NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Students in Gameti had an unexpected surprise when four dog sledders pulled off the ice road and into their school last week.

Jean Wetrade Gameti School students Tyreisha Apples, Kiaya Apples, Valerie Takazo and teacher Kathleen Grainger go on a dogsled ride on the ice road with travellers Amy Voytilla (standing at back of sled) and Van Conrad (standing beside sled). Voytilla, Conrad and Dave Freeman, and Ellen Root are sledding for three months across the Northwest Territories. - photo courtesy of Michelle Reid

Not just any dog sledders, Dave Freeman and Amy Voytilla are in the midst of a three-year journey -- travelling by land and water -- across North America from Seattle to Inuvik and ending in Florida. Along with fellow Minnesotans Van Conrad and Ellen Root, the group stopped at the Jean Wetrade Gameti School from March 17 to 19.

"They just showed up and the students were really excited," said Michelle Reid, the junior high teacher. "They were happy, healthy and in good spirits. They're in the middle of a wild expedition and we're happy to be their hosts."

Gameti marked the halfway point for the third of six stages of an 18,829 km trip Freeman and Voytilla started in April 2010. Although the stop was planned with administration, teachers and students didn't know when they would arrive.

The travellers, 10 days ahead of schedule, held a presentation in the school and took students out on the sleds for rides. Part of the presentation had groups of younger students try to pull older students using the sled, to demonstrate the intensity the dogs go through every day.

"We're showing them something that's a part of their traditional way of life, but also basic skills of co-operation and communication," said Freeman. "For most students, they've never seen or been on a doglsed before. For the elders, it's a blast from the past."

The trip is part of Wilderness Classroom, a program that aims to improve students' academic skills through exploration and wilderness travel. Using the website www.wildernessclassroom.com, the travellers document their expeditions and provide worksheets where teachers and students can learn about the places they travel.

An interactive section of the website -- titled "Cast Your Vote" -- allows students to research the expedition's destinations and suggest who they should talk to in Deline or what they should write about on the way to Tulita.

"The students using the website are farther south in cities and they've never experienced the wilderness," Freeman said. "We want to try and tell people about this part of the world."

All four members of the group work as dogsled guides in Minnesota and have travelled throughout Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario by dogsled, but this is the farthest north they have been. For the most part it's the same, Freeman said, except for the amount of sunshine per day and colder temperatures.

The group left Norman Wells on Feb. 9, spending a few days in both Deline and Tulita before reaching Gameti. They've seen caribou and wolverines, met with trappers and connected with people in all the communities.

"It's been a real treat, probably better than we expected," Freeman said. "This place is now a part of us."

Usually they spend six hours a day travelling, approximately 25 to 30 kilometres. They then set-up camp and connect via satellite to update the website with pictures and videos, reply to emails and update Twitter, where they record the daily data: temperatures and animals seen.

Despite this constant link with the outside world, they still feel the isolation.

"We can easily go a week or two without seeing anybody," Freeman said. "But we do have the ability to call for help if we need it."

To survive the three months, members of the group brought along a few luxury items such as a favourite tuque, a special coffee mug, books, or letters from home.

"Ellen has this big bag of mail from her friends," Freeman said. "She had friends and family write her letters and every night she opens one or two."

For food, they've received a bit of dry meat from locals and caught some fish, but for the most part they eat regular food you can find in any store: trail mix, bacon, potatoes, pasta. They rotate between five breakfasts and five dinners and try to have one special meal per week.

When they met a local near Hottah Lake, south of Great Bear Lake, they cooked him a pizza by putting a frying pan under the woodstove in their tent.

Once they leave Gameti, the team will travel to Whati, Behchoko and Yellowknife, then cross Great Slave Lake, ending the trip in Fort Resolution or Fort Smith. Freeman and Voytilla will then take a one-month break in Minnesota before returning to Fort Resolution to canoe to Lake Superior.

"I want to motivate students and get them to try and think big and set goals," Freeman said. We want to show them that these places exist and hopefully get them to explore the world."

Freeman and Voytilla started in Seattle, where they kayaked up the Pacific Coast to Skagway, Alaska, studying rainforests and marine life. The second leg of the journey involved hiking and canoeing from Skagway to Inuvik.

Freeman and Voytilla then took a four-month break before starting their current leg, dogsledding from Norman Wells to Fort Resolution. Once they reach Fort Resolution, they will return to the United States for one month before returning north to begin the long canoe trip south to the Great Lakes before winter.

For the final two legs, between Grand Portage, Minnesota, Montreal and Key West Florida, they won't take a break until they reach the coral reefs of the Florida Keys.

Each leg has Freeman and Voytilla traveling with different team members.

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