EJ's Travels

3 days, 3 Antarctic dreams come true.

ONE

After a couple weeks of dashed hopes due to inclement weather and/or poor health, the sun god smiled upon me and my comrades as we set off for the much anticipated Castle Rock. The crew included Tim (my favorite DA (dining attendant) & Thursday playmate), Richard (the funniest DA I know), Ben (the spunkiest DA south of… well, practically everything), Jeff (the tallest DA & best DJ in town) and Christina (baker extraordinaire). It was a magical day of sapphire skies atop endless seas of white. The flags marking our path hung lifeless beside us and between fits of laughter and excited chatter the only sound was that of crunching snow beneath our feet. The 9.3 mile hike is a relatively easy one, but the remote location suggests one must have hiked for days to reach it, seemingly light years from MacTown.

Castle Rock was larger than I expected as it came into view. A short scramble up the 200ft rock rewarded us with views of the land and sea surrounding Ross Island, one indistinguishable from the other. For the life of me I can’t seem to get a handle on where McMurdo lies geographically. Looking at a map it makes perfect sense, but every time I attempt to get my bearings in the physical sense, it just doesn’t translate. Talking to others, it seems I’m not alone in that struggle. The views from the top were, of course, stunning. Richard, upon reaching the edge of a steep cliff yelled back to the rest of us, “Oh my God, this is beautiful… I think I’m going to puke.” Apparently he’s not so fond of heights.

We descended the rock and upon reaching the snow pulled out our arsenal of blue lunch trays we hijacked from the galley. The next 30 minutes were “oh my god I’m going to pee my pants” funny. We took our seats upon our makeshift sleds and one by one catapulted ourselves down the hill at lightning speed. It was simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. En route I eventually abandoned my tray for fear of hurting myself, but the thought was a bit flawed as I continued to tumble down the hill due to the sheer speed at which I was traveling. I still have bruises to remind me and everyone else of the event.

Christina, Tim, Me, Richard and Ben at Castle Rock Trailhead

Richard at lookout

Blue meets white

The line-up

Fun on trays!

TWO

As I drove into Ice Town I noticed a small crowd of people standing in a half circle with their backs to me in an otherwise empty field of snow. It appeared they were looking at something. PENGUINS I thought to myself! I parked my van, grabbed my camera and approached the group cautiously. Opposite them and gazing back just as curiously were two Adelie penguins. They were surprisingly tiny. Just as I was getting close enough to get a good picture a C-17 came in for a landing and flew directly overhead. So calm only seconds before, the penguins started flapping their arms wildly and running in circles. My heart sank. They were terrified. After the disturbance they balled up into small mounds on the ice and lay motionless, seemingly traumatized. I hope I was mistaken. I was told, however, that two penguins traveling alone this early in the season most likely won’t survive. With that in mind, I could have waited another month or so to catch sight of the adorable butterballs. Rumor has it, it could be a good year for penguin spotting.

Penguins!!

THREE

Condition 1 was called. All traffic came to a halt. But wait, there were 30 Air National Guardsmen & women stranded out in Ice Town. No worries, a couple of princesses in shining Ivan were dispatched to the rescue! With Helena at my side and permission from the firehouse, I took my seat behind the wheel. As I was leaving town my Shuttles mate, Lonnie, actually radioed me with a, “God’s speed, Erica, drive safe.” This sentiment was hysterically melodramatic and left me feeling like a heroine in some cheesy Hollywood flick.

Visibility? Close to zero. We could make out the flag next to us as we passed it and just when it seemed there was no hope of knowing where to steer next, the flag ahead would come into view. Otherwise, I saw nothing but white. IT WAS FANTASTIC! I had been waiting for this moment since setting foot on this continent. The rest of the story is without incident. We navigated successfully and safely returned the crew. And for the rest of the day the population of McMurdo could see me skipping down the streets smiling contently to myself.

see more of my photos at: http://ej.smugmug.com

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 19th, 2005 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.