GraniteGear

A big part of our journey was simply planning a comprehensive diet that would sustain our caloric needs, be light enough to not weigh us down, be compact enough that we could fit it in our sleds, prepare easily and not totally freeze. For 53 days I ate the following:

Oatmeal Clif Bar - 2 Probar - 2 Shot bloks - 2 Skratch Labs candy - 3 pc. 50 grams cheese 50 grams salami 100 grams chocolate 30 grams nuts 25 grams soup freeze dried dinner (4 servings) And of course... a lot of butter :) -Eric

I mean -- when you KNOW you're the only person in an area roughly one and a half times the size of europe - you're like... HOLY AMAZING! Honestly though, the trip was so HARD that those moments are few and far between -- it's an emotional roller coaster and we're physically drained most of the time so the moments are fleeting, but we definitely try to remember them when they happen! -Eric

Chairs -- Seriously! I also just miss hanging out with friends. I think one of the reasons that I am able to do what I do, is that I can live 'without' good food and creature comforts for a long time :) -Eric

Unfortunately, I didn't weigh myself before/after. I think I lost around 8 pounds. Just an estimate. My goal is to not loose weight but bring the right amount of food. -Eric

Thanks for the questions!

The best hour on an expedition is one that goes by effortlessly. Unfortunately, that rarely happens and we managing 'time' is a constant effort. It's worse in Antarctica however, because there is less to distract you. Still, I listen to music and podcasts at times which helps. I also think about the blog posts that I will write each evening as well as thinking about photo/video ops.

This type of expedition - unsupported and unaided - our sleds weight 320 pounds at the start. You have to be super fit, but you also have to be able to sustain constant effort. Expedition travel is death by 1,000 cuts. Each day we loose a little bit of energy that we never get back.

I have a 2 way satellite communicator, tracking and SOS beacon called a DeLorme inReach. Super awesome device. We also carried a satellite phone. As far as rescue -- we paid a rescue 'fee' ahead of time to cover our extraction (by the company that flew us in and picked us up -- the only one who flys in that location). However, there is no guarantee that the ice is safe to land or weather is good. If we were to trigger our DeLorme inReach the fastest someone could come get us would be two days -- more realistically -- a week. -Eric