Ryan sent me a text message on my DeLorme inReach just to let me know he was sitting on a beach in Mexico drinking a cold brewski. At 20 degrees below zero, with three Helly Hansen base layers, two pairs of Wigwam socks, balaclava, hat, buff, Zeal goggles and nose beak my life couldn't be any more different.

Beach and flip flops you say? Sounds nice but I wouldn't trade places with Ryan because I am in love with the Arctic Ocean (sorry Maria, I hope you understand). Sure, it may have tried to kill me on more than one occasion but it's so amazing here... So different from anywhere else on the planet. Five million square miles of a thin sheet of ice floating on water. And the surface is constantly changing, always different. It's intense too and takes an extra level of thoughtfulness to do even simple things like set up a tent, eat or go to the bathroom (I won't go into the details).

I continue to be impressed with my 'team' Julie, Masha, Rohan and Colin. We've been putting in eight hours of skiing for the last two days - which means 10 hours total on the trail. We aren't racing. It's just a long steady slog. Hour after hour. It can wear you down and I call this type of travel 'death by 1,000 cuts' so we are diligent about taking care of our bodies and eating nearly every hour. Food is our fuel here.

We started out the morning in a cold misty fog (literally not figuratively) which must have been the result of open water nearby. I worried that it might lie in our path to the North but we got lucky and spent the entire day on fairly stable ice. The terrain varied from flatish pans to a few frozen leads. Most of the day, however, was spent winding around drifts and blocks and small pressured slabs where a route always presented itself. Overall, it was a low stress day and I had several long stretches of day dreams (which is always a good sign).

Distance traveled: 10.2 nautical miles