Getting out

On Sunday I took a break from working in the lab and went on a hike with Jill and Robin. We were skeptical about the weather forecast, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day. There is a sea ice route from McMurdo Station to Scott Base, the New Zealand base, and we are allowed to hike on this trail after attending the required Recreation Safety course. After filing our hiking plan with the dispatcher at the fire house, we proceeded on our walk. The walk is about 2.5 miles on the sea ice on a groomed and flagged trail. It's a great way to get out of McMurdo and take in the surroundings from a new perspective. In this picture, we are looking back towards McMurdo with Mt Erebus looming in the distance.

The sea ice is a flat white world and at this time of year the walking conditions are perfect. It's still cold, which translates to "dry". The snow gets packed by the winds and then it is sometimes eroded by the wind. Here is a picture showing what some of the snow looks like. It forms beautiful patterns, like dunes. It is hard to imagine the blue world underneath the ice. I'm sorry I don't have pictures to show you, but it is supposed to be some of the most spectacular diving in the world. Robin had just done her check-out dive the day before our walk and she reminded us of all the creatures living in the water beneath our feet including colorful sea stars, spiders, urchins, fish.

After walking out away from Ross Island for a while and enjoying the scenery, the trail turns back toward land we started to get closer to Scott Base. Near Scott Base, there are pressure ridges in the sea ice where it gets squeezed between the Ross Ice Shelf and the land. There are also some deep cracks in the sea ice marked by these black flags. Black flags on hiking trails in Antarctica indicate danger, so it's important to stay on the flagged route and watch your step near the transition between land and sea ice. Snow often covers these cracks, so it is not always possible to see the dangerous parts. The sea water below the ice is -2C, so it would not be fun to break through.

Scott Base is a research base in Antarctica, but in some ways it also feels just like New Zealand, except it is much colder. The New Zealanders (Kiwis) seem to love color, especially the color Kiwi green. All of the building on the NZ base are painted a bright shade of kiwi green. Most of the buildings are also connected by walkways, so it feels very cozy inside. There is a great little store at Scott Base and many people from McMurdo Station enjoy going over there to shop for souvenirs.

Dogs are no longer allowed in Antarctica by the Treaty, but the people at Scott Base have a mascot named Chloe to great us as we entered the main door of the station. In the past, the New Zealanders had dogs at Scott Base until some time in the 1980s. I suspect that they are missed by the current residents very much.

Scott Base is not far from McMurdo, but it has a different perspective of Ross Island, so three of the volcanic mountains of the island can be seen. In this picture we can see Mt Erebus, Mt Terra Nova and part of Mt Terror. After visiting Scott Base and shopping at the store, we proceeded back home to McMurdo Station. There is a road that connects McMurdo Station and Scott Base (and a handy sign to tell you the way). To get there you must climb up a long and steep hill. OK, I have really not done enough walking here this summer and most of my walking in Columbus is on flat trails, so it will take a while to get in shape for this Scott Base hill. I'll just have to keep walking.