Eric Batty braves frigid temps to capture a stellar moment on a winter bike packing trip.
Cold. Really cold. Camped on the shore of James Bay east of Attawapiskat, Ontario, we spent the first night of our 638-kilometre self-supported bike packing trip freezing. Our thermometer only went down to -40 C, and it was below that at sunset—and only got colder as the sun disappeared.
Arriving to camp later than we would have liked, we scurried to get the tent set up, collect some sticks for the fire, make dinner and get into our down sleeping bags. We had skipped a vital step: piling snow around the base of the tent to wall off the winter wind. The cold draft that was constantly attacking us from underneath our tent and into our makeshift home was relentless and would contribute to one of the worst and coldest nights I have had.
Just before bed, I went outside to use the “restroom” and to my surprise saw some faint Northern Lights. Ryan Atkins was on his way out to do the same and make a few adjustments to his bike. I put a fresh battery in my camera, clamped it to my tripod and snapped a few shots. Then I had an idea of illuminating the image with me running a lap of the tent. With Ryan standing as still as possible, I set the self-timer and ran into the frame, around the tent and out. It illuminated the image exactly how I envisioned it. Shortly after that, the focus motor died in that lens, rendering it manual-focus only for the next 10 days on the winter road. Not pictured: Buck Miller and Ted King, in the tent, huddled by the small titanium wood stove, shivering.
The cold draft that was constantly attacking us from underneath our tent and into our makeshift home was relentless and would contribute to one of the worst and coldest nights I have had.
We finished the ride and had a blast, riding our bikes out onto James Bay and just inside the territory of Nunavut. We got snowed in with 40 centimetres of fresh snow just outside Moosonee, forcing a few down days until crews could get the road open again. We raised $7,783 for charity. We were in the land of polar bears and beluga whales. We pushed our gear, bodies and minds. We laughed a ton and made memories that will last forever. –Eric Batty
Related story from ML:
Winter Gallery Highlights from ML Blue Mountains
It was an epic winter for Ontario Mountain Lifers. As we look forward to spring, we take a final look back at the ML Blue Mountains winter issue and the photos that sum up the season as a time to explore, move and seek adventure even when the skies turn grey.
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