Tracking
the Journey

  • Distance to go: 0 Mi
    Distance

    Ben and Tarka will cover 1800 miles starting from Scott's Terra Nova Hut at the edge of Antarctica to the South Pole and back to the coast again. That's equivalent to 69 back-to-back marathons hauling up to 200kg each (the weight of roughly two adult men) of kit and supplies necessary to survive.

    Distances here are shown in statute miles.

El Pinguino and Barnaby Bear (Day 33)

Day 33: S82° 00' 14.04", E169° 05' 31.5"

Duration: 8 Hr 30 Min

Daily distance: 18.4 Mi

Distance to go: 1480.8 Mi

Temperature: -8 °C

Wind chill: -17 °C

Altitude: 177 Ft

As we hauled our way along today I was pondering over the two tiny mascots I'm dragging along with me, Barnaby Bear and El Pinguino, or Mr. Penguin; I've not named him yet.

Barnaby was given to me many moons ago by (I think!) a class at Penair School in Cornwall. He's been on three North Pole attempts from Canada, four Greenland expeditions and a long way up K2 with the brilliant Jake Meyer, so he's a hardened veteran. You'll note he also has a guardian angel pinned to his scarf*. 

Mr. Penguin was a gift from my mum before this expedition. His wings are spring loaded, so he clings to the washing line that hangs in the roof of our tent every night.

Neither of them are really pulling their weight. They offer no calorific value. They can't do anything about wildly proliferating bacteria in my gut. They can't navigate, they can't melt snow, they can't recharge the Ultrabook or the satellite phone. As far as I can tell, they're both deaf, blind and mute. The reason they're here of course, is to lift my spirits. I think of my mum every time I lie back in my sleeping bag and see the penguin latched on to the roof (often swaying and wobbling wildly in high winds).

The human spirit; the will to continue striving and believing often against the odds (or perhaps always against the odds: as Pema Chodron cheerily put it, "Life is like getting into a boat that's just about to sail out to sea and sink") is a difficult thing to calibrate and measure, unlike watts or joules or nautical miles, but more than anything it's what fuels us out here.

Today was an absolute belter. The headwind we've had for days now finally fizzled out to the faintest breeze in our second hour, leaving us with near-perfect conditions. As a result, we cranked out a 18.4 mile (29.7km) day today, a new record by quite a stretch and something we're both pleased with, particularly as we're still pulling 140kg or so each, which I'd say is approximately 1.2 sumo wrestlers per sled.

*Speaking of angels, Tarka and I are both into logic and reason, and I'm afraid to report there's not been much banter of a spiritual nature in the tent. I said a couple of weeks ago that I thought our 62GB SD cards worked like magic as I simply couldn't get my head around how I could fit almost all of my music collection on one of them, and then wipe it clean and use to to store photographs or HD video from our camera. Tarka gave me his Spock look and explained that there's no magic involved at all, just electrical currents and crystalline structures.

P.S. feel free to suggest a name for Mr/Mrs/Miss Penguin and we'll pick a favourite this time next week.

Comments

# Deacon Patrick, November 27th 2013

“Tarka and I are both into logic and reason, and I’m afraid to report there’s not been much banter of a spiritual nature in the tent.”

Brilliant! You don’t say this and I don’t know your beliefs, but it’s often presumed or believed that logic and reason are antithetical to spirituality when in fact they are simply part of it. God gives us logic and reason to better know ourselves and Him through his creation and Natural Law (things like gravity, mass into energy energy into mass, inertia, velocity, etc.). As you allude to, it is faith and spirituality to brings meaning to those things and how we choose to use them. As you discover the pieces connecting all the logic, under all the logic, above all the logic, through al the logic, you will discover even more spirituality. It’s all around and you are entering into it. Do you see it? Feel it? Taste it? Get carried away by it? Get brought back into your feet by it?

I loved your description of being mostly bags of warm blood a few days ago. Fantastic!

My cousin in Dundee gave our daughters a penguin in honor of us visiting Scot’s ship. Terry is her name and she’d love to know what name you discover for your companion!

Thank you for the gift of sharing your journey! May God continue to startle you with joy and wonder!

With abandon,
Patrick

# David, November 27th 2013

I’d go with ‘Scotty’ for the little partner…!
Very inspiring to follow your great journey!

# Lynne , November 27th 2013

Great blogs lately. They allow me to stow away on your sled and imagine I am momentarily on this amazing journey with you. Thanks for the updates and safe travels.

How about Peter, after Scott’s son? Has a nice ring to it :)

# Janet Stanley, November 27th 2013

I think Cherry would be a good name! Amazing the little things that will help lift your spirit :) Stay safe as always!

# Sue, November 27th 2013

Just call the little chap Prof as in Professor. I am sure he is wise beyond belief. After all he is being carried all the way, wearing the correct outfit and is never hungry nor tired and your Mum trusts him to bring you home.!!!. Clever Professor Penguin

# Jerry, November 27th 2013

I just want to say something: 18.4 miles!!

# George Chapman, November 27th 2013

Your remarks on Day 31 “I was thinking a bit today about remarkable it is that Tarka and I, essentially two very slow-walking pouches of warm blood” reminded me of this quote.

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal,” wrote C. S. Lewis. It’s true—each one of us is a special creation of God.
Believe it or not—no one else is just like you. Your physical appearance, your voice and personality traits—your habits, intelligence, personal tastes—all these make you one of a kind. Even your fingerprints distinguish you from every other human being—past, present or future. You are not the product of some cosmic assembly line; you are unique.

Glad to see you are doing well and having nice days. Keep your heads up and your eye on the ball.

# Alison P, November 27th 2013

Great going today, guys!  You are making incredible progress!  I love, love, love that you have brought with you two little ones that are contributing in no logical or practical way.  Many thanks to Mum for giving you the penguin.

My suggestion for the penguin name is Spirit.

# Andy Richmond, November 27th 2013

@ Hilary; I second the name Pemmican, fitting and alliterative.  Brilliant!

# Ann, November 27th 2013

Cherry!  He had such a good attitude and a deep understanding of human nature.  He would know what your journey is all about so it is fitting that you carry his spirit with you in the form of a tiny penguin.

# Charlotte, November 27th 2013

I think you should call the penguin Mumble, like the one from Happy Feet. Note that his name has the word ‘Mum’ in it - very fitting :)
Great work you two! You inspire me so much. I’d love to complete such and extraordinary feat at some point in my life. When I was younger I dreamed of going into space and climbing Everest. As I grew older I dismissed these ambitions as unrealistic, and I settled on my aim to complete the London Marathon (which, of course, is not easy!). But now you have helped me to realise that anything is possible if you put your mind to it, and at my young age of 15 I have my whole life still ahead of me.
I really enjoy reading your blog everyday, keep it up!
Charlotte

# Cole, November 27th 2013

I’d like to suggest Polar Bear as the name for the penguin. Certainly you’ve been asked at least once what you plan to do if you are attacked by a polar bear on this voyage. This way you’d have an answer: we brought our own, fight fire with fire. Although it’s blasphemy to suggest, you could then leave him (her?) at the south pole so there could then be Polar Bears at both poles (FINALLY!).

Wishing you all the best!
Cole

Commenting is not available for this entry.