Paul Souders Shares Solo Arctic Adventure at the Ruby Theatre

Author and photographer, Paul Souders, will give a presentation in Chelan on November 1st

by Loni Rahm. Paul Souders photos used by permission

There’s a bit of a fearless adventurer in all of us. But most of us are content to experience it vicariously through documentaries, books and conversations. And then there is Paul Souders.

After spending his entire adult life taking pictures, he decided at a self-avowed “middle age” to hunt polar bears armed only with a camera. Paul told me he felt all the “easy pictures” were done. He wanted to take the definitive picture of a polar bear. The more he thought about it, the more obsessive he became.

Paul chuckled when I asked him about the strenuous preparation that must have been necessary for a summer solo expedition in the arctic circle. He told me it was basically BYOB (bring your own boat). He knew where to find fuel for his boat, however, he was quick to point out he doesn’t like going hungry – so he had food shipped to fishing villages and small ports along the way.

A perpetual bachelor, Paul had recently found his soul mate, Janet, who is now his wife. I asked Paul if she ever, even for one minute, thought about accompanying him on what he referred to as this “half-baked” expedition. He assured me she knew the boat was a pre-existing condition of marriage and she was used to his hair-brained solo travels. She told him she trusted he would return from this venture alive. But no…she would not be accompanying him.

Paul indicated that his first major decision was how to get his 23-foot boat, C-Sick, into the massive Hudson Bay from, well, pretty much anywhere a road leads. He launched onto the Nelson River in Northern Manitoba – about 800 miles from the Arctic Circle. His first day was almost his last.

The realization hit as he backed the boat into the swift moving river. He knew he was on his own and there was literally no turning back.

The first disaster materialized about 5 or 6 hours into the journey. The Nelson River has channels with sand bars and a wicked current. It was so silty and muddy that he missed a portion of the channel and ran aground. He jumped in the water and tried pulling and pushing the boat to free it. He said it felt like dragging a stubborn dog on a leash. As he jumped in and out of the boat, he came to grips with the powerful fact that “I am all alone”. If he dislodged the boat but was unable to jump back in, the current would take it downriver and he would be left by himself in the wilderness with little hope of anyone finding him.

Fortunately, when the boat broke free from the sand and re-entered the current, Paul was onboard.

I asked him about some of the memorable people he encountered. Without hesitation, he named Page Burt and John Hickes, who run the Nanook Inn in Rankin Inlet.

“I had two leaky fuel pumps and was limping my boat into a small village. In the distance I saw this man standing on the dock patiently waiting for me,” said Paul. “He found a mechanic to repair my boat and took me home. They fed me and housed me while my boat was repaired.”

Have you kept in touch, I asked? The answer is definitely yes. For the next three years, Paul stored his boat in John’s sled dog hut in between summer ventures. He told me the clientele at their Inn is mostly government workers and RCMP’s, but some tourists as well. And if you are ever in the area, Paul gives their facility a 5 star rating!

Was there a moment when you doubted your sanity, I asked him.

“You want just one?” was his first response. Then, he quieted and told me about the end of his last trip to the arctic. Names like Repulse Bay and Wager Bay were slipping off his tongue as he talked about a 10-mile x 100-mile patch of water that was almost his undoing.

Strong currents and riptides pulled at his boat. Suddenly 23-feet of boat didn’t feel nearly large enough. He remembered an Intuit Elder he had met who told him, “when you cross the Bay, confess all your sins.” Souders said he confessed everything he could think of to whatever Gods were listening. His mantra, which he repeated nonstop, was “the boat wants to float….the boat wants to float.”

I asked Paul about his favorite moment and what he defines as his best picture.

He said he learned very quickly that polar bears are extremely wary and he spent much of his time photographing the “south end of a north bound bear.” Then one day near Harbour Island, just south of the arctic circle, he came across the “sweetest, most patient bear.” Sounders said “It was a picture perfect day and the bear was about 20 yards away. Neither of us was afraid of the other.”

“It was awesome, ” Souders continued. “I was allowed to witness the life of a polar bear as he went about his business.”

“So that’s when you got your definitive picture,” I asked.

Nope. Apparently, docile bears don’t make the best photos. “He spent alot of time just sleeping,” said Souders.

Souders hates to identify a favorite picture.  “There’s so many great memories captured on film” he explained. But he took what is arguably the best picture during his first summer, when a bear popped up from behind a jagged piece of ice and stared right at the photographer. (Featured photo above).

Souders is already preparing for his next adventure. He bought a steel-hull sailboat named “Ocean View” sight unseen from a family in Nova Scotia.

So you’re a sailor, I asked.

“No. But I’m learning,” he said.

Apparently he is a fast learner. In 2017 he sailed solo from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland on his maiden voyage. His next goal is to sail to Greenland.

Paul Souders will be giving a presentation featuring photos from his arctic adventure and hold a book signing of “Arctic Solitare” at the Ruby Theatre at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 1st.

A few of the photos and excerpts from his book are below.