The sun shines bright on this white, lone land,
The snow surface good, and life is grand.
The dogs run well and the sledge moves fast,
But just how long can this good weather last?

The wind begins to hiss with drift. 
The sledge bogs often and is hard to shift.
Eyes strain and ache in this whiteout light.
"Oh, God, I'll be glad when we camp tonight!"

But, I must be dreaming, that's years ago,
When we made new tracks in untracked snow,
When we were young and fit - and so were our teams,
Way back there in a land of dreams.

But now again to me it appears -
I'm back on the track as in bygone years,
And every day we hurry the pace
To bring us nearer home to Base.

Each night in the tent in the lonely snow
I think of the miles we've still to go,
But I know I'll find friends ahead of me,
With the primus going - and a pot of tea!

Ken Pawson was born in 1923 in Yorkshire, England. He enrolled in theR.A.F. and served in World War II from 1942 to 1946 as a meteorological observer - Atlantic Transport Command. Trained in surveying at Ordinance Survey and University College, London, England, he served in Antarctica under Dr. Sir Vivian Fuch from 1948-1950 on a British Expedition (Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey) as a meteorologist and assistant surveyor. He came to Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1957 and has been part of the Calgary Mountain Rescue since it formed in 1962. Ken and his wife, Jean, have traveled extensively to the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, as well as far away to Australia and the South West Pacific. Always active, he enjoys climbing, skiing, walking and canoeing.