July 21

Dispatch 7
My tent shakes violently...  

LOCATION: 89.30N  11.45W at 20:50 GMT

My tent shakes violenty from the strong W-N-W winds outside.  It is 26 degress with a thin, low blowing surface fog.  The sun is visible and, at times, it peeps through a break of the surface cover clouds.  Today, when I walked the perimeter of my home block, it was cold.  I estimate the windchill to be around 5-10 degrees above. Despite the chilliness, the refreshingly charged air made me want to stay outside rather than crawl back in to my cluttered and confined tent.  This wind is from the prevailing direction, which is from the west and slightly north. I have drifted over 7 miles to the E-S-E in the last 24 hours.  My daily average drift has been 3 miles a day up until this blow came.  The slushy, watery surfaces are now frozen again and I can almost walk on the pools of water which are covered with an inch-thick layer of ice.  The winds have opened up some big leads accounting for thin, low ceiling fogs that wisp by. 

Essentially, most of the available moisture is now frozen again and not accessible for the sun to evaporate it and turn it into thick fog.  The type of wind I am experiencing on the pack ice is typical in the springtime around March.  But at that time of year, it is usually around minus 40 and extremely cold. What is different about this wind that I am experiencing is it is dry.  There is no snow blowing outside to bury my canoe or anything that I might have left on the ice. I must be careful, however, in this type of dry wind because it has a lot of energy and lift. It has wasted none of its power moving snow and its strength makes it possible to blow away any items including my canoe. There is a refreshing nature with this new weather system which makes it most welcome. The sun is almost strong enough to heat my tent without a stove, but the wind does its best to suck any warmth from my little home.

I have become very adjusted to my surroundings.  My thoughts do not wander much to daydreaming. I enjoy watching the weather. I have some investment now in the weather.  Like a farmer who watches out for frost, I pay attention.  Victor Boyarsky will be back for my pick-up possibly as early as July 24th.  Everything will depend on the visibility then.  Yesterday he could have seen me 15 miles away. It is refreshing, at least, to see that there is an alternative to foggy weather up here. If it warms up and the hard surface turns to mush again, then the thick fogs will certainly come back. In this case, I will have to rely on the telecommunication systems as well as our rescue plan and Victor's and my ability to pluck me out of here. It should be interesting. It is still a long way off yet and I don't think much about it except for spending long hours each day practicing and perfecting my telecommunications. This was one of my goals, to master the technology and prove that it works, but I never thought I would use it to be rescued.

There is evidence all over of ice movement. Yesterday I took a self portrait of myself by a fresh, six-foot high pressure ridge. It took the pressure 12 hours to form this ridge from a perfectly-flat edge of my ice block into a pile of rubble ice. I watched it form and listened to the ice squeak and complain under pressure. When I stood by it for the picture, I had to be careful because occasionally a chunk of ice would roll off the top.  By listening, I could tell when it was safe to be near it. If it moaned, it meant to watch out and not to go near, but when it quieted down it was safe to get my picture next to it.  There is one stable ice ridge about 12-feet high which I use as an observation post.  Standing on it this morning, I viewed a lot of open water to the north. This was along the shear zones on my north boundary which I describe as between home plate and first base of the block that I live on.

The black open water areas stood out in stark contrast to the surrounding white surface of snow and ice. There were actually small waves on the open leads today! They lapped on the ice edge sounding like sweet music to me. I stood a long time just listening to this new sound which brought back pleasant memories of my Minnesota home on a wilderness lake. Yesterday, there were some interesting halos and arcs, polar phenomena that is only seen here. They left me with a biblical sense as if something wonderful were about to appear. I photographed this, but it is hard to catch it with the camera. 

In the meantime, the wind keeps up its steady pressure against the ice as I visibly drift almost a 100 yards every 10 minutes in the direction of the Greenland Sea.  Actually, this drift is placing me along the route which the icebreaker will take on its return trip to the Pole.  I estimate I will be 10 miles from its path by the 24th and within range of the helicopter. I am hoping the weather allows for me to be seen.  I am also hoping that my pick-up will not be a fuss for anyone on the ship. That's the hard part of being rescued  - that is, putting other people in a difficult situation, so I hope for good weather.

Well my legs are getting cramped and it's time for a walk to get my circulation going so I can set up the antenna and transmitter and send this report down to all of you who are enjoying the mid-summer.

My best and over and out

The following are Will's position reports from the Argos satellite:

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
198 21 39 10    89  33.8 N     44  10.8 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
199 21 16 11    89  32.6 N     36  15.9 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
200 10 47 51    89  33.1 N     31  51.5 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
201 10 25 47    89  33.1 N     26  52.9 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
201 23 51 53    89  29.0 N     24   9.9 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
202  8 25 26    89  31.4 N     17  52.9 W

        Latest Position Report
Day Hr Mn Sc  Latitude       Longitude
202 22  2 51    89  30.1 N     10  59.3 W