Distance traveled:
May 6th: 24.7 km
May 7th: 6.3 km

Position: N70°14'18.3 W091°28'12.0

We left the mainland and skied down onto the Arctic Ocean. A wolverine scurried away from us and hid in the rocky hills. Polar bear tracks crisscrossed the area, but we surprisingly have not seen any recently.

In the bay and among the islands, the ice was solid. But today we headed out into the open Gulf of Boothia. Our first obstacle was a field of rubble ice, over which we double hauled - first pulling one sled, then backtracking and hauling our second sled. After more than two hours of hard work, we climbed up on an ice chunk to scout. The entire ice pack in front of us was moving and shifting. To the South, clouds of black mist signaled open water. We decided to head back to a small unnamed island, which we have been calling Decision Island. We frequent the crest of this rocky island to get a better view on the ice conditions, and to gaze at the ever expanding lead of open water blocking our route.

It's decision time; and as no good decisions can be made without a good bowl of soup in hand, we set up our tent and made some calls asking for advice. We have two options, both presenting challenges: the first is to stick with our original plan, hope to find a way around the open water and attempt to cross Boothia. Our second option is to head South, detouring around the strait, adding but a mere 600 km to our route. Personally, we have no time limit and extending the trip would be fun; however, as the weather warms, it'll soon be a race against spring melt.

What route will we choose? You'll have to wait till our next update to find out.

Sarah

[Via Pittarak: Northwest Passage Expedition]