Last day of week three and I am absolutely wrecked. Today we skied 32.8 km and it took us 11 hours. Hard pack crusty snow is the best when you are trying to drag 60kgs behind you!
Today the snow conditions were crap, it snowed over night so everything had 5cm of fresh snow on it. This is the first time in my life i will say this... I wish there was less fresh snow. I could feel the extra friction from the moment i started walking.
The morning was windy and cold, it didn't take long for the snow drifts to form, making travel even tougher on the body. I can't help but think about our time line and think about making it to our pickup on time.
In the big picture, it isn't a problem, but when we first arrived I heard that we were spending a night at Isotorq, a little fishing village on the other side of Greenland. I was quite excited to experience the culture as its something im really interested in!
If we don't make it in time the plan will change and we will miss out the night at the fishing village.
As the day went on it only got harder, the sun came out and made the snow sticky. We must have crossed over the highest point of our journey, we are officially heading down. When I noticed this, I smiled to myself and thought about what that really means. A small achievement on a tough day can feel like a HUGE success.
We dropped 50m in total all day. My health is pretty good, the cold I had last week has gone, my back is starting to give me a bit of grief whenever im not moving. Sitting in the tent for lunch today was pretty painful.
After lunch the sun felt warm, I was full of food and felt pretty good. By the mid afternoon I was really pushing to keep up with the group, I kept looking at everyones sleds and wished that mine was as light as theirs. The tipping point mentally was this afternoon, one of the team members was really struggling so our guide split the gear up to make it easier for them, I had more gear put in my sled yet again. My sled currently weights more that it did when i started. As most of the teams sleds get lighter, mine just keeps getting heavier.
I would never openly tell the team that my sled is fucking heavy and every day is now a struggle to keep up. Because if I don't carry it, someone else will have to, and it looks like we are all very much struggling together.
As the days get longer and the distances get larger, this is the time we will find what we are seeking, this is when the opportunity to meet ones true self arises.