Written by Alain Lagacé
Flying away from the big cities to discover the picturesque gems of the Golden Peninsula and experience an unparalleled Arctic adventure is what our group of nature lovers chose to do last week.
From Wedge Hills Lodge, located just across the Golden Peninsula, they flew by floatplane to the vast wilderness of Arctic Quebec-Labrador.
[For us, the far north experience is discovering places no one normally goes and visiting vast Arctic lands that allow us to see unusual things.]
Our expert naturalist guide introduced us to hidden landscapes where the geology, fauna, and Arctic flora are astounding. He drew our attention to the adaptation of Arctic plants. We were able to see the smallest tree in the world, barely a few centimeters tall, lichens of unimaginable extraterrestrial resilience, and mosses that can live for millennia by feeding on the minerals present in the rocks. He explained the formation of permafrost, revealing ice lenses just a few centimeters below our feet.
On a rainy day, while we were bivouacking, we didn't hang around in our tents. Accompanied by our guide, we set out to explore the landscapes that bear witness to the peninsula's past glacial activity. We explored an area of large, variedly shaped erratic boulders, transported by glaciers.
Afterwards, we went for a walk in the southern part of the Secret Garden of Monoliths, where monolithic stone sculptures of the strangest shapes and sizes stand. During this excursion, our floatplane pilot and his partner, both equipped with adapted ski-boots and ski poles, made some hilarious descents down a large icy strip of snow.
Several other activities complemented our trip to this magnificent region. We picnicked in a fjord, visited magnificent waterfalls, observed the migration of Arctic char, caught some fish, got up close to a tundra black bear, flew over Iceberg Alley, soared over the mysterious Merewether Crater, and the strikingly contrasting Kettle Lakes.
We were so delighted by this trip that we're returning to discover even more next year.
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Alain Lagacé – alain@goldenpeninsulatours.com