Expedition Update # 24 - Direct from the High-Arctic! These updates are composed on our sub-notebook computer, which is powered by solar panels courtesy of UNSW, then sent using software from Global Marine Networks, over a satellite mobile phone provided by Landwide Satellite Solutions. Thanks very much to all involved! Date: 24/9/05 Time: 8:30 pm Position: 70 deg 48.989 min N, 105 deg 23.420 min W Summary: And the adventure goes on, and on, and..? Location Map: Click the map to the left and a new browser window will open, directed to Google's new satellite maps feature. The map view will be centred on our current location. Zoom in for more detail. Weather: Overcast, low cloud ceiling, 25km/hr wind. Temperature: Anywhere between -4 and -7 deg C Message: And you thought it was all over! Well, largely, so did we. I think last update the word was we'd be getting picked up on the 26th. Well later that night the weather charts showed a very large low pressure system (creating gale force winds up to 700 miles in front of it) had moved rapidly from Siberia towards Alaska. We ummed and ahhed, and decided that the most responsible thing would be to organise to be picked up 2 days early, before this storm could hit, in case it did keep advancing. Clearly no planes can fly to pick us up in a storm, so we'd be stranded here 'till it passed. So that's what we organised - to be picked up Friday Morning. Friday morning came, we called the pilot, only to discover that overnight someone had gone missing out on the land, and our pilot was busy searching for him/her. We should call back later, and he'd probably be able to fit us in then. Called up that evening... no - the search was still on, now with helicopters etc as the planes were grounded due to freezing drizzle... and the search would go on when it cleared - call back tomorrow (Saturday) morning! Wow. Ok. We decided to cut our daily food rations in half to double our remaining duration out here before things would start to get tight. We didn't even have a mug of Arctic Tea before we went to sleep. Hard times. =P As we set up camp, I spotted a pack of Arctic Wolves up on the far hill! Fantastic - I'd been longing to get another chance to see these animals and get some decent pics and video. What a fantastic end to the expedition. Before we knew it, one of the wolves was on our hill, disappeared into a ditch and then - there he stood about 10m from us - absolutely calm and confident as he sauntered towards us, paying no attention whatsoever to our calls and noises to make him look at us for photographs etc.. He was evidently the Alpha Male of the pack - the rest of his companions stayed back on the far hill watching intently. The wolf came right up to us and paced around camp, visibly taking everything in and assessing the whole situation. It was a pretty amazing experience - sometimes he passed less than 5m from us - his huge broad paws padding up to us as he scrutinised us with black eyes that just had an aura of intelligence about them. We just stood and stared, unbelieving. He didn't make us feel threatened in the least, and after a while he walked 10m away, faced the rest of his pack and howled. Perhaps trying to encourage them over? Again and again he howled, until eventually he gave up and wandered back to join them. The whole pack then trotted off into the distance, over the hill and into the dusk. We couldn't believe what we'd just witnessed, and it took us a while to snap out of it and prepare for dinner. First things first, dinner needs water - so a quick trip to the lake to cut through the ice... filled up and as we were heading back I spotted in the distance the wolves again, perhaps 700m away. I turned around to Clark next to me to point them out, and as I did I saw the same wolf - the only white wolf in the pack - right behind us. RIGHT behind us - 3 meters away if that - silently creeping up on us from behind! How on earth he got there defies belief - as you can imagine we were highly-strung after the first wolf encounter and kept scanning the horizon every minute or two... and yet he got within 3m of us, before by pure chance I turned around. It was quite un-nerving, and we turned and confronted him, showing no fear, and we even made a few playful noises and jumped around a bit. He recognised our stance and joined in - there we were, apparently playing with an Arctic Wolf. He danced around us, tail wagging, leaping playfully from side to side - even poking his wagging bum up in the air and front legs out flat on the ground - classic "throw me a ball.." pose! However it soon became apparent that he had another agenda. Every 30sec or so he'd suddenly lose all interest and look back to where the rest of his pack used to be and stare intently, as if wondering why hadn't they come onto the scene yet? Two guys can keep track of, and face 1 wolf circling and 'playing' around them, but we could easily imagine what the game might turn into with all 5 wolves. We headed back to camp. This was when it became clear that he was not playing with us, so much as toying with us, distracting us - playing our game until his mates turned up. Every time we turned to walk a bit closer to camp, it was like a switch turned off and he'd stop the tail-wagging bouncing mood and fall silently in step behind us, getting closer each time we turned. It got to the point that we couldn't turn and keep walking as he was less than 2m behind us. We did a particularly animated, energetic, overwhelming bout of 'playing' towards him which caused him to back off a bit, and we were thus able to slowly head back to camp this way. We did have bear spray etc. with us, in hand, with safety pin out, but felt no need to use it. Eventually camp appeared over the next rolling snow-clad hill, 100m away, and as it did, the wolf realised what we were doing / heading, and changed mood again, and trotted quickly ahead of us towards camp - to stop us reaching our shelter??? Bit of a worry. But no - it just seemed like he was seizing the opportunity to run ahead and investigate our camp while we weren't there. He thankfully didn't try to stop us reaching our tent, and after a few minutes of lingering around he again, just wandered off. This time, never to be seen again (yet... anyway). What an experience hey! We just lay there in our tent re-living it for hours - we couldn't sleep. Or maybe that was because we were a bit hungry on our new 1/2 rations....? So the morning came, gave the pilot another call on the satellite phone - they'd found the missing person! However there were a few flights to do first (possibly to pick up people who'd been out searching? I’m not 100% sure on this...). So, he said to give him a call back at 3:00 and he should be able to pick us up then... Awesome. To add to our frustration, as soon as we get back into Cambridge Bay we're going to have a blood sample taken (just to look into the effects on our bodies of 2 months out here ) - so we need to fast for 12 hrs before our return to civilisation! So after dinner we have to starve ourselves - no breakfast etc - until we hear from the pilot just in case we are getting picked up that morning. At least that means there's a positive side to any answer we get - we either find out that we are getting picked up, or that we can have breakfast. =) So now we're just waiting 'till 3:00 to see what the deal is. Fingers crossed for a pickup today, but we're fine out here for days yet - so no cause for alarm either way. Well - 3pm Saturday just came - I called the pilot and... turns out weather's pretty bad in Cambridge Bay (much like it is out here!!! Snow is even being driven inside and building up over everything in the vestibule!) and the few flights he had to do were taking longer than expected, so maybe in the morning.. give him a call back in the morning...! Apparently he's got a clean schedule tomorrow (Sunday) and should be able to pick us up, "weather permitting, if not - Monday". Interesting. Ah well... We've been out here long enough - a few extra days won’t hurt. =P Better go - batteries are a bit chilly and reluctant to keep this laptop alive much longer. Again, sorry for not replying to emails of late - the days are getting much shorter each day, and we need to conserve power, but we still love reading the emails. Also - sorry to all those people who we've been trying to organise dates and schedules etc with - it's all very out of our hands as you can see. When we step out of the plane back into Cambridge Bay, then - and only then - can we be sure of anything. We've given up trying to re organise these things. =) The adventure goes on! (Left - Chris calls the pilot again. No pickup today either it seems... Right - Arctic Wolf shows no fear as he walks to within 2m of us.) Back to updates list To send us a message, please contact us anytime!