Outdoor Greenland

Kyoto: Hiking from Kibune to Kurama

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Quick—where's the largest national park in the world? What's the largest island? The answers for both questions is Greenland.

Remote and often harsh, Greenland is one of the world's great adventure travel destinations. This is a land for people who love wilderness and wilderness activities. A place to kayak dramatic fjords; fish for sea trout in remote waters; hike through isolated mountains; or ski year round.

The name"Greenland" is one of history's great geographical scams, on par with calling the Caribbean the "West Indies." In 982, the good people of Iceland exiled Eric the Red. Eric sailed west towards some mountains visible from the top of Iceland's higher peaks. He found himself on the island now known as Greenland, and when his exile was over, he returned to Iceland to gather a group of settlers.

He knew it wouldn't be easy. The island lies at a point where the Atlantic meets the Arctic Ocean, meaning that Greenland is surrounded by cold ocean currents. Although the country is immense, encompassing 270,277 square miles (nearly twice the size of Germany), about 85% of the island's mass is covered by an ice cap. The ice cap covers extends 1,553 miles from north to south and up to 650 miles from east to west. At its center, the ice can be up to 9,800 feet thick. All in all, the ice cap contains 10 percent of the world's fresh water reserves. If all that ice were to melt, the world's oceans would rise 23 feet.

So Leif had a mighty hard sales pitch convincing would-be settlers to spend the rest of their life there. He returned to Iceland with exaggerated stories of verdant shores, abundant fish, excellent farmland and an evocative name for this wonderland: Greenland. He rallied a group of settlers, and they ventured off to found a colony that lasted for 300 years— until it was done in by the combined effects of climatic cooling and Europe's bubonic plague.

At the same time, Inuit people were making their way down the island. The Inuit had a lifestyle much more adapted to Greenland's cold climate. By the time Europeans arrived back on the scene in the 16th century, the Inuit held effective dominion over the island. Greenland became a colony of Denmark in 1721 and today Greenland's 55,000 people are 80% Inuit and 20% ethnic Dane. Although incorporated into Denmark's government, Greenlanders have used their home rule, granted in 1953, to reassert Inuit culture. For a traveller, this makes for fascinating exploration of indigenous ways, particularly if you're interested in how an ancient culture can successfully adapt to modern circumstances. Place names have been changed from Danish colonial names to Inuit, and ancient crafts have been revived, including the art of making traditional kayaks.

October 9, 2000 will be the 1,000 year anniversary of Leif Erickson's voyage from Greenland to the shores of North America. A variety of events have been organized to mark the occasion, including a retracing of Erickson's voyage by Hodding Carter in a recreation of a Viking ship.