by Tyler Fish
Hello, this is Tyler calling. It is March 5th, I believe, today, and the temperature this morning was, I think, 42 below zero. The temperature when we got to camp this evening was 50 degrees below zero Fahrenheit with no wind. We traveled about 7 hours today and we were able to achieve 2.63 nautical miles. For those of you who are unfamiliar with nautical miles, it is 1.2 statute miles or regular miles to 1 nautical mile, so you can do the math on that.
We were able to achieve this distance because most of today we were able to pull both of our pulls most of the day. So that means that every step forward was a step forward and not a back and forth like it was yesterday. We also switched to snowshoes which seemed to be treating us very well to help us get over the rubble and to help us pull the load.
It's very cold in the tent right now. Everything when you taken out of its stuff sack just oozes cold. It just mists kind of all over everything and it takes the stove a little while to clear the air. It's definitely very, very cold.
We're doing very well. Spirits are high. I was reminded today I had an Outward Bound student once on a three-week winter course that I worked. He was 27 years old at that time, the same age as I was, and he said, "Fish, I have not fallen down so many times since I was 3 or 8," or whatever he said. Well, Jeff, this one's for you; I know what it feels like. There has been a lot of falling down in the rubble, but we're both well, no injuries, so that's good. All is well. You'll hear from us in the future. Take care. Bye.
Daily Expedition Data
Date: March 5, 2009
Location: N83 12.927' W74 4.66'
Time Traveled: ~7 hours
Distance Traveled: 2.63 nautical miles
AM Temperature: -42°F
PM Temperature: -50°F
Wind: Calm