Polar Explorers Lonnie Dupre and Eric Larsen send daily dispatches during their unprecedented four-month journey to
the North Pole and back. The expedition team will pull and paddle specially modified canoes across nearly 1,000
miles of shifting sea ice and open ocean. Their objective is to complete the first ever summer expedition
to the North Pole and to highlight the growing issues surrounding global warming.
|
 |
|
Life on the Ice
Previous << | List All
| >>Next May 5, day 5, 5 miles
May 05, 2006
sunny, cold 5 F
Had an outstanding day, despite the difficult pack ice, and we eventually made 5 nautical miles in 7 hours travel. We spent 30 minutes putting frozen boots on this morning, and another 30 on the trail getting them warm.
The day may have started cold, but the intense morning sun warmed us quickly. Pulling the modified canoes through, around and over whatever the Arctic Ocean can throw at us helps keep our blood pumping - and then some. We sweat away the day battling inch by inch, then freeze during our short breaks.
We ended up traveling on some nicely frozen leads for short bits of the day. We know a lead is safe if it's covered in ice flowers (hoar frost crystals on the ice that have formed/grown in large clumps) that are around three inches in diameter. Anything less is suspect but not untravelable. Having ice bend underneath our snow shoes is disconcerting to say the least. Our mood, depending on the size of the lead we're crossing, ranges from casual concern to stark terror, depending on the size, extent and stability of ice.
One other insight from our day: traveling in second was a bit like taking a vacation... But not really.
We also thought we'd convey our simple rules for the word of the day. First, we get out the dictionary. One of us pages randomly through it, stops, and then starts reading all the definitions on that page. Finally, we pick a word that somehow relates to our day.
Today's word: flyover. We heard, then saw a plane way above us. We assumed it was an SAS flight, with cocktail service just starting.
- Sunday Homecoming
Jul 14, 2006
- Hot Times Up North
Jul 12, 2006
- First Shower Since May 1st
Jul 08, 2006
- Last Day, Last Lunch, Last Camp
Jul 06, 2006
- A Tough Decision
Jul 05, 2006
- Rest Day - take 2
Jul 04, 2006
- Rest Day for the Weary
Jul 04, 2006
- Back in the USSR
Jul 02, 2006
- The Pole and a Messenger
Jul 01, 2006
- Almost
Jun 30, 2006
- More Seals?
Jun 30, 2006
- Worst to First to Mashed Potatoes
Jun 28, 2006
- Making Watery Progress
Jun 27, 2006
- A Paddle to the Pole
Jun 26, 2006
- Deep Thoughts
Jun 25, 2006
- Seals at the Pole?
Jun 24, 2006
- One Degree to Go!
Jun 23, 2006
- Laughing All The Way
Jun 22, 2006
- Happy Summer
Jun 21, 2006
- Our New Friend
Jun 20, 2006
- R & R
Jun 19, 2006
- Seal Sighting
Jun 18, 2006
- Nine Hard-Won Miles
Jun 17, 2006
- Energy Conservation
Jun 16, 2006
- Not Easy
Jun 15, 2006
- Chess and Chocolate
Jun 14, 2006
- It's all at 88
Jun 13, 2006
- Still Pressured Ice?
Jun 12, 2006
- Soft Snow Slow Go
Jun 11, 2006
- Snow and Ice
Jun 10, 2006
- Six Again and Sun
Jun 09, 2006
- Ice Puzzle
Jun 08, 2006
- On the Road Again
Jun 07, 2006
- Depot Day
Jun 06, 2006
- Waiting
Jun 05, 2006
- A Day at the Arctic Spa
Jun 04, 2006
- Houston We Have 87
Jun 03, 2006
- sunny day
Jun 02, 2006
- Half Way Birthday
Jun 01, 2006
- Poetry
May 31, 2006
- It was the best of ice, it was the worst of ice
May 30, 2006
- Ski Pole Comms
May 29, 2006
- Blizzard at 86
May 28, 2006
- Keep North
May 27, 2006
- Time
May 26, 2006
- A Seal?
May 25, 2006
- Rest Day
May 24, 2006
- Perspective
May 23, 2006
- Bon Appetit
May 22, 2006
- Rainbows and '85'
May 21, 2006
- Mud and Ice Mayhem
May 20, 2006
- Skiing in the Rain
May 19, 2006
- Trail Jargon
May 18, 2006
- Vacation Day
May 17, 2006
- frida
May 16, 2006
- the good, the bad and the great
May 15, 2006
- It's Worse
May 14, 2006
- more white out
May 13, 2006
- 84
May 12, 2006
- Daydream
May 11, 2006
- Not Easy
May 10, 2006
- Cheese Saves the Day
May 09, 2006
- Two Rabbits and a Cardinal
May 08, 2006
- Seven on seven
May 07, 2006
- Moving Forward
May 07, 2006
|
|
|
|
