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Dispatches: Mind travel - Sunday, 18th April 2004

Day's Statistics

Expedition & Environmental Statistics:
Position:86.12.3N 93.06.2E (view route map)
Daily distance:9.4 nm
Total distance:263.9 nm
Distance to go:643.5 nm
Travelling time:9hrs
Temperature:-21°C
Conditions:moderate east-north-easterly; smashed up rubble followed by pans and deep snow; cloudy to whiteout
view large image
view large image

That's what Sir Ranulph Fiennes calls it. My teachers prefered the term daydreaming. Either way, I did a lot of it today.

I was up late last night with a mammoth salopette repair job and I woke up feeling exhausted. It was very cloudy all day, verging on whiteout at times and the ice (half flat pans and half rubble) was covered in deep snow. It was like skiing through treacle at times - I was forcing my way through what I should be gliding over. All very frustrating, although yesterday's headwind had veered round and was now blowing from the east. There was far less open water, although some of the ice this morning was really smashed up. As my good friend Nicolas Mingasson said, 'it's a crazy season'.

I was replaying a few years of my life this afternoon and remembered one person that was always happy to listen to my crazy plans for the future (over a cup of tea!) - so today is dedicated to Carole Parmiter (and of course to Eleanor, Chloe & Rosie).

Visitor Comments

# Good Luck

I have been following your trip everyday since 4 days out and it is the high=light of my day can't wait to see what has
happened. Wish you the best of luck. Noticed today you mentioned Carole Parmiter I am a Parmiter and am currently working on family tree, curious to know if it might be a relative.
Keep up the good work.

By Dorothy on Monday, 19 April - 07:09 pm -0700

# Mini Morris ;-)

Hi Ben

Well Valeria has finally bitten the bullet and joined PH, so good work :thumbup: Does this mean you can persuade her to come to Pistonfest? ;-)

Keep on motoring :-)

By Lisa (Mrs fish) on Monday, 19 April - 05:00 pm -0700

# Mind travel.

I've done plenty of that lately!
Problems with my boat mean major change of plans, things will work out well - they always do.

Some call it day-dreaming, some call it planning.

Ken. (Superflid)

By Ken Powell on Monday, 19 April - 08:12 am -0700

# In general

So far you have had a l ot of set backs, you've been forced to go on thin ice a lot of the time,
a bad boot which has resulted in infection and once you were blown back 3 days!

I know a lot of peaplewho would have given up by now, but you keep going no matter what!

By Stephen on Monday, 19 April - 08:05 am -0700

# Repair a what?

Hi Ben -

You stumped me in this dispatch!

What did you have to repair with molasses?

Sleep well tonight - I wish for you a good ski day tomorrow!

God bless!

Debi

By Debi on Monday, 19 April - 03:39 am -0700

# Spirit Quest.

Glad today was one spent travelling through past memories. Hope you find all you are searching for.

By George Fudge on Monday, 19 April - 02:03 am -0700

# by the way...

Nice photo today!! As always... :-)

By Nikki on Monday, 19 April - 12:22 am -0700

# Crazy?!

"You want to do what???!!!" I always listen to people who say that...it's what gets done. It's what life is supposed to be. Even though you think your day was frustrating, still...it's 9.4 more nm towards 87!! You deserve a wonderful sleep tonight, Ben, and you'll get it. You'll have a better day tomorrow! -- Nikki ;-) Patsy Cline always said she was "crazy..."

By Nikki on Monday, 19 April - 12:22 am -0700

# Four Corners

Hi, Ben
Have you arrived at the Four Corners of the World? Remarkable photograph! Daydreaming seems a natural course, especially while endeavoring against the natural elements for every meter, and kilometer although, if 'the roadrunner' and the 'coyote' show up, please conclude your commerical break. In just a few days, if the math is correct, you are almost half way or 50 percent, into your adventure! Beep, beep...
Best,
-Scot

By Scot Morrison on Monday, 19 April - 12:04 am -0700

# X marks the spot

Judging by the picture you posted today, you must be able to multi task while skiing. I could never ski, daydream and end up at the "X Marks the Spot" marker!
LOL
Chin up and lace 'em up, my prayers are with you as you travel.
Snowyowl

By Stephen on Sunday, 18 April - 09:48 pm -0700

# Meditating

I prefer the word "meditating." Anyway. . .tis nothing you can't handle! Did you bring a book?

Our best wishes and prayers and positive thoughts for your good travel are sent to you every day.

Cissy,
Texas
PS: Can you build an ice man and sign it. . ."Ben was here?"

By Cissy on Sunday, 18 April - 07:07 pm -0700

# New Lesson For Today

Had to look up two words in your dispatch - treacle & salopette. The treacle was easy - molasses in my world. I think I found out what salopette is - an insulated one piece suit, I think.

Tough day for you today, Ben, but the theme of your trip seems to be a great day followed by a difficult day. I have no doubt there will be more great, fun days ahead!

By Gwen on Sunday, 18 April - 06:46 pm -0700

Dispatches Archive

The following dispatches are an archive spanning the 4-5 months that Ben spent prior to the expedition, the expedition itself, and the returning home period.

Falling down

Falling down - Friday, 16th April 2004

Not only the title of a great film, but something I was doing rather a lot of today. The ice was terrible (that wasn't the exact word I used in my daily phone call to Tony, but this is a family site after all) - tons of rubble, giant pressure ridges ...read more

The 'f' word...

The 'f' word... - Saturday, 17th April 2004

I think I've avoided using this word until now, and I can't believe I'm about to say it, but today was definitely fun. It all started after about two hours, when I came to a lead that I had no choice but to swim across, wearing my drysuit. Until ...read more

Mind travel

Mind travel - Sunday, 18th April 2004

That's what Sir Ranulph Fiennes calls it. My teachers prefered the term daydreaming. Either way, I did a lot of it today. I was up late last night with a mammoth salopette repair job and I woke up feeling exhausted. It was very cloudy all day, ...

Fifty fifty

Fifty fifty - Monday, 19th April 2004

The ice conditions today were half great and half terrible. Polar opposites, you could say (groan). When the ice was good, it was the stuff of dreams - flat pans with crisp, icy snow on top. According to the GPS, I was scooting over these at 2.4 ...read more

Cracking up

Cracking up - Tuesday, 20th April 2004

It was a beautiful day again today, but I noticed something unusual as I set off this morning. I have a ribbon taped to a ski pole that shows the direction of the wind (useful for navigating if I can't see the sun). For weeks now, it's been ...read more

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“A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” - William Shedd