I woke up at 6am, today was to be the first of the big days. We are on a mission to make it to the summit ridge in four days. From that point we will slowly descend back down to sea level. We said goodbye to the DYE II building and started on the first leg of the day. The first leg was 90minutes, they are getting longer so we can cover extra ground and reach our four day goal. The extra walking time has given me extra thinking time, I've been planning all sorts of expeditions I want to go on next.
I really want to ride across Mongolia with Ngaio, this is something we have been talking about for years but we have not yet managed to make it happen. I would love to kayak to the islands in Fiji or even into Fjordland. I know one thing is for sure, Ngaio is coming on the next one!
The next three legs were the normal 60 minutes. My brain has started to play tricks on me, I can look at the ground and my brain will take me to where I imagine... Walking down a beach with beautiful white sand, trees to my left and a calm turquoise ocean lapping at my right . Then I look up and reality kicks back in, freezing and white surrounds me, the reflection burns my skin from every direction and there is nothing for miles.
Lunch today was yum yum noodles with chicken curry soup mix... mmm.
In the afternoon it was my turn to lead for an hour. The team call it 'Brandos power hour' because we end up going a lot faster than normal. Its great to have a change of pace!
Keith asked me today what I was struggling with the most on this trip, all I could tell him was how painful it is to be away from my best friend, Ngaio. Leaving her to go on an expedition is something I never anticipated being so painful, I try to use this as motivation to get through the long days.
Camp set up was quick but Keith accidentally kicked over the hot water, now we have a frozen lake in our tent!
I went all out tonight with dinner, two packs of noodles and a freeze dried pasta meal. When I messaged Ngaio today and asked what she was cooking she replied with "i'm not telling" instantly my mind started dreaming of all the delicious foods that it could have been. My guess is curry... oh the things to look forward to.