Arctic Solitaire. Paul Souders

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      ARCTIC SOLITAIRE

      ARCTIC SOLITAIRE

      A BOAT, A BAY,

      AND THE QUEST FOR

      THE PERFECT BEAR

      PAUL SOUDERS

      MOUNTAINEERS BOOKS is the nonprofit publishing division of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

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      Copyright © 2018 Paul Souders

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

      Printed in China

      Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk

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      Copyeditor: Alyssa Barrett

      Design and layout: Kate Basart/Union Pageworks

      Cartographer: Lohnes+Wright

      All photographs by the author unless credited otherwise

      Cover photograph: Polar bear peering over iceberg, Repulse Bay, Nunavut

      Last page: A polar bear swims near Hall Islands along Hudson Bay near the Arctic Circle.

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file for this title

      Mountaineers Books titles may be purchased for corporate, educational, or other promotional sales, and our authors are available for a wide range of events. For information on special discounts or booking an author, contact our customer service at 800-553-4453 or [email protected].

      Printed on FSC-certified materials

      ISBN (paperback): 978-1-68051-104-8

      ISBN (ebook): 978-1-68051-105-5

       For Janet. You are the star that guides me home.

      CONTENTS

       HUDSON BAY MAP

       REPULSE BAY AND APPROACHES

       AUTHOR’S NOTE

       CHAPTER 1The Ice Bear

       CHAPTER 2Beginnings

       CHAPTER 3Zones of Conflict

       CHAPTER 4Transitions

       CHAPTER 5A Hole in the Water

       CHAPTER 6Directions North

       CHAPTER 7The River and the Bay

       CHAPTER 8Big Water

       CHAPTER 9The Empty Coast

       CHAPTER 10Pit Stop

       CHAPTER 11Repulse Bay

       CHAPTER 12Ice

       CHAPTER 13Pay Dirt

       CHAPTER 14The New Year

       CHAPTER 15The Ice Kingdom

       CHAPTER 16The Half Shackleton

       CHAPTER 17A Sinking Feeling

       CHAPTER 18Round Two

       CHAPTER 19Chasing Lights

       CHAPTER 20Foreboding

       CHAPTER 21Into the Water

       CHAPTER 22Away We Go

       CHAPTER 23Prisoner of the Wind

       CHAPTER 24Latitude 65

       CHAPTER 25Unwelcome

       CHAPTER 26The Gift

       CHAPTER 27Cape Fear

       CHAPTER 28Unwinding

       CHAPTER 29Loose Ends

       ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      AUTHOR’S NOTE

      This book had its origins in the journals and notes I kept during four solo boat trips to Canada’s Hudson Bay, in the summers between 2012 and 2015. These northern journeys began as a sort of lark: could I step out my front door and travel overland to the shores of a cold and mysterious sea, then head off by boat to see wild animals and have some adventures? I never thought to ask whether any of this was possible, advisable, or even strictly legal. I went north to photograph polar bears, and at each day’s end, I scribbled down, in long hand, my experiences as a photographer and accident-prone boater. It is, at its heart, a personal recounting of my impressions and memories from travels during which I was often tired and afraid and very much alone. Time and distance have faded memory, but I have done my best to retain the accuracy of