Timber Tales     Week 10

I have to admit I was wrong when I told you last week that the snow is the same here in Chukotka as anywhere else I have ever been. Actually, it seems everytime we get to a community the snow is black! Of course it is really still white snow, but it is covered in black. At first I was thinking maybe it had to do with the ravens.

There are a lot of ravens in Chukotka. Seals too - and snow hares! They leave a different kind of candy behind, much bigger than caribou candy.

I guess the story goes that Chukotka came to be, because a raven flew across the sky with a big rock in its claws. Finally it could no longer hold onto the rock and the raven had to drop the big rock. I think that is just like when we Polar Huskies are on an uphill trying to stay in one spot with the sled. I really lean into the harness, but sometimes it just gets away from us and it slides backwards... So, like that the raven dropped the rock and it splintered. From the bigger pieces of rock came the mountains, from the smaller pieces came the reindeer and from the dust came the people. Nazca heard Paul and Mille talk about that story during lunch sitting next to the sled. Nazca has been leading the teams on this expedition so far along with Tucker and Disko of course. Anyway, I guess Nazca really likes the story. She is black just like a raven, maybe that is why! She flies through the air too.

This week we have sure been flying. And I have too agree that there sure a lot of small mountains, cause we have climbed a lot of them all the way to the top and then flying back down. It got to be so fast, Mille got out the chains that she puts over the runners on the sleds. Then, whenever the sleds hits the ground (going downhill a lot of the time it is sort of flying through the air) those chain scrape against the bottom of the sled runner and the hard packed snow to slow down the sled. I really appreciate that. We all get a little nervous when the sleds gets to be up on our side running down the steep slopes. I can hear on Mille's voice she gets nervous too.

Anyway, even though I heard the guys talk about that the raven is a really important bird here in Chukotka, I take that is not why the snow is black. The day before we took off from Provideniya Lipton went into town to visit with a bunch of school students - He is always really great at that. Lipton said that he noticed when he got close to this big tower sticking up into the sky with lots of black smoke fueming out from it, the snow was even more black? Khan thinks it that black smoke then falls down onto the white snow - and that is what makes it all black. I think he is right! As soon as we pull the sleds away from the towns - then the snow is all perfectly white, crisp and tasty again.

I am just so thrilled. We are on the trail again - pulling the sleds, running across the hard pack snow. There is nothing better.