Mt. McKinley (2008) - Day 05
Base Camp to Camp 1
Breakfast this morning was some entirely unsatisfying granola, but there was mention of burritos for dinner, so I'm not complaining. I just hope we don't have granola every morning.
--
Brutal. We're here at Camp 1. We didn't ascend very much, but it was _hard_. Packs and sleds were both heavy (60 pounds each). The trek was chopped up into four (or was it five?) one hour segments with a break between each one.
I don't know if this segment was in fact hard, or if it was mostly just a shock to my system. I live at sea level (plus thirty-seven floors) and while I trained with a heavier pack, I've certainly never dragged a sled, and walking up stairs (for training) doesn't well approximate pulling a sled up hill. Once we get on steeper stuff, the training I did will be more beneficial.
My legs hurt.
No one is saying anything about hurting, so I can only hope that egos permeate our group and that I'm not actually the runt. I have my moments of doubt though.
Somehow, in the chaos of choosing tents last night, the Geriatrics (the two oldest people in our group - who really aren't that old - but that's how I'm going to refer to them here, anyway) found their way into the tent I had chosen. I didn't think much of it last night, but this morning Jerry mentioned needing to pee half a dozen times last night. You see, getting out of the tent in the middle of the night is sometimes seriously annoying, and other times its incredibly dangerous (if there's a storm going on), but people still need to pee even during storms, so we have pee bottles. Sleeping soundly while the guy inches away from me is pissing in a bottle is not a talent I was born with - I'm pretty sure. As such, I am now convinced that earplugs are the best item I brought with me, save the cold weather gear itself. I didn't wake up for even a single peeing.
--
Chef Billy prepared a feast for dinner this evening - fahitas - comprised of chicken, cheese, onions and peppers, all freshly diced and placed on tortillas. It was delicious. Truly excellent.
--
For the time being (and probably until we move to high camp), we're sleeping three to a tent, which is nice because these are supposedly four person tents. With three people in the tent it is difficult to imagine fitting another person. I guess that mystery will be answered in the next couple of weeks.
Through years of practice in the art of extreme sphincter conter, I managed to only just this evening use the CMC for the first time. The CMC (Clean Mountain Can) is the Park's solution to dealing with human waste (of the solid variety) and thereby keeping the mountain clean. They are green and cylindrical plastic cans about a foot tall and maybe ten inches in diameter. The can is lined with clear plastic bags (corn starch bags) that are supposedly biodegreable. Only solid waste is to go into the CMC. We have six CMCs for our group of twelve. When a CMC is filled (and there's a minimum required "drop zone" in order to use the CMC without regretting it - as evidenced by experience), it is sealed and carried with us until we get to one of the designated crevasses, where the corn starch bag is "cracked" (ie, tossed into the crevasse).
This being my first experiece with a CMC, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a much less traumatizing experience than I expected - which is good, since I'll be using them for the next couple of weeks. The lesson to remember is this: always pee first, or don't forget your pee bottle.
--
Mike says that the plan is to set out for Camp 2 tomorrow morning. The weather has been perfect so far. Actually, it's amazingly beautiful out.
