78th Parallel

The beginning of March brought the first light to Spitsbergen, an island of snow and ice peaks north of the Arctic Circle, home to polar bears and itinerant scientists from Norway and Russia. There is no light here until March. It is pitch blackness. It is impossible without a watch to know whether it is 2 p.m. or 2 a.m. The sun shows up in March. By April, there will be no more sunsets. There will be no darkness, at all, but then there will be blackness again. Now there is light in the day and darkness by 9:00 p.m., but blackness only between about midnight and 4:00 a.m. I spent today dog sledding through icy peaks and snowy valleys, the black or tan or gray fur of my huskies, and the sky above, the only crack in the whiteness around me. I was thrown from my sled three times, landing on my cameras, bruising falls that have left one hand with what I hope are only badly bruised bones and no fractures. One camera is down, inoperable. I cannot tell if I it is the minus-20 degree temperatures or my unintentional flights and landings. Tomorrow will bring more adventures.