Travelogue Greenland, part 2

Clavering Ø is where we'll be spending the next two weeks. It's a small historic hut which we've kindly been allowed to occupy (many thanks to Nanok, an association that renovates old huts). There's a little table and three plank beds – what more do we need? The hut was built in 1931, and around us we find the remains of several houses from the same period. It gradually dawns on us that we're in a place steeped in history (and not just of a botanic nature). In 1931, Lauge Koch, with assistance from Paul Gelting (!), constructed a large research station with several houses here. Unfortunately, in 1945, German soldiers destroyed the station – except for the small hut where we're now staying.

The weather's good and work progresses well. But how do we protect ourselves from polar bears that might decide to pay us a visit at night? First, we set up a polar bear alarm fence around the tent. It doesn't deter the bears, but it does emit a warning sound if a large animal (or a person) walks into the tripwire. The only trouble is that you then have to be out of your sleeping bag and tent in a couple of seconds in order to take action. That isn't safe enough for us, so we decide to keep watch overnight. We each take a turn in three-hour shifts, e.g. from midnight to 3 a.m., from 3 to 6 a.m. and from 6 to 9 a.m. That way, everyone gets around six hours' sleep. Not enough, but it'll have to do. The sun shines 24 hours a day anyway, and the view from the camp makes up for the lack of sleep. The middle shift isn't the most popular, but is sometimes rewarded with sightings of mountain hares, which are almost completely white even in summer. They don't seem bothered by our presence. Musk oxen also approach the camp, but disappear again pretty quickly. The polar bear count is zero (fortunately!).

Schwarzenbach recorded all the plant species he found at 19 locations. He also noted all the species he saw en route, and especially the highest elevation at which each species occurred as he made his way down. We replicated this approach as much as possible. Thanks to good photographic documentation of Schwarzenbach's trip, we were able to track down most of the locations. With the weather on our side, we reached the highest point, the summit of Østtinden (located at around 1,275 m), in the first few days. From there, we noted the highest occurrences of all plant species on the way down. We again recorded all the species at every 100 m of elevation, so that we now know their current altitudinal range and can compare it with what it used to be. This was enjoyable but also very time-consuming and arduous work. As it never got dark and we were keen to take advantage of the fine weather, we didn't get back to the tent or hut until after midnight on several occasions.