Kotzebue

Another 100+ miles to Kotzebue from Deering
And another long ride in the whiteout conditions over bumpy sea ice.

After a quick frost tube drill we packed our gear and headed out of Deering.
Last night we got information about the trail condition from a Kotzebue resident visiting here on the way back from the All Alaska Sweepstakes.


We traveled along the coast out of Deering and passed cabins as landmarks along the trail.
On the sea ice, the hard sastrugi and drifts were covered with light snow, making it hard to notice them until the skies on the snow machine hit one of them, or when your body gets thrown in the air all of a sudden.

Although the trail conditions were rough at times, there were signs of scenic features.
We also saw musk-ox, caribou, and seals in a distance.



As we neared Kotzebue, the trail was heavily marked, probably for all the races in this area.

Kotzebue suddenly appeared in the view after coming down a hill.

We stayed at the Fish and Wildlife bunkhouse.
After an early dinner, Kenji went to exchange the data logger form the Kotzebue monitoring station.


As we get back, I realize this is the end of the expedition.
A safe return to the bunkhouse and the mission was nearly complete.

What we saw just a week ago almost seems like a dream all of a sudden.

This portion of the Permafrost Outreach Expedition is completed.
Kenji plans to continue his visits up the coast after the state test is over.

Deering

Another long day on our snow machines
In a straight line the distance is about 100 miles.

After packing and getting gas, The science teacher Ken led us to the trail head.
We hit the well-marked trail that disappeared into the white landscape across the lagoon.


Riding in the featureless terrain in the white out condition was somtimes disorientating, not knowing if you are going up or down.
At least the sun was visible throught the clouds, so it was possible to get the feeling for the general direction.


Some pingos appeared as small mounds soon after we were on land.
(a closed system pingo… For more information contact Kenji. ffky@uaf.edu)

After some river crossings, refueling, more snowmachineing we made it to Deering, thaqnks to Kenji’s exceptional navigational skills.


The trip took us more than 6 hours.

Eventhough it was Saturday, the pricipal Steve greeted us and let us stay at the school.
It was a typical open gym night, and people were at the school gym to play basketball or just watch.

posted by Tohru

Shishmaref

It was another calm day on the Seward Peninsula.

We started from Wales after Kenji’s talk, which was about 10:00.
The trail to Shishmaref is about 80 miles. A flat trail that follows the coast line.
Weather conditions were great, which made for a good day traveling.
Ear Mountain, land mark of this area, was visible most of the way.


Although it seemed like a cold lifeless landscape, there were signs of life almost the entire way.
While I spotted some caribou in the distance, Ned found some polar bear tracks.
For more exciting pictures please visit www.alaskatracks.com



After being bumped around on the snow machine for 6 hours we finally arrived in Shishmaref.
The village apears in the middle of the white horizon.
The famed erosion was not easy to visualize with the frozen sea.


We did not quite make it to the school before the class was over.
Instead we went straight to drilling.
First the frost tube hole was drilled.
The ground material was sand, similar to how it was in Wales.
Against all odds and failing equipment this Kenji drills to 4 meters.


In Shishimaref Kenji’s secret weapon was waiting our arrival. Code name “Kaji” (a.k.a maru-kaji)
He actually joined us three times during this expedition, and today was his birthday.
What a way to celebrate your birthday in Shishmaref.

Tomorrow we are heading to Deering.

posted by Tohru

Wales


Another full day of action for all of us.
The trail from Brevig Mission to Wales was less traveled and obviously less marked.

The morning started out with packing and getting gas.
While we were getting gas, we were lucky to get information about the trail condition, especially with the white-out conditions we had in the morning.
It wasn’t as windy but felt cold probably down in the single digits.


Kenji safely navigated through the blurry white trail.

Even after a wrong turn, he was quick to correct the course, and we were back on the trail.

The trail it’s self wasn’t difficult, but the bumps form the wind packed snow made the 80 mile trip much longer than we hoped.

Coming down on the north side of the hill suddenly the clouds opened up.
Even more surprising was the lack of the wind.
Looking back, we saw the low hanging greyish clouds over where we came from.
Along the trail we saw a moose, muskox, fox, and a lot of animal tracks, including a woverine and wolf.


By the time we were about 10 miles out of Wales, Kenji had to hurry to get to the school before the school was out.
Luckily he made it there before the teachers all left.

We are all a little wore out form the continuous travel, but work comes first.
Kenij went right to drilling.
The frost tube went well, but the monitoring station bore hole kept colapsing as we drilled and backfilled the hole because the ground material was sand.
Although the depth was not the best result, Wales station is probably one of the most scenic Permafrost Monitoring Station.


After a successful installation it was almost time for sunset.

There were many signs of people living here from a long time ago.
It’s hard to say how old they are, but reminants of whale bone houses, stone trail markers, and look out places made out of piled rocks (probaably for marine mamals) all indicated the history of this place.


As the sun goes down past over Little Diomede Island another day comes to an end.
Tomorrow we will head to Shishimaref.
Drilling in these cold places is taking a toll on the equipment.

posted by Tohru

Nome to Brevig Mission

After bumping into Lance Mackey in the Polar Cafe this morning, just before he pulled his snow hook to start the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, we snowmachined the road to Teller from Nome, a total of 71 miles.

On this highway, not plowed in winter, snowmachines float a little better than trucks. The trail was rough in the middle, busted-up sastrugi, but was smooth close to Nome and for the last 20 miles into Teller.

On the way, we saw lots of Gold Rush relics, including this dredge and the house where the dredge people lived while they were mining.

We made it to Teller in a few hours. This graveyard is the high point in the town, which is on a peninsula surrounded by salt water. Kenji spoke with John Weemes’ science class and kids from almost the entire school who asked him great questions. Principal Jay rustled us up some grub, and we’re mighty thankful for his hospitality. Tohru had drilled a frost tube while Kenji was speaking. When Kenji went to drill the permafrost borehole, he found that the drill didn’t work!

With no backup after a logistics messup back in Emmonak, Kenji was bummed. “If we can’t fix the drill, it’s the end of the trip,” he said. We moved on to Brevig Mission, just six miles from Teller, and Kenji here tries to fix the drill. After watching him solve every one of the considerable problems thrown his way during this trip, Tohru and I had a feeling the drill would somehow be just fine.

Later that evening, in Brevig Mission:

And so, the trip goes on. Yes! We’re getting into a good travel groove now, and from here it becomes even more interesting, as we attempt to get to Wales, Shishmaref, Deering and Kotzebue. These sections will all be more challenging because villagers don’t travel them too much. In Kenji we trust.

Here’s what we have covered since March 16th, about 470 miles in all:

posted by Ned. for more trip photos, see alaskatracks.com

Nome

Today we made it to Nome, the place that sounds like “No name”.

After Kenji’s talk to the students in White Mountain, we did some final touches with the frost tube and hit the trail.

to Golovin and White Mountain

Another full day of activities: a lecture, four holes drilled and travel to two villages

After explaining to Mark in Elim about the location of monitoring station, Kenji talked to the students and demonstrated how the frost tube works. We rode out of Elim by 9:30.


Today was the first day on our trip that felt like Spring. The first half an hour was a bumpy ride over hardened sastrugi.

Then the trail turned into an overland trail that shortcuts the peninsula. The trail went over some domes called “Little McKinley.” At the top of the dome, we had a stunning view of the surrounding hills. Then, the trail drops down. As we descended a long hill, Golovin could be spotted in the distance.


We arrived in Golovin around 11:30.

As soon as we arrived, Kenji selected a site for the frost tube and started drilling. Then we had lunch at the school cafeteria. Chicken nuggets and green peas. Kenji talked to the students right after lunch.


After the talk, he started drilling a bore hole for the monitoring station. The site was on the southern side of town.
The material was mostly sand and ice. After a successful 4m drill, our best yet, the station was installed.


Then we packed our equipment, got on our snowmachines, and headed to White Mountain. It was a flat 15 miles over mostly sea ice and river. We arrived at White Mountain about 4 PM.

Kenji went to work right away with the frost tube. But after 70 cm he started hitting rocks. It was the same in other locations.
Instead of drilling for a monitoring station, we decided to install two frost tubes in different places.


That evening Jack and Joanne invited us over for some caribou dinner. They were Ned’s friends, from his previous visits to White Mountain.

Tomorrow we are going to Nome, where all of missing stuff should be waiting for us. In case it doesn’t come through, Kenji’s got a “Plan B” ready.

posted by Tohru

Elim

It’s been a week since we started our trip.
So far, we have seven new stations installed.

Today we had another good day of traveling.
We packed our gear and left Koyuk around 10 AM.



The trail was mostly a flat overland trail with some hills that went along the coast. Large body of open water on Norton Sound could be seen sometimes when we climbed a hill.

In less than three hours, we were riding into Elim. Since it was Easter Sunday, a lot of kids were playing outside. The science teacher Mark let us in the school shortly after we arrived.

Compared to Shaktoolik or Koyuk, this village seems more protected from the the gnawing north wind.
And the snow was fluffier, unlike the wind-packed hard snow of the past few days.

On a sunny calm day like this, drilling almost seems easier. First, the frost tube drilling by the school went well. The permafrost-monitoring station drilling, on the other hand, ran into a problem less than one meter beneath the ground surface. It seemed like Kenji’s drill hit bedrock, so he had to back off.


We changed plans and looked for a suitable spot for the monitoring station. The best spot was inland from the school close to the entrance of another trail.

Drilling at the new spot went successfully. The new and improved equipment that Kenji is using this year is working well, and we are actually gettting better at using the makeshift tubes and plastic pipes for the monitoring station installation.



We are halfway into our Outreach Expedition and have somehow managed to keep the schedule on track and successfully install seven stations, but all of this hard work comes with a price. Especially if your are Kenji and are wrestling with a 40 pound drill and frozen soil every day.

Whether it was planned or not, we don’t now, but Kenji suggested going to the hot springs.
Hot springs?
Yes! There is a hot spring about 10 miles out of the village!

The trail that winds through the forest and up and over hills was less traveled but easy to find.
The views from the top of these hills were spectacular.


And the hot spring…

Was great!
What a way to relax and enjoy the evening after a good day’s work.

posted from Elim by Tohru

Koyuk

Another permafrost station and frost tube station was added to the Permafrost Outreach network.
But it wasn’t an easy one.

The morning at Shaktoolik was quiet since it was a Saturday and the kids didn’t come in at eight like they do on weekdays.
The clear blue sky was deceiving and almost made it look warm outside.
I guess temperature-wise it wasn’t too bad, but the wind would blow away any heat that you had around you.



So, obviously the trail from Shaktoolik to Koyuk, that runs mostly on sea ice or flat tundra was completely wind-blown with hard-packed sastrugi everywhere.
Sometimes Kenji’s tracks would be erased by the drift before the second person passed it.
Again, the Iditarod trail markers helped us with our bearings.

The only noticeable structure along this 50 miles was a shelter cabin about 15 miles from Shaktoolik.

Other than that, it was a very white and cold ride until the very end.
Even in Koyuk there was still some wind, but much more tolerable.

At the school, the science teacher Joe was awaiting our arrival.
After a short break, we went to work right away.


The frost tube went in quickly with the new drill setup Kenji is using this year.
Since it looked like the same area had good features for a Permafrost Monitoring Station, we decided to drill next to the frost tube hole.

The first 80 cm or so was easy. Just like we hoped.


But from there on the drill would get stuck, time after time. When the drill gets stuck, it’s important to keep it moving, even just a little bit, to keep it from freezing solid to the ground. If it freezes to the ground, as it wants to do when a cold wind is blowing, it is almost impossible to get it out.

Halfway into the expedition, some of our equipment is showing signs of fatigue and with more than half of our original gear missing somewhere in Alaska. We can’t afford to break or lose anything.

After two hours of hard work and lot of struggle, we finished the installation.
We were disappointed we couldn’t drill deeper, but with the conditions we had, it was wise to stop before something broke.

Back in the classroom, Kenji is strategizing plans for the next couple of days. In Nome, we will have a chance to resupply some of the equipment. Nome is still a few days off. Until then, we have to continue improvising and be very careful with how we do things.

After a long day, we saw another gorgeous sunset from the top of the hill. From there, you can see where the shelter cabin was in the distance, about 30 miles off, and the frozen Koyuk River below us.

Shaktoolik

What a day!
Another memorable arctic travelling.

Since the Unalakleet school was in Spring Break, the morning was rather quiet. We are always thankful for the hospitality we receive and enjoy talking to people from that area.

But in reality the situation was far form being calm.
Kenji was trying very hard to gather all he could to keep this expedition together.
With the additional rigid plastic pipes he was able to gather, the sled became precariously long with a few feet of pipes hanging from the back.



From Unalakleet, the trail is an overland trail with many great vantage points along the way.



We were able to enjoy the great view of parts of the western coast of Alaska.
The ice free area wer noticably colored in dark blue compared to the otherwise flat and white sea ice.
It was also comforting to see trees along the trail, instead being in the middle of a baren wind howling hills or sea ice.



The trail markers from the Iditarod were still visible along the way, which helped us find our way through some treacherous parts which came rather abruptly and unexpectedly as we descended the last hill that opend to a flat area that leads to Shaktoolik.

Strong cold wind was balsting into our face, picking up snow and blowing accross the surface of the snow.
Even the well travelled Iditarod trail was sometimes hard to see without the markers.
There was small hope that Shaktoolik would be in sheltered area compared to where we were going through.
But of course that was not the case.

At the Shaktoolik school we asked how long the weahter has been this bad. They all said “It’s always like this”.
Sure enough, a lot of the people were in their thin looking jackets.
But at least covering there ears.

The fed us some Arctic Char for lunch.
Kenji gave a short intorduction about the permafrost monitoring project and talked about Permafrost related isses to the middle school students.



After that, we braved the weather and went drilling to install the monitoring station.
It is usually hard enough when the temperature is low. Adding strong wind to the equation makes it even more difficult to make things work.
With diligence and tramendous hard work, Kenji was able to install another monitoring station.



We plan to leave for Koyuk tomorrow.
And the locals say that is’s usually even windier from here to there.
It is quite amazing to think about the mushers and dogs who run the Iditarod race on this trail, and also the tough people who lives here.
They do have amazing sunsets though…

On a much happier note, Today was Ned’s birthday.
Amazingly enough, he was here 10 years ago on the same exact day, sleeping in the same school and classroom.
We celebrated with Napoleon icecream.