19 April, 2002

We have been traveling for 5 days since leaving the Ivotuk Cabin. It is now time to determine whether we will have enough snowmachine gasoline to get to Barrow.

We left Ivotuk with six full snowmachines (four hold 8

gallons of gas each, and two hold 10 gallons of gas each), plus 28 jugs that each hold 5 gallons of gas. The total straight-line distance from Ivotuk to Barrow is 250 miles. But because we are not able to travel in a straight line (for example, we follow rivers, go around mountains and hills, and avoid big snow drifts), our actual distance traveled is increased by roughly 30%. Two of our snow machines get 8 miles per gallon, two of the others get 10 miles per gallon, and the last two get 12 miles per gallon.

Questions:

1) Will we make it to Barrow with this amount of gas?

2) If not, how many miles away from Barrow will we run out of gas?

3) How far would the 30% distance factor have to be reduced to just make it to Barrow without running out of gas?

SOLUTION:

We started with a total of 192 gallons of gas (52 in snowmachines, 140 in jugs).

The total miles traveled from Ivotuk to Barrow will be 325 miles (250 * 1.30 = 325).

The average fuel consumption, considering all of our snowmachines is 10 miles per gallon ((2*8 + 2*10 + 2*12) / 6 = 10).

On average each snowmachine will have 32 gallons of gas for the trip (192/6 = 32). This will allow us to go 320 miles (32 * 10 = 320).

If our 30% distance factor can be reduced by 2%, to 28%, we will make it the entire 325 miles to Barrow (so we need to make sure we go in straight lines as much as possible, or we might be walking!).

Answers:

1) No, under these conditions we will not make it to Barrow with this gas.

2) We will run out of gas 5 miles from Barrow.

3) The distance factor would have to be reduced to 28% in order to make it to Barrow (a reduction of 2%).

WHERE IS MRS. CHEUVRONT??? LET'S PLOT!!! LATITUDE: 69.804440 degrees North

Longitude: 155.64257 degrees West

The winds went away today. They had mysteriously left as they had appeared. The winds left their mark leaving behind beautiful sculpted snow. Snow had been transformed, moved, drifted into new art pieces. As we ascended out of our hiding place, it was hard to imagine that we stood in the same location where the world was fierce and brutal yesterday. Today the white world was peaceful, serene.Cold but peaceful. Cold was manageable. The wind was too hurtful and unforgiving.

We our on our trek northward to Ataqasuk. The landscape and terrain has changed. We our traveling across rolling hills. All the vegetation is covered with snow. We cross over drainage basins that in the summer allow the water to flow. Crossings can be difficult at times and sleds are unhitched and rehitched to move stuck snowmachines. Tonight we camp in the Oumalick River that is covered with snow. We are protected from any wind that may arise by large snowdrifts.

Temperature min: -32 degrees Celsius Temperature max: -17 degrees Celsius

Matthew refueling the machines during the day.

Dressed for cold weather!