Rendezvousing

-

 Meeting up with people along the trail has been one of the most meaningful parts of the COAST-X expedition.

We started the day in Kivalina, where we met with Janet Mitchell at the NANA office to talk about flooding, erosion, permafrost thaw, and food security challenges. We are already looking forward to coming back for a future community gathering. Huge thanks to Carsten Thies for making the connection.

From there, we fueled up and rode 75 miles round trip to the Project Chariot site to meet Guy Omnik from Point Hope. Standing in the valley once considered for atomic testing to create a deep water harbor near Point Hope was surreal. Even more impactful was spending time with Guy, talking sea ice, tundra travel, and hunting. Truly great to connect in person!

We also scoped out the next leg of our route toward Point Lay. Getting closer to the North Slope and excited for what is ahead.










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wolf Country

-
Image
I  crossed over 20,000 cumulative miles on skidoos today over the course of 25 years, which feels like a pretty incredible milestone. It was amazing traveling this terrain, guided by knowledge shared from the Point Lay Tribal Council president. We came across more than half a dozen caribou wolf kills, but not a single wolf in sight. Stunning country. Before heading toward Wainwright, we had an awesome day in Point Lay, spending time with great students, teachers, and friends. And tonight, beautiful auroras overhead. It feels like a good sign as we make the run to Utqiagvik tomorrow.
Read more

Out of Bethel and into the Wind

-
Image
We couldn’t have asked for a better first travel day. The visibility was about perfect. The wind was constant from the same direction or thereabouts. I prefer navigating using the wind. I think the planned route versus the track we laid down is just us traveling into the wind.  We put on 120+ of our planned 1600 miles on the first day out.  Tomorrow we’ll be meeting up with friends a bit north of where we’re camped and then we’ll travel into Chevak and Hooper Bay to visit with folks for the next two days.  Here’s some photos as we left Bethel and traveled the great white yonder to our first camp of the expedition. 
Read more

COAST-X 2026: From Concept to Cold-Weather Reality

-
Image
Preparations for COAST-X 2026 are officially gaining momentum, and the transition from planning to hands-on field readiness is well underway.   One major milestone arrived recently with the delivery of our BRP snowmachines. With that, the all-important break-in period has begun. Over the past several days, we’ve been logging miles on trails around Fairbanks in fresh, deep snow, with temperatures ranging from –22 to –40°F (–30 to –40°C). So far, we’ve put about 25 miles (~40 km) on the machines, and they’ve performed flawlessly—starting reliably in extreme cold and running smoothly in the crisp Arctic air. It’s an encouraging sign as we prepare for a long traverse along Alaska’s western and northern coasts. Logistics are ramping up in parallel. Field supplies and equipment are beginning to arrive, boxes are stacking up, and another exciting milestone was reached with the arrival of our MALA GPR system from Guideline Geo. This system will play a key role in...
Read more