#14: Day 14

Back to a full day, and we covered just shy of 25km! The wind had shifted and we had a tail wind today which provided some relief for our faces, lucky too because it was our coldest day skiing so far. A few hours into our day we saw… people?! The classic line of moving dots in the distance. Something about this line was different though, and it took a little while to work out that it was a dogsled expedition! There were two dog teams in the back, and a small group of skiers out front. We eventually crossed paths and chatted for almost half an hour, ignoring the protests of our cold bodies to keep moving, in favour of the intrigue of interaction with new people. The mushers driving the dog teams were two Greenlandic guys from Isortoq, where we will be arriving in two weeks! After saying our goodbyes and wishing each other well we continued in opposite directions, us East and them West. There was still a fair bit of snow blowing around, so visibility came and went, but we had some amazing sun dogs and beautiful cloud formations! You may have noticed a tone of melancholy in the blog a few days ago, where we had had a difficult day. Not only were we a little worn out that day, but we also had one of our teammates leave the expedition. Susan had been battling a brutal illness, which would have been challenging in normal circumstances, let alone on the middle of an icecap, dragging a heavy sled for 8 hours a day! She did everything possible to continue, but her body refused to recover and so she made the courageous decision to head home. We know this decision was made through no lack of mental fortitude, she is one of the strongest most resilient people on the planet! (Guys she rowed across the Atlantic Ocean… for 60 days!!). We just got news that she is home safe and making a recovery, which we are stoked to hear! Our line is a little shorter and our tents a little colder, but we know you made the right decision Susan! Miss you out here! Mardi