Keeps going...and going...

Solo, Day 3. WAFFLES. Right now I am terribly missing waffles. I don't even eat them that often and I miss them. Anyway, it's morning of Day 3. Some 48 hours since I last ate and I'm barely even hungry. I ought to give Survivor a shot if it's still around in five or six years. Cold. Actually, I currentlym iss all sorts of breakfast foods. Except cereal. Cereal has come in abundance over the last two weeks. I've also had oatmeal a couple of days and cream of wheat for the first time. It's pretty good once you add brown sugar. I wonder what I look like at this point. P2 said that I was getting a bit of a tan. That plus dirt plus facial hair will be interesting to see when I get back. Bit by bit the sun is creeping its way toward my position. Too slow! I need chapstick. That's better. Too cold. I'm getting back into my sleeping bag until the sun reaches me. Goodbye...Hello again. Tunes from a Maurice Sendak children's video have been playing through my head on and off for the last few days. They are highly annoying, and it must have been at least a decade since I last heard them. The human brain is a funny thing...The wind seems to be clearer today. If I recall correctly, we're supposed to arrive at base camp on Day 22. It's be Day 21 by my reckoning, as I don't count the all-day prep on March 10th, hence the label of Day 0. Today is Day 17, and I come off solo tomorrow morning, which will be Day 18. The rest of that day is rock climbing, so we have three days left of hiking. Our instructors will be staying out of the way for those days, letting us run everything. March 10th last year was the day I dislocated my knee. I'm just glad it didn't give an encore performance, as being shifted over to the High Sierras trip would tear my summer plans to pieces. It is still surprisingly cold, so I'm going to put my long underwear on now...Oh, why do I have to be fasting? I checked my mailbox just now and there was chocolate in it! One more thing to look forward to when I get off of solo...Clouds are back and the wind is picking up. The result? It is cold again. I haven't had anything to drink yet today. I shoud probably get on that...Two more things I miss: toffee and (why didn't I think of this before!?) mint. Licorice just came to mind as well. I really ought to be using this time to work on the poems I need for creative writing, but I don't feel particularly poetic at the moment. Snickerdoodles. I miss those too. Potato skins and that delicious potato cheese soup at Marie Callendar's. The potato dish I found at Trader Joe's a while ago. Apricot logs rolled in coconut. Taco Bell. Lean Pockets. Eggnog and skim milk. The dehydrated milk we have here might me skim; I can't tell. I miss the "dragon breath" sandwiches I made for myself fom time to time: the ones with pepperjack, pepperoni, garlic salt, wasabi mustard, and maybe some horseradish, all between two slices of extra sour rye. I miss french toast bread. Smoked salmon in a bagel with cream cheese and capers. I miss sushi and Chinese food. I miss the sandwiches from Subway and Quizno's. I miss that one sandwich (the Italian?) from Garlex. I even miss Togo's, and I haven't eaten there in ages. Oh, how could I forget? Greek cuisine! I miss gyros, spanakopita, and above all I miss stuffed grape leaves!...I see some weather activity on the other side of the valley. Whether it's rain or just low clouds I can't tell. I really hope it's not rain; the day is cold enough already! I miss sauerkraut and habanero cheese hot dogs. I miss California Pizza Kitchen. I miss Sweet Tomatoes and Fresh Choice, particularly their focaccia and herb biscuits, respectively. I promised myself at the beginning that I wouldn't torture myself by fantasizing about food. So much for that...Well, that's just peachy. What looks like rain on the horizon and the main rope keeping my tarp up snaps. I tied it back together, but it if breaks again I'll be out of luck, as the loose end is now used up, and that could lead to a very miserable night. At least my rain gear is--Guess what just happened. I'll give you a hint: Murphy's Law--on hand...By completely retying the ridgeline I managed to secure it again, but now my tarp is sagging almost beyond the point of useability. I am now bundled up in my rain clothing. Even if it doesn't rain I welcome the extra insulation...Things are looking up. No sign of rain and my tarp is holding together. Once again, I have been in my sleeping bag for some time to keep warm. We're into the afternoon, but it can't be very late as I see that my mailbox is still in its unchecked position. Still cold. Grr. Brownies and lemon squares. More foods that I miss. Maccaroons...Evening checkpoint has come and gone. N/K left me another rope. Yay. This one continues to hold, but it's nice to have a backup. I'm guessing that it's now around five in the afternoon. For the last, maybe a hour, bits and pieces of Aladdin have been playing through my head. I remember a surprising amount. This gets me to thinking when I get home my vegging may take the from of a Disney binge. I'll start with Aladdin, of course, and then go through The Lion King, Pocohontas (spelling?), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in no particular order. Besides being a nostalgia trip, there can be something comforting in seeing old-fashioned cartoon animation. Not everything has to be done with computers. Also, now that I'm older I'll probably get more of the adult jokes they snuck in. The Groucho Marx reference sure went over my head the first few times I saw Aladdin. I'm still amazed K doesn't know the Marx Brothers...Just did fifty jumping jacks. Now I can't be accused of spending ALL of solo loafing around. The sun has sunk behind the mountains. It's still pretty light out, but solo is definitely nearing its end. Just the rest of this evening, sleep through the night, and then N gathers us up tomorrow morning. 72 hours without eating. Twice what I've gone before, and it wasn't hard at all. I'm still around the 60-hour mark right now, but I doubt I'll be getting up o fix any midnight snacks. Naturally, as soon as solo is over I will begin stuffing my face with the ration pack. First the block of cheese, hen the peanut butter and chocolate Cliff bar, then the chocolate my instructors left to drown out he peanut butter, then the orange, then the oatmeal-raisin bars, and I'll make the raisins my gorp for the rest of the trip. Ten and a half pages. Not too bad.