March 16, 2015
One Year Ago Today -- Day 1 Last North Expedition
One year ago today, my good friend and expedition partner, Ryan Waters and I boarded a Kenn Borek twin otter ski plane and flew north the length of Ellesmere Island eventually landing at Cape Discovery, the northernmost point of land in North America.
It's hard to put into words all the thoughts that were going through my head during that flight: the relief of actually flying and moving, the beauty of the landscape below, a little fear, really cold feet... Honestly, a lot of it is a blur, but there are still enough clear memories 365 days later to make that flight come to life in my mind and I wanted to share a few of them with you now.
-Sunrise and moon set - we took off from resolute as the sun was rising and the full moon was setting. It seemed as if our small little plan was at the exact midpoint between the two.
-I was worried about having to go to the bathroom. I had wanted to pack my pee bottle in my small Granite Gear stuff sack that I was using as a carry on, but it was packed in my sled.
-Wolves. Coming into Eureka for a landing I saw a couple of wolves running near the ski way. I saw a few muskox in the vicinity as well.
-I tried to sleep but couldn't. I can't remember exactly, but I think I only got one or two hours of sleep the night before.
-My feet were cold. After stopping to refuel in Eureka, my toes became painfully cold and didn't seem to warm up even though the plane's heat was on high. I ended up unlacing my boots and warming my feet up with my hands.
-I brought along along a sandwich that I grabbed from the South Camp Inn prior to leaving that morning. I was hoping to save it for the ice as a treat. But I got hungry and ate it on the flight. Immediately, I wished I had grabbed a few more special 'treats'.
-Ellesmere Island. Flying over Ellesmere Island that day was probably one of the more spectacular scenes I've ever seen. It was clear and I stared out the window at the bays, bergs, mountain ranges and valleys.
-#IcePhoto. I was took a million pictures hoping to capture the exact feeling and experience of what it was like flying over Ellesmere Island. Plus I needed some #IcePhoto Wednesday material.
-Longer flight. We made good time to Cape Discovery and while I was excited to be starting our adventure, I wanted a little more time to enjoy the heat of the plane.
-Discovery Ice Rise. In 2010, we landed farther South of the actual cape of Cape Discovery. I was glad the Terry the pilot was able to land on the actual Cape itself, saving us an extra mile of hauling our heavy sleds.
-No Open Water. In 2010, there was an open water and thin ice leads on our first day. Circling around for our landing, I could see that there was no open water to the North.
-Cardboard. As we were unloading, I grabbed two pieces of 12" x 12" cardboard that we could use in the tent as a lightweight base for our second MSR stove. The cardboard lasted the whole trip and was very beneficial.
-Fast Norwegians. We shared the flight with the Norwegian team. They started skiing immediately after the plane took off. They were moving fast and it was humbling to see their progress relative to ours. They would get evacuated due to frostbitten toes a day later.
It's fun to look back at these memories from the comfort of Boulder, Colorado where it was 80 degrees today - nearly 140 degrees warmer than when we stepped out onto the ice at Cape Discovery. Surprisingly, I hadn't even remembered it was the anniversary of our Last North departure date, until I sat down at my computer this evening to catch up on some office work.
It seemed odd to be so comfortable and not pitched in a life and death struggle against ice, cold and polar bears. So, I added an extra ice cube to my drink and listened to the pod cast Ryan called in from the Arctic Ocean exactly one year ago today.
http://ericlarsenexplore.com/updates/journal/261884
Image: Landing at Cape Discovery.
It's hard to put into words all the thoughts that were going through my head during that flight: the relief of actually flying and moving, the beauty of the landscape below, a little fear, really cold feet... Honestly, a lot of it is a blur, but there are still enough clear memories 365 days later to make that flight come to life in my mind and I wanted to share a few of them with you now.
-Sunrise and moon set - we took off from resolute as the sun was rising and the full moon was setting. It seemed as if our small little plan was at the exact midpoint between the two.
-I was worried about having to go to the bathroom. I had wanted to pack my pee bottle in my small Granite Gear stuff sack that I was using as a carry on, but it was packed in my sled.
-Wolves. Coming into Eureka for a landing I saw a couple of wolves running near the ski way. I saw a few muskox in the vicinity as well.
-I tried to sleep but couldn't. I can't remember exactly, but I think I only got one or two hours of sleep the night before.
-My feet were cold. After stopping to refuel in Eureka, my toes became painfully cold and didn't seem to warm up even though the plane's heat was on high. I ended up unlacing my boots and warming my feet up with my hands.
-I brought along along a sandwich that I grabbed from the South Camp Inn prior to leaving that morning. I was hoping to save it for the ice as a treat. But I got hungry and ate it on the flight. Immediately, I wished I had grabbed a few more special 'treats'.
-Ellesmere Island. Flying over Ellesmere Island that day was probably one of the more spectacular scenes I've ever seen. It was clear and I stared out the window at the bays, bergs, mountain ranges and valleys.
-#IcePhoto. I was took a million pictures hoping to capture the exact feeling and experience of what it was like flying over Ellesmere Island. Plus I needed some #IcePhoto Wednesday material.
-Longer flight. We made good time to Cape Discovery and while I was excited to be starting our adventure, I wanted a little more time to enjoy the heat of the plane.
-Discovery Ice Rise. In 2010, we landed farther South of the actual cape of Cape Discovery. I was glad the Terry the pilot was able to land on the actual Cape itself, saving us an extra mile of hauling our heavy sleds.
-No Open Water. In 2010, there was an open water and thin ice leads on our first day. Circling around for our landing, I could see that there was no open water to the North.
-Cardboard. As we were unloading, I grabbed two pieces of 12" x 12" cardboard that we could use in the tent as a lightweight base for our second MSR stove. The cardboard lasted the whole trip and was very beneficial.
-Fast Norwegians. We shared the flight with the Norwegian team. They started skiing immediately after the plane took off. They were moving fast and it was humbling to see their progress relative to ours. They would get evacuated due to frostbitten toes a day later.
It's fun to look back at these memories from the comfort of Boulder, Colorado where it was 80 degrees today - nearly 140 degrees warmer than when we stepped out onto the ice at Cape Discovery. Surprisingly, I hadn't even remembered it was the anniversary of our Last North departure date, until I sat down at my computer this evening to catch up on some office work.
It seemed odd to be so comfortable and not pitched in a life and death struggle against ice, cold and polar bears. So, I added an extra ice cube to my drink and listened to the pod cast Ryan called in from the Arctic Ocean exactly one year ago today.
http://ericlarsenexplore.com/updates/journal/261884
Image: Landing at Cape Discovery.