Emergency cabins along 120km Baffin Island trail to get solar panels

Itijjagiaq Trail runs between Iqaluit and Kimmirut, through Katannilik Territorial Park

Each of the nine cabins along the Itijjagiaq Trail, including Cabin 1 near Iqaluit, pictured here, will get solar panels, a light and a charging port next spring. (Photo by David Venn)

By David Venn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Hikers and snowmobilers travelling between Iqaluit and Kimmirut will soon have a way to charge their GPS devices and other electronics along the way.

The Nunavut government is planning to install solar panels at each of nine emergency cabins located along the 120-kilometre Itijjagiaq Trail, which runs between the two communities through Katannilik Territorial Park.

One of those — Cabin 7 — already has solar panels and battery storage. Located along the Soper River, it has a USB charging port and lights.

The small amount of maintenance that would be required, in addition to positive reviews about Cabin 7, convinced the government to move ahead with a plan to install them on every cabin.

“From what the tourists have been saying that use our parks, they always say good things about Cabin 7 and the solar panels and the charging port,” said Tommy Akavak, a co-ordinator with Nunavut Parks, in an interview.

The project will cost $40,000 and is being paid for by the Trans Canada Trail, a registered charity, said territorial Environment Department spokesperson Casey Lessard.

Each cabin will get solar panels mounted on its roof, lights with 60-minute timer, and a USB charging port, he said.

Nunavut Parks staff will do the installations and renovate the cabins’ windows and doors.

Lessard said the upgrades will be installed by next spring.

Akavak, who lives in Kimmirut, will be one of the staff members from his office installing the panels, alongside employees from the office in Iqaluit.

He said the solar panels are being stored in Kimmirut’s visitor centre and are ready to be taken out to the cabins and installed in the springtime.

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(2) Comments:

  1. Posted by David Beamer on

    Congratulations Tommy, Linda, and the rest of the NP&SP team! Great work!

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  2. Posted by JFK on

    That’s great for hunters and travellers on the land ! In our region our closest emergency cabin while out is 100 miles away to the south ! With nothing except a stove for heat. Bring your own fuel if you travel 100 miles or more to reach this isolated cabin. Every other cabin is owned personally and kept locked up. You eastern Arctic hunters and trappers are lucky to have them cabins ! We westernmost people are mostly on our “own”. If gn helped we would be well off .

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