Polar bears!

First polar bear sighting!

Today we saw a polar bear. In the wild. On the sea ice. How many times in your life do you get to say that? Ok, we did see him from the safety of our pickup truck and he was far enough away that I don't know if he was a he or a she (although if we were a bit closer, I'm not sure if I would have known anyways). Rachel and I had been heading into town to pick up some supplies when we heard on the radio that a polar bear had been spotted right outside the shop where we were headed. Obviously, we sped forward, spotted the bear a few hundred feet offshore, and started gawking. After 15 minutes, we realized Ellyn was not in the car (and thankfully not on the ice), but had been left back at the hut. Not wanting her to miss this opportunity, we quickly picked her up and returned to find the bear still ambling along. Mr. P. Bear was simply minding his own business, taking a leisurely stroll, or perhaps looking for some seals to eat. It was really the perfect way to encounter a polar bear. Although we have a bear guard with us at all times on the ice (don't worry mom), I still think I prefer to have the encounters while inside our truck. It only troubled us slightly to realize that Mr. Bear was walking in the exact direction of our field site which we were headed to in about an hour.

Read for my Arctic run

What was more troubling upon reflection was that our bear encounter was along the same road I had gone for a run yesterday. Now running in Barrow is hard enough without the thought of polar bears. However, I had been tasked with the mission of having perhaps the first tracks on Strava in the area and I wasn't about to let 50 below zero windshield get in my way. I stuck some toe warmers into my hiking boots, layered up with my blue puff jacket, balaclava, and goggles, and braved the elements. I had been warned by the staff here that polar bears are often spotted to the north, so it would be best to run to the south. Once I started running, the temperature and wind weren't too bad (I actually was overheating a bit). The fog and blowing snow though made it so visibility was pretty poor. Once the ice started building up on my goggles though, I could barely see the road beneath my feet or the occasional car drive by. I only went for about 3 miles, but was pretty bummed to learn that my phone decided it was done with this weather after the first 1.4. I think I might have a guess for why even the locals think I'm crazy here.

My outfit for going into the field

This day was off to a good start already. However, we then successfully extracted an ice core, maintaining it at the correct temperature, for the first time in scientific history (more on this in the next blog post). If this day couldn't get any better, we then had a delicious feast at the Japanese restaurant, where the Paradise roll was perhaps the largest roll of sushi I have ever seen. For dessert, Ellyn and I realized that we both love Ben and Jerry's mint chocolate cookie ice cream, and to our delight, the grocery store did indeed have it. To top off this great day, we were hand delivered a case of Alaskan Brewing Company's Icy Bay IPA (beer is quite a delicacy in a town where they don't sell alcohol) by the taxi driver Rachel and Ellyn had befriended in Anchorage and just happened to be on his way to Barrow. 

Best present to finish off the day