The Amazing Arctic Circle Trail

The idea of trekking the longest waymarked trail in Greenland must produce images of endless ice-fields, marauding polar bears, desperate struggles for survival and large expense. The truth is, the Arctic Circle Trail offers a reasonably easy trek, provided it's approached with careful thought and planning. Overlook the huge ice-cap and polar bears, which can be there if you need them, along with feature on the trail. Instead, give full attention to one of several largest ice-free parts of Greenland, relating to the international airport at Kangerlussuaq and the western seaboard at Sisimiut.

The Arctic Circle Trail is genuinely north with the Arctic Circle for the entire length, meaning that in midsummer there is no nightfall, as well as the brief summer season ordinary trekkers can enjoy the wild and desolate tundra merely by following stone-built cairns. Considering that there's absolutely nowhere you can aquire provisions on the way, more than 100 miles (160km), the tough part is to be ruthless when packing food as well as the kit you need to stay alive. Water is clean, fresh, plentiful and freely available. If you bring all your food to Greenland and limit your spending, the path can be completed on a tight budget. Detailed maps and guidebooks can be obtained.

Some trekkers burden themselves with huge and packs, which require great effort to transport, which experts claim means carrying a lot of food to stoke track of extra calories. Think light and pack light. There are many basic wooden huts at intervals on the way, offering four walls, a roof, and bunks for between four and 24 trekkers. They are not staffed, can not be pre-booked, and provide no facilities apart from shelter. In case you use a tent, you'll be able to pitch it anywhere you like, subject just to the character of the terrain along with the prevailing weather.



Normally, the weather originates from two directions - east and west. An easterly breeze, coming from the ice-cap, is cool and extremely dry. A westerly breeze, coming off the sea, will take cloud plus a way of rain. It's not going to snow inside the short summer season, mid-June to mid-September, as well as the remaining portion of the time, varying levels of snow and ice covers the path, along with the centre of winter it'll be dark on a regular basis and temperatures will plummet far, far below freezing for months at a time.

The airport terminal at Kangerlussuaq enjoys around 300 clear-sky days a year, therefore the weather must be good, and also the trail starts by using an easy tarmac and dirt road. At night research station at Kellyville, the path is simply a narrow path across empty tundra dotted with lakes. If you're going just to walk from hut to hut, then the route is going to take maybe nine days, unless stages are doubled-up. By using a tent offers greater flexibility, and some trekkers complete the route after as little as a week. Huts are located at Hundeso, Katiffik, The Canoe Centre, Ikkattook, Eqalugaarniarfik, Innajuattok, Nerumaq and Kangerluarsuk Tulleq. Youth hostels and hotels can be found on the terminal points of Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut.

There is a substitute for use a free kayak to paddle for hours on end across the large lake of Amitsorsuaq, as opposed to walk along its shore. There are just a handful of kayaks, if they are all moored on the 'wrong' end from the lake, then walking could be the only option. The path is often low-lying, below 500ft (150m), but climbs on occasions over 1300ft (400m), notably around Ikkattook, Iluliumanersuup Portornga and Qerrortusuk Majoriaa. There's a number of river crossings whose difficulty is determined by melt-water and rainfall. These are difficult at the start of the summer season, but much better to ford later. The largest river, Ole's Lakseelv, carries a footbridge if needed.

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