August 13 -Cape Churchill

We woke up at 8 o’clock for breakfast. It was homemade yogurt bowls and cereal. After Breakfast, we prepared for our 30km (8 miles) hike to Cape Churchill. Jill says it was used for polar bear research and missile testing. Some people, including myself (Akeyla), were either injured or sore from the previous days, so Carla tended to wounds before leading us in a yoga session. 

We didn’t pack field gear, so our bags were lighter. The plan was to take it slow and enjoy each other’s company. (And be the third ISAMR group ever to complete the hike). Along our 5-hour hike to Cape Churchill, we paired up to answer prompts and learn even more about each other. Specifically on leadership, we shared our experiences with good and bad leaders to ultimately learn what kind of leader we want to be. Playing word games distracted us and made the walk much faster. On the walk there we spotted a male caribou with huge antlers.

Eventually, we made it to Cape Churchill for lunch. There was a huge ladder leading up to a watch tower, iron cages used to lore and monitor bears, and a big “Wapusk National Parks” sign where we all took pictures.

On the walk back, we were along the beach ridge when one of our bear monitors pointed out a polar bear walking in the distance. In addition to the wildlife, we also found a ton of fossils and a rundown weather balloon used in past years for research. When we could finally see Nester 1 on our hour walk back, we got to see the beautiful sunset at 9 p.m. For dinner, Jill prepared snow goose stew in the slow cooker before we left. It was amazing. And for dessert, Michael started up a fire and toasted s’mores. Right before be,d we received the amazing news that we could sleep in until 10 for our last site day in Nester 1. Peace out, Clementine and Akeyla