Hiking

I've had a chance to do some hiking here in McMurdo. There are a few nice hiking trails around town that you do not need to sign out in order to hike.

Observation Hill (aka Ob Hill)



This is a hike up a small hill that looks about 750 ft over McMurdo Station. I did this hike by myself on a very clear, beautiful day. I had a good view of Mt Erebus with it's plume against the blue sky.



And I got a good bird's eye view of McMurdo...



Overall, it was a great first hike in Antarctica!


Ob Hill Loop

This is a trail that goes around Observation Hill. Shelley and I did this loop after my COMPs exam. I needed a break and some fresh air to clear my mind. The walk is nice because you get around the hill and closer to the sea ice. We saw two seals laying out on the sea ice, sunny themselves. One of them moves it's tail around a bit, but other than that they seemed quite lazy and content. When we came around the far side of the hill we saw that the ice breaker, Oden, was on its way into the McMurdo Sound. Oden comes through in order to break up the ice before the large cargo ship will come in with many of the goods for those people who will be wintring over. I have heard that sometimes the icebreaker has to go back and forth up to three times to make a clear passageway. I am excited to see what happens because I have heard that sometimes penguins and whales will follow the ice breaker in. On the last part of this walk, Shelley and I got to see a helicopter take off and fly almost directly overhead.

Hut Point Trail

Matthew and I did this trail this past weekend. This trail goes over to Scott's Discovery Hut, which was built in 1902 by the British "Discover Expedition" led by Captain Robert F. Scott. The people of this crew were the first to step on land in the McMurdo area. The outside of the hut is in pristine condition. I was surprised that it has held up so well. I was a little spooked when I saw a dead seal lying on the front porch. Matthew explained that the explorers used to burn the blubber from the seals for warmth. Due to the cold conditions, the seal has not deteriated at all. It was amazing. We continued to walk past the hut up to Arrival Heights where we encountered many skuas. Skuas are known for their dive bombing powers when any pedestrian is carrying food.



We also got a better view of Oden...


I am hoping to get back out to this trail again sometime soon to look for penguins and whales following the icebreaker in. Hopefully I'll have more pictures to follow.

Melis