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were four chunky home-baked cookies. The smell of oats and
cranberries brought drool into my mouth even as I carefully
unwrapped the tin foil around them. I devoured one instantly,
fussily ensuring every crumb was eaten, before stashing the rest
for later. As I replaced the cookies in their packaging I noticed
a white notepaper folded into quarters underneath them. It
was from a member of staff at Union Glacier.
'You are almost done!' it cheered. 'Know that there are so
many people here and abroad cheering you on and thinking
about you every day…'
I couldn't read the rest because my eyes had clogged with
tears. The thought that I was remembered, that someone had
gone to all the effort and energy to leave me encouragement
when they knew I would need it most was touching and
uplifting. The impact of such thoughtfulness by a near stranger
when I had been without proper human contact for so long
was huge. The note took on immense significance and gave me
renewed purpose. It made me feel less isolated in the same way
that sending one-way SMS messages from my satphone into
the ether every day made me feel less alone.
I was now just 300 nautical miles from Hercules Inlet on the
coast of Antarctica where I had planned to finish my journey.
Barely a week earlier the prospect of completing my traverse
before the end of the season had seemed impossibly remote.
The highest expectation I had allowed myself was to reach
my second resupply before the plane from Union Glacier was
sent to fetch me. And yet, as I lay in my tent at Thiels Corner
waiting for sleep, I grappled with disbelief at the fact that
not only was the once-distant goal achieved, but it had also
been achieved significantly ahead of schedule. I had reached
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