Week 13 The End: Spacibo!
Date Posted: 5.14.2007
Location: 64º5'N 165º4'W
Nome, Alaska, United States
Weather Conditions: Sunshine and blue sky, 10° F (-12°C)
A 25-30 feet wide span of water separated us from land. We were back on the banks of the bay in Provideniya where we set off a little less than a month ago. As we arrived back in Provideniya some 360 miles of dogsledding later, rocks and dirt where the dogs had been staked out in deep snow, swans flying in formation above and scorching temperatures in the mid-forties (3-5 Celsius) signaled the end of this year's adventure learning expedition GoNorth! Chukotka 2007. It is time to wrap it up, time for the last howl, and time to extend our most heartfelt thank you to all of those that made this year's program a huge success. The heartfelt thank you goes to GoNorth! learners of all ages, teachers, sponsors, partners, friends, family, the entire crew at Education Basecamp and throughout the campus at the University of Minnesota, the true superstars of GoNorth! - the Polar Huskies and most especially, the people of Chukotka. It has not been our typical 'long-haul' expedition - but what a haul!
"Every day since we entered Chukotka has been most fascinating. Chukotka is mesmerizing!" says Mille. Aaron continues, "My impression is that Chukotka is a place of tough realities - the cracking evicted buildings, little if any sanitation and bellowing smoke stacks. The lack of funds to capitalize on the natural resources and to build opportunity is definitely humbling. This is also starkly contrasted by the magical riches of the landscapes, the culture - the land, its flora, fauna and its people."
The journey to get the expedition into Chukotka turned out to be our longest, toughest haul ever. However, we succeeded again! Once we were finally on the move, our days on the expedition trail have been so incredibly rich in impressions and experiences. At the very end we were welcomed in the small community of New Chaplino with Uba (sea cucumber) harvesting and a 'Victory Day' celebration honoring the end of World War II.
Though the actual expedition was short, the adventure has been extremely intense. "Sitting for six weeks in Nome waiting to enter into Chukotka and then to be returned to the US the first time was more than difficult. When I finally set out across the Bering Strait to enter Chukotka with the Polar Huskies, I admit my expectations of the year's program were disappointed in many ways. For 24 hours we actually thought we would never make it to Chukotka!! But we did make it and the experience in Chukotka has been so much more than I had ever dreamed. I feel very fortunate!" says Paul.
"So do I!" continues Teacher Explorer Jeff Sipper. "This has been an experience of a life time. The opportunity to explore such a foreign place, the incredible kindness of the Native people, the excitement of traveling through Arctic vistas, the arduous work of skiing 10 hour days and just the mere fact of traveling with the Polar Huskies. It has been breathtaking, often leaving me speechless. But more than anything I am inspired and ever more committed to the value of bringing the Arctic into the classroom, not least to learn about climate change and the responsibilities we all have as individuals for our handling of earth's natural resources. I can't wait to get back to the classroom to share my experience with my students. We are going to wrap up the program talking about walrus, climate change and my impressions from the hunters in Lorino sharing their observations on the land as they did with me firsthand!"
Once again this was all made possible by the might and thrill of the Polar Huskies - as always, our most precious resource. Despite sitting idle for more than seven weeks, once finally harnessed and hitched in Chukotka, with determination and spirit they made the komatek sleds fly through the Arctic landscape - and what a landscape! This Arctic landscape included sloping mountains, towering cliffs, jagged pack ice, steaming areas of open water, dunes of crackling permafrost, budding tundra, rumbles of pressure ice, waist deep snow, 'cucumber-growing' sweltering hot springs, fast glare ice, and spans and spans of snow covered vistas hard-packed by whipping winds. Despite significant language barriers, we were welcomed in each community with kind hospitality and profound fascination to meet the Polar Huskies - the 'big dogs.' The GoNorth! story was broadcasted throughout Russia, the world's largest nation, as the Polar Huskies roared across the TV screens blasting their way onto the number one national news station in Moscow.
"We were traveling on the ice of the Bering Strait and Artur was stopped ahead of me talking to a Chukchi musher who had parked his team and his small chukchi sled waiting for me to get there. When I got there he grabbed my hand with a warm embrace. Dressed in reindeer from head to toe, a gorgeous ruff around his neck and baby blue goggles, he laughed loudly peppering me with words in Chukchi" says Mille. Artur introduced the musher as the newly crowned champion of the Chukotka Hope dogsled race. Artur grinned proudly and said 'he saw us on TV from Moscow!' The champion then whipped around, lifting Disko up in his arms as to embrace him too, 'heavy' he said nodding with approval. "I am of course excited to know that the GoNorth! story gets out there, but more than anything it is a thrilling thought that the Arctic, Chukotka and its people are brought to the attention of others - that we are all learning from this adventure" says Mille. Think about it! People across Russia checking out PolarHusky.com would see the great involvement of students worldwide - posting to the Zones, taking part in the weekly chats and sending us notes on the trail. "Now, that's adventure learning in action" exclaims Aaron.
Overjoyed with the outcome of GoNorth! Chukotka 2007, and as always a bit sad to bring an adventure learning expedition to its end, it is time for the last howl. Aaron and Jeff have returned to Minnesota. Paul, Mille and the Polar Huskies are still in Nome expected to be loaded on a plane taking them to Anchorage any day. From here the Polar Huskies will jump back in their boxes on the dog truck for the drive back to Expedition Basecamp for the summer.
Once again, thank you to all of you who make GoNorth! a success. A "spacibo!" as they say in Chukotka! We hope you have enjoyed being part of the team as much as we have been enjoying sharing the adventure from those on the trail to the magical moments you have all created in classrooms worldwide and online at PolarHusky.com. Join us for next year's journey GoNorth! Fennoscandia 2008 to take place in the land of the Saami people in Finland, Norway and Sweden February through May of 2008!
