vastness

The Sunday following Halloween is normally a sore day for folks on station, but despite the previous evening's debauchery I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and go for a full on Antarctic hike with two of my roommates, Krista and Elizabeth, and our friend Jude!



Although the afternoon was beautifully sunny, the temperature still was just barely above zero degrees, and the wind was harsh. We each layered on what felt like everything we owned (3 pairs of socks, 4 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, and full wind protecting gear for our face and hands) and set off across a desert of ice and volcanic stone heading on a 7-mile hike to Castle Rock.

For the first time, I really felt the harsh isolation associated with this wondrous place!



Because the weather here changes so rapidly and hidden crevasses dot the seemingly flat landscape, we are required strictly follow flagged paths, and checkout a hand held radio from the fire department. Two little red huts are strategically located along this route as havens away from the wind. At the first red bubble, Apple, we stopped to eat and had a pee break. The wind sure is harsh on one's barren bottom!



In addition to the cold, wearing bunny boots or FDX boots makes walking feel as though you are lifting 15 lb weights with every step. Looking out toward Castle Rock (the jutting black mountain in the photo above) with white stretching on forever it seemed as if we walked for hours yet hardly made any ground. The vastness is profound. Silence stretches out in all directions and the wind drowns out our words.



When we finally stopped at the base of the rock, Krista's stunning humor had us rolling around on the snow. Here is one of our hot modeling photos. Doesn't Krista look like a sexy catch in all that ECW gear!



After our laughs, we ventured up a steep slope to the base of the rock. The wind whipped around the peak, making photo taking an extreme adventure; the view of the frozen ocean spreading out in all directions was phenomenal.



Although you can't see an inch of my face, here I am standing on the peak!



We also managed to keep the camera from blowing over for long enough to take a timed group photo!



And then we headed on our long hike home.