Silence amazing. Fourth day of waiting here (down snowmobile) and I am still impressed by the intense silence. I'm the source of any sound. I hear my pulse. Just daring to breathe. I often stop all motion, thinking I heard something. It's amazing the diversity of sounds that I continuously generate. A soundman would be in heaven, or very unhappy!

Blame it on this trip three times longer than expected, my diet lacks a bit of fat and calories. While exploring the area, hoping to improve my meals, I find traces of lemmings. No hare or ptarmigan, or fox, or caribou or muskox, not even raven. Not bear or seal. In the next fjord, South Cape Fiord where Vagabond wintered, there are yet many seals on the ice, and often bears. But the ice is much thinner, the warmer water flowing under the ice is reducing the growth. It also brings nutrients from the bottom. This is what probably attracts seals and those who hunt them.

The differences between the fjords of the south coast of Ellesmere are significant and not always easy to explain. "If we knew it all, we wouldn't be researchers.", recently concluded a scientist receiving my latest data.