Our days are sufficiently different that there is always something new to contend with. Waking up one morning with the usual caffeine craving and bodily needs after being in a tent for 12 hours, to find that during the night a series of obstacles have been placed in your way. The first comes in the form of a noise immediately outside your one and only exit from the tent. It sounds like the kind of snoring that only comes from a very large seal that is very much asleep. This one thought that my tent was a great windbreak and decided to move in. Trying to poke a seal awake with a boot merely results in the seal opening an eye and looking at you. Poke a bit more, and he gets the message that he isn’t welcome, yet in his eyes he is much bigger than the small boot protruding from the tent. Adult male fur seals will try to avoid fights which can result in serious injuries, and in a confrontation the smaller of the two combatants will normally back down. Unfortunately, the combatant connected to the small boot needs a pee, so he isn’t backing down. After a lot of snorting, growling and poking at each other, the seal begrudgingly moves just enough for me to get out. Obstacle #1 complete. Seals in front of the cooking tent coupled with frozen water provide obstacles #2 and #3 which are overcome on a daily basis, allowing us to start the day.
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