September 26, 1975: Friday

Up early. Bladder won’t let me sleep. Feet don’t sting so much. It seems strange, to be sleeping in a Scott tent in the Antarctic wilderness, waiting to be rescued. I love it. We have a joke about Scott’s diary. “’Tis a pity. I can write no more.”

The weather at McMurdo is “dogged out” as the Kiwi’s say. Bad weather for the next 18-24 hours. That becomes another joke. We hoist the Wannigan onto the flat bed in the morning. A great engineering triumph, with ice bars and heaving and winching and getting it on the balancing point of the skis and climbing onto the front for more weight.

It’s too large on the skis to cut a hole in it and attach it to the hut. So we leave it sit, door facing door. We decide to build a wall between them, to cut down the wind blowing between them. I am in charge of building the wall. Well over fifteen feet high. Double walled at the base. When it’s done I get a green flag and crawl up the Wannigan and place the flag on top of my snow wall. Cal gets the camera and documents the event for DVDP.

What ecstasy. On top of the world. What sweet victory over the forces of nature. I’m sure the Pyramids are of mortal design.

The Catabolic winds come up and blow the wall over.

Sam and Dave H. run out of cigarettes. We fix the wall as best we can, admiring our home reclaimed from the wilds, and bring our alarm clock and sit on the front porch.

Sidebar: Anatomy Punch - University of Minnesota Medical Center By way of Dr. Treves:
1 Gal. muscatel
1 Fifth cognac
1 Qt. apple juice
1 Qt. pineapple juice
2 Drops orange bitters

The weather is warm (above zero, even), the day sunny. How can McMurdo have such rotten weather? All we need is a Welcome mat to make our home complete. Our next project will be to construct the Jackie R. Steinman Memorial Crapper.

After five days of heroic enforced constipation I must go and disfigure a rock. Everything comes out all right. Read and retire, after rummaging through the Wannigan’s food boxes (like kids at Christmas) and writing in the Wannigan’s guest book.