March 2007. About a hundred slides and prints have been scanned and posted here. The images are large, and you'll need a fast connection to view them. They are arranged in alphabetical order according to title, and no chronology etc. is implied. Unless indicated, all photos are copyright Cameron M. Smith, 2007.

August 2007. An 18-minute video of the 2007 exepdition is now online at YouTube: the links are below. This is footage and sound I compiled (in iMovie) entirely without thought for anything but conveying the impressions and experiences of the expedition: other messages and information will be presented for the educational DVD; this is simply what it felt like to me. The video is copyright Cameron M. Smith, 2007.

August 2007. A 15-minute interview with KBRW, in March 2007, is now available here.

April 2006. These first .avi clips have no sound; they show early work in converting the kayak to a sled/kayak that I can pull in the Arctic, but also paddle across stretches of water between ice floes, if needed.

Chuck checks out the hull; it needs a good bit of sanding.	Chuck begins to work on the worst burrs and gouges.	Chuck switches to hand-sanding, to prepare the pulkayak for painting.	Cameron begins painting the hull.

November 2006. Testing the 'pulkayak' by paddling it twice across the Willamette River here in Portland, Oregon. The test worked. Although I took on water, we know why, and this will be fixed in th ecoming weekend work session. The main thing is that the pulkayak can be paddled safely for distances much longer than I'll attempt in the Arctic, with a full load of food and fuel; i can get in and out of the water without capsizing, and I have total control of the vessel; I can paddle it with a ski or a normal kayak paddle; the food sled follows nicely behind, and the whole platform is very stable; it would take deliberate effort to capsize it. It works! Now preparations can shift to other systems, such as the bear fence, and shotgun and hangun training. The following clips are in .mov format. Thanks to Chuck Sullivan for shooting video, Rocky near for paddling the canoe, and Todd and Jen for informing me that the crotch of my oversuit had split :) The Sled-Kayak Test Crew, L to R, Chuck Sullivan, Todd Olson, Jen Olson, Rocky Near.

Loading the sled with rocks to simulate a full load.	Putting the sled into the water, with its pontoon system assembled (takes about one minute) and the sled loaded with about 200lb of rocks.	Paddling the sled upriver before turning West to cross the 1,400-foot stretch of open water.
More paddling...	Turning to cross, under the mammoth I-5 bridge.	Crossing the Willamette!
Climbing out on the other side.	Baling! Don't worry...every watercraft has a leak. This was not serious, and we patched it up later.	Paddling past a submarine on the way back across...
Climbing out of the sled. Note how stable it is, with its excellent pontoon system.	Finally hauling the sled out of the water after about a mile of paddling...Much more than I expect to do in the Artctic at any given crossing between ice floes!

Late December 2006. We've tested the Remington 870 12-guage that I'll use to deter any polar bear that wanders too close; I'll carry 'fireball rounds' that blast the target with a blinding, disorienting shower of sparks, as well as rubber non-lethal rounds, and for the direst circumstance, lethal 12-guage slugs. The following links show some of these tests:

Cameron introduces the 'Fireball' Round.	Rocky Near fires the 'Fireball l'Round.	Cameron fires a shotshell followed by a 12-guage magnum slug.
Cameron fires six rounds quickly, followed by a final round at close range.	Chuck Sullivan fires a 12-guage slug (the echo should give you an idea of the power of this round!)

14 January 2006. I've finalized the backpack/sled harness/shotgun holster, as well as the low-,maintenance, easy way of setting up and breaking down camp. Google videos below. Less than three weeks to go!

Here's an explanation of the backpack, which also holds my compass, extra rounds for the 12-gauge, the 12-gauge itself, and the pulling harness for the sled.	Setting up camp (1) -- This shows how I pull the and the entire 'sleeping system' (tent, insulation mat, sleeping bag, overbag, tent poles, etc) out of the white tube on the pulkayak, which is much easier than pulling out the tent, then getting the sleeping bag, then the insulation mat, etc. each in separate actions. Here, it's all done in one easy motion, because the sleeping bags, insulation mat, and so on are already inside the tent. .	Setting up the tent (2).
Packing up camp -- this shows how the entire tent, sleeping bag and so on also simply slide back into the large tube on the sled, rather than messing with stuffing the sleeping bag into a stuff-sack, followed by folding the tent etc. At 40 below those are just too laborious; this 'habitat tube' system makes it all much easier and faster.	Dragging the sled in a park here in Portland. It tracks (follows behind) nicely, and I'm very happy with it. Thanks to Chuck Sullivan for shooting all the video!

16 January 2006. Recent snow here in Portland has allowed me to test the sled/kayak in nice, white conditions! Clips below. Just about ready to get out of there!

11pm and nobody on the roads but me.	More dragging, then I spot a hill to try to climb with the sled...it's loaded with just over 100lb of gear, about half the weight I'll have in the Arctic. .	More of the hill...
A close-up of the sled as I drag it past the camera. You can see how the upswept bow allows it to clear obstacles (like the curb) very nicely.

All Material Copyright 2006 Cameron McPherson Smith unless otherwise credited.