresh bread, meats, and pastries were fantastic.