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No Road - No Departure!
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Taking a power nap on top of the dog harnesses, Beacon is in no stress over the delayed departure. Does he dream of the many adventures in a dog harness awaiting him ahead!? |
Date: 02.02.03
Position: Base Camp Grand Marais, MN USA
Weather Conditions: Cloudy, light snow 30F/-1CToday should have been our day of departure, but we have been shut down by 'Mother Nature". The winter road that is supposed to take us from the town of Gillam (Manitoba) to our take-off point in the community of Fort Severn has not yet been completed !!! Yes, you read it right. This road must be built before we can load the dogs into the truck and start our 1200 miles (2000 km) drive ahead. |
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| Of course, this development does not come as a complete surprise. Traditionally the winter road would be put in and ready to go in early January. The last couple of years however, it has been made later and later in the season because of the warmer and warmer winters. Knowing this we have been calling the Ministry of Transportation in Canada who are in charge of scheduling and building the road. We have also been checking in with our good friend Dennis Soloway who lives in Gillam, the town where the winter road begins. He has helped us out many-a-time in the past. |
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| Dennis has a trap line running along the Nelson River. Spending lots of time out on the trail, he knows the land and the weather of the inland Hudson Bay area like his own palm. (Oh, he also happens to be the Mayor in the town Gillam). When we called Dennis last fall to tell him of the plan ahead, he said the weather was acting funny again and he would predict a very late completion of the winter road, if they would be able to build it at all. We then spoke with the Ministry of Transportation. They told us not to worry, everything was right on track! Now a couple of months later it looks like Dennis – the local - turns out to be right, which actually does not shock us. |
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| Locals and Elders in the northern native communities are much respected for their knowledge and over the years we have truly come to appreciate this part of their culture. Living in the north in a brutal freezing environment, they pay close attention to nature as not too long ago being able to read the weather and knowing how to survive on the land would have meant the difference between life and death. Although today the Oji-Cree are gathered in communities rather than living on the land, Elders still play a central role. |
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One of Paul's role models is his Dad Mike. He has come to help with the drive to Fort Severn. Here Mike (and Cola) are filling straw in the dog boxes on the truck. |
The transition from subsistence living (living on the land) has been a struggle between old and new. The youth of the north face a world of opposites. Going to high school far away from family and relatives in places like Sioux Lookout or Thunder Bay often makes keeping a connection to the people and culture unique to this area difficult. The Elders are their source of knowledge and advice. They act as role models and teachers providing much needed guidance. We seek the guidance of the Elders as well. We need to know information about the area, traditional routes and ice conditions - advice that comes from years of living and traveling on the land. For us, actually living on the land when out on the trail, their insight is of utmost importance. Over the years many an Elder has been a hero, helping us succeed on our journeys.To share your thoughts about the importance of role models and heroes, visit this week's discussion boards. Then, participate in the "Heroes" chat on Tuesday, February 4th with Polar Explorer Will Steger. |
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| What would it mean to the communities of Shamattawa and Fort Severn if the winter road could not be put in?
It would be VERY serious. The only way to and from these two communities is by boat in the summer; by air or by winter road in the winter. The winter road is the only option for hauling in large materials and supplies such as fuel oil for heating, generator fuel for electricity, sewage pipes, water tanks, fuel tanks - pretty much everything you need to run a town! Food, beverages and all the other "every-day-supplies" primarily get trucked-in on the winter road as well. Of course these smaller things could be flown-in, but the cost of transportation would make them very expensive. |
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Photo courtesy K-Net.
Dozers and backhoes are part of the equipment used to build an ice road. |
You may be wondering why they don't just build a "real" road. It is simply too expensive. It would cost more than $100 million dollars, and with less than 2000 people living in the two communities combined, economically it does not make sense to the Canadian government to build a year-round road. Instead, we have to show some patience and wait for the road to be made ahead of us. We are not in charge - the forces of nature are!As it looks today, the first section of the winter road, about 160 miles from Gillam to Shamattawa, is to open February 7th. They hope the second section, about another 190 miles from Shamattawa to Fort Severn, will be ready February 10th. Dennis told us the road crew can build about 20 miles a day... |
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One of the last thing we were doing before the planned departure, was giving the annual shots of vaccination to every Polar Husky in the Kennel. Here it is Aaron holding on to Khan, while Mille gives the injection. |
We are all disappointed that we can't get going but the art of running expeditions is to stay flexible, not panic, quickly adapt to the situation, shake off any disappointment and come up with a new plan.The latest and greatest plan is now to load the dogs and leave from Base Camp early Thursday morning. We will drive north on Hwy 61 to Canada. On the way we will pass through Grand Portage, a famous place where voyager fur traders gathered. It is currently home to the Grand Portage band of Ojibway and their reservation. A few miles farther down the road, we will stop at the Pigeon River Customs station at the US / Canadian border. Then, it is north to Thunder Bay where we will "hang a left"; head west all the way to Winnipeg, Manitoba and finally veer north toward Gillam, Manitoba. All told the drive should take about 6 days. Once there, if we have to wait around much longer for the road to be finished we will simply unload the truck and start dog sledding! |
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Paul and Beacon a few minutes before Beacon departs. |
We did not get to take off today, but somebody did...Beacon. Beacon headed down to Minneapolis, MN where he will spent the next couple of months with a great pair of ladies, affectionately known here in Base Camp as the "Beacon Sitters". It was not easy for any of us to say goodbye. Even though Beacon is only 6 weeks old he already has a grand personality. In a very short time we have all grown to love the little guy. It is of course not easy for his mother Freja either - she stood with all the rest of us in the driveway waiving goodbye as the car took off with him.It is strange to think when we see him again in two months he will be a little dog. And less than a year from now he will be heading out on the trail with us |
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Polar Husky Superstar Freja is a very kind mother and an eager lead dog. |
One of the Polar Husky Superstars this week is Freja, which she earns for having been such a great, caring and gentle mother to Beacon. Besides being an excellent mother, Freja is also a great lead dog, and she will be the main leader in Mille's team.The other Polar Husky Superstar of this week is Peto. This last week has been insanely busy, we have all been putting in very long hours which at times makes rising in the morning tough. But Peto, who always shows an infectious spirit, has been up at 4:30 AM - sharp. He immediately starts encouraging the rest of the Polar Husky pack to join in a refreshing morning howl, a wake up call for us humans to get to going too!!! |
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Peto is probably the noisiest Polar Husky in the kennel...Though Timber is in strong competition! Here Peto's thoughts on that here... |
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