BootsnAll Travel Network



Back in Town

 Last Moments at WAIS

We made it back to McMurdo safe and sound.  I wound up staying out at WAIS until the last flight out.  There were additional changes to fueling needs which required my presence.  The Twin Otters decided to leave the continent via WAIS after we pulled out so I needed to fill drums to cache for when they passed on their way to Rothera, the British base on the peninsula. Since there was this to be done and the whole fueling system to be put away I was deemed essential to the final stages of pull-out and stuck around.  Four of us left on a Twin Otter two days after the others. We stopped at my old camp at Siple Dome to refuel.  It brought back some memories.

Refueling at Siple

Town is crazy. We arrived in the throes of vessel offload so it is very hectic and very dusty around McMurdo. The Vessel left the pier last night.  Luci and I went down to Hut Point to watch it pull away and watch the icebreaker Polar Sea dock.  We saw penguins, whales and watched Weddel seals swimming around in the open water just below the cliff at the point. It has been nice to see old friends and talk about our seasons and vacation plans but we are ready to leave. McMurdo is getting old very fast.

Erebus from Otter

We have started to make plans for the Japan section of our travels.  We just booked our hotel in Tokyo for our first weekend there. While we had been planning to go north to Hokkaido for some skiing I think we have finally decided to stay on Honshu and go skiing near Nagano. 

WAIS 018 (Large).jpg 

My brother Joel is in town. He arrived yesterday and is leaving tomorrow. Jesse is going to be the last one of us off the ice on the 20th. We need to start thinking about campsites for our kayak trip on the Abel Tasman because they need to be booked in advance. The next time I post will probably be from NZ.  I get pretty bad about posting while traveling but as always I will do my best.

 

 




3 responses to “Back in Town”

  1. ethan says:

    get back to me with your email so i can send some pics-hope all is well

  2. Tracey says:

    Lovely pictures. When will you be doing another expedition?nrnrI’m following Phil Avery’s progress here: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/blog/teachingonicenrnrHe's preparing for his own expedition to Antarctica….I wish I had the guts to do it as well.

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