Arctic Circle Trail (K –> S) — Geocache of the Week
On a recent trip, I got the opportunity to fly over the Arctic Ocean. As the plane flew 36,000 feet above Greenland, I looked deeply into the ice, trying to spot a polar bear mid-traverse across an ice field. Ever since then I have been dreaming of a Greenland adventure and what amazing scenery and community I might discover there.
With a population of just over 57,000 people, Greenland is a vast landscape that has yet to be developed and is slowly increasing in annual visitors (about 40,000 in 2016). For that very reason, I have dreamed of going to Greenland to explore such a uniquely raw place and experience pristine nature. What could make a trip to Greenland even better? Perhaps finding a Multi-Cache along the Arctic Circle Trail!
As the most famous hiking trail in Greenland, the Arctic Circle Trail is a 160 km (almost 100 mile) backcountry trail between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut. Open until mid-September for hiking, the faint trail leads you through low arctic vegetation and into rocky mountains. Along the way, there are daintily placed huts for you to overnight in or take shelter from the unpredictable arctic weather and also find geocaches along the way. If you do not have 7 or 8 days to make this trek in the summer, or if you are a brave soul, you can embark on the journey via dog sled, snowmobile, or cross country skis. Although completing the trek in the winter sounds magical, you may have some trouble finding the final geocache due to lots of snow.
Although we are featuring one Multi-Cache on the Geocache of the Week, geocache owner TriNitro was kind enough to place another one going in the opposite direction. So no matter which way you begin your journey, you can find a fun final stage. Check out Arctic Circle Trail (S –> K) if you choose to hike from West to East.
TriNitro hauled 12 days worth of supplies and the caches on his back into the backcountry with him:
In front of us, there were about 160 km of walking, 15 km of canoeing, and twelve days of unforgettable impressions in a widely remote landscape. Again, the weather was incredible and we had so much fun along the trail. And: silence! In my opinion this is one of the most impressive and precious things to experience.
Just a few of the gorgeous images from this amazing Multi-Cache
TriNitro was also nice enough to host a geocaching event in Greenland for the very small, but welcoming Greenlandic geocaching community:
Before leaving for our trip to Greenland, I submitted an event in Sisimiut to meet some of the local geocachers. So we found ourselves standing in drenching rain at the old church of Sisimiut waiting for other cachers. As we left directly after the event was published, we did not know how many geocachers might join us, if any at all. Finally, the only local Sisimiut geocacher joined our very private event. Due to the weather conditions he decided to put us in his truck and gave us a sightseeing tour of Sisimiut. Not enough, he invited us to his home where we met his lovely family and joined some tasty meal after we found a geocache in his garden. All the people we met during our trip have been very polite and open minded and we were absolutely overwhelmed by this hospitality.
After reading about this geocache and viewing all the breathtaking photos, I am inspired to book a flight to Kangerlussuaq right now! It would truly be a badge of honor to have that guidebook in your home library and that find on your profile.
Thanks to TriNitro for sharing geocaching with the Greenlandic community and for sharing Greenland with all of us geocachers around the world!
Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world.
Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.
