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.