Day 10: April 12, 2026
Will executed the first phase of his critical overland portage by hauling gear up a 130-to-140-foot ravine using a makeshift pulley system and a doubled-up quarter-inch rope. His tactical navigation plans and his physical condition are both in good shape as he takes in the spectacular views at the top of the ridge.
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Hello, Will here. April 12, 2026. Day 10. I'm right on the ... still on the Bloody River here. I took a day off here yesterday, as we talked about. And then I'm on a curve in the river. It's a cut bank, it's about 130 feet. I'm crossing over to the Haldane River. And today was my first load that I brought up over that ravine. The ravine ended up being around ... I thought it was around 100, but 130, 140 feet, judging from the rope that I was using. And it's a shallow ravine, steep and drifted in. It's the only place within a mile or so that I could get up on this kind of a platform that's north of here. So I started with ropes. I left my camp in the same place here, camped out here tonight. And tomorrow I'll bring up the last two loads. But it took me ... about noon I had two loads up. It was actually a lot of ... a big break from the slogging and hauling, a little bit of ice climbing. I had to put a couple [?] protection in, a couple of times to haul. I basically hauled up this load in stages, the 30, 40 foot rope. And one stage I would bring it up and then I would climb further up. And the last section was pretty straight up. I built up a pulley system from the top and I was able to get that first load up. The second load a little ... went a lot faster, I got the system down. And kind of a climbing technique. I don't exactly have a climbing rope here though. It's probably about, well, I guess, about a fourth (quarter) inch at the most. I doubled it up. The reason I don't bring up a 20, 50-60 foot climbing rope is just too heavy and I can't afford to walk like that. There's no ... solo, especially unsupported like this, every ounce counts and I just make with what I do. But the rope that I have is very strong, just a little bit of a hassle.
Once I got on the top, I was ready for this first two mile, two-and-a-half mile crossssover to the first lake. Started out in really deep, really steep snow. But I didn't follow the straight line compass. Rather, I kept to the highland. And the straight line route was kind of up and down—especially pulling uphill in deep snow, it's almost impossible. So I took a roundabout way of staying on the highland, and I gained quite a bit of elevation with time. And I actually got above the tree line. And the conditions turned really fast. Conditions when I was nearing that lake that is two ... two miles. I was going to bring two loads over. But I went so well that I came back early, and I'll do the whole thing in one load tomorrow.
But quite spectacular, really high up. It was a very cold day. North, strong North wind, must have been around zero. The wind chill was really hard. I wasn't quite dressed, I mean, not for that kind of windchill. And that's one reason I didn't go forward with the load. I left it up high up. The view from the North is just spectacular. It's all barren lands, except for the Haldane River is in a bit of a valley. I couldn't see into the valley from the height I was at. Not sure if there's trees in that valley or not. But it was very spectacular looking off in the distance. You know, in these bitter cold days of the wind, there's kind of a haze, a windblown haze, typical of these really Arctic-type cold that you get—subarctic—but for this time of the year. You know, normally this would be really cold in the winter.
But the view is just absolutely spectacular. In way in the distance, there's some highlands that I saw on [...] plain, quite spectacular. And I was really pleased about the hard surfaces. It is going to make my life a little easier. I basically have a five mile portage from, you know, distance from the Bloody River. The Bloody River kind of veers now to the northeast. That's not the direction I need to go. The Haldane River goes straight north. So once I get on that river, I'll follow it straight north to the divide. And the other side that is the Arctic divide. And the Horton River and the Haldane headwaters at the same place. The one goes south, one goes north. But that will be my pathway up to the Horton River.
I came back, I actually got back a little earlier and I cleaned up at camp. You know, I've been sleeping on ... making camp in really deep snow. It's a bit of a hassle if you sink in, and you melt down, and, you know, just a real rough surfaces. I prefer flat ice. So I took the ... I had some time, I took everything out the tent, and moved the tent. And then packed up and leveled off the space I had been camped on, and then I re-set up everything so it's a little bit more comfortable tonight.
This is day 10. So I always figure day 10 you're in the rhythm, you're in shape, and you're in the expedition mode. And that's exactly how I am right now. Really invigorating (the cold) and heading north now on another route. That's right to the north. It's just simply incredible. It's the very edge of the tree line. And then all the way to the, you know, there's another tree from, when you get down on the Siberian side of the Arctic. So it's the beginning of the real barren lands, and end up in the ocean. So I'll check in tomorrow. This Will on day 12 ... oh, is it day 10, April 12, 2026, on the Bloody River. Over and out.
Will’s forward progress on Day 10 took him to the south end of the frozen lake (his target, the Haldane River, is indicated by the red path. He camped on Day 10 in the location where he made camp on Days 8 and 9. See Will’s interactive map for complete control of magnification and orientation.
This image from Will’s 2023 unsupported solo expedition helps visualize the kind of snow bank he describes ascending in today’s dispatch.