Posts Tagged ‘John Rae!’
Louie Kamookak discovers John Rae’s cairn
The late Louie Kamookak has rightly been celebrated as a searcher for John Franklin. But more significantly, in my view, Louie was the man who discovered the cairn that explorer John Rae built in 1854, marking the final link in what would prove to be the first navigable Northwest Passage. I touched on that in…
Read MoreBringing John Rae to Robert Burns Country
Next week will find me giving talks in Robert Burns Country. I mentioned previously that, thanks to a new “friendship bridge” extending between the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, I have fallen heir to a whirlwind, four-day speaking tour. Now, in response to popular demand, I can provide details. My illustrated…
Read MoreLet’s take back Arctic history in Scotland
Faithful readers (hi, mom!) will recognize this image of Abbotsford from my book Celtic Lightning. The historical novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) created this castle-like residence, now a museum, 40 miles south of Edinburgh in the Scottish Borders. Sheena shot the photo a few years ago, when last we visited. End of March, I have…
Read MoreTeam set to retrace Rae’s 1854 expedition
The Arctic Return team is complete. Explorers Hugh Dale-Harris and Garry Tutte round out the four-man party that will set out in April 2019 to retrace John Rae’s legendary 1854 expedition. That’s the one on which, with William Ouligbuck and Thomas Mistegan, he solved the two great mysteries of 19th-century Arctic exploration, discovering both the…
Read MoreView from Alaska highlights indigenous contribution to Arctic discovery
DAVID JAMES (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner) Feb. 25, 2018 FAIRBANKS — For Arctic history enthusiasts, there’s never been a more exciting time. The recent findings of the two lost vessels of the Franklin Expedition, last seen sailing from Greenland in 1845 in search of the Northwest Passage, made global news. Meanwhile, historians have been producing an…
Read MoreParks Canada meets Order of Canada in Arctic Return Expedition
Fifteen months and counting –to Departure, that is — and already the Arctic Return expedition is making headlines. First, partner Louie Kamookak was appointed to the Order of Canada. Awright, Louie! Well deserved! Then, adventurer Dave Garrow joined the team. Welcome aboard, Dave! Faithful readers got to meet Louie here. And we’re excited to bring…
Read More2019 John Rae Arctic Return Expedition rockets into cyberspace
The website is live. The expedition is all systems go. The team is still growing. Sponsors are flocking to the cause. To learn all about the Arctic Return expedition, click on . . . this link! Meanwhile, see below for truncated introductions to some key players. Expedition Team: For over 20 years, expedition leader David…
Read MoreArctic landscape calls out for Return
Voyaging Out of the Passage with Adventure Canada Day 13: Qikiqtarjuak “The whalers used to call us Yaks,” Billy Etooangat said as he rode back to the ship in the zodiac to retrieve his luggage. He was arriving home in Qikiqtarjuak in the sunshine. “After Yaks, we were Eskimos.” He took a beat. “I didn’t…
Read MoreArctic Return Expedition backs Orkney vision of a John Rae World Heritage site
While announcing the 2019 Arctic Return Expedition, which will follow in the footsteps of Arctic explorer John Rae, team leader David Reid spoke of yearning to do something about the dilapidated condition of Rae’s birthplace in Stromness, Orkney: the Hall of Clestrain. “Clestrain stands as an example of something once proud, dignified, and strong,” he…
Read MoreArctic Return Expedition will seek Northwest Passage in the footsteps of John Rae
“A snow storm of great violence raged during the whole of [April] 14th, which did not prevent us from making an attempt to get forward; after persevering two and a half hours, and gaining a mile and a half distance, we were again forced to take shelter.” — John Rae on his 1854 expedition In…
Read More