Team Blind is really hitting their stride now! Yesterday they covered 8 nautical miles in about 6 hours of travel. Today they managed 9 nautical miles in 7 hours, and they plan to continue that 9 miles per day pace for the duration of the expedition.
And if skiing 9 miles a day in frigid conditions sounds challenging to you, just remember that they're also towing all of their gear and food behind them in pulk sleds as well!
They're still enjoying very, very good traveling conditions, although Taylor noted that clouds were swirling above them for much of the day. Of course it's nice to spend the day skiing under bluebird skies, but the sun provides more benefits than you might think.
We use GPS units to navigate on expedition, but you can't keep your unit on all day because the cold will drain your batteries very quickly. But if it's a clear day, you can use the sun as a navigation aid. Since the sun is up all the time during the polar summer, it's easy to track it across the sky and maintain your direction without checking your GPS all the time.
You can use your GPS to get your bearing, and then use the sun's position as a reference point. If you know that the sun covers 15 degrees of its circular arc through the sky every hour, you'll be able to maintain your bearing accuracy without the constant need of GPS corroboration. Some guides also like to use the shadows that their ski poles cast to a similar effect.
As always, thanks for following along and check back tomorrow for more tales from the Polar Plateau!