Arctic Adventures ...Not going to happen tis year

[isawlogs]

 Well its about to begin . The Polar Dozer is now on

Somerset Island

. I am leaving in a few weeks for the summer .
  I do not have all of the details of the crossing of ...
  I was told that there was some polar bear help involved with the move .    I will know a lot more tomorow , the driver of the dozer is flying back here this evening . Ice was also getting thin on the last day . I wanted so badly to go up for the crossing of , but have too things that need be done before having to leave to make the air strip .

[Jeff]

Ya got internet up there?

[Jeff]

Is this where you are working on the in ground pool?  Did anybody ever mention perma frost?

[isawlogs]

 
 ya need to read slower ......(  I am leaving in a few weeks for the summer   )  that was on da first line past da link ....

  Da pool is here on da farm .

  Yes there is , high speed ta boot . 

[Dave Shepard]

You've got high speed up there? Must be 'cause you're closer to the satelites up there. I can't even get high speed here in the bustling metropolis of Alford, MA! Of course, 300 people, 50 dogs, a bunch of cattle, and two really mean pigeons aren't much of a market.


Dave

edit for spelling

[Jeff]

two really mean pigeons

 

[Dave Shepard]

They don't like clean surfaces.


Dave

[WDH]

Isawlogs,

Since I am not one of the old gray-beards of the Forum (no disrespect intended to those who have been around since dirt was invented), tell me more about this arctic adventure.  Is this an annual thing?  Is it part of your livelihood? 

I bet there ain't a lot of logs to saw up there, so maybe you are doing something else?

I want to go too . 

[isawlogs]

  Be glad to fill you in 
Interestingly , there was once a forest there .    Many , but many moons ago  This is now way past the tree line .
 Last summer there was a John Deere 550 dozer that was put on a boat and shipped to Resolute bay . From there it was and did cross Barrow Strait over the ice . It reached Sommerset Island yesterday ,the was a few incedents in da crossing , I dont have details of that yet , but will fill you in as I get them .
  The purpose of the dozer is to build an air strip . I am going up to be driver and builder of said air strip  . The reason for building a new landing field is  :  the existing strip is to short and has a hook at the end , some pilots dont like it much ,    This field serve Arctic Watch , it is the lodge of Canadian Arctic hollidays . as it is the plane taking in the clients is full .. no expantion can be made or more flights added to this compagnie ... so a longer field will accomodate a larger plane , therefor more clients can be flown in .
  I also help the owners of the lodge with technical help , I have made a few things for there North and South Pole expeditions , this year it was for a type of fixation for skies and snowshooes ... for those that fallowed this , the fixation made the trip to the poles with none of um having any problems .
   Now , the Arctic weather , there is or was enough ice yesterday to support a 550 dozer , I am going up on the 17 of june , dats in two weeks , to start the field and it will be mid spring . Flowers will have come up and what little green there is will or should be out .  Kinda cool when you think of it .
   It could be an annual thing if I wanted it to be so , I just dont know yet , we will let this go and ask me again in August when I come back .
 
 

[WDH]

Wow Marcel, that is exciting!  I have read so much about arctic Canada, and to be able to go there would be a lifelong dream.  I read about the native people from the earliest accounts written several hundreds of years ago.  I read all about the first expeditions to the North Pole.  I read all Jack London's books about the Far North as a teen ager. 

I imagine spring there is incredible.  I would love to see all those wildflowers.  Keep us (me) posted .

[isawlogs]

  Come up . !!!  Its only money 
Yes spring there is awsome , so is summer , no burning sun , no running for shade , good thing , aint no trees to provide shade .

 I was talking with Richard this morning about the crossing of the dozer . As far as he can tell the best bait for polar bears is a dozer  , twice while crossing the Strait , bears came running at the dozer and stopping at a disrance that was not too comfortable for the driver  and they saw three others at a distance ....  So Jeff ya want to try out driving around with one and do the experience with da black ones . 
  It took 60 hrs to cross , it would of been a lot less had the ice been good , so what we know now is the 2 1/2 ' of ice supports a 550 JD dozer ... 2' with 2X 12 laid on da ice will do it too . 3' is much easier on the driver . In all they did shy of 200 kilometers with the dozer to cross , had ice been good it would of been a 50 kilo. hop .

  WDH .
 I have read all of those , good reading .    Farley Mowat is another that I read a long time ago .

I also have wanted to go do an Arctic tour for the longest time ,Seeing as I cannot handle heat to well , I am sure I was put here to be north of 60 
 I was able and fortunate to work at James Baie , we worked at building a hydro electric plant , worked there with chaiunsaw and then as a journeymen ironworker and as certified welder on the project .
  That was one of the most bestess place I can recall working at . 

 I will bring my camera , dont know if I will be able to download any while up there , but rest assured you will be getting some when I get back .

  If any have any special request , well any that I can help ya out with while up dere , ya got two weeks to let me knopw . 

[sprucebunny]

How do they find out how thick the ice is

Someone must be driving ahead in another vehicle ... do they drill holes or have some sonic guage or something Satellites

[sawguy21]

I have sold gas drills to be used to take ice samples on the roads. They need to know condition as well as thickness but drilling 3 feet would be tough work.

[isawlogs]

Ooopps  ... ya well forgot about that little part .  

  They where three , one ta do da driving , the others to blaze a trail . the two where on snowmobile , they also had an ice auger .
  The auger is three feet long , if no water came up through the hole it was good ... water came out many times ... this cause them to do the detour they did . The snowmobile did over 1000 kilometers going across .
  There was 18 jerry cans ( 5 gallons each ) of fuel , 14 where consumed .

 They where able to drive ahead and do the testing of the ice and find a sutable trail forthe dozer , once this was accomplished , one would stay behind wait for the dozer the other would continue on to find sutable ice .

[Tom]

Be sure to take a picture of your summer Garden all the fresh vegetables. 

[isawlogs]

 Tom ,
  Food aint ever very far from any thing you think of .... 

  There is planty to eat up there , might  be better not beeing a vegietarian .... I know that bears are good ...    then theres dem seals ...  Arctic char anyone ....  must be a bird or two flighying about . 

[sawguy21]

Arctic char is DanG fine eating. The Inuit thrive on whale blubber but I don't know if I would go there.

[WDH]

I wonder if FedEx will deliver from Somerset Is .

[thecfarm]

When my father would drive the old ford tractor from his house to here,the deer quite often would come out to see what the noise was and watch him drive by.When we was cutting wood with the new ford this happened to us twice in the woods.Once if he wouldn't of stopped I think he would of ran the deer over.I guess them polar bears wondered what the noise was too.

[Burlkraft]

I can't wait for the pictures. This sounds a very interesting adventure.....

Good luck, Marcel.....