Polar Date June 26, 2008
Up the Dalton Highway to Toolik. What a trip! We have 3 researchers going to Toolik and 7 male backpackers in the van. The backpackers consist of 5 teenagers and 2 leaders from a YMCA camp in Wisconsin. They will be on the trail for 42 days, hiking from Wiseman through the Gateway to the Arctic National Park. What a great experience for these young men – one I’m sure they will never forget.
Here’s a picture of them at the Arctic Circle Crossing sign:
The boys were very excited to not only be
(To see a picture of me and the other scientists from the van, visit the photo gallery)
The views as we drove were amazing, as we followed the pipeline through areas of gigantic rock faces towering above to fields of tiny white cottonwood grass and brilliant fuchsia fireweed.
As you travel North on the Dalton, the trees begin to disappear. Geographers have several ways of defining the Arctic Region and one of them is the treeline. The approximate tree line in Alaska is 68 degrees North due to the extremely cold temperatures and depth of permafrost.
There are no real towns, although Coldfoot is said to be a town, with a population of 15. There is a post office, a landing strip, a store and restaurant and lots of gas pumps. Many people traveling the length of the Dalton Highway stay the night in Coldfoot before continuing on to Deadhorse or, from the other direction, Fairbanks.
Many people stay in the inn as they travel the Dalton Highway. The inn doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside it's clean and cozy.
After numerous stops for bathroom breaks, and photo ops we arrived in the bright sunshine at 10:45 p.m. We ate leftovers – lentil soup and lasagna, got a bit oriented (more on that later), and then went to our spacious tents (more on that later too).
After checking my email – yes the tents have wireless internet- I covered the windows with black garbage bags, put on my sleep mask and drifted off at about midnight.
Tomorrow – first day in camp!
Signing off from Toolik Lake, and remember, "There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew”. ~Marshall McLuhan, 1964