One of the best things about canoeing in the Arctic is sitting. Find a nice dry soft patch of tundra (tundra is the most comfortable material yet invented by nature for sitting or sleeping on), and plunk oneself down with a cup of tea, a book or diary, and wait for the world to unfurl. Cool air caresses ones face. Clear green waters flow past. A herd of caribou wades across the river. The harsh cry of a rough-legged hawk echoes from high above the river valley. The phone rings.......Wait a minute. What's a phone doing out here in the middle of the tundra?
Welcome to the world of MSAT. There we were, four travellers from Ottawa, on the remote Soper Canadian Heritage River, in the heart of Katannilik Territorial Park, on Baffin Island where there is absolutely no way of reaching the outside world, talking to office colleagues back in Ottawa, and our mothers. It was a significant meeting of the oldest and newest information carriers - the canoe and the MSAT. And canoe tripping will never be the same again.
The Soper, designated as a Canadian Heritage River in 1992 because of the rich arctic environment it supports and its significance to the Inuit of Kimmirut, the community where the river meets the sea, is located on southern Baffin Island. It cuts across the Meta Incognita (the Unknown Place) Peninsula. Unknown no more. Through MSAT technology, travelogues and digital photographs of the expedition were "beamed" back daily to Carleton University to create a uniquely Canadian event - "A Canadian Arctic Adventure" website (../), for the Canadian Pavilion (http://www.wf.carleton.ca/) at the 1996 Internet World Exposition (http://park.org/).
The adventure began with half of the team travelling up to Resolute and hopping over by Twin Otter to Cunningham Bay on Somerset Island to join for a few days, the renowned Arctic Watch. Hosted by the Jess family, Arctic Watch offers one of the best soft eco-adventure experiences in the Arctic. In this rugged, yet beautiful land, virtually untouched by man, there is much to discover and experience. Guided treks into remote canyons carved through limestone deposited by the Wisconson glaciers to see spectacular water falls (with very few people actually having been to these places, these landmarks have remained unnamed), short hikes to breathtaking views of whales and day trips by Twin Otter to remote destinations such as the northernmost bird sanctuary in Canada on Prince Leopold Island. A first for Arctic Watch was the MSAT Communicator we were carrying, as we soon had the first telephone lineups on Somerset Island!
Then it was onto Iqaluit as we made our way across the north through Resolute and Nanasivik, to meet up with the rest of the team members for the canoeing expedition down the magical Soper River. A typical camp scene, in addition to the tents and canoes, looked like this: The MSAT unit, which is in appearance like a large brief case, would be opened and "aimed" south towards the MSAT satellite. Wade would be sitting cross-legged, tapping on the keyboard of a laptop computer wired into the MSAT, sending information back to the Web site. Often, he would have a shirt draped over his head, so he could see the screen. He looked like a monk involved in some mysterious form of meditation. Solar panels would be propped up, recharging all the batteries needed to operate this equipment. We would check for e-mail each day. Sometimes the phone rang so often, it felt just like the office. We threatened to answer the phone with a hurried "Soper Pizza", but didn't.
After ten days on the river, watching caribou, snoozing on the tundra, climbing the endless hills, exploring the side valleys, marvelling at the waterfalls tumbling down the steep valley walls (Katannilik means "the Place of Waterfalls"), and sending reams of words and pictures back to the Web Site, we finally arrived in the community of Kimmirut. Two days were spent there, recording local soapstone carvers at work, and amusing, and being amused by, a crowd of curious children that seemed to follow us everywhere. With all the high-tech equipment, we were quite an attraction.
Internet users could follow our Arctic Adventure by visting the web site to read daily updates, and view new colour images. They could share with us our experiences - the 24 hours of sunlight on Somerset Island, the ancient Thule settlement near Resolute, the day the caribou almost walked into Dan, dining on fresh-caught arctic char, the excitement of finding the old mica pits and deposits of lapis lazuli, a semi-precious bright blue stone, the northern lights in a southern sky, the ocean boat trip to see iceburgs....
Although the adventure is over, visitors to the Web Site will find new information constantly being added. "Quicktime movies" and "Quicktime VR" are two "way cool" features. Video clips taken during the expedition are being added to the site, bringing a new dimension of reality. Quicktime VR is a program that enables site visitors to see panoramic images, just as if they were standing where the photographer was, and turning 360 degrees. By next year, it may be possible to send video and panoramic images back from the field, using the MSAT and a laptop, directly to a Web Site, creating an even closer-to-reality Virtual Reality experience.
What's Next?
This technology opens many doors. It provides a new medium for bringing Canada to Canadians, and to the world. Think of the potential applications to education, linking thousands of schools across Canada, and the world, through SchoolNet, to experts in a remote location. A Virtual Field Trip. For interpreters, it can be a tool to link a remote site to other sites. For example, a team could film muskox on the Thelon River (another Canadian Heritage River) and the video images could be seen at the Toronto Zoo, or zoos and museums across Canada, while interpreters on the Thelon River explain what is happening. The possibilies are endless, and exciting. Can holodecks be far away?
The Web Site was awarded "Coolest Canadian Site of the Day for August 15, and "Coolest Canadian Web Site of the Week" for the week of August 11-17. Kudos are due to the home team at the Physics Department at Carleton University.