One of the highlights of this year was meant to be the muskox hunt by dogsled in march. I had been looking forward to it for months…

After spending february in Nuuk, attending a course in biblical counselling, Ingkasi and me returned to Ittoqqortoormiit in the beginning of march and soon began to prepare everything for the hunt.

The trip started of by 3 days of dogsleding with a couple from Germany. We were supposed to transport them and their gear as far as about 10-20 km north of Apaalardaai. From there, they would continue on their own with one of my dogs (Kaju), skiing, while we were planning to hunt muskox in the nearby hills of Jameson Land. And so we did 🙂

Day 1

On the sea-ice between Cape Hope and Cape Steward

Later that day we have passed Cape Steward and are on our way to Martaiid (the 3 cabins at Flakkerhuk)

Day 2

Our dog teams the next morning while we prepare to leave Martaiid …

… I was excited to venture into an area I so far had just seen in summertime …

… next stop Apaalardaai (the red cabin).

After arriving at Apaalardaai we set up our new tent beside the cabin, just for fun :-).

Yes, we are the (so far) happy owners of a Helsport Svalbard Camp 6 – thanks A LOT to all of you who gave us money, dedicated to buying a new tent, as a wedding gift!!

But that night we stayed in the cabin …

Day 3

Camping at a beautiful spot after a long day in deep snow on the sea-ice north of Apaalardaai

Day 4

Just about 8 km inland we got what we came for…

… and both us and the dogs enjoyed a good meal of muskox meat that same evening … mamaraar :-).

Day 5-6

We decided to stay at this spot due to windy weather and to give the dogs and ourselves a good rest.

Day 7

 After arriving at Apaalardaai in late afternoon we stayed there overnight.

Day 8

We went all the way from Apaalardaai to Cape Hope … almost 60 km … the sky covered by clouds … one of those long days where you hardly take any pictures. All you want is to keep going, keep yourself warm and comfy on the sledge (but not too comfy, so you don´t fall asleep) and reach your destination. We arrived at Cape Hope late that evening.

Day 9

Some of my dogs in Cape Hope. “Traktor jr.” is excited about going home while others (included me) still feel a little sleepy…

… and the sun is still hiding when we turn towards Ittoqqortoormiit on a saturday morning (I was relieved we made it home with plenty of time before I had to work at the church again, sunday morning).

“Home sweet home”  …  yes, but that was not exactly how it felt when we had finally arrived at our house with a lot of gear to dry, the meat of 2 muskox on the kitchen floor and a lot of dirty dishes from 10 days ago waiting for us. Somehow, there is always something that seems more important then doing dishes just before leaving for a trip, isn´t there? 🙂

But, offering to provide the meat, we were lucky to be invited to some of our family members for a shower and a hot meal of muskox (of course). Now, that was sweet 🙂