It is our "rest" day. What does one do at McMurdo on rest day? You get up late, if you are lucky. Head into the office to check on an developments from your team and head to brunch. You might have time to toss in a load of laundry and clean your room before heading out on a hike. Today, our adventure was to climb Observation Hill. The word 'hill' is a bit of a misnomer in my mind. A hill is grassy and gently sloping. Ob Hill was neither of those!
A view of Observation Hill from Discovery Hut.
Map showing trail for Ob Hill and Ob Hill Loop.
Observation Hill is a volcanic feature that rises 754ft at its summit. In reality, this qualifies as a small mountain! It is steep, with loose rock and a trail covered in densely packed snow and ice, making it all the more treacherous to climb.
A little ways up the hill, a nuclear power plant sat overlooking McMurdo. It is no longer here, but the view down is pretty nice!
Half way up and the view is already spectacular!
50% yet to go and this next section is gonna get tough, but I can do it!
At the top is a cross to remember the Scott party that died on their return from the south pole. The view is spectacular and on a windless mild summer day, a perfect spot for taking photographs. The weather today was 14˚ F and sunny when we started. On top of Ob Hill though, the wind took your breath away as did the view.
A view of Mt. Erebus 3/4 of the way up. There was a book here to sign in at some point, but it has blown away!
Almost at the top. I am sucking wind and freaking out about how I am going to get down, but, I'll figure that out later…
I made it to the top. Now for the getting down. I am no mountain goat. I have no fear of heights but a healthy fear of falling down a mountain's unforgiving slope. I decided to play it safe and scooted down most of the top section on my butt as if I were sledding down a great big hill! Probably gonna need some new pants when I get home, but at least I didn't fall!
Selfie at the top… I made it! Face is red, it is definitely from wind burn. That's my story!
The cross in honor of Scott and his men that perished on their way back from the South Pole.
That is a long way down. How to manage that without breaking my neck…
A view of Castle Rock from the top of Ob Hill.
More views at the top.
Another view.
One more view before I descend.
We wanted to keep hiking, so headed out on the Observation Hill Loop Trail that circumnavigates the entire mountain. We thought we might catch a glimpse of some seals up close. We didn't. At least not up close. We did however encounter gale force winds on the other side of the mountain and had to stop and turn around for fear our faces might get frozen in place. So much for a nice Sunday hike. All in all, it was a wonderful day to hike, but you never know in McMurdo. Wind and weather can change in an instant!
Back down at the halfway point and our stepping off point for the Ob Hill Loop Trail.
Some glacial ice along our journey on Ob Hill Loop.
The only seals we saw were a small pod of three. In capturing them on camera, I zoomed in as far as I could get.
The scenery was beautiful and we even ran in to George Hademenos, the other PolarTREC teacher, on our way back to McMurdo. I think I managed to walk off my brunch. Time for dinner and a talk from the BBC film crew. Looking forward to science night in 155!
Some beautiful blue ice. Massive formation, tiny speck at the bottom serves as a reference…that is a structure the size of a hagglund down there.
Our hiking path around the mountain, I mean hill!
Flat Loraxes today are from Ayana in 1st grade and Cori in APES. Thought it would be fitting as the Packers play today.
Flat Lorax postcards for Ayana in 1st grade and Cori in APES!
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