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Tag: Greenland

To Build a Fire, 2011

To Build a Fire, 2011

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We’re about 120 miles from Akureyri now, and up until last night it had been a brutal passage. By “brutal” I don’t mean difficult: the conditions haven’t been life-threatening or anything like that. It had been a brutal passage due to tedious conditions that resulted in fatigue, tension and just general malaise. For instance, right now we’re motoring over a smooth but rolly sea. There’s a thick blanket of cold fog surrounding Polar Bear, drenching every last surface — deck,…

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The Northern Lights Appear

The Northern Lights Appear

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Yup, another anchor watch. Quite possibly my last anchor watch of this summer adventure…and what a watch. I came on watch just before 1am. Right at 1, I popped up on deck to see if the night had turned dark enough to see some stars. Saturn had been blazing in the northeast twilight when I went to sleep and there he was again, this time more toward the southeastern corner of the sky. Polaris, the north star, was visible, more…

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What a Difference Five Days Makes

What a Difference Five Days Makes

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Polar Bear is motoring past Hurry Inlet, the north-south stretch of water that is home to Constable Pynt, about 16 miles up-fjord. The inlet looks much less filled with ice than it did on our last trip here, last Saturday. As does the entirety of Scoresby Sund. We’re headed back to Ittoqqortoormiit after a circumnavigation of Milne Land. It’s been a trip of grandeur and incredible scenery, and one of never-ending changes. The primary change is in the ice. Upon…

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