the explorers journal the global adventure issue - The Explorers Club

Geoffrey E. Clark, third from left, and his party unfurl the explorers club flag at Greely’s Camp Clay at Cape Sabine. Photo by Gino Del Guerciowithin seven hours of the accident in one of the mostremote spots on the planet. Scott’s accident clearlydemonstrated that even with modern equipment, wewere still at the mercy of the elements—conditions asunforgiving today as they were in Greely’s time.Meanwhile, the team questioned whether theyshould continue with the expedition. Fortunately,Scott’s injuries were limited to “only” a puncturedlung, five fractured ribs, a dislocated clavicle, andsevere soft-tissue trauma. From his hospital bedScott urged his team mates to continue—whichthey did, albeit shorthanded.Steve paddledthe damaged kayakalone, and James Shedd,who had already provenhimself an accomplishedstill photographer, tookup Scott’s video cameraand continued shootingen route. The rest of theexpedition’s long stretchesover open waterproved to be uneventfulexcept for numerous encounters with enormous,easily provoked walruses; the team was acutelyaware of their unpredictability and how easily theycould destroy a kayak.After six weeks of kayaking down the coast, theteam arrived at its destination on Cape Sabineand met up with Gino, Tom, Simon, and me. Wewere all very moved to see the remains of CampClay where so many men had suffered and died inmisery. As a final tribute to Greely and his men, weheld a brief ceremony on Cemetery Ridge wherethe first of the many to die were buried.I read a passage to the team from Greely’sown Book of Common Prayer—lent to us by JaneGreely—which he had used to conduct Sundayservices and to bury his party’s dead. Our lastact before leaving was to unfurl the ExplorersClub Flag at the plaque placed at Camp Clay byCommander Donald Macmillan for the NationalGeographic Society in 1924.To this day, the question of cannibalism andwho participated remains unresolved. We foundGreely’s tent site and the burial ground—CemeteryRidge—only a few meters apart. It seems inconceivablethat bodies could have been neatly dissectedwithout being observed by at least some of the survivors.Perhaps Greely himself was so incapacitatedthat he was unable to get out of the tent. We willnever know for sure just what happened.From our retrace of his route, it was clearthat Greely’s expedition was a extraordinary accomplishment,considering the time of year, thelimitations in equipment, and the relative inexperienceof Greely and his men. In his memoir, ThreeYears of Arctic Service, Greely noted, “The retreatfrom Fort Conger to Cape Sabine involved overfour hundred miles’ travel by boats, and fully ahundred with sledge and boat; the greater partof which was madeunder circumstances ofsuch great peril or imminenceof danger asto test to the utmost thecourage, coolness, andendurance of any party,and the capacity of anycommander.”Despite a great dealof subsequent criticism,the fact remains thatGreely accomplished hismission, bringing all of his records and supplies toCape Sabine. His records, meticulously tabulatedin a large two-volume report, were eventually compiledby NOAA, along with data collected by theother expeditions of the First International PolarYear—information contained within the baselinefor studies now being carried out under the aegisof the Fourth International Polar Year. Had theWar Department completed their mission and leftthe promised supplies, Greely no doubt wouldhave been able to winter over without loss of life.As late as 1924, an article in the New York Timescriticized the expedition as being a tragic wasteof time. In a furious response Greely replied thatit was not a “pole-seeking adventure,” but a scientificenterprise, and “the Greely expedition was anextraordinary success. The relief expeditions managedfrom Washington were ghastly failures.”biographyA member of The Explorers Club since 1988, Geoffrey E. Clark,M.D., is a retired gastroenterologist and entrepreneur fromPortsmouth, NH. He has traveled extensively in the CanadianArctic doing research and reconnaissance for the productionof the highly acclaimed film, Abandoned in the Arctic.the explorers journal