Days 8-10 [110km] - POW Strait → jesse bay
I realised quickly that being at sea level was no fun. The weather was sunny and hot, with highs close to 20C (68F) and the mosquitoes were coming out in swarms.
Banks island has a range of high hills along the east coast which form a watershed. Beyond them, to the west, the land is flat and drains into rivers which run north and west.
The hiking in that region would have been marshy and mosquito laden, so I stuck to the tops of the high hills.
There the weather was cooler and the hiking was excellent.
The terrain was generally dry, hard gravel embedded in dirt. The only issue is that, being 6-10km from the coast, it is in Polar bear territory.
However, I saw no indications of bears until I arrive at Sachs Harbour.
This region is full of beautiful frozen lakes. The smaller shallow lakes were thawed, but most the lakes were still covered in ice. Some had candle stick ice which sounded like wind chimes in the otherwise desolate land. The winds were generally strong. Loons often swam along the leads and shore.
