TRAVELING TO CHURCHILL IN SUMMERTIME

In this section, I want to offer the essential information that you'll need to and comfortably visit Churchill during July, its main month of summer and best time to view the birds, beluga whales and see the tundra in flower.

Essential information about bugs. Why they're important. How to protect yourself against them.

Take Along the Right Credit Card. If you take any at all.

Take the right kind of alarm clock.Don't do as I did.

Clothes to take. Clothes you might take. Clothes you needn't bother taking.

For Photographers.

Bugs, Givers of Life, Guardians of the Environment

First of all, leave anything else behind, but take along the best bug suit you can afford, Deet, three times as much as you think you'll need of the best anti-itch medication you can find, bug sox, and anything else of a bug-protective nature. More later. A warning: This section, on July bugs, is probably the most heart-felt section in the entire website.

Cultivate the proper attitude. Remind yourself that, without the voracious and blood-thirsty little bastards, the region would have many fewer, if any, birds, no amphibians, no dragonflies, no glorious pillowcase-sized spider webs, no carnivorous plants.

You'll feel even better about them if you reflect that they, even more than the polar bears, make the region unattractive to those bottom-feeders who call themselves "land developers." The piercing probosci of mosquitoes sucking the blood of human and beast, nibbling sandflies, and the horrible blackflies' biting mandibles have probably done more than polar bears to keep the Churchill region's glories relatively pristine.

If biting and stinging bugs were all to disappear, the stunningly beautiful wilderness overlooking the western shore of Hudson Bay would quickly degenerate into summertime condos, highrise hotels, busy roads and stripmalls. Crime would rise, litter would crap up the beaches, and local animal control authorities would probably start killing off the polar bears. Contemplating such horror can brighten your attitude toward the local insect life even as you itch and scratch and curse it.

Nevertheless, you need to protect yourself.

If you go to Churchill in July, you absolutely must be prepared for the insects.

The camping catalogue company Campmor sells in its spring catalogue two kinds of bugsuits. One is a cotton-nylon blend mesh and an all-nylon suit for about half the price. I would strongly advise you pay extra and get the cotton-nylon blend, because it is much more comfortable on warm summer days (a warm day up around Churchill can get to be about 75-80F, especially in the sun). The nylon will make you feel hot and sweaty. When you are outside, you will be wearing it.

You will need to "charge' the cotton blend bug jacket and pants for 24 hours in 100% Deet. This is done by bundling the garments into a large ziplock storage bag, spraying or pouring onto the clothes a generous amount of 100% Deet, then locking the bag closed in the usual way. You will stink of Deet when you wear it, but stinking is better than being bitten by blackflies. They are even worse than the mosquitoes. Any good camping/outdoor store should carry comparable products.

Buy the entire set-pants and jacket both. On very warm days you will probably want to wear shorts. Also, the elasticized pant bottoms will provide additional protection from the blackflies. They crawl under your clothes via openings such as necklines, pants bottoms, sleeve bottoms. Once inside, they tear off chunks of your flesh, leaving trails of huge upraised welts with raw centers that turn bright red, itch like hell, seep (or is that weep?). They can infect and have sent allergy-prone people reeling into the Churchill Health Centre.

Take Deet or another powerful insect repellant to keep your bug suit charged

Take at least three times as much anti-itch medication as you think you'll need.

I know I am going on a lot about this, but the bugs made a huge impression on me and I wasn't even the poor lady who needed emergency treatment for a violent allergic reaction to whatever the bugs left behind in her. The local stores probably won't carry anything stronger than that salmon-colored lotion that doesn't really help all that much. You will need a more potent product, such as 'Stop Itch," because no matter how careful you are, some of the little bastards will get inside your clothes.

If you don't need all your anti-itch medicine, sharing your surplus will win you a new friend. Personal Reflection and Explanation Concerning my Obsession about Bugs

I am emphasizing the bug protection because it becomes rather more difficult to remember all ways these species serve the region when you are awakened at 3:00 a.m. due to intense itching, forcing you to use up great quantities of "Stop Itch." This stuff is good, but doesn't last forever and it isn't 100%.

Worse, the bites and itching from them, takes forever to go away. Blackfly bites on my legs (acquired during a careless morning when the wind was blowing and the air was cool and I left my bug clothes behind) still woke me up sometimes in late August, and were still visible as fading splotches into December. Don't let that happen to you.

I bought a nylon bug veil but found it to be completely useless. It is very difficult to see clearly through the black nylon. Furthermore, it does not seem to allow the vapors from your exhalations to escape, so the air right against your face starts to feel rather muggy. You also have to fasten it down somehow, because otherwise the bugs can still get in from underneath. Therefore...

Take along also a very good brand of bug repellant, that is not 100% DEET, to rub on your exposed face and hands. I have heard that it makes quite a few people sick to overexpose themselves to 100% DEET. Just having it on clothes isn't a problem, but the direct skin contact/absorption.

Yes, I know that I am repeating myself.

If you plan to take any credit cards along, try to make sure it's a VISA

I don't want to sound like a VISA commercial, but the fact is, at least one car rental place and two shops do not accept MasterCard, American Express or Discover. If you do not have a VISA card, you'd better make sure in advance that the hotel in which you intend to stay, takes whatever you carry. Ditto any tours. Or carry a great deal of cash. U.S. currency can be changed at the Royal Bank of Canada.

try to take along a digital travel alarm clock that shows whether the hour is a.m. or p.m. Summer days are very long.

If, after a strenuous morning and afternoon, you decide to take a post-dinner nap, you may, as I did, wake up in broad daylight, see that the time is 8:00, and leap out of bed in a panic thinking that you've overslept.

Meanwhile, you feel so groggy and so devoid of appetite that you start to worry that maybe you're coming down with sleeping sickness from all those mosquito bites you received because you didn't bother to put on your bug suit when you went out yesterday. Only that wasn't yesterday. It was earlier today. But you think tonight is tomorrow morning because it's broad daylight and looks just like 8:00 a.m. back home.

And then it starts to turn dark. You think you're in for a really bad arctic storm. And then it gets darker still, and you begin to wonder if the region is having some sort of solar eclipse. You wonder why no one bothered to mention that such a spectacular heavenly event was about to happen. And it is only when time passes and the sun still hasn't come out from behind wherever it is hiding, that you begin to suspect that maybe morning is really evening but just to be sure, you feel compelled to go and ask someone. And then, after that other person confirms the true time of day (by then 11:00 o'clock in the evening), you feel like a total ass.

Clothing-Travel Light!

• I already mentioned the bugsuit
• Take normal summertime clothes-shorts, long pants,teeshirt--whatever you'd normally wear in temperatures that range from about 55-75F. Technical garments made of synthetics and marketed toward backpackers are probably better because they are lightweight, compressible and dry more quickly than cotton. It means that you can wash out a soiled garment and wear very soon after--less to pack and carry
• Sunglasses! Sunscreen. A brimmed hat is nice.
• Comfortable shoes (I used my hiking boots only when rock-climbing)
• Socks. Doing laundry can be very expensive up there, especially if you stay at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre. Either carry enough socks to see you through, or choose fabrics that can be hand washed and will dry quickly.
• Wellingtons and waders. Well, maybe. Probably not. Serious bird watching will take you into marshes. Unless you are willing to to go barefoot through marsh bogs (the water isn't cold, but the mud is pretty icky. The locals call it "loon shit" with good reason. It stinks, oozes and has the consistency of devils food cake batter) you'll want tall rubber boots. I went barefoot but you might not want to.
• The trouble with going barefoot is that you expose the tops of your feet to insect bites and have to re-spray them every time you're on dry ground again. If you don't plan to do serious bird watching, leave the rubber boots at home.
• Rain gear? Well, maybe. If you plan to be outdoors, far away from any type of shelter, it would be nice to have it. If you intend to go out, no matter rain or shine, take it. Otherwise, you can stay indoors, or in the tundra buggy or in the bus, if you take a tour, or in your rental car. Summer rain storms in this region do not last very long.
• Coat? You definitely don't need a winter-type coat. I took one along and it was a hassle. I only used it as a makeshift blanket when I slept on the train. I never used it up in Churchill. Chances are, you'll need nothing heavier than a fleece jacket. If push comes to shove, you can always buy an extra sweatshirt or pair of sweatpants locally

Miscellaneous garments. This is an individual. Take whatever you need to sleep comfortably. Take your usual toiletries. If you are female and think that The Curse might strike while you're up there, take along a box of whatever you use plus whatever painkillers and anti-bloat medicines usually get you through those trying days. These products are available in Churchill, but MUCH more expensive.

Info for Photographers

Take along spare batteries for your camera. The local shops stock necessities, but do not carry whatever exotic lithium battery your camera probably needs.

Take along sufficient rolls of film. Film is hideously expensive when purchased locally, and the choices aren't excellent. Bring a macro lens or whatever else you would need to do an extreme closeup. The flowers are incredible. Most are very small. One of the best is no larger than a quarter inch tall. The insects could make fascinating photographs, too, especially if you can capture the image of a mosquito pollenating a "small northern bog orchid". A telephoto lens is necessary if your focus is on animal wildlife. A 300 mm lens is simply not adequate for wildlife photography, except during polar bear high season. Even then, a longer lens is better. Bird photographers might also want to bring along something that can be set up as a blind.

Bring along some pepper spray. Chances are, you are not qualified to carry firearms under Canadian law. You, more than almost anyone else, are likely to find yourself face-to-face with a polar bear. To pursue photography, you will be outdoors, often far from town and possibly a good distance from your rental vehicle. You will probably be traveling independently, not part of a package tour. If you find yourself in a very threatening bear situation where the animal is charging you, pepper spray can buy you time to escape while causing no permanent harm to the bear.

Text descriptions of specific summertime attractions, and hopefully quick-loading graphics, can accessed via Reasons to visit Churchill The reasons cover various times of the year.

Bird and whale watching opportunities, river trips and the enjoyment of summertime flowers are pretty much limited to the high-summer month of July. Hiking is probably safer in July than anytime else because the polar bears are in a fasting mode at that time. There are also fewer of them around. Other topics of interest and enjoyment to some people include the region's spectacular geology, fall colors and fruit, wildlife, ecosystems, the winter aurora borealis.

Return to Practicalities for more basic advice on visiting this glorious but challenging place.

Return to Churchill Canada Intro Page