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Elaine Walker's Personal Journal - HMP 2004 Education and Public Outreach July 23, 2004 - Still in Resolute! I woke up and took off the medical sensors, and met everyone downstairs for Pascal's safety briefing. He wanted to get this out of the way since we're stuck in Resolute for a while. He went over All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) procedures and polar bear safety tips. It's best to not startle a bear, but to back off slowly. Ironically though, it is good to make lots of noise to disconcert the bear, who will hopefully decide to go away at that point. So - make loud noises, but do it in such a way that the polar bear doesn't get startled. Don't corner the bear either. That is another important point. Don't bother trying to outrun the bear. It won't happen. Pascal also offers us the advice to drop a few articles while you are running. The bear will stop to sniff at them which will buy you some time, before death. Polar bears are the top of the food chain in the Arctic. Now we all feel confident that we will be entirely safe while on Devon! Actually, no polar bears have been seen at camp since the first season (they like to be near water and our base camp is pretty far inland), and safety precautions are taken so that we are never wandering out alone. ATV treks must have an experienced leader in front and a seasoned shotgun user in the back. We all have our communication devices, GPS, whistles, signaling mirrors and binoculars. We bring rope in case an ATV needs to be towed out of the mud by a second ATV. Most of this day was spent working on our computers and walking around outside, hopeful that we might get on a plane. I gave up my seat on the first plane to Sekou who wished to stay with his partner JD. I'll be going out on the 3rd flight. The first and second planes got out, but then the pilot was through flying for the day. We went for one drive to the other side of the bay and to the airport hanger to retrieve a few things for the rest of us to spend one more night. |