We added two and a half hours of actual skiing to our day which means that with breaks and camp take down and set up we were outside for 14 hours.

There is no question that we are tired but we have a substantial distance to cover and a very limited time to cover it.

Luckily today, there were no extensive areas of crazy ice and all the leads we came across were frozen enough to cross - although the ice still bowed under our weight.

We got into a good rhythm switching lead position every hour and for the first time of the entire expedition my mind began to wander. I thought about having a cookout and going to the park with Merritt and Maria. Then, I started to wonder what things 'normal' people might be able to accomplish in the time I'd been skiing: drive from Colorado to Minnesota, fly across the country (and back), run several marathons (not me of course)...

The light was beautiful for most of the day and it reflected off the snow and lit up the pressured slabs transforming each into sparkling blue crystals.

Distance traveled: 17.0 nautical miles

Image: Me.