Day 24: April 26, 2026
Will reached the top of a 150-foot plateau that serves as the flat, mile-wide divide between the Haldane and Horton river systems, observing the first signs of spring thaw along the way.
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Hello, Will here. It's April 26th, day 24. Really gorgeous day. Clear, a little bit of alto cumulus. Strong south wind again, but it died down towards the afternoon for the first time in three days. And I made it up to the divide. The Haldane River that I've been traveling on still continues as a small little river-riverette, to the northeast. But I took a ... in order to get over to the Horton side, I ... I got over the hills and up a little ravine up above. So in order to get up high, the area there was like a plateau going away from the river. It was probably underneath the snow, the deep snow. It probably was a steep incline, but it was rounded off some or angled off from the wind. So it was a plateau, just like a talus and stuff, a bigger plateau on the rocks below. But it was a wind, maybe around the 45 degree angle, at any rate. It was about 150 feet up to get up there. So I got two loads up to the top of that little plateau.
And then the actual divide there going over the Horton is actually flat for about a mile. You have these small little ponds. They're, of course, frozen. These are little baby blue ponds. They're normal, really good water. And there's a small little lake about a quarter mile. And I got the two loads over, well, near the Horton side where it drops off. And I didn't quite get to it. I don't know what the drop is going to look like. But I just brought two of the loads. I'm still, my main load is with me in the camp, the same camp as I did last night. It was a really good flat on the ice. And I secured the entry with these ice screws on two on one side and two on the other side. It was really a solid section there. So I decided to keep that camp there since it's really level.
And actually the very first day of the, you know ... it's a slow breakup. And the first day, it's windy and any dark surfaces like boots or one of these blue waterproof bags, they collected enough energy from the sun that it melted a little bit. And that's probably the first time that's ever, that has happened here for about seven months. And then up on that little plateau, right on the ridge side of it, it was windswept and windblown. So there were some rocks exposed. And those rocks also did a little bit of a frosted thaw. That was probably the first thaw overland and so that's the beginning. And it looks like a really great day. But it's just stunningly beautiful here. And it's just, like I said yesterday, just like the moon, the low, gentle surfaces. And way up from up high, I could see the Haldane little river valley is about, you know, maybe 200 yards or so. It's kind of a gentle valley. And then it rolls up into hills. And, you know, it's quite pretty here. Very beautiful, clear blue sky.
And so, it's just, I did a 12-hour day again. And so I'm going to do another long day tomorrow. I want to get over to the Horton side there and see what's over there. It's always fun going over a divide. You don't know what you're going to get on the ... It's really the downhill side, when you're going down, that's much more dangerous, getting things down. You know, moving things up a steep incline or using a pulley system or whatever, like I did over in the Bloody River—that's pretty under control. But when you're lowering ... well, we'll see tomorrow. I'm not expecting any real bad problems because you have such a wind up here and the blowing and drifting and that. If there's a drop of any sort, it's usually leveled off. So at least you can get down it. So anyways, here, it's 10 o'clock my time here. I'm making dinner here. And it's Will over and out here on day 24, April 26th. And I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Though camped in the same position as last night, Will has advanced two loads to the small ponds in the divide between the Haldane River and the Horton River. Visit Will’s interactive map for complete control of magnification and orientation.
Setting up a tent using ice screws, such as Will says he’s used to camp on “a really good flat” on the ice the last two nights. He also describes using them on Day 6 of this year’s expedition. This video from the 2008 Ellesmere Island Expedition illustrates the process.