Their very successful 1906 trip set the record for the farthest point North ever reached. In 1909 Matt and Peary made it to the North Pole. It was almost effortless compared to the difficult trips from past years. Over 130 champion dogs pulled their sleds. Team after team of Peary's crew, Eskimos, and dogs left the base camp and took turns with the hardest part of the journey - breaking trail.
Teams set up igloos at each days camp stocked with food.
Matt, Peary and the best 4 Eskimos went the last 130 miles to the Pole. No land mass, no island - nothing but frozen ocean swaying under foot. A terrible disappointment. No one was prepared for an ocean floor deeper than the 9000 feet of wire used on Peary's instrument. There is even some record that Peary became angry because Matt reached the Pole first.