KRT day 1: Rookie mistake makes for an uncomfortable day

It’s time to hit the trail!

Today I started the Kangerlussuaq Ridge Trail (KRT) and will connect to the Arctic Circle Trail tomorrow.
The Kangerlussuaq Ridge Trail (KRT) is a 12-mile (19 km) extension you can add onto the Arctic Circle Trail. Instead of walking 7.5 miles (12 km) along a gravel road, you climb out of Kangerlussuaq onto the ridge and connect with the Arctic Circle Trail at Kellyville. The trail includes about 1,083 feet (330 meters) of altitude gain—most of it right at the start.

From now on, I’ll call the trail the KRT 😊

Hot Hot Hot 🥵

I left town later than planned after squeezing in some last Wi-Fi chores—once you’re more than 6 miles (10 km) out, you go completely off-grid.

And it is hot! Not exactly what I’d expected in Greenland!

The climb up feels long in this heat. I started out on a muddy track with a fair amount of mosquitoes buzzing around my ears. Then comes the point where you turn off the track onto a nearly invisible trail that is the KRT.

To be fair, there is a little trail, which becomes a hint of a trail, to no trail at all. And that sets the tone for the rest of the KRT.

But when looking back towards Kangerlussuaq, you can see as far as the ice cap on a clear day. Which it was! What an amazing view.

Therre are many reindeer antlers on the trail.

Nature’s Candy

Scattered along the way, I kept spotting little blue Arctic bellflowers. The guide from the ice camp tour (see previous posts) had told me they are edible – like little candies from nature. The flower itself is a little sweet, but the real sweetness lies in the crown of the flower. The taste is hard to describe, a little vanilla-like. Paired with blueberries, they make for nice snacks (though not very filling 😉)

Backpacker Candy 🙂

Confidence What?

The KRT is not a well travelled trail and the further you go, the more invisible it becomes. At some point, you are just walking over uncompacted tundra. Which is very squishy and uneven. I need to take care not to twist my ankle. It’s a tiring way to walk.

At this point the trail markers (described as “confidence” markers on hiking.gl) become very sparse. I’ve downloaded the gpx tracks on my phone so I can kind of follow the trail. I’d point it in a direction; try to remember which big rock I should aim for and start walking. On some spots it’s so hard to find any markers, I am checking my gps every 5 minutes since it’s easy to drift off trail.

“Confidence” trail marker

I was an Idiot…

because unfortunately, I made a rookie mistake: not bringing enough water. Which is stupid, because I’m not a Rookie…

The trail description had warned that there weren’t many water sources along the ridge. Which makes sense—you’re on a ridge… But I didn’t think that far ahead.

When I reached some small lakes higher up, the water looked orange and stagnant. I didn’t trust it so I decided to push on to try and find a better source.

You generally don’t need to filter water in Greenland, it is very clean. But of course, you should still use common sense and take care when you don’t trust it.

Lakes on the ridge. Up close the water was orange, not very inviting.

Sorry Future Me…

I continue the trail, thirstily. I’ve been conserving my water and when I take a sip, I let it linger in my mouth before swallowing. I’ve brought some apples for the next few days, but my desire for something juicy wins from future me’s wish for something fresh after several days of dehydrated means.

I checked the map and continued for a few more miles toward the next lakes. Once I get there, I drop my pack at the perfect camp spot and got to get water. But this water looks even worse than before and the lakes seem too small. More like ponds. Then I realised I haven’t actually reached the lakes yet, and they are indeed ponds.

More Orange Water

So onwards I go. Bye bye pretty camp spot.

When I finally arrive at the lake, the water is also very orange. But at this point it will have to do. I pick up water, decide to boil it just to be safe and get to work. Once boiled, I transfer it to a cup and boil some more water for food. Waiting for that water to cool enough to drink…. it felt like it took forever!

Once hydrated and fed, it was time to find a new camp spot. I went a little back and forth and I found the perfect spot, almost no mosquitoes.

But when you stand still for 30 seconds, in comes a whole swarm of them. And they were big. And loud! So off to another spot. But the same thing kept happening everywhere. After moving my stuff around several times to different spots, I ended up back at the first spot and decided to just get on with it.

Biggest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen.

Over & Out

The tent was up and I was boiling some more water whilst trying to relax a bit. Then the Search & Rescue helicopter from Air Greenland passed overhead, and returned a little while later. Not sure what’s happening further down the trail, but hopefully everyone is ok. There is no exit from the trail between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut except by helicopter (since there’s no roads between towns in Greenland).  

Then I start feeling bad… A bit nauseous, my stomach wasn’t happy. This can’t be happening! I had made sure that it boiled hard for at least a minute… I had some tea, though I was a little concerned to drink more water, in case it was the problem. Then another piece of fruit, trying to settle my stomach a bit.

I went to bed, a bit worried and very tired.

Hopefully there won’t be any surprises, on either end 😉

Of course a lake view comes with mosquitoes 🙂