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.
Retracing Our Steps (Day 74)
Day 74: S87° 26' 32.88", E159° 34' 56.94"
Duration: 8 Hr 30 Min
Daily distance: 21.2 Mi
Distance to go: 721.5 Mi
Temperature: -28 °C
Wind chill: -41 °C
Altitude: 9856 Ft
A relatively gentle day for us today as I was keen to ease back into our high-mileage routine without knackering myself out again. It was -41 windchill all day, which normally I'd make a fuss about but I gather rather a lot of the USA have had worse weather of late, so I'll just say that it's still pretty nippy for a camping trip.
We've been lucky enough to be able to follow our old tracks all day today, though at times that proved a mixed blessing as the lack of a requirement to navigate removed any sense of intellectual challenge for whoever was in the lead.
The surface and weather were both about as good as it gets today, though the lack of scenery is starting to drive us both a bit batty. Tarka feigned a hilarious tantrum as we pitched our tent this evening saying he was "Fed up having to build our home from scratch every night".
I thought a lot about Scott and his men as we skied today, wondering how they dealt with similar temperatures and windchill in their cotton jackets, woollen mid-layers and reindeer-skin sleeping bags (which by all accounts were either damp or hopelessly iced-up most of the time). I realised I have no idea what they slept on to insulate their exhausted bodies from the ice -blankets perhaps?- and not for the first time felt spoilt and cosseted with my heat-reflective ridged-foam sleeping mats and down-filled sleeping bag.
Now my brain seems to be functioning again and is no longer near-fully consumed with food cravings (we're back to our normal rations now after retrieving our depot, and I noted with relief today that I no longer had the urge to rip open the plastic wrapper of our chunks of salami to lick up all the white grease) I've been reading in the evenings again. It's wonderful to be able to escape for a while before falling asleep, and I've just started Steinbeck's Travels with Charley in Search of America (thanks Al!). It's a glorious book, full of lines that seem extraordinarily apt out here: "A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us" and "For how can one know colour in perpetual green, and what good is warmth without cold to give it sweetness?"
Andy's sending a load of your questions through via email now that we're back online again, so I'll answer a handful of those tomorrow. Thanks for following.
Comments
# Allison & Mark, January 7th 2014
Wel that is a relief. Back on track again and you sound much more like yourself. You are right about the temperatures as the news reader this morning says it is minus 51 in Montana. That does not mean he temp where you are is suitable for sunbathing. Keep safe.
# Ian Calder, January 7th 2014
Sam Johnson’ advice to travellers is useful, though the second part may raise a wry smile on your weathered faces -
“Cast off all care the moment your foot mounts the chaise. Do not practice economy, your health is worth more than you can pay for it.”
I suppose you would cast off care if a chaise turned up where you are.
# Justin Philips, January 7th 2014
Will you empty your resupplied rations and switch over to the pre-existing supplies or would you like to mix them up?
Anyway Godspeed and great going!
# Richard Pierce, January 7th 2014
Good to hear you describe doing 21 miles as a “relatively gentle day.” That shows you’re really properly back on track. Just don’t get too demob happy when you’re going back down the Beardmore - and don’t stop for any geological samples!
Interesting that you’ve started reading again, and apposite that you’ve come across appropriate excerpts. Maybe this is just the beginning of a really special journey for you, one that will become even more special when you pass the point at which Scott’s last camp was.
Your comments about the lack of scenery brought this to mind:
“... we’ve lost track of the days, though not of time. We lose our bearings on the day of the week, don’t know if it’s Sunday or Friday or Wednesday. But it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the ground we cover. ... The daily taks become increasingly difficult to maintain. A layer of dullness descends on us, a cloak of hopelessness. The beauty of the landscape dissipates. We become a malodorous couple ploughing a field of snow with no promise of harvest.” http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Men-Richard-Pierce/dp/0715642960
Don’t let the cloak of hopelessness descend on you again. Keep reading, keep joshing, keep having fake tantrums, because it’s all those things that will keep you alive; it’s all those things that keep us alive back here, too.
God Speed.
R
# CaninesCashews, January 7th 2014
Hi guys,
Great to know that over 21 miles is ‘easing back in’!
Really glad you are back on the books – a very good sign that all is well. That Steinbeck book is one of my ‘go to’ books – a well thumbed edition – read two or three times over the last twenty years then re-visited when in need of a shot of Steinbeck!
As you say a very apt book in your current circumstances – it has some wonderful lines – Don’t know how far you have got with it, but I think this one is particularly appropriate,
“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
Thanks for the great hi res Pole selfie.
Stay safe,
Gav
# dj, January 7th 2014
@Richard… I’m suprised to see you advise not to gather any geo samples. Forgive a dissenting opinion if you will. IF it is still legal, and IF their track takes them within reasonable reach - if it were me I would willingly trade 30 minutes of evening reading for the tremendous enjoyment of actually “doing something” hands-on out of the ordinary! Perhaps there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that they aren’t revealing to us, but I don’t think we’ve seen too much actual “science” being done so far on the journey and it should be a welcome change of pace for everyone both physically and mentally. [And if not for science, just think of what a couple lucky charities back home could get at auction for such a momento coming with such a “back-story!”]
I do think I understand the gist of your message and our shared anxiety to “just get off this flippin’ glacier and get back home”; but, to me at least, stopping to examine, photograph and sample a unique “geo” would be like stopping to smell the sweetest of rose. Also something we haven’t seen either of them doing much of.
# Richard Pierce, January 7th 2014
@DJ,
Sorry, I was making a possibly inappropriately jokey allusion to Scott’s decision to stop for a day on the way back from the Pole and collect 30 lb of geo samples, which were discovered with the men’s bodies at their final camp. The samples were valuable science, and, it must be said, too much has erroneously been made by many analysts of the additional weight they would have had to pull (which in the scheme of things was actually irrelevant, in my view).
It would indeed be nice if Ben and Tarka had time to do something other than plod the rest of the course, of course.
:-)
R
# cifa, January 7th 2014
good to hear you are both back on track.
its a gripping tale & well told :)
WORKING ARITHMETIC
Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime
cheers ;)
# Lydia , January 7th 2014
Whoop Whoop back on track and Android man The Tarkaster having a laugh - this is such amazing news. Today is going to be a good day!
Thank you Ben!
Lydia x
# Alastair Humphreys, January 7th 2014
Glad you’re enjoying the book, Ben!
I often think I’d like this excerpt as my epitaph:
“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness. I’ve lifted, pulled, chopped, climbed, made love with joy and taken my hangovers as a consequence, not as a punishment.”
# Richard Pierce, January 7th 2014
@Alastair,
Thanks for that quote. I love it (and live it).
R
# David Simmons, January 7th 2014
So proud of you guys, well done. My favorite book, Travels with Charley, if Tarka says “phtt” let him out….readers of the book will understand this
# Mal Owen, January 7th 2014
Good mileage for a “gentler day” and good to see humour and literature on the agenda yet again. How heavy must Scott’s damp sleeping bag have been? Frostbite in Michigan…unbelievable scenes on TV. Must go buy some salami today..you’ve given me the taste for it !
# Richard Pierce, January 7th 2014
Cherry’s sleeping bag on the Winter Journey to Cape Crozier increased in weight from 18 pounds to 45 pounds because of its frozen dampness. Not nice at all.
R
# Mal Owen, January 7th 2014
#Richard
Its hard to believe it took 45 mins to chisel into it !
# Richard Pierce, January 7th 2014
We can’t really imagine it, can we? When I was over there, my sleeping bag was so warm and efficient, I slept in just my underwear. Mind you, it was only -10C at the time, and it was only for a week.
R
# Janet Stanley, January 7th 2014
Terrific stuff, glad you are back on track & reading again! Am also loving the quotes & comments everyone :) Stay safe Ben & Tarka
# Louis, January 7th 2014
I find my morning mood depends on these blog posts now! Great to read that everything is back on track. Good luck with the rest of the journey!
# Emma Mauger, January 7th 2014
Hi, we are Class 4 from St Martin’s Primary School near Folkestone, Kent, UK. We are following your expedition because we are learning about Robert Scott and his team’s race to get to the South Pole. You inspire us by your bravery – inspiration is one of our school’s values. We have been studying frozen lands and we understand how bad the conditions must be for you both. We look forward to reading your future blogs and wish you luck on the rest of your journey. From everyone in Class 4.
# Charles, January 7th 2014
Good to hear that you guys are back in the saddle again and feeling great.
Ever thought that the track you are following aren’t yours and that you’re going the wrong way ?
Cheers and stay safe !!
# Mal Owen, January 7th 2014
#Charles
:-) That has made me laugh out loud :-)
I hope they’re not…my heart couldn’t cope with another blog like those of the last few days !
Humour makes the world go round ...so many quotes but I like this one ... “A good laugh overcomes more difficulties and dissipates more dark clouds than any other one thing.” - Laura Ingalls Wilder
# Helena, January 7th 2014
To Charles and Mal: I have a better idea - if Ben and Tarka are not sure if they go the right way they can ask us here in the chat to navigate them through Google earth hour by hour :-D :-D
# wonderwoman, January 7th 2014
Great news, Ben and Tarka. You are doing so well! I almost feel I have missed a day, reading all this after work. Have to be more early tomorrow :)
We send you love from Finland and pray for you.
# Helena, January 7th 2014
Hello Ben+Tarka: Good to hear from you that you are doing OK. I tried to explain to my small son where the South Pole is (i finally bouth a globe), how the weather is there like and what you are doing there. He was amazed especially by the fact you have light all day long :-D
And I am amazed how you can survive the coldness and by the technique of today - you can write to us and i can track you on Google earth - unbelievable 100y. ago. Please keep safe!
To wonderwoman: how are your haski dogs doing? How many do you have? The other day you mentioned you went sledge-skiing with them, that is great :-)
# Andrea Topi, January 7th 2014
While the guys are enjoying their rebuilt energy and spirit, a little technical question: the maximus image size I was able to download for today’s blog is 960x720 px from the Facebook gallery. Is this the highest resolution available for us readers to download, or should I search elsewhere? Thank you.
# Intrepid, January 7th 2014
The 3 Cs of a SEB (scott expedition blogger): Curiosity, Compassion, Connection
Dear Ben and Tarka,
Good to detect lightness in your words and making light of the daily grind as well as the battiness of the 360 flat white frosty landscaping. Building your house from scratch every night reminds me of the Tibetan Buddhist sandpaintings. Have you ever seen the making of a sand mandala? It’s incredible watching the fastidiousness of the monks adding just a few grains of color at a time. It may take a few days for the mandala to be completed, but no matter how long it has taken, shortly afterwards it is destroyed. Impermanence is the way of things… just as put up your tent/take the tent down, breathe in/breathe out, even the best made plans can change, sunshine one day, whiteout another day ...
Cool that you are reading Steinbeck! In Travels With Charley you can tell how incredible Steinbeck’s observational skills were, and his ability to see and foresee patterns. It’s as though he was a social camera taking pictures of conversations. He’d transform his experience into a visual story painted on pages for people to read. I grew up with my (step)father telling Charley stories; they were somewhat different than Steinbeck’s, but they had as much appeal.
Hoping your day goes non-batty well.
Godspeed!
# Nick, January 7th 2014
Yeah, making your home every night….like birds outside. Tough life. High up in a tree. Or in a bush. Or in the eves of a building or under a bridge.
Real survivors, could be said, even more than human. Rich people and hotels ! See what I mean.
The rich have a choice of where to live. I’m talkin the real rich. The Elysium of Rich.
The rest of us (I call us workers) (and those of us who are called non workers by Governments) but we’re workers, more than the rich !
Anyway, politics aside.
Survival. Animals are pretty tough creatures, we can learn a lot from our Earth co-inhabitants.
Human…when you take a step back - you see the people you take a step back from. Governments. Society. Animals of the wilderness. Our own self. Buildings and open space. Land and billions of sq feet of Ocean and Sea.
And the North & South Pole.
Mountains and hills.
Beach and fields.
Houses and buildings.
A bird in a nest.
Home. Survival. Human. Creature.
# offroading home, January 7th 2014
Wondering…. the “live Tracker” seems to have stopped sending coordinates as of 12:42 pm mountain time. Broken? Or some software glitch?
Also, it doesn’t seem you’ve caught it yet. Your post for day 70 is linked to somewhere in the ocean AND it seems to be hard coded to stay at the top of all the posts now out of sequence.
# Scott Expedition Team, January 7th 2014
It’s a glitch with the tracker. Ben and Tarka did a full day today and are now camped for the night.
You’re right on the resupply post - we thought we’d leave it on the homepage for a few days. The reason the post looks like it’s positioned in the ocean on Google Earth is because the post doesn’t currently include coordinates. Thanks for the heads up.
# George Chapman, January 8th 2014
The Google Earth tracker has been on and off ever since reaching the pole so I have quit watching it. It’s hard to know when the team is just not moving or the tracker is not working. It’s OK I appreciate the team supplying this service it’s just not working very well. Thank you Team for trying.
# Hilary Snaith, January 7th 2014
So glad to read that your journey home is going well and you have time to thing of more than mere survival. Stay strong and safe!
# Richard Pierce, January 8th 2014
Dear Blog Team,
I don’t wish to stir up a hornets’ nest here, but I just found out that Kristoffer has effectively been banned from commenting on the blog. I find that a bit alarming. It’s a matter of public record that there are many things on which I don’t see eye to eye with him, and that I find his way of expressing himself oddly unemotional, but to ban him? I think he made some valid points, even if I thought those points could perhaps more beneficially have been made after the expedition is over.
Although I fully support Ben and Tarka, is it really useful for the blog only to have positive comments on it?
Yours, puzzled, R
# George Chapman, January 8th 2014
I agree Richard. But we better not say much or we will be banned. 98% of the comments here are positive if not mushy but that’s what the team want’s. I’ll be careful what I say. Mom and dad are reading these post.
# Intrepid, January 8th 2014
Hi Richard - I noticed Kristoffer missing yesterday as well as the new popup statement which appears when clicking on ‘add your comment’ requesting to please be respectful about what gets written on this blog. Kristoffer liked to be on the offensive as well as defensive, but as you pointed out, he also drove home some interesting points. I’m honestly not sure what I would do in this situation. Often people engage with the behavior rather than glean an understanding for communicating. IMO, what can appear disrespectful shocks people who are not used to it, but the assumption is it is disrespectful, whereas it is meant to be shocking, not disrespectful! This is not my blog to determine what to do. I appreciated being allowed to voice my thoughts/opinions. If Kristoffer can still see these posts, sorry your voice was suppressed. Keep at it… and remember…. generativity can go in any direction, so choose wisely what you really want to happen.
# Andrea, January 8th 2014
Indeed, to ban him is not politely.
# Michael Pianin, January 8th 2014
Three schools in New Orleans were closed today because it was 32 F there.
# Austin Duryea, January 8th 2014
Good job on the 21 miles today. Hope your staying warm and keep up the good work. Wishes from the New Braunfels Unicorns in Texas. What do you think the average temperature has been while y’all have been on this Expedition.
# Moki Kokoris, January 8th 2014
The comment below refers to your following quoted sentence (from day 73):
“Last up, tonight marks a bit of a threshold for me: it’ll be my 73rd consecutive night living in a tent on an expedition, and my current record (set when I skied solo to the North Pole in 2004) is 72 nights, so it’ll be another step into uncharted territory…”
Hello Ben!
This is your old right expedition boot speaking - you know, the one with the sole that cracked open during your 2004 trek to the North Pole… After being informed that you have surpassed the 72-day milestone of the expedition you and I shared nearly ten years ago, I must say that I am in awe of your accomplishment thus far, and at the same time am slightly envious that I could not join you myself - despite my compromised condition. Please give my best to my younger and more contemporary boot kin heirs, and let them know that their elder ancestor is very proud of their obviously superior performance.
And while I am here, my caretaker Moki requested that I pass on her sentiments as well. She follows your expedition closely and is genuinely humbled by your perseverance. Placed on the scale of Anais Nin’s statement: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage,” Tarka and you are unequivocally the most noble of heroes.
Here’s to every one of the remaining boot steps necessary to complete your journey!