Arctic Traverse: Storefjord, Greenland

September 11th, 2022, was our first day in Greenland. It began with a fascinating presentation by "bird nerd" Jamie Coleman, "Life in Isolation," discussing life during his long stints on South Georgia and Bird Island. As the morning fog lifted, our attention turned to the out-of-doors, and we spotted blows and fins of mink, humpback, and fin whales.

Much of the Greenland coast is forbidding,

but after lunch we arrived at Storefjord, north of the town of Ittoqqortoomiit and just south of the North East Greenland National Park. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Entering the fjord.

The Endurance anchored partway down. The sun's glare transformed the scene photo into shades of gray.

Many of us were out on deck searching for polar bears. (The image has an artifact that's a person walking in front of me while I shot the panorama.)

We spotted one male, snoozing, far away in a side fjord.

Then it was time to go ashore on an easy beach; Joan and I joined the "moderate" hikers, where the guide had a chance to stop, investigate, and offer commentary.

We were pleased to have Serguei again.

Our group crossed several meltwater streams, hand-in-hand for stability, as we traversed the alluvial plain and then gained higher ground. Joan and I learned a lot about how the different plant species create micro-environments for each other.

A flower!

This moss campion still sports a few blooms in September!

Brilliant red foliage.

We also saw well-dried hare, ptarmigan, and goose poop -- but no photos. Serguei explained the depressions full of rocks we encountered: different permafrost layers heave up at different rates, and stones roll or slide down and collect in the middle. Then we came across a dropped-off stores box, an iron cage around a wooden box with air holes: sometime somebody dropped off supplies that needed to be safe until the next season!

 

As the Endurance left the fjord, a female polar bear and her cub were spotted feasting on a seal. Moving north with climate change, harbor seals are less wary of hauling out on shore than the ring seals are. Yum!

Those who didn't wish to brave the evening chill could observe the bears on their cabin screen!

Overnight we would slowly sail to Ittoqqortoormiit, population 345.