Day 8
Lat S81deg 10.480’
Long W80deg 13.843’
Altitude 787m
Daily distance 12.10nm
Another day in paradise! Only a very slight wind all day
and a few wispy clouds made it the best day so far. Still cold, minus 15 without
any wind chill but had to take my thin liner gloves off and wear just the mitts
as my hands were too warm.
I am out of sight of Patriot Hills but there are
now two peaks poking up on the horizon to the west which much be the Pirrit
Hills from the map. Don’t think I’ll see them much longer as I continue south
but they look like icebergs stuck in a frozen ocean.
Making steady progress
with my third ten hour day and passed the 81 degrees south line early on marking
my first degree, each of which is 60 nautical miles.
Finally got a routine
I’m happy with now and today felt really good with each session feeling as
strong as the last. It’s much of a muchness and I was originally going to do one
hour sessions with ten minute breaks, but I’ve settled on a 90 minute routine.
This is 75 mins of hauling with 15 minutes of breaks. I have two 1 to 2 minute
breathers and a quick stretch then 10 to 12 minutes at the end for a quick snack
and drink. Six sessions make nine hours then I’ll have a power hour to finish.
This gives me eight and a half hours of actual skiing each day which is plenty
for now.
Had another first today – I saw a parhelion, otherwise known as a
sun dog. Never seen one before, only pictures. Have sent a photo but uncertain
if it’ll come out ok due to only being able to send low resolution images. Not
sure how they’re formed (damn you no Google and no internet!) but basically it
looks like a ring around the sun.
Have been so lucky with the weather apart
from the high winds a few days ago which has been great, allowing me to settle
into routines and systems without being hindered by bad weather. I’m sure
armageddon is just round the corner though so I’ll enjoy days like today while I
can.
#diabetesuk #heartinternet #curraNZ #expeditionfoods #primalpantry #solo #antarctica
#antarcticlogisticsandexpeditions #southpole #parhelion #sundog
