Walruses or Zombies in Arctic Circle?

Posted on August 9, 2016 by David Cross

The Seven Islands Archipelago

We traveled much further north to 80 degrees 45 minutes north.  Much colder and windy for sure.  No satellite or Internet up here!  These islands are famous for the British North Pole expeditions by John Phipps and William Parry.  We hopped into a zodiac and explored around the islands.  Waterproof gear, warm hats and gloves are recommended.

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And we found some walruses.  Could not get too close to them, but the zoom lens on the DSLR camera makes a huge difference.  Some are brown looking and some are reddish.  What does that mean?  If they are red, it means they are HOT! They are getting too warm laying on the beach with their friends!

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If they are cool, they are much more grey.  Here are two of the younger ones playing in the water nearby to cool off with a little water polo in anticipation of the upcoming Olympic games that they are looking forward to watching.  They have to be careful of puncturing the ball sometimes with their large tusks.

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Walking back to the Zodiac, checked out the local hunting/explorer cabin/shelter.  It is amazing on how many people visit these islands for exploring and rough campsites.

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It has a small stove and two bunk beds.  For the adventurous types, these islands could be a fun place for a little hiking and camping.

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Also, look what I found on the shore.  Do you know what it is?  A small whale vertebrae.  Who knows how old it is…I guess you never know what you may find here in the Arctic Circle!  It was a little too big to consider for my carry-on luggage when returning to the US though…

 

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Ever Hike a Glacier?

Posted on August 9, 2016 by David Cross

The satellite connectivity and Internet speeds are horribly slow.  The nice pictures are just too large to upload.  So for this posting, I am using the famous high end Microsoft Paint program to reduce the size of the pics so they will actually have a chance to make it up to the WordPress site with some reliability.  How do they look?

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This one is called the 14th of July Glacier.  I have no idea why it has this name, but is a strange (naming) coincidence since we are travelling on a French ship…

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We had an opportunity to go hike up to the Glacier.  It was actually a challenging hike up as the soil was very rocky and very unstable.  Beautiful sunny day…about 45 degrees Farenheght.  Yes, you do not want to wear warm clothes in this sun.  You will bake like the ice that is melting.

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It was about a mile hike and an ascent of approximately 100 meters.  It was a fun climb that definitely needed good hiking boots given the terrain.  The heavy rubber boots from the ship met the need nicely.  So did my GoPro that I used to climb up here from the ocean edge.

The glacier looks gorgeous from a distance, but up close, you see all the debris and rocks that are collected by the moving ice.  It is pretty cool to see how the glaciers work first hand and understand how rocks are crushed and moved off the mountains.

 

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We are back! Blogging from Ny-Alesund

Posted on August 8, 2016 by David Cross

We wanted to make sure we could run in the Arctic Circle, so we stopped at Ny-Alesund which is at 78 Degrees 55 minutes North latitude.

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It is located in the northern part of the Svalbard islands which are controlled by Norway.

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There is limited space to go running unfortunately.  So we ran in some 1 K circles.  Our version of the weekly track workout.

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Because there is high risk if polar bear attacks.  We did not bring a rifle with us on this trip to carry when we were running. You do get to run with the reindeer though.  They are quite friendly, but usually very busy mowing down everything green in the summer months.

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Also interestingly, this is the farthest north post office in the world.  Also, interestingly, this is also the location of a secret NSA station.  They even had some stealth visitors flying in when we were running by.  You can see the plane landing in the in the distance.

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Outside of the secret NSA Echelon program, the town is the site of some old mines and most famous for the airship mast where in the early 1920s, explorers used to launch their blimps (Zeppelins) to go up and explore the North Pole.  Even though it is 100 meters away from the main builds, you still have to carry a rifle to go up to it.

 

No polar bears yet, but stay tuned for more!

 

 

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Longyearbyen Norway

Posted on August 3, 2016 by David Cross

Longyearbyen Norway is a very remote and interesting place to visit.

It is the last stop for Arctic expeditions to fly into and land before heading north.

It is where the global seed vault exists/is stored and even where GitHub stores its source code repository.

In summer months, you do not see the snow, but you can hike up to the vault area if you like.  It is basically using the old mines that were established here many years ago.

You do have to be careful of polar bears.  They are not friendly and are very dangerous.  Check out some of my subsequent posts on this topic.

Overall, it is a great place to explore if you can fly north from Oslo and spend a day exploring.  In this case, we are joining an expedition for the next 2 weeks.

The next step is to board the ship and explore further north.  Leaving the satellite coverage area of the Arctic Circle for a few days. The satellites do not cover the entire planet! 🤕

Be patient as the next few blog posts will be delayed because we are that far north 😬

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Flying to the Arctic Circle

Posted on August 3, 2016 by David Cross

The best way to explore the Arctic is to fly up to Longyearbyen Norway.

It is definitely starting to get interesting…  when you approach the Svalbard islands from the south and see all the snow you wonder if anyone can live here.

Then you start to see random houses in the mountains. Look close you might see one or two.


This is a very solitary lifestyle. I hope the fish is good up here in the north.

What is like in this remote village?  Check out my next blog posting!

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Headed Further North into the Arctic Circle

Posted on August 3, 2016 by David Cross

Enjoyed some 70 degree days in Oslo, now is the time to break out the jacket, hat and gloves as we wait to board the charter flight to the Arctic Circle. 

Stay tuned for more later today! 😎

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Hiking Around Oslo

Posted on August 2, 2016 by David Cross

We explored a lot around Oslo today by foot.  It was a pleasant 70 degrees F and sunny.

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Lots of architecture and city can all be found in the city center.

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First we checked out the famous Opera House which was quite amazing in its design.  You can actually walk up to the top – it is quite high up and gives a nice view of the bay.

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I am not sure I understand the story behind this pseudo iceberg structure they keep trying to move around the bay by towboat.

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We spent quite a bit of time touring the fortress and military complex on top of the hill overlooking the bay.

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Lots of stories and history here dating back to the 1600s I believe.  There is even a special memorial for the Norwegian resistance movement against the Nazis in WWII.  Most were shot and executed here when they were discovered.

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Oslo is definitely becoming a hot spot for cruise ships – you can see the area where we went running this morning and all the locals hunt for Pokemon.

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We also walked up to the Royal Palace to see if the family was available for a beer or a cup of tea at the end of the day.

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They were busy so the guard soldier sent us away to check out one of the local pubs instead.

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Running in Oslo (Norway)

Posted on August 2, 2016 by David Cross

How do you learn about a new city?

Interested in seeing more of the city?  Check out my blog post of Oslo when we toured the whole city.

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Go running early in the morning of course!

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Oslo has removed most parking on the streets and made biking, walking and running trails. We went running down by the waterfront which was very serene.

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It is a great spot for runners and bikers as you can take a bath afterwards if you like.

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We decided to run along the marina…and yes, boating and fishing is very popular here in Norway.  Boats as far as the eye can see.  Second in popularity to the Tesla automobile.  Did you know that 50% of all Teslas sold in Europe are here in Norway?  Why?  No tax on electric vehicles.  50% savings compared to alternatives…

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We then headed over to a peninsula or park similar to Seward park in Seattle.  The one difference is there is a lot of trails can you run on…and there are electric fences too.

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Why is that? Cows find their home here in Oslo 🙂

Running around the world is always fun.  Some of my other favorite spots:

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Going to Norway!

Posted on August 1, 2016 by David Cross

Since it was so hot in Seattle, we decided we should go somewhere cooler in the Northern hemisphere…

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Any ideas where we landed?  You can  see we are just about to land where it is very green…

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OK – you need some more hints?  Everyone likes to walk along the waterfront next to the marina and catch Pokemon.

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We have a great hotel that is close to the water and also next door to the national theater.

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Lots of history in this city with landmarks within 10 minute walking radius.  There are lots if Irish pubs for some reason, but no, we are not in Ireland.

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Last hint: this is where the Nobel Peace Price museum honoring all the winners resides.

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Off to a new adventure! 

Posted on July 31, 2016 by David Cross

Where are we going? You will have to wait and see. Very different and adventurous. Good thing I woke up early as out flight was delayed 6 hours and I scrambled to change the flights. It definitely pays to be Diamond on Delta as they helped find the best option with no change fees. 

Our friend was not sure if he should help pack the luggage or eat it for breakfast. 

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