April 17, 2012

Melting

The word from Joe lately is that it’s warm on the North Slope. The snow is melting quickly and their days on the expedition are numbered for precisely that reason. Even though the snow was waist deep this season, there’s no telling how quickly it will be gone and it would be a bummer, to say the least, if they ended up pulling against conditions like this:

number2 078

Sometimes things like this happen, and Joe had chronicled some nightmarish springtime conditions in his article Bears, Blizzards & Breakup. One of the biggest concerns is getting out of ANWR and across one of the major rivers that parallels the Haul Road to the east, the Sagavanirktok River, before it starts running.

So, we have an end date in mind now for this year’s expedition. Just two short weeks to go!

The dogs are pulling with all their might despite the tropical heat wave.  Let’s just hope they don’t end up having to pull across the bare tundra!

Meanwhile, the Little Explorer and I and all the dogs that didn’t go on the expedition this year are really looking forward to having everyone home again!  It’s been hitting 60F here.  Breakup is always such a sloppy time…no fun.  But maybe by the time everyone gets back things will have dried out and summer will be full-force in Fairbanks.  One can only hope!

 

  • http://kit-dogdaze.blogspot.com/ Kit

    I know you and Little Explorer will be happy to have Joe and the team home!

    Just wanted you to know we are heading out on another cross-country RV adventure, destination- Oregon Coast. We’ll be gone a couple of months…please don’t forget us!
    xoxo
    Kit and The Pups

    • alaskanarcticexpeditions

      Hi Kit! We hope you have a wonderful adventure to the northwest! Enjoy! -Andrea

  • Claire

    my body is in France but my heart stay in Alaska since 1989…