Evening star., 1948-01-27
BY Robert Dodson
North American h.~.pap., AlI,sas.

RQNNE ANTARCTIC ExPEDI-
TIoN BASE, stonington Island,
Jan. II DelayedD.-After nearly
100 days OF trail routine we have
a well-organized system by which
each man can do his days work
with q maximum OF efficiency and
a minimum Of effort.
On typical day we are up and
out at 7:30, take a quick look at
the weather and start the kerosene
primus stove. The tent warns
quickly and the snow we packed
into our cooking pot the night be-
fore has turned into boiling water
and breakfast is on its way And
after We have measured out each
mans rations spoonful by spoon
full, it, does not take many minutes
for us to eat our portions OF oat-
meal, biscuit and a cup of cocoa.
After breakfast, odd bits of gear
in the tent are assembled and
passed out through the sleeve of
the tent along with rolled-up Sleep
ing bags. One man packs these in
the canvas tank permanently at
tached to the sledge while the other
arranges the dog harnesses, digs the
sledge out Of drifted snow or packs
the 65-pound trail radio. The two
men then collapse the tent, lash
it onto the sledge and make a dou-
BILE check to be sure they have for
gotten nothing. When we areI
finally ready to move, the dogs are
taken from their wire lettering line
and each in turn Is harnessed to
his. regular position In the team.
With another long look to check
the weather, and after a few notes !
and compass bearings are taken, we
clamp on our skis and are of.
Keep Lookout for Rocks.
Since we are geological party
we are always on the lookout for
rocks. During the days travel we
usually pass rock outcrop along
the coast or on nearby isle. II
the rocks look accessible and not in
q steep or heavily crevassed area,
we change course to head for them
and may spend a few hours there
taking notes and collecting speci-
mems before pushing on.
Meanwhile, the dogs take advan-
tage of the stop to curl up and
sleep or, in the case of the more
energetic ones, to romp with each
other. Ordinarily we rest the dogs
for five minutes each hour. A day
never passes without the dogs pro-
Viding us with some sort of amusing
diversion from our monotonous life
on the trail. Oftener than not their
antics tax our ingenuity to put an
end to their pranks.
About noon we make a 15-minute
stop for lunch, at best a meager ra-
tion. We have one biscuit, one or
two bars of chocolate and a pint of
liquid. NThe drink Is bouillon on
cold days and lemonade on warmer
ones.
II We have a good surface and
the dogs feet do not sink into the
snow. we cover Is miles day. II
the surface is bad we struggle to
make or miles. After eight
hours Of dog driving. or sooner if
the dogs have been working hard,
we stop to make camp for the
night. At this time Of year there
IS sunlight "a hours a day. so from
getting up to going to bed we wear
lark glasses.
Routine Is Reversed. !,
In the afternoon or evening, the
mornings routine is reversed. Al
ter we have tethered the dogs we
feed each one ~ A-pound brick of
commercial dog food mixed with
seal oil. This is their food for the
day. The dogs are constantly
their thirst by tapping
up endless amounts of snow. After
taking care of the dogs we set up
the trail radio and contact the main
base. We exchange our weather
report and position for news from
the base about the activities of our
!,
After carefully brushing every
particle of snow from our clothes
We scramble through the sleeve of
the tent we have put up to prepare
the eagerly awaited supper ration.
We are ravenously hungry and can
hardly wait to consume our -
ounces each of pemmican heated
from brick form to an appetizing
Cruel. This is heavy food which
packs a punch. 1t contains most of
our daily calories After we have
cooked the pemmican we melt ice
or snow for drinks. There Is a
choice between lemonade, cocoa,
tea or bouillon but the ration of
just so much per man must Sbe OBJ
served. A biscuit with butter, a
few apricots and occasionally sew
eral slices of bacon provide the It'd
bits that make the evening meal
'