The view from above
The view from above
Clear blue skies. The Twin otter bouncing its way across the tundra to pick us up. Two pilots charged with bringing us home and enthusiastic about flying. We strategize to discuss the best route. We want to see if we can stop at the 52 million year old stand of mummified forest. They propose to attempt this stopover. They want to fly low, providing a site seeing scenic flight back to Resolute. Note to photographers: Take the time to clean the outside windows. Which we did! Reving the twin props we climb upwards and then quickly level out at 200 feet.
N.B. Some of the pictures were taken on our flight to Pond Inlet then to Arctic Village along the coast of Baffin Island so these were taken from a higher altitude.
The view from above immediately takes us to a magical place. We see the fjord at the end of Expedition river, the mounds of glacial debris from the Thompson Glacier, and glaciers winding their way down the valleys from the ice fields above. Deep in the valleys, surrounded by the sun reflecting off the snow – its albedo almost blinding us. At this low altitude, the sites flit past us so we can barely take in the sights.
Glaciers, ice, mountainsides, rock formations, rivers, waterfalls, cliffsides, musk ox, icebergs, lakes, reflections of the surrounding landscape, summer ice packs, moraines, outwash plains, braided streams, crisscrossed fractures, dendritic patterns – it is a continuum of visual elements flowing by. Looking from one side of the plane to the other. Letting it all flood over us – a roller coaster experience where we don’t know what the next turn, drop, lift will show. The brain processing what we just saw and as you exclaim or think “wow”, it comes and goes. You just stare out and you realize you are gliding over miles of connected ice. Past tilted barren stratigraphy from one side of the valleys to the other. Beautiful. Stunning. Amazed that this land exists.
We passed over the mummified forests but the clouds decided this was the place for them to gather. They had settled down into that deep mysterious fog layer that makes it impossible to land. Still the clouds provide contrast and cover, one more element to make you realize that there is so much hidden behind them. It is what makes you start to grasp the meaning of eternity and the infinite. How much time would you need to see it all? To realize that this is just one small piece of this planet. And we are even an even small observer crossing the surface with a view from above.
Read MoreClear blue skies. The Twin otter bouncing its way across the tundra to pick us up. Two pilots charged with bringing us home and enthusiastic about flying. We strategize to discuss the best route. We want to see if we can stop at the 52 million year old stand of mummified forest. They propose to attempt this stopover. They want to fly low, providing a site seeing scenic flight back to Resolute. Note to photographers: Take the time to clean the outside windows. Which we did! Reving the twin props we climb upwards and then quickly level out at 200 feet.
N.B. Some of the pictures were taken on our flight to Pond Inlet then to Arctic Village along the coast of Baffin Island so these were taken from a higher altitude.
The view from above immediately takes us to a magical place. We see the fjord at the end of Expedition river, the mounds of glacial debris from the Thompson Glacier, and glaciers winding their way down the valleys from the ice fields above. Deep in the valleys, surrounded by the sun reflecting off the snow – its albedo almost blinding us. At this low altitude, the sites flit past us so we can barely take in the sights.
Glaciers, ice, mountainsides, rock formations, rivers, waterfalls, cliffsides, musk ox, icebergs, lakes, reflections of the surrounding landscape, summer ice packs, moraines, outwash plains, braided streams, crisscrossed fractures, dendritic patterns – it is a continuum of visual elements flowing by. Looking from one side of the plane to the other. Letting it all flood over us – a roller coaster experience where we don’t know what the next turn, drop, lift will show. The brain processing what we just saw and as you exclaim or think “wow”, it comes and goes. You just stare out and you realize you are gliding over miles of connected ice. Past tilted barren stratigraphy from one side of the valleys to the other. Beautiful. Stunning. Amazed that this land exists.
We passed over the mummified forests but the clouds decided this was the place for them to gather. They had settled down into that deep mysterious fog layer that makes it impossible to land. Still the clouds provide contrast and cover, one more element to make you realize that there is so much hidden behind them. It is what makes you start to grasp the meaning of eternity and the infinite. How much time would you need to see it all? To realize that this is just one small piece of this planet. And we are even an even small observer crossing the surface with a view from above.
