Position: N 75 30.401, W 093 40.616
Temperature: -33 °C/ -36°F

Just after Sigrid finished her dispatch last night our campsite was again visited by polar bears. This time it was two bears. One huge mamma bear and her two year-old cub. Unlike our curious visitor earlier in the evening, these bears were not easy to scare off and they got very close to our dogs and tents - we measurered the distance at about 6 meters. It took about five bear bangers and flares to scare the bears off and we were all pretty scared when they got as close as they did. Luckily for us, the bears are well fed this time of year as they feed on the newly born seal pups and the adult seals that are nesting under the snow on top of the ice.

Today when we continued our journey we saw over 20 different bear tracks and it became clear to us that we now are in an area that is a great habitat for the bears. At one place we saw the fresh evidence of a successful kill. We saw the remains of a seal den, polar bear tracks and lots of blood. Life is harsh here in the high arctic and a polar bear needs to eat too.

Traveling today was very hard. We battled through rough ice for the third day in a row. Seeing all the polar bear tracks we also kept looking over our shoulder. Tonight we finally came to flatter ice and we hope tomorrow will bring better travelling conditions - and that we will not be woken up by bears tonight.

We are all doing very well.

Toby Thorleifsson

Additional Info:

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a Bear native to the Arctic and Subarctic. The world's largest land carnivore (meat eater, feeds on other aimals), an adult male generally weighs 300–600 kg (660–1320 lb), while an adult female is about half that size. Its fur is hollow and translucent, but usually appears as white or cream colored, thus providing the animal with effective camouflage. Its skin is actually black. The thick blubber and fur insulate it against the cold. The bear has a short tail and small ears that help reduce heat loss, as well as a relatively small head and long, tapered body to streamline it for swimming. The polar bear is adapted for a life on land, sea, and ice. It feeds mainly on seals, young walruses, and whales, although it is an opportunistic feeder and will eat almost anything if hungry.

The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species. Scientists believe that the projected decreases in the polar sea ice due to global warming will reduce their population by two thirds by 2050.

Posisjon: N 75 30.401, W 093 40.616. Wellington Channel
Temperatur: -33 °C

Vi er naa paa vei nordover mot Arthur pass paa Devon Island som vil ta oss inn I Norskebukten. De siste dagene har det gaatt meget tregt fordi isforholdene har vaert meget roffe. Ofte har vi maattet bruke oeks for aa lage vei gjennom isen. I omraadet er det ogsaa veldig mye isbjorn. I gaar hadde vi besok av hele tre bjorner hvorav de siste to kom saa nerme som seks meter fra teltet til meg og Will. Vi sov ikke spesielt godt I natt noen av oss. I dag saa vi spor av bjorn 20 ganger og vi er spente paa hva kvelden og natten vil bringe. Det er likevel flott aa vare I et omraade hvor bjornens habitat er saa bra som her. Isen er full av sel unger og vi ser spor mange steder hvor bjornen har endt et ungt sel liv. I kveld kom vi endelig ut I bedre isforhold og vi haaper at vi kan gjore unna mer distanse I morgen. Vi er paa vei mot Otto Sverdrups rike.

Alt vel,
Hilsen Tobias

Position: N 75 40.629, W 093 44.027
Distance traveled: 11.8 mi/ 19.1 km

Today was an interesting day spent moving in and out of treacherous ice. Occasionally we would hit a large pan of flat ice, usually criss-crossed with polar bear tracks, and this would allow us to travel faster. But in between pans of flat ice are areas that are gumbled up due to amazing pressure from when the ice shifts. This ice can be dangerous to us, our sleds and dogs. The sleds can run over a person and dog alike and possibly cause injury, and if the sleds flip or forcefully run into ice chunks they can break.

Special care is used when making sleds, both in chosing the material and in construction. Out of our three sleds, two of them were fabricated in Ely, Minnesota (for the 2007 Baffin Island Expedition) and one in Iqaluit by Sarah and myself. The sleds are composed of runners, handlebars and cross pieces known as "napuks".

Each sled runner is made from a 14 foot long kiln-dried pine (Douglas Fir or Sitka Spruce) plank wedged between two pieces of plywood for added strength. The sleds rises in the front and back giving it rocker which allows it to turn more easily. The napuks are made of oak, and the sled is lashed together with rope, giving it the freedom to twist and bend slighlty when going over bumps. The handlebars are also made of plywood and are shaped, rounded and finally lashed to the sled. The specific sled design is known as a South Baffin design, generally used on sea ice and capable of enduring substantial pounding from rough ice.

Eric McNair-Landry

So we're here at the end of day nine. We've got a long way to go but so far it's moving fast. I'm sure the others have told you all the things that have happened in the last week. Traveling through a labyrinth of ice, bears coming into camp and even being stalked by one. It has really been exciting. Today we hit some flats. It's a nice change of pace and we have slowly started to make those miles we so desprately need. The dogs are enjoying the rest from pulling our heavy sleds over mountains of ice boulders, and their motivation has given our voices a rest from shouting "hike, hike, hike" every twenty meters. All is going great so far. The grime is starting to build on our clothes and we can smell all the hard work we've been doing the last week. Our faces have turned a leathery brown and white from our glasses surrounds our eyes. We are starting to look like a project of our environment. I am loving this so far. Its a great team of people who all add something unique to the cause. Keep doing all your own exciting things.

All the best,

Sam