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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.
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Life on the Ice


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Last Day, Last Lunch, Last Camp

Jul 06, 2006
overcast, 33.3 F, 2 nautical miles
Day 67. The wind picked up considerably last night, or at least, what we call the night. The gusts also brought the biggest rain storm we've had to date. We hesitate to say it 'poured' but a steady drizzle lasted well into the morning. The hard wind-packed snow of yesterday turned to mush, slush and any other 'ush' word you might want to make up.

We traveled toward the North Pole in order to find a suitable ice pan to support a helicopter. It wasn't easy. The ice we have been traveling on the past week is relatively thin - 3 feet or so. We needed something over six feet thick. We skied through slush and large meltwater pools that were as deep as our shins. More water skiing. Eventually, we found an old pan, set up the tent and called in to confirm our position.

We took a little extra time to sort and inventory gear. All of our equipment seems to have survived the journey with little damage. Most noticeable are the sled-canoes. These boats have carried our supplies, and us at times, for nearly 700 miles of the most severe conditions imaginable. Despite this they look brand new!

This is our last camp. We ate our last meal of noodles and crawled in the tent for one last sleep. However, we are hesitant to fully close our eyes just yet. Instead, we unzip the tent door and steal one last glance after another at the scene beyond.

Let's be honest here: We are looking forward to enjoying some of even the simplest modern conveniences, seeing friends and family and maybe a glass of orange juice, but not just yet.

It has been hard to get to know this place. It definitely doesn't happen all at once. A piece here, an experience there. An insight gained. Hours that turn into days and days that add into months. It is so easy to think that all this emptiness is just ice, snow and water. It's not.

We wish we had the space and time to list all the things we have learned - about ourselves, teamwork, perseverance, and most importantly, the current state of the Arctic Ocean's sea ice.

What should we do we do with all the knowledge we've gleaned from this journey? We are only now beginning to imagine the effect of this expedition on our future.

One thing's for sure, we'll appreciate tables a lot more. And solid ground. Trees, definitely trees. The relationships of friends and family who have supported us for so long. Clean underwear will be nice. So will summer - a Minnesota summer.

Those are, of course, all the tangible things that affect our immediate future. More uncertain are months from now when these experiences have gained the benefit of distance and time. What kind of people will we be then? Will we be different? Probably not much. But we won't be the same, either.

We are glad for this experience. It has reinforced our love of wild spaces and our desire to help protect them. Our resolve to stop global warming has only been strengthened.

We are also pleased that you have taken this perilous expedition with us. By connecting to the internet, reading these blogs, you too have begun the first steps of a great adventure. You have learned about the Arctic Ocean, seen its moods and subtleties, learned about global warming and, hopefully, added one of 200,000 signatures to a petition to get the polar bear listed as an endangered species.

From here, let us continue together. This journey is really only beginning. Global warming is something that affects us all.

We will not be able to update the web site for the next 6 or 7 days while we travel through Russia - no satellite phones allowed. In our stead the multi-faceted, multi-lingual, multiplication whiz, John Huston, will keep you posted. More news, global warming info, more expedition gear, more highlights, future speaking engagements and perhaps some juicy tidbits about Huston, the man behind the myth.

Don't worry. We'll be writing more and more as soon as possible. There is lots of work to be done in the fight to stop global warming and help save the polar bear. We are rolling up our sleeves.

Word of the day: endeavor - to stop global warming.

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