Ok, I know it’s a cliche for photographers to harp on about their trials and tribulations in capturing an image, but this may have been one of the most emotional to capture images I’ve ever taken, and I’m going to harp on about it.
This park received significant rainfall throughout the year, resulting in a high river level warning for several weeks prior to my arrival, and the day before I entered the park, the area got 60mm of rain and a power outage in town. My plan for this trip would have seen me cross three bigger rivers entering the park, and crossing all again on the way out. The first crossing was supposed to be the easiest (or so I had heard) – water between ankle and knee deep. When I crossed, however, the water was a couple inches below my waist due to all the rain. I came uncomfortably close to losing my footing and going for a very dangerous swim on my own in the arctic, and that rattled me. Big time.
Regardless, I pressed on to my planned camp site under heavy cloud cover. After arriving, I pulled a weather report from my GPS and saw that I was about to get another three straight days of rain. I knew that if I continued on I’d be taking a risk with two bigger rivers to cross, so I was going to have to end the trip early and turn around the next morning. And I wouldn’t even see what I came to see.
As I set up camp for the night, the clouds started to break, revealing a cloud-shrouded Thor with some incredible sunset light on only its summit. Taking this photo was a bit of an emotional ride – being happy I would see the mountain with great conditions, but also incredibly disappointed that this trip, which I’d thought about for so long, was not going to be what I’d hoped for. As it turns out, the park got so much rain that they closed it the day I left – even helicoptered hikers out! If you look closely, you’ll see that helicopter in the frame as well. The whole experience is burned right into my memory, and this photo brings it all to the forefront for me. I guess it was not to be this year, except for this photo!
Regardless, this was an incredibly memorable trip to Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. I’ll be back!