But for any of this to happen, I needed this place to show its beautiful side. I stepped out into the drizzle, armed with eight pounds of camera gear, and wondering what I should photograph. The landscape around me was stark, bleak, and not especially beautiful. I bent down to grab a handful of blueberries. Despite the worsening weather, late summer is a great time to be out on the tundra. The berries are ripe, and the plants are changing color. Even the cloud of insects buzzing around my head was smaller than it would have been in mid summer. I started crawling around on the ground with my macro lens, interspersing shutter clicks with snacks of the local berries.

The labrador tea smelled stronger than ever with my nose so close to the ground, and any blueberries that I didn't eat stained my knees purple. The lingonberries and bog cranberries looked tasty, but their bright red tops are deceptive; they wouldn't be ripe for another month. I even ate one or two of the pale and withered cloudberries, but they were long past their prime, and I rather wished I hadn't. The crowberries were abundant, but didn't seem worth it, and I wasn't nearly hungry enough to nibble on the reindeer moss. This ubiquitous lichen is the primary food source for caribou, but it's only last-ditch survival fare for humans.

Judging by the proliferation of deep narrow trails and discarded antlers, caribou had often spent time in this valley. I'd seen both caribou and bears on my way out here, but I saw none now. As another helicopter thundered past, I could see why this valley had been abandoned by its usual residents. Despite my intellectual understanding that the helicopters weren't out to get me, I still wanted to run and hide every time one roared over me. If I were a caribou, I'd be long gone.

As I walked into the rolling flats of the proposed tailings lake, the wind and rain picked up, whipping the tiny plants into photographic blurs, and spattering water across my lens. Looking around me I could tell this wind was weak compared to the winter storms. The whole landscape appeared sculpted by the wind.