CHERRY VALLEY – Who would have ever thought a journey across the Arctic Circle would begin in Cherry Valley? The answer to that came by way of a phone call from the mother of one of two young cousins, Paul Lundkvist and Kevork Derderian, both from the Chicago area. The two young men, both in their 20s, according to Ricardo Sierra, executive director of the nonprofit Hawk Circle, of Cherry Valley, were trained at Hawk Circle recently in preparation of their July adventure across the Arctic Circle – following a phone call from one of the young men’s mother. “They had been talking about doing this for a number of years,” Sierra said, “and she didn’t expect them to call up and say ‘we’re leaving July 1.’ So she wanted to find a place to teach them the survival skills they’re going to need. So she called us.” The men, whose family come from Ukraine, “are good strong guys,” Sierra noted. “They’re doing this as a personal quest, a desire to get out and test themselves. I think they are using this to say ‘hey, there’s a lot of global warming talk, let’s see it before everything changes.” The two men spent six days in early March at Hawk Circle and while there built an igloo they made from the freshly fallen snow. “They slept in it the whole time,” Sierra said. “We taught them how to make traps for rabbits, animal tracking, fire making, how to make a fire in the rain, how to make fires in snow, and how to make fires with flint and steel. We even taught them how to make fire without matches.” The men also learned how to make rope out of plants and string and were taught some techniques for hunting, Sierra added, “like primitive hunting and fishing. Those were the real basics we covered,” he said. Although they will be in a desert-like area, as there is a lot of gravel and rocks, there will also be glaciers. There will be a lot of snow nesting birds. “It’s a wilderness area, really remote,” Sierra said. This remoteness, combined with the high population of polar bears, provides the dangerous element to this trip that requires the focus and decision making skills Sierra hopes he has instilled in the men. “Polar bears are the only bear species known to actively hunt humans for food,” Sierra said. “They need to keep their camp clean and be on the lookout for bears. If the bears aren’t getting enough seals or food (Lundkvist and Derderian) could be targeted. They have to carry guns and learn how to take care of that.” Although it will be summer, and the sun will not completely set the entire time they’re on their trek, the temperatures will not be as balmy as summer climates even in central New York. So the men learned what they would need to use for insulation, such as pine needles, grasses, and where they can gather these things. “It will be in the 60s and 70s, with the sun moving in such a way that it gives you an hour or so of twilight,” Sierra said, describing the environment, “then just when it’s about to set it starts to rise again.” Top priorities during this crash course were their own and each other’s personal safety, prioritizing of decision making and the mental effects of being in the wilderness. “If they get cold, they won’t be able to go get in a car or house. They needed to learn how to deal with that,” said Sierra, who has survived excursions through Death Valley, the high Sierra Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and a lot of winter camping trips. “I know what they will be going through.” Although the snow will be gone by June, Sierra said the men will be back for a refresher course before they head out to Svalbard Island in the Arctic region part of the territory of Norway and Sweden. “We had what they needed as far as snow just after the big storm. “Now they’ll come back for summer survival preparations before they leave.” He added with reassurance, “They have some experience, it’s not as though they were as inexperienced as the mother thought. “We just gave them the basics.” As long as they continue to practice their skills, Sierra said, “they have a good step forward in the right direction, they’re in shape enough.”
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