This was a new question that popped into my head as I was crunched into the copilot seat of a Cessna 207 6-seater. The pilot, Tommy, and I had taxied down to the end of the runway and were just chillin’ out (no pun intended), waiting for the oil to warm up enough to take off safely. Tommy reached over across me to look at the thermometer attached to the frame at my front right side. “Almost negative thirty,” he commented nonchalantly. “Is there a temperature too cold to fly at?” I asked in response. “Negative thirty.” Oh. Soon enough we were on our way. Tommy was eager to make it back to Unalakleet for his 12 o’clock tournament game in the Jamboree. He was a great guy to fly with. Without my own headset to use, we patiently shouted toward each other’s ears about basketball, our holidays, and the flight instruments in the cab. It was a beautiful morning for flying: calm and clear. Flights like these, when the sun is rising up over the land, make me jealous of the pilots out here. The back quarters of the cessna were packed with boxes to the welded seams (the chairs were removed to make this a cargo journey), my turkey and backpack filling the cracks. They were making the most of this one-person transport.
It is nice to be back home in St. Mike. I traded the yards high of stacked snow in Valdez (140 inches in December alone), for the far below freezing temperatures here in the Bering Straits. In the golden daylight the chill has ranged between -20 to -28, and at night falling below -30. Right now, as I lay curled up on my couch beneath a quilt, the report reads -31 degrees F. Our apartment is disturbingly the chilliest apartment in the building. Quite a quandary since Sara and I moved to this apartment two years ago because it seemed so much warmer than our old apartment! It isn’t so bad, really, resting at 58 degrees though set to 85. Just means we have a legitimate excuse to drink hot chocolate multiple times a day.
Yesterday I plucked up some spunk and dared myself to go for a run. Who else runs outside at 25 below? No one in Saint Michael. I layered up in smart wool long johns, a second base-layer pair of pants, wool socks, under armor t-shirt, a long-sleeved spandex shirt, fleece vest, a wind resistant jacket, ear band, fleece gloves and face mask. Overall experience: positive. I ran probably between two and two and a half miles: from my house, up dump hill, past the dump, down to the ocean and back the same path. I wanted to run the ocean coast to the school and around home but the wind was much more significant down on the ocean ice and I just wasn’t prepared for the blow. My only two complaints are these: 1) to use a face mask you have to commit to it the entire time or else suffer the consequences of the condensation from your breath quickly freezing when away from your warm mouth and making an ice wall out of the fleece, which is not nearly as comfortable against your face or as warm, and 2) about halfway through the jog my i-pod gave up. When I came home and pulled it out from my pocket it was a frosty hunk of metal. Next time I will let it cuddle up closer to my core and see how far we get that way. All and all a fun adventure and manageable, though Pauline Richardson practically shook her finger at me and said I could have frostbit my lungs in such cold air. Today exercise was much less exciting in the confines of the school workout room. There are not near as many distractions, like freezing to death, to take your mind off running. I think I’ll give outside a try again next weekend when I can run in the mid-day daylight.
The holiday break was a delight! I’ll throw some pictures up here shortly to share the fun. Very nice to be back in my own home again. The city put on a New Year’s Eve dinner at the old school gym. It was nice to see everyone’s happy faces. Afterwards I joined Megan, Nathan, Carolyn, and Brian over at Pam and Michael’s for snacks and games, and a view of the fireworks out their living room window. Great to see part of the gang. Charlee walked over last night in the cold with crafty Aaroe and we spent a fast evening catching up, leaving our planned movie forgotten on the tabletop. It is the sign of a true friend that will walk a third of a mile in the dark at thirty below with her two-year-old son to come hang out.
Tomorrow has come fast! It will be nice to be back at school, and even more fun to start up practice for ball again. I am already feeling busy; we’ll just have to take it hour by hour :0)