January

Hokay, so, Here is de Earth, ROUND. And that is where we begin.

11th Jan 2011

At least I think it is still 110111. I am declaring today the first day of winter. 21 days after the 21st of December. Summer Solstice. It is finally cold here. I used to wake up hald unzipped from my liner in a pool of sweat. Now I am covered by my -40C or F bag only dreading the moment I hear a helo cutting the air with each rotation of its bladde, to go out into the biting cold and on with the day. Granted it is much easier to sleep now that it is cooler, but much more difficult to put on carhartts that are frozen to a mold of the pile the way I left them the night before. At least they are waterproofed with natural oil from 3 months use! A walk of shame turned into shivers. Back to the hut for some cowboy coffee.  There is snow about halfway up the 6000 ft mountains now, and an always looming cloud layer at our zenith just above the snowline. The streams have all but shut down leaving a few stragglers to dump their load and others to fill with sediment then freeze prolonging the time it takes to remove sand vs. ice from a flume. The moat is still holding fast and allows us quick and easy access to water.

Diane arrived in the valleys today. We all flew to a couple of concerning streams that are either being flooded by the rising of lakes on one side, or a barrage of cobble filled water on the other. There is a lot of work to take care of in the coming days. Thank god for people in McMurdo with a strong back that want to help in this process!

The last week I spent back in McMurdo for New Years and visiting friends I had made as well as preparing many items we still needed @ F6 1/2 way through the season. Funny as it seems, I learned a lot about mylife and myself in the short time I spent there. More about what I do and do NOT want in  life. What truly makes me happy. And yet conversely to pink floyd, I have been trying, but have yet to get what I need. What I need however only makes life more exciting with the expectation of the fact that I have no idea what is ahead. Surprise with no security, DEAL. Many things I find make me temporarily happy or cure my thirst for happiness but only for a short time. My happiness is insatiable, and can only be achieved by making those around me happy as well. That is if they don't try to kill me first.