Mt. McKinley (2008) - Day 09
Stuck at Camp 2
It snowed a lot last night - or maybe the wind just blew snow on us from elsewhere.
Breakfast this morning is scrambled eggs (rehydrated, of course), which really aren't very good, but we also brought along some bacon. Everyone got five strips. Bacon definitely helps the eggs.
This guy - hair all disheveled and snot running out of his nose - stumbled into our cook tent just now. He had a hand-written note contained in a little ziplock bag for Mike. Mike started reading it silently and Eric took a guess as to its contents: "I like you. Do you like me? Yes[ ] No[ ]"
It turns out that while here at Camp 2 we're out of radio contact with 14k camp where RMI-1 (the first RMI group; we're the second RMI group) is currently hanging out. They're probably going to have to make a trip back down to 11k camp to get more food soon.
I wish I had brought a HT ham radio with me. And a roll-up solar panel.
--
I'm bored and restless. I've shoveled a bunch of paths around camp for easier walking and I built a snow wall around my pack and sled, after I got them both unburied.
The warm-from-the-start boot liners (heated overnight in my sleeping bag) were very nice this morning. My toes weren't cold at all, as they often are, after I put on my boots and start walking around.
I left a bottle of water in my duffel overnight and this morning there is this perfect egg-shaped liquid area right in the middle of it. Very strange.
--
Mike has been talking all day of doing a carry to the next camp. I'm not really a big fan of that idea. I wish we had just pushed on the first morning here at Camp 2. The weather wasn't _that_ bad.
Some people set up camp way down away from the rest of camp. I'm told they're taking core samples out of the glacier.
--
Thought for the day: maybe the Into the Wild guy actually committed suicide from boredom. I've been hanging out in the tent for hours now.
It must be 75 degrees in the tent right now. If try not to think about where all of this heat is coming from, it's actually quite nice. But, I wonder if we're suffering from CO2 poisoning. Fresh air comes at the cost of being cold air. Is the tradeoff worth it? Will Jerry ever stop snoring? These are the pressing issues of the moment.
I think a system comprised of an iPhone/Touch, data cable, packet-radio capable ham HT and a solar panel would be awesome. I certainly have enough time available to cope with a 9600 baud connection. What about live slow-scan TV? That'd be cool. Video capture from the iPhone! Who am I talking to? Time to continue staring at the ceiling of the tent again.
--
The storm broke this afternoon. For one blissful hour it was almost nice out. Almost time for dinner.
--
We're having this rice stuff and chicken for dinner. It's decent. Wes described camping on Denali as a nursing home: wake up, get a hot drink and breakfast, take a dump, take your meds, sleep for a while, snack, another hot drink, dinner, another dump and then to bed.
A couple of days ago someone was having technical difficulties with the CMC: hitting the rim. Obviously no one fessed up to the crime; and it's pretty likely that the perp is actually unaware that he committed the crime. Mike brought this all to our attention, and encouraged us to use the buddy system if we're having problems aiming. Well, that's the nice version of what he said. He concluded with, "There is no 'I' in team; but there is in shit."
Since we were on the topic he also told us a joke. Q: What's the difference between a prostitute with diarrhea and an epileptic corn husker? A: One shucks between fits. Ah ha ha. Anyway, it's late and I'm going to sleep now.
