Antarctic Hiking

Yesterday, after lunch, I took my first Antarctic hike. Mary (another polie) and I went for a short hike to Hut Point. The trail is 1.4 miles and ends at a hut that was built in 1902 by Robert Falcon Scott. The hut was used for storage and emergency shelter by Scott’s crew and also used by Shackleton. You can’t go into the hut to look at all the old stuff left behind unless it’s a guided tour. I hope to be able to do that, but it just depends on timing.

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Then, since I can never get enough, a group of 4 of us went and did the loop around Observation Hill after dinner. Observation Hill is a place I was told where early adventurers would climb to look for or signal ships. Also, there is a cross monument close to the top that has the names of Robert Falcon Scott’s party that perished. The loop was around 2.7 miles, and the views were amazing.

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A note on hiking at McMurdo…
There are several hikes to do at or around McMurdo station. Some of the closer hikes you can do solo without checking out radios from the firehouse. There are longer hikes that require a foot plan to be filed, radios to be checked out and at least two people to do. Some of these hikes also have emergency phones and shelters along the routes. If you file a foot plan for one of these longer hikes, and you don’t return by the time you say, then they will definitely page a bunch of people and send someone out after you if they can’t get you on radio. Also, whether you are hiking close or further away, you are NOT supposed to stray from the flags that mark the trail. Some of the trails have crevasses that are pretty close along with other unforeseen dangers.