Our very last excursion in Greenland was the short “hike” to Inugsuit Taserssuat. Or, as the expedition staff referred to it, “a glacier lake near Maniitoq.” It’s only because I was already on MapCarta looking for information about Sermilínguaq Fjord that I happened upon the local name for this beautiful, glacier meltwater lake. In some ways, it reminded me of Moraine Lake, here in Banff National Park. It others, it was very different (e.g. reach the trailhead by zodiac, the complete lack of crowds, no surrounding forest).
The July 23, 2024 daily itinerary on the Ultramarine read, “Come join us for a Greenlandic outdoor Kaffemik on the edge of a gorgeous lake. A local guide will serve you local Arctic Char and tea while you take in the views.”
What’s a Kaffemik, you ask? From what I’ve read, it’s a longstanding Greenlandic tradition – a celebration gathering where the accepted protocol is to stay long enough to say hello to everyone, try all the food, and then leave, so as to make room for others. Most commonly, a Kaffemik takes place indoors, and standard practice is to leave your shoes at the door. Often there are more than 50 pairs of shoes at the entryway. It’s a good thing our Kaffemik was outdoors. Imagine trying to fine your particular pair of muck boots among 50 pairs of muck boots identical but for size!
For the TLDR video recap of this excursion, watch Mr GeoK’s Relive here.
Getting There
Our “Glacier” group was second to disembark and to transfer to shore via zodiac. In anticipation of lots of mosquitoes, I wore my bug net over my hat from the start. Mr GeoK did too, but he hasn’t yet learned that if you tuck the bottom of the bug net under your collar, it won’t blow around! 😉
Our landing zone was in a fairly enclosed cove off Davis Strait. Ultramarine anchored outside the cove and zodiacs took us in. We spotted several isolated (summer?) homes dotted around the shoreline of the cove (approx. one square km). The one in the zoomed in photo is quite large compared to most of them.
We spotted a motorboat at anchor as we approached the landing zone – transport for our Kaffemik hosts!
Ascent
Total distance to the lake shore was maybe half a km. By our usual standards, this doesn’t qualify as a hike. It doesn’t even qualify as a walk! But our on-board itinerary described it thus: “This is a challenging hike, on steep and uneven terrain, and over boulder fields. However, the reward at the top is high, with sweeping views looking at a glacial lake.” If I channel a spirit of generosity, give heavy weighting to the fact we walked in muck boots along a fairly non-existent trail, squint and tilt my head to one side, I guess?!!
We definitely climbed right from the landing zone. Most passengers stopped and removed their PFDs and parkas to leave on some of the boulders just up from the landing area, so they wouldn’t overheat.
Look at that beautiful turquoise water…
Expedition staff stood watch at a few points along the route, their polar bear guns within easy reach.
Inugsuit Taserssuat
Inugsuit Taserssuat was beautiful, a slightly deeper blue than most of the glacial lakes in Banff National Park. We walked along the shore towards its outlet. Many passengers gathered around a large, flat rock a step away from the shoreline, where they took turns enjoying a freshwater polar plunge! We have that opportunity many times each year back at home, so didn’t join in.
I pulled out my waterproof Olympus Tough to try some over/under shots. It was tough 😉 on account of the waves, which were increasingly large.
Kaffemik
After that, I took the opportunity to greet and thank our hosts, who offered tasters of smoked Arctic char on raisin bread, coffee and whale. As with the Taste of Greenland experience in Sisimiut, I immersed myself in the spirit of the afternoon. Mr GeoK opted to photograph the experience.
Return
With the wind and waves growing ever stronger, expedition staff encouraged us to start back towards the landing zone. The walk back provided another look at the stream connecting the outlet of Inugsuit Taserssuat to Davis Strait.
In the short time we were away from the shoreline of the cove, the tide went out just enough to make getting to the zodiacs quite difficult. Wet kelp made for a VERY slippery approach. No photos here – we had to concentrate fully to keep our footing.
I’m not sure why Mr GeoK looked so serious on the zodiac ride back to the ship. Maybe he was reliving that treacherous walk across the kelp bed. Or thinking about the fact it was our last excursion and our Greenland expedition cruise was coming to and end. Maybe his feet hurt after walking across the boulder field at the lake. I asked him. He doesn’t remember.
Inugsuit Taserssuat Fun Facts
- There is almost no information about Inugsuit Taserssuat on the world wide web. I found one reference on MapCarta. And another on someone’s personal blog, where a local corrected the author who’d used the wrong name for the lake.
- This was our southernmost stop on the Gems of West Greenland itinerary, at N 65° 34′
SUMMARY
Aside from our three town visits, this was the only land excursion where our kayaking group was mixed in with all other passengers for zodiac transport to/from the landing site. A short walk of just 1.6 km (return) with 90 meters elevation gain, our reward was a beautiful glacial lake that reminded us of home. One notable difference? No evergreen forests on the surrounding mountains. Our total shore time was just over one hour.