T at the Bottom of the World: Antarctica

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Day 57 - December 6th '11

December 6^th – Day 57

My friend Joe is a Scott Hut tour guide. He has a key so that he can show people inside to the past. 100 years of history in one small building. It’s a 1 mile roundtrip walk

The hut was amazing. It was originally a prefab building designed in Australia to keep the interior cooler inside than the searing heat of the Outback. Unfortunately for Scott, it worked all too well exactly like that. It kept the inside even colder than the outside. When in Antarctica, that’s not a good thing.

I was in awe that I was looking at things from a period of time that had been written about, studied, journaled and immortalized in history.

There was a mummified seal that has laid outside the hut for over 100 years, intended for food and fuel for fire. Inside there were remains of a seal carcass on a makeshift hearth. Sheep/mutton carcasses to be thrown to the dogs in the yard, still hung in the attached shed. Pants still hung to dry; boxes of dog biscuits and cans of food sat stacked and shelved throughout. At one point during a winter spent in Antarctica, snow had filled most of the hut from an open window. When the explorers made it to the hut, they only dug out a space big enough for the three of them and the hearth. They practically starved to death except for an occasional seal or penguin, while all the while, canned food were stacked 2 feet behind them buried in snow.

The walls were covered with black soot from burning seal blubber inside and hay was still in the doorway for the ponies that used to be stabled there. Very cool!

Mummified Seal

Vince's Cross Hill

Hearth full of seal

Hatchet for seal, wood and penguin chopping. Still had dried blood gunk on it

Walls blackened from burning seal blubber on the hearth

Wood floors show knicks from the the hatchet due to Seal butchering

Pony traces

Pants left to dry.

Pony harnesses

Mutton carcass to feed the sled dogs

Hay to feed the ponies

Touching history

Scott's Hut from Vince's Cross Hill

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Day 58- December 2nd - The Library

December 2^nd – Day 58

I started my first shift volunteering in the library. The library is cozy and quiet and gives me a chance to catch up on emails and blogging sometimes.

I think I’ll enjoy this but also it’s counted as contributing to the welfare of the community. It’s my other haven, but unlike the coffee house, my clothes won’t smell musty after I leave.

There are also quite a few LAN lines for laptop hookups to the internet and 1 public computer.

The furniture is practically new and there is cocoa and tea and a few snacks to enjoy while relaxing. Past and current McMurdo residents’ artwork decorate the room. Not just wall art, but sculptures and knickknacks in every medium.

I like the library and like being a librarian.

There are also quite a few LAN lines for laptop hookups to the internet and 1 public computer.

I like the library and like being a librarian.

Day 52- December 1st

December 1^st –Day 52

What an Epic Day!!

I was in the cargo bay talking with Shannon (cargo supervisor) when Dacre came in all excited to show her pix of the Adelie penguins he just saw on the ice road to the air field. I was ready to be all jealous, until Shannon says “you and Christen should grab a vehicle and go find them.” She is so cool!

While I ran down to my room to grab my camera, Christen procured a van for our journey.

We went on the ice road toward the ice runway and were almost there when we spotted them right there at the side of the road 20 yards in. A pair of Adelie penguins. Gloriously cute, bright blue- eyed and snuggly looking. They didn’t do much, just watched us as we watched them.

It was Christen’s and mine farewell trip down the ice road. Ice town ( airfield and runway operations) was moving to Pegasus for the rest of the season. Temps are warming up, so the sea ice isn’t the safest place to be landing aircraft in a another week or two. So it moves to the permanent Ross Sea Ice Shelf that takes and hour longer to get to.

Bottom line is:

I SAW PENGUINS!!