Shutterstock / Ken Phung
At 73-years-old, Will Steger has completed some legendary expeditions in his time. He was the first man to traverse the North Pole in an unassisted dogsled and he trekked 1,600 miles across Greenland (from South to North). Now, as the Spring ice breaks up across Northern Canada Will Steger will attempt the longest solo expedition of his life.
Will Steger’s trek begins on March 21st, and he’ll attempt to trek roughly 1,000 miles from Saskatchewan to Hudsan Bay, moving North the entire time as the Winter snow melts and huge ice packs break up and crowd the rivers. He’ll be forced to climb mountains and venture across ice-packed rivers. He’ll encounter all sorts of wildlife along the way. And he’s attempting to do this in only 70 days.
He spoke with Minnesota’s Star Tribune about some of the obstacles he’ll come up against as he solo treks 1,000 miles across a part of Canada with routine 60-70 MPH winds while carrying a 200+ pound sliding canoe with supplies:
Steger said the Barrens generate what he calls “supernatural” wind and its windchills make it the coldest region in the Northern Hemisphere. Without natural windbreaks and shelter, he might have to set up a tent in gusts of 60-70 miles per hour. He could lose the tent or his canoe could literally blow away in temperatures cold enough to shatter it. He also expects other unknowns like rapid thawing and fresh snow that could bog him down.
“The conditions can be such that I could do 30 miles a day or it might be so tough that it’s not even worth traveling. I could get stuck along the way for a week or 10 days waiting,” he said.
“The trip is always much harder than you ever think, although there’s no way of understanding difficulty until you’re in it.” (via)
In his interview with the Star Tribune, Steger discusses how the perils of an expedition are nothing like the stresses we feel in everyday life. When you’re completely isolated from the world your mind is truly free to wander, and sometimes that can take you to some scary places. But it can also strengthen the mind in ways you or I can’t imagine.
His plan is to travel 10 hours every day for 70 days but if the day is going well he says he’ll push on for 12-14 hours. There will certainly be some bad-weather days in which he won’t be able to move at all. It’ll certainly be interesting to read news of how this expedition ends once he makes it to his destination 70 days from March 21st.
For the full interview on Star Tribune, you can click here and I highly suggest you do because it’s all pretty wild. (h/t Gear Junkie)