I woke up early and was out of the tent by 6:45 and on the trail by 7. The deep snow made pulling a significant effort but the visibility was good which always improves my mood.

I (and the other teams) had been dropped off some four miles away from the actual "official" starting point of the Hercules Inlet route to the South Pole. From that point (roughly 80 degrees South Latitude) the route climbs between two Nunataks (mountain peaks surrounded by snow). I've done the climb two times before and it's not easy.

It felt good to be moving and my mind cleared as I enjoyed the silence and simple process of expedition skiing. It was warm and soon I was stripped down to my Helly Hansen base layers. Still, I could feel the drag of the soft snow and as I started to calculate my progress, I made the decision to delay my official start until tomorrow.

Instead, I set up camp just North of my starting coordinates and set up camp. I crawled in my Polar Ranger sleeping bag and was immediately asleep. I had only gotten about five hours sleep the night prior. I was excited to be moving but wary of starting such a big effort short on sleep. Spending the afternoon in the tent would give me much needed rest.

So here I sit. In relative comfort. It has started to snow again (which is bad) but I am feeling strong and rested. Now there is nothing left for me to do but go to sleep (again) and start my adventure in the morning!