A Token Of My Extreme

Welp, it has been nearly a week since i've returned from the wilderness, and i have been consciously and actively recovering the entire time. What this means: i have been sleeping a lot, eating a lot, not running or working out, and (worth mentioning twice) eating a lot. i think i lost something like ten pounds on my last adventure and it feels like i have gained most of it back at this point in time. i don't really know if these kinds of fluctuations in weight are really very healthy, but it goes with the job i guess. At least that's what i am telling myself right now...

The start of the race is less than two weeks away and we are super busy at the office! Thankfully the majority of remaining work in the cartography office is exporting and printing maps. I can't wait to share my work with everyone!

I still haven't been able to get all of the photos from the last trip, but here's a taste of what we experienced. Describing this trip as wet would be an understatement. I think drenched might be a more accurate description.

In From the Storm

Welp, i got back from a 17 night 18 day 250 km+ route exploration in Southern Chile this past Saturday night around 2:20 a.m. I walked into my house only to be greeted by 4 new roomates, a huge party, reggaetone beats, and bottles of pisco and beer everywhere. It wasn't exactly what i was looking for, but talk about a way to reenter civilization!

The trip itself was amazing. I destroyed my boots, gaiters, and pants, drank muddy water, and slept in hollowed logs (just kidding- there was only a little bit of particulate matter floating around in the water and we slept in puddles, not logs). It rained every day and we ran out of food twice. I can't ever imagine having the opportunity to go hiking for 18 straight days again. Let alone across such a tremendous landscape. I am 100% glad i undertook this adventure and 110% glad to be sleeping in a bed again.

While i remembered to pack my camera, i forgot to pack my battery. But fear not for all is not lost! Nothing i see can be taken from me. And my boss took something like 1700 photos. I will try to post some choice nuggets in the future.

Good Times Bad Times

Welp, i spent the holidays in the Patagonian wilderness exploring the race route and field truthing map data. Christmas night was spent in a hotel waiting for a boat to take us to the start of our reconnaissance mission, and New Years Eve was celebrated at a restobar on the side of the road on the way back to Punta Arenas. I wish i could disclose more information about what we saw and how things went, but such information is classified and top secret. I would probably loose my volunteer position if i let any info leak and none of us would want that, would we? You will simply have to settle for some photos. Happy 2011 everyone!

Language Lesson of the Day: A bad day in the moutains is better than any day in the office! Say it with me now! Un día malo en las montañas es mejor que cualquier día en la oficina!