Helen Thayer’s accomplishments make her one of the worlds top adventurers. In a richly varied and fascinating life she was the First woman to solo the magnetic North Pole 1988, and Named “One of the Great Explorers of the 20th Century” by National Geographic.
In 2001 Helen 63 and Bill Thayer 74, a two person husband and wife team, became the first man and woman to walk the entire length of almost 1,500 miles, east to west of the Mongolian Gobi Desert. Violent Siberian winds swept across the desert creating sand storms of choking, black dust and yellow sand that blocked out the sun, stopping everything in their path.
For seven life threatening days the two were down to quarter rations while they desparetly searched for water in heat up to 126 degrees. At one point they were arrested and interrogated by border guards; scorpions were their daily companions. It is a story of courage, perseverance and the ability to rise above adversity. It is also a story of the Thayers’ close interaction with the Gobi Desert Nomads who still live the centuries old lifestyle of their ancestors.
The Thayers shared family gers, ate Nomad food and helped herd animals. They milked camels, goats and horses and leaned first hand desert shamanism medicine.
In 1988, at the age of 50, Helen Thayer became the first woman in the world to travel on foot to the magnetic North Pole, one of the world’s most remote and dangerous regions.
Her only companion was Charlie, her loyal husky, who was integral to her survival. Her book Polar Dream is the story of their heroic trek and extraordinary relationship as they faced polar bears, unimaginable cold, and a storm that destroyed most of their supplies and food.
In the summer of 1994, Helen Thayer and her husband Bill, hiked above the Arctic Circle in the Canadian Yukon Territory to live for six months one hundred feet from a wolf den to observe and document their daily lives.
They returned in the winter months to interact with and document the lives of wolves and polar bears on the frozen polar sea and the vast Mackenzie Delta in Canada’s frozen north. The key to Thayer’s acceptance was Charlie, the author’s Inuit dog of magnetic North Pole fame.
Following Charlie’s lead the Thayers’ discover the complexities of wolf family structure, including the alpha male and female, care of the pups, hunting and survival skills. Far from being the viscous killers of popular imagining, the Thayer’s found that wolves form loving family bonds in a world that offers them neither safety nor understanding.
You can read more about her adventures by visiting her website: www.helenthayer.com
The following exerts from her blog give you a flavour of this extrodinary female adventurer.
Although kids often see the world in a negative light without hope for their future, we work to inspire them to set goals, plan for success and never give up. There is not only hope, there is a bright future ahead for those who are prepared to set goals and work toward them.
It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had overcome all that the Arctic had thrown at me and reached my goal. The surrounding ice looked no different from any other, the wind and the isolation were the same, but I had fought hard to get there and winning the fight felt good. That I was the first woman to reach the pole on a solo expedition was unimportant to me. It was the learning experience and the struggle to overcome the challenges that made the journey so rewarding and the prize so precious.
Inuit dogs lead a harsh life. They’re not treated as pets, but rather as animals that have to learn how to survive. A piece of frozen seal meat is tossed to them two or three times a week and they chew ice while living tied to a four-foot chain. They’re given no shelter, even during bitter midwinter Arctic storms. I had more humane ideas about how to treat Charlie, but the local Inuit weren’t used to seeing a dog fussed over and some expressed the opinion that l would ruin him. Nevertheless I continued with my fussing in the hope that Charlie would learn to love and trust me. After all, my life might depend on his loyalty.
The hellish wind had returned to torment me. The unceasing noise of the whistling, howling wind, the feel of the wind lashing my body and face without mercy, and a savage hunger and thirst combined to make me dig into a reservoir of strength, discipline, and sheer desire to continue. I dug so deep that I came up with reserves I never knew I had. But they were there and I used every bit of strength to push my weakening body on. I was desperate to make more miles. I simply had to finish the journey now. The end was so near.
Physically it has been a tough journey at times. The heat rising off a desperately dry desert becomes oppressive and unending. Shade became but a distant memory. The dark gray-black gravel plains were hot and seemed to go on forever. We would look ahead to the horizon that had no visual relief except for the many mirages. At least the mirage lakes looked cool even though we knew they didn’t exist. My car accident injuries sometimes made walking an adventure in itself. I used one trekking pole, then two. I had to gear up and discipline myself to always remember the goal and minimize any painful periods of walking.
Mentally it is hard to keep an optimistic frame of mind day after day especially when the temps go over 110 degrees F. In the beginning we dared not think of all the miles ahead of us. We mentally broke the journey up into sections and finished one section at a time. When we passed the 1,000 mile goal we could allow ourselves to think of going home.
The dryness and loneliness of the desert made us realize how vulnerable we were. Especially when the camel rolled and broke our water bottles. Heat and thirst don’t make good companions.
We leave (the gobi) with a certain amount of sadness. It was a difficult journey and at times we had to push extremely hard through the blowing sand and the depressing heat. But it seems, as with our past expeditions, when the struggle is almost unbearable it makes victory all the more precious. As the desert disappears behind us we know that a part of us will always remain there and the Gobi and its resilient, wonderful people will always keep a small part of our hearts. It has been a privilege to know them.
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Hi, Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!