IN SEPTEMBER 2004, on foot with two Huskies, explorer Gary Rolfe reached the end of a 400-mile journey in the central Arctic community of Kugluktuk. He flew on to Yellowknife where one of the last remaining Canadian Kennel Club registered gene pools of Canadian Eskimo Dogs (CED) remains. Only 300 exist, making it one of the rarest dog breeds in the world.
Gary flew further north into Canada’s western Arctic and prepared a base-camp in the community of Inuvik for the coming winter. Gary and his dogs covered 3,000 training miles throughout that difficult winter, facing perpetual darkness, often at 40 below zero.
Training trial Feature and photography by Gary Rolfe
TUESDAY 19 OCTOB
ER
I cut my hair this a
fternoon. In the pas
t this has
produced upsetting re
sults. People used to
ask if I had
mange!
FRIDAY 22 OCTOBE
R
Saxon, Blitz, Spoons
and Twizzle fly in f
rom Yellowknife.
Life will never be t
he same again.
SUNDAY 24 OCTOB
ER
Collected Thule from
Inuvik air cargo this
afternoon.
The ice is sufficien
tly thick for snowm
obiles to travel
over the Mackenzie e
ast channel. Boy rac
ers roar up and
down on their machi
nes. At only 10 belo
w zero, this
winter is still mild.
TUESDAY 26 OCTO
BER
Snow fell when I to
ok Thule out on he
r own to pull
a lightweight training
sled. She did okay.
She kept a
tight line, but we’ll
work on her sitting
and staying.
Took Blitz, Spoons
and Twizzle out indi
vidually for a
little training, startin
g with the word ‘s
it’.
60 Dogs Today
on foot with two Huskies, explorer Gary Rolfe reached the end of a 400-mile journey in the central Arctic community of Kugluktuk. He flew on to Yellowknife where one of the last remaining Canadian Kennel Club registered gene pools of Canadian Eskimo Dogs (CED) remains. Only 300 exist, making it one of the rarest dog breeds
Gary flew further north into Canada’s western Arctic and prepared a base-camp in the community of Inuvik for the coming winter. Gary and
FRIDAY 1 OCTOBERSnowed all day. It’s getting colder. The blood-red liquid
thermometer will gradually shorten until it sinks no further
into the bulb. It’s only calibrated to drop 40 below zero.
More chainsawing to clear the kennel area for my dogs,
and I started digging into permafrost to secure the stake-
out. It’s like hacking concrete. I decide on names for
the four dogs that are still with Jo Kelly: Blitz, Spoons,
Saxon and Twizzle. SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER-14ºC. During my morning run, I notice Arctic fox, lynx
and snowshoe hare tracks in the snow. The sun made the
tundra floor spangle as if crafted from cut diamonds.WEDNESDAY 13 OCTOBERThe last couple of nights, I’ve walked the Mackenzie River
shore. No ice. This morning it was nine-tenths covered.
Ice cover is measured in tenths, though complete ice cover
doesn’t mean it’s safe to travel over. I’ll soon ask Jo Kelly to send the dogs, so I walked
into Inuvik to register and pay for them, so they can be
located legally in Inuvik. I had to sign a list of dog team
standards; fines are issued if I don’t adhere to them. It
was all about adequate shelter, feeding, responsible breeding
and socialising the dogs. Inuvik is being hailed as a frontier town with some
serious oil, gas and mineral exploration going on right now.
The whole Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project is planned for
2009 and is estimated to cost $7 billion (in Canadian
dollars). The reserves of gas and oil are deemed to be
worth $2.9 trillion. Inuvik may become a boomtown with
an influx of 20,000 pipeline employees. The town is
nudging 3,000 folks at present.
Dogs Today December 2005
WEDNESDAY 27 OCTOBER
First time out as a team with Thule,
Saxon and Kavik.
Kavik is a seasoned leader and belongs t
o a good friend,
Judi. It’s vital to get Thule alongside a
n experienced leader
to strengthen her response to my direc
tion commands.
The puppies are busy learning lead train
ing and to
sit on command - while looking incredib
ly cute. Spoons
will have all the boys whistling at her,
I’m sure. She has
infectiously happy eyes that make me w
ant to hold her
tight. Blitz looks a very serious young m
an. Twizzle is
generating into a mighty, powerful pup.
He’s an awesome
size for a puppy approaching four mont
hs of age. He’s
fast to learn and I’ve not been afraid
of allowing him to
run around his elders on the stake-out.
He’s as black as
a sack of coal and it’s not always easy
to make out if
he’s looking my way or not.
THURSDAY 28 OCTOBER
Out for three hours again on the east
channel. Thule
made some confident right-handed turns
on her own. I
say “Chee” to her for the turn. It’s
going left that she
struggles with, the “Chow” command. S
he’s smart enough
and likes to be the centre of attentio
n. Before too long,
she’ll be eager to please and will becom
e more receptive and likes to be the centre of attentio
n. Before too long,
she’ll be eager to please and will becom
e more receptive
to new commands.
FRIDAY 29 OCTOBE
R
Thule started respon
ding consistently to
my ‘turn right’
commands. Kavik on t
he right makes the
turn to
encourage her. I’ll ge
t her to do this co
nsistently
before asking her to
make left-hand tur
ns. I’ll swap
Kavik to the left to
encourage her. Twi
zzle sits on
command instantly. H
e’ll stay while I walk
from him three
or four steps - a
pleasing start.
SATURDAY 30 OCT
OBER
-22ºC. Twizzle is fo
ur months old today
. The puppies
went on their first
expedition today, walk
ing across a
frozen lake. Snowed
all day.
MONDAY 1 NOVEMB
ER
Ran first thing. The
full moon meant the
northern lights
struggled to perform
their vague wisps
of green. A dead
fox I ran past last
night was still there,
frozen solid.
A pit in its body w
as the result of rav
ens chiselling
away with their per
sistent beaks.
Quick sessions had t
he pups all sitting
well.
Out for three hours again on the east
channel. Thule
made some confident right-handed turns
on her own. I
say “Chee” to her for the turn. It’s
going left that she
struggles with, the “Chow” command. S
he’s smart enough
and likes to be the centre of attentio
n. Before too long,
she’ll be eager to please and will becom
e more receptive
she’ll be eager to please and will becom
e more receptive
Thule started respon
ding consistently to
my ‘turn right’
command instantly. H
e’ll stay while I walk
from him three
-22ºC. Twizzle is fo
ur months old today
. The puppies
FRIDAY 5 NOVEMBERRan at 6am, walked the puppies on the lake and filmed
them with me for the first time. Proud dad.
By noon, I was on the east channel with the adults.
A couple of snowmobiles passed us, then a car. Aklavik is
the nearest community to Inuvik. The first drive on the
ice road is usually a dare in an old car with the roof
off, just in case there’s a need for a quick exit.
The road from Inuvik to Tuktoyuktuk is the longest
ice road in the world, 100 miles where vehicles up to
100,000lb can drive over ice. The maze of waterways
that makes up the intricate Mackenzie Delta have been
used by the Inuit for thousands of years as a form of
communication between communities and hunting grounds
- by boat in the summer and by dog team during the
winter. November to March sees the east and middle of
the Mackenzie River used as a temporary road system.
Not so dangerous when you consider the average thickness
of the ice reaches 15 feet on these ice roads by mid-
December.SUNDAY 7 NOVEMBERBlitz helped me with a few training sled maintenance jobs
this morning. I put him back with Spoons. She asked,
“What have you been doing?” He looked at her and said,
“Bloke stuff.” He makes me laugh. He’s so serious, but
gets into all sorts of predicaments that make him look
so funny - like rolling and tumbling, getting covered in
powder snow.I bought 20 whitefish from Albert, a
Gwitch’in Indian friend.
61
Teaching Twizzle to stay on com
mand
Gary w
ith Blitz
Pups
insi
de G
ary’
s pl
ace.
Not
hing
is s
afe
Spoo
ns,
Blit
z an
d Tw
izzl
e on
fro
zen
lake
Spoo
ns,
Blit
z an
d Tw
izzl
e on
fro
zen
lake
Spoo
ns,
Blit
z an
d Tw
izzl
e on
fro
zen
lake
MONDAY 8 NOVEMBER
Took time to look at the sky. I’d not
iced the northern
lights, but it was the volume of stars
that captured my
attention and how bright they were. Me
teors shot across
my view and fizzled into black. It was
very quiet, but, as
always, there was a feeling that I was
n’t alone. Wolves,
foxes and lynx are all on the move -
spirits, too, if you
believe in that sort of thing.
TUESDAY 9 NOVEMBER
I walked to Albert’s cabin and asked hi
m to save fish for
my dogs from his net set under the ic
e. We axed and
chiselled down at holes either end of t
he net, pulled it
from under the ice, clobbered everything
dead, and reset
the net ready for another inspection on
Saturday. By the
time we were ready to go, our 12 wer
e frozen solid.the net ready for another inspection on
Saturday. By the
time we were ready to go, our 12 wer
e frozen solid.
WEDNESDAY 10 NOV
EMBER
Ran the adults for
five hours. First tim
e for Thule up
front alone. She wa
s a complete bitch,
messing around,
defiant with almost
every command. I kno
w she’s smart
and is capable of le
ading. She’s worked
in tandem with
her mother, Chilly. A
n only pup, used to
having plenty of
attention, Thule will
thrive from leading. S
he’s mentally
strong and dominant;
I have to channel
her strengths.
FRIDAY 12 NOVEMB
ER
Seriously cold -42°C,
but the puppies co
uldn’t have cared
less. Ran the adults
for two hours. Thule
made some good
moves. She also made
some hideous ones.
I ignored this,
but made sure she g
ot it right in the e
nd.
SUNDAY 14 NOVEM
BER
Had Twizzle inside f
or an hour until he
shamed himself
by pissing on my flo
or. The wet ran str
aight into the
bottom of my flour
sack.
The vet is in town.
John Overell has a s
urgery in
Dawson City and tak
es two days to driv
e here every two
months. He runs a
practice in Inuvik fo
r a week before
heading south again. I
had some questions
about feeding
fish out of the Ma
ckenzie River. Lucky
I did, as he said
the river’s whitefish
tend to harbour a
nasty strain of
tapeworm that’s diff
icult to eradicate if
fed to dogs. I
think of my own s
tomach.
John won’t be back
until January. I appr
eciated
the effort it had t
aken to get here. T
he effort was
reciprocated in the
price.
Seriously cold -42°C,
but the puppies co
uldn’t have cared
less. Ran the adults
for two hours. Thule
made some good
moves. She also made
some hideous ones.
I ignored this,
WEDNESDAY 17 NOVEMBERWent for a run and took Thule with me. I want her to
realise that every time we’re together it’s not all about
me teaching her new things. I want her to switch off
and have a play too. We ran on the river. She ran ahead
and came back every time I asked her to. I took Blitz out for some extra attention. For
some reason, he has become a little distant and hard to
approach. Kids.THURSDAY 18 NOVEMBERI now split adult food into morning and evening feeds
on rest days to fuel their increased training runs and
plummeting temperatures. I’ll keep this up until they start
to gain and maintain more muscle. Email from a contact in Iqualuit with three sibling
Canadian Eskimo Dogs for sale. Originally the brothers
were bought from an Inuit gentleman in Pond Inlet. Born
November 2003. Apparently they’re strong pullers and were
harnessed for the first time last April. The sun rose at 11.25am and set at 3.55pm.
62 Dogs Today Dogs Today Dogs Today reciprocate
d in the price.
Dogs Today reciprocate
d in the price.
Dogs Today Dogs Today December 2005
SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER
I took Blitz, Twizzle and Spoons out
for a walk with
friends and their kids. It was an impo
rtant socialising
lesson for the puppies and they respond
ed well to being
handled. I handed out milk bones for t
he kids to reward
the pups. Before long they were all ru
nning alongside one
another and playing in the snow.
WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER
I had someone from the UK email, ask
ing me to add
my name to a petition to stop Americ
ans in helicopters
shooting wolves. I replied:
“Thanks for your ‘petition email’. I’m s
till in the
Arctic. In a week we’ll see the sun f
or the last time,
until next year. As usual every year, sin
ce the freeze-
up, wolves have been coming into the c
ommunity here and
killing dogs, even penned pups. Wolves c
arry rabies here and
are always a potential threat in the co
mmunity, especially
to kids on their way to school. Alaska
suffers this too.
I did notice from the most recent sign
atures that not
a single one is from a northern state.
It’s very easy
for someone to say ban something when
the gripe doesn’t
affect their everyday lives. Sorry, but
I won’t sign the
petition. I wear fur and feed my dogs
seal meat and a
lot of people would fail to understand
that too. You’ve
got to live here to see why.”
They used to say the ancient Inuit wo
uld stake-out
their in-season bitches for a male wolf
to mate with her.
In reality that’s nonsense. Male wolves
are unique in that
they are only fertile at certain times o
f the year. Instead
of a love bite, a staked-out bitch is
likely to be eaten.
In any case, hybrid progeny make useles
s sled dogs. They’re
antisocial and won’t breed.
Once the east channel freezes, wolves hit
Inuvik every
winter. Rabies awareness posters appear
throughout the
community. Wolves slaughtered 18 dogs here
in the winter
of 2001. What a way for a dog to die.community. Wolves slaughtered 18 dogs here
in the winter
of 2001. What a way for a dog to die.
for someone to say ban something when
the gripe doesn’t
affect their everyday lives. Sorry, but
I won’t sign the
petition. I wear fur and feed my dogs
seal meat and a
lot of people would fail to understand
that too. You’ve
They used to say the ancient Inuit wo
uld stake-out
their in-season bitches for a male wolf
to mate with her.
In reality that’s nonsense. Male wolves
are unique in that
they are only fertile at certain times o
f the year. Instead
of a love bite, a staked-out bitch is
likely to be eaten.
In any case, hybrid progeny make useles
s sled dogs. They’re
Once the east channel freezes, wolves hit
Inuvik every
winter. Rabies awareness posters appear
throughout the
community. Wolves slaughtered 18 dogs here
in the winter
WEDNESDAY 1 DECEMBERCanadian Eskimo Dogs don’t bark. They sing, howl or
give a warning ‘gruff’ to anything untoward. Tonight
Spoons ‘gruffed’. We were being watched. The eyes
sparkled yellow and vanished. I inspected the prints.
A wolf. Whatever the temperature, I always leave a
window open and chain-lock the puppy pens. I kicked
myself for not praising Spoons for raising the alarm
the instant she did it.THURSDAY 2 DECEMBERSaw three wolves on the frozen lake when walking the
puppies. Twizzle was particularly upset when he sniffed
the huge pad trail. His tail, a sensitive mood indicator,
is usually a tight scythe shape when he’s happy and
relaxed. This morning he was anything but.
On the phone I mentioned this to Jo Kelly.
Apparently a wolf pack tried to separate Twizzle
from his mum. I haven’t noticed Saxon being bothered
by a thing, but I know that wolves in Churchill ate
his father. A bounty was on the head of the killer.
Forty-five days and nights of waiting and the dog
killer was shot dead.
63Dogs Today December 2005
THURSDAY 25 NOVE
MBER
I smear Bag Balm o
n my face after ru
nning alone on
the river this morni
ng. This protective g
el doesn’t contain
water that would ot
herwise freeze to m
y face. I apply it
to the dogs, too. Op
en wounds heal fast
with it and it
protects a dog’s fro
stbitten dick. This
happens if they get
an erection in the
cold and keep thinkin
g about it.
Pulling fish from a net set under the M
ackenzie River ice
Spoo
ns r
unni
ng h
er li
ttle
hea
rt o
ut
Spoo
ns r
unni
ng h
er li
ttle
hea
rt o
ut
Busy
wri
ting
Busy
wri
ting
Saxon eats his frozen fishSaxon eats his frozen fish
An excited Twizzle
An excited Twizzle
Gar
y w
ith
Blit
z an
d Sp
oons
Gar
y w
ith
Blit
z an
d Sp
oons
TUESDAY 7 DECEMBER
Sunrise was at 1.31pm and set for the
last time at
1.57pm. It won’t appear now for six w
eeks. I was up
until 2.30am, sewing, making gear alter
ations and mending.
Listened to Motorhead, Sex Pistols, GB
H and Sham 69.
WEDNESDAY 8 DECEMBER
After an hour’s run with the adults, I
harnessed Twizzle
for the first time. I took him alongside
the adults for a
mile, enough for him to have experienced
a load. He took
to it instantly. I ran myself withou
t mercy in the dark, on the
river ice. It felt cruel. My eyelids fel
t gluey, like sticky
clotting wounds, and were in danger of
freezing together.
SUNDAY 12 DECEM
BER
This evening I went
along to the carol s
ervice in Inuvik.
The church is beaut
iful and shaped like
an igloo. Inuit
elders sang Silent Ni
ght in Inuktitut, the
official language
of western Arctic In
uit, and I thought
of my folks in
the UK.
SATURDAY 18 DEC
EMBER
Collected three bro
thers from Inuvik a
irport. I
changed their origin
al names, Nixee and
Siku, to
Piston and Marshal
l. Napu’s name is n
ow Cream. They
were understandably
flighty. It’s the fir
st time the
brothers have seen
trees. It must all
appear very
strange. They look
beautiful dogs.
This evening I went
along to the carol s
ervice in Inuvik.
elders sang Silent Ni
ght in Inuktitut, the
official language
MONDAY 20 DECEMBER-40ºC. Walked new boys Marshall and Piston
individually on a lead. Cream followed. He snapped his
stainless steel collar ring and wouldn’t let me catch
him. Poor guy. He’s obviously taken the upheaval
worst. I moved Marshall and Piston directly in front of
my back door. Cream crept into Marshall’s strawed
kennel and settled. I watched him nap and left him.
Later I talked quietly to him, he raised his head and
lay it down again. I left him again. After another
hour I knelt down and he let me collect him by the
collar. I moved Marshall and let Piston stay where he
was. Quiet voice with no fast hand moves calms him.
TUESDAY 21 DECEMBERRan Piston and Marshall side by side. Short run then
swapped Piston and Marshall for Twizzle and Cream. Poor
Cream is finding re-adjustment difficult. He’ll be okay.
Walked twins Blitz and Spoons on a moonlit lake. We
stopped and I settled them. They saw and ‘gruffed’ at
things I couldn’t determine. Wolves? Probably. I praised
their awareness and we moved on.There was a 30-minute power-cut in Inuvik. No heat
at today’s temperature of -39ºC was no joke.
Piston and Marshal
l. Napu’s name is n
ow Cream. They
at today’s temperature of -39ºC was no joke.
64
Retu
rn o
f th
e su
nRe
turn
of
the
sun
CreamPi
ston
str
etch
esPi
ston
str
etch
esG
ary
sew
ing
a ne
w c
anva
s sl
ed b
agG
ary
sew
ing
a ne
w c
anva
s sl
ed b
agG
ary
sew
ing
a ne
w c
anva
s sl
ed b
agG
ary
sew
ing
a ne
w c
anva
s sl
ed b
ag
THURSDAY 23 DECEMBER
Phoned my folks and said I’ll be thinki
ng of them over
Christmas.I brought Piston, C
ream and Marshall into my place
one at a time and encouraged them to
get closer to
believing I’m their dad and want the be
st for them. For
half an hour there was lots of sniffin
g, wide eyes and
Marshall tried to flood the poor flour
sack with piss. I
smelt it first as I lay on the floor a
nd dozed. I’m so
tired. Blizzard blows in with 50mph gu
sts.
FRIDAY 24 CHRISTMAS EVE
The wind woke me a couple of times
last night and
brought another foot of snow. Fed pupp
ies and made a
soup broth to encourage the adults to
drink. I walked
along the ice of the east channel and
into Inuvik this
morning. It was darker than ever and s
nowing. Went to
bed at 8pm. I’m so tired.morning. It was darker than ever and s
nowing. Went to
bed at 8pm. I’m so tired.
66 Dogs Today December 2005
morning. It was darker than ever and s
nowing. Went to
TUESDAY 28 DECEMBERThule breaks through her third collar this winter. I told
her there’s no prize for this.Saxon won’t use his kennel at all. It’s turned out
to be his piss post. I dig down into packed snow to
create a deep nest of straw for him. WEDNESDAY 29 DECEMBERUp at 6am. Ran by moonlight for an hour on the
river. I couldn’t believe two riders on snowmobiles
throwing fireworks horizontally, careering off snow
and ice. Drugged up, drunk or stupid snowmobilers.
FRIDAY 31 DECEMBERRan alone this morning on the river. Rested my dogs
today while I unloaded six tons of my dog food and
supplies by hand.
Saxo
n ea
ts s
now
Saxo
n ea
ts s
now
Saxo
n en
joyi
ng h
imse
lf w
ith
his
Ruff
Wea
r pa
ckSa
xon
enjo
ying
him
self
wit
h hi
s Ru
ff W
ear
pack
Gary Rolfe’s diary continues next month. For more information about his expeditions and adventures, visit www.garyrolfe.comCONTINUED NEXT MONTH... Gary Rolfe’s diary continues next month. For more information about
SATURDAY 25 CHR
ISTMAS DAY.
Woke at 7am. My
stove was out and it
was cold.
Fed Blitz and Spoons
. Twizzle is six mon
ths old today.
From now on he’ll ge
t one feed a day. T
he last Christmas
I experienced alone w
as during a journey
from Alaska to
the Northwest Territ
ories in 2001. I’d f
orgotten how
hard it hits.
Funny, but I thought
about my first bik
e, the
independence it gave
me, and the huge di
stances I covered.
Not once did I feel
held back as a kid.
I thank my
folks forever for th
at.
Christmas is no time
to be on your own
, especially
at meal times.
SUNDAY 26 BOXING
DAY
Ran by light of the
moon with Saxon o
n the river.
Bought Twizzle inside
. He lay down, chew
ing a moose bone.
Twizzle has been th
inking a great deal
of himself lately.
I paired him with S
axon. Submissive, Twi
zzle soon buckled
down not daring to
look Saxon in the e
ye. Warm still.
Snowed a little this
afternoon.