I left my girlfriend, Maria's, place in Boulder last night at 10:30. Amazingly, I was able to pack up the expedition sprawl that had consumed her entire basement since I returned from Antarctica. She has been more than patient and supportive, even helping to modify Atlas snow shoe bindings, haul gear, print forms and much more. I couldn't have finished the many tasks without her help.

The KIA (my little car) is packed to the gills. I had to unbox four cases of Clif bars just so they could compactly fit underneath the seats. In Minneapolis, more gear to add. 324 freeze dried dinners from Mountain House, new Terramar long underwear, tech gear from Farm Logic and a few other odds and ends.

Now, it's up to Grand Marais. On the way, a quick stop in Two Harbors Granite Gear for late night equipment rendezvous. This time for stuff sacks. Very exciting. I've had a 15 minute power nap in the Harincar's basement, a cup of green tea and now I feel ready for the road. Kind of. I cringed looking at my eyes in the mirror. Minnesota is a tall state. Still, exciting to be moving. One big step accomplished!

I emailed AJ today and stated I had probably driven enough miles to cross his small country (UK) several times. To which he replied, 'It maybe a small nation, but its a GREAT Nation .. Royal Britannia!!'

The help continues to come in. Dinner, packing and web help at the Harincar's. Corey my 'land lord' in Grand Marais, called to check in. Adam a friend from Grand Marais is driving me to Thunder Bay to meet Darcy. Zack from Scream Agency sent a press release for me to review. I am continually humble by all the kindness and generosity. It does not go unnoticed.

Today, was the official start of the conversation on Newsvine. Calvin posted an interview that you can check out at http://ericlarsenexplore.newsvine.com/

Darcy forwarded this note about ice conditions, 'Things are worse than last year as you can see in the attached pics. The ice is moving freely down Nares Straight and across the top of Greenland. This doesn't allow the ice to set up to the west and so everything is very dynamic.

You can also see the fog and low cloud generated by the open water. The open water creates more active weather which affects the ice and sets up more active weather and......' An unusually balmy -4F was recorded at Cape Discovery the other day.

Picture: Satellite image of Northern Ellesmere Island.

The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Goal0, Atlas and Sierra Designs.

Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.

For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com. For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com. For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net