Expedition Loap Solo 2006

Route finding » 12. 8. 2006 at 10:41

I slept in a little bit this morning. It was raining anyway. I also felt that I could really use it as I think I didn’t get more than 15 - 17 hours of sleep in last three nights.

I was counting yesterday how many kilometers a day I should cover and how long it should take. There’s no way I can carry all my stuff doing just two single trips! Even those two single trips take on me quite a lot. My maximum daily distance is 5 km so far. I have to pass every section five times so it is 5 x 5 km which makes 25 km in total. I have 8 to 10 hours to do that. I have to set up a tent at 6pm at the latest so I have time to cook, get ready for the next day, write a new message and record all data into the map and my dairy. When mentioning messages, to safe batteries I write the whole text in the notebook first, check it for mistakes and only after that rewrite it in my PDA and send it out.

Route finding. It’s still too early to say that I’ve had some problems with that. I’ve been trying to follow tracks which were made by terrain trucks some time ago. Don’t imagine a highway though! The track disappears at some places an you cannot see it for several tens of meters at all. It also snakes through rocks and craters. A regular jeep would have a really hard time to make it through! I have some troubles at crossings which are not shown on the map. And there are few of them here! So far, not one route has gone exactly in the direction which my compass shows me I should go. So I have no choice but to try both ways to see which one is the right one. Those moments when I’m not hundred per cent sure if I’m going the right way are not my favourite indeed! I can’t help thinking – will I finally even get to the glacier? I’m still getting used to uncertainty wich is awaiting me and struggling with my thoughts what if I don’t complete the glacier traverse in the end. There are moments when there’s a real fight going on inside of me - between desire to accomlish something and certain self-preservation. It always helps to remind myself though that I have half a ton of food supplies with me and if it gets to the worst, I have my satellite phone and PLB. I hope not to use any of these two, of course! Especially PLB activation would start a big rescue operation and after that I would be in big disgrace.

Something positive in the end. I’m camping by two little lakes today. My tent is hidden behind app. 60 m high hill and, therefore, sheltered before gust winds. It was sunny the whole afternoon so I had a chance to enjoy the incredible views for the first time and spent some time taking photos. It was so warm that I even went into one of the lakes for a wash! The whole area is covered by soft moss so you can just walk on it barefoot. It’s so nice! It feels like walking on 5 cm thick soft carpet.