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It wasn’t until I saw the giant, old fashioned departures sign in the middle of the LAX International Airport that I realized I was beginning the long journey to the South Pole. Packing had begun at 7 A.M. the morning of departure with piles of New Zealand and Antarctica clothing being strategically

Longest day ever... really, at least for me! Here is the rundown: Depart Phoenix Air Field - 7:15 pm, Monday Arrive Christchurch, NZ - 3:15 am, Tuesday Customs & USAP Office check-in, 4:30 am Arrive at hotel, check-in, repack, 5-6 am Sleep - 6-8am Leave hotel - 8:30 am Leave Christchurch - 11am

It is time to go. My time here has been fabulous, a trip of a lifetime. I have met amazing people, hiked beautiful terrain and seen some of the most spectacular views. I have walked where no other human has ever walked, cross country skied and fat-tired biked. I ran a 5k, collected ice cores and

Rainy Days and Mondays (and Bad Weather in Antarctica) Always Get Me Down The day is Saturday, November 25 and the weather is just downright pleasant. I could not have asked for a more exceptional day. The sun was shining, the skies were clear and there was virtually no wind to speak of. Wait

Last long hike and final trail completed. Armitage Loop trail was the day's activity. The trail itself is 3.17 miles in one direction. We walked it both towards Scott Base and back to McMurdo. It was another beautiful day in Antarctica. The sun was shining, temperature reasonable warm and the

Thanksgiving begins with brunch. I awoke later than usual, a result of not having slept well the preceding nights due to the Icepod flights. My fitbit read 8:30am and I needed to get to brunch knowing I wouldn't be eating dinner until 5pm. The turkey trot check-in started at 9:30am with a race start

Happy Black Friday! I will be celebrating Thanksgiving here in McMurdo tomorrow apparently. It wasn't the plan. I was supposed to leave today, but weather has lengthened my stay in Antarctica. I am on a 72 hour hold as there will be no flights coming or going over the holiday weekend. Monday is now

Wishin and Hopin (and Liftin and Totin) At the onset of this expedition, our planned itinerary included visits to nine AWS with each requiring various tasks ranging from inspection to raising sensors up the tower to protect them from snow accumulation to specific checks of sensors that have not

It is official, bag drag is tonight at 20:00. I am going home. I am not sure when our departure will be, but I am losing my luggage today. I will be down to my single carry on bag for however many days it takes me to get to Christchurch. Our flight time is TBD while another flight for tomorrow is

Flying over the ice, another truly magnificent experience. Last night, we departed Williams Field at about 9pm and headed out on our first Rosetta Icepod flight. The weather finally cleared and all instrumentation was ready to go. I didn't know what to expect or how much I'd see, if anything. I am