Only in Labrador could two guys successfully hitchhike 500 km with giant sleds on a wilderness road with little traffic, one of the organizational challenges
(Correne Coetzer) “That first expedition remains the hardest for me, because I was alone, in frigid temperatures, into a headwind, I had no communications for 46 days and most importantly, I was learning everything for the first time.” Jerry Kobalenko reflected.
Last month Kobalenko completed his 20th sledding expedition, all personal projects, he emphisized.
He and James MacKinnon started February 9th from the Innu community of Sheshatshiu, near Goose Bay, Labrador and sledge-hauled to St. Augustine, on Quebec’s Lower North Shore. They completed the expedition 34 days later, on March 14th.
“The mileage wasn’t huge, but every km was a battle, and in this case, 400 km felt more like some of my harder 700 km,” Jerry said to Explorersweb.
We wanted to know from him what made this particular expedition so hard, how his 20 expeditions compare, then and now, what goes into preparations, where he had traveled over 20 expeditions, what he likes in a team mate, his favorite gear items, and the local people.
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