Nunavut man travels to treeline for Christmas tree
For past 18 years, Kanok Bolt of Kugluktuk has been continuing tradition started by his father
How far would you go for a Christmas tree? For some families in Nunavut, it means going all the way to the treeline.
Kugluktuk is one of the few Nunavut communities that is fairly close to the treeline, and for the past 18 years Kanok Bolt has been snowmobiling almost 60 kilometres from the community to get his family a tree.
He says the tradition started with his father, who always made sure the family had a real tree at Christmas.
"It makes me feel good, because my parents used to do it," he said. "And I hope it carries on from there."
Bolt made the four-hour round trip this past weekend. It was -32 C with the windchill and there was low visibility.
He said he looks for spruce trees close to the water that are nice and full. He says once he picks out the perfect tree, he has a snack, cuts the tree down, puts it on his sled and heads home.
This year's tree is 3.5 metres tall, but Bolt had to cut it smaller before putting it on display.
Bolt said his four children will make the trip with him someday when they're a little older.
"They always want to come along, but I tell them to wait a little bit more and then they'll tough out the cold."
For now, his youngest has the honour of putting the angel on top of the tree.