After spending five days at sea, the instant that my feet touched solid ground, a wave of relief washed over me. We had officially made it to station. Overall, life at sea was a pretty enjoyable experience and I did not get sea sick which was a huge win.
I truly don’t see myself becoming a sailor anytime soon but if some explorer wanted my hand in navigating the seas, I wouldn’t say no! – I might however, question why they chose me, someone with zero sailing skills (yet), as their first option – but I’d still go for it.
Once everyone was off the ship, they corralled us like sheep over to an area to learn about boot washing procedures. We needed to clean our boots, to prevent the spread of any type of contamination. Boot washing would be done any time coming on or off the ship, when we went into the backyard, or were visiting a local island.
So with shinny clean boots, we finally could start our day. The first orientation consisted of a quick tour around station. The station consists of two primary buildings and then several small buildings. I’ll give you a more detailed overview of station at some point later on in the season.
After getting our bearings, we were sent off to our work centers to meet with our winter counter parts. From there, the day flew by. Mostly consisting of meetings, training, job based specific training and a ton of other policy and turn over information.
Being fully immersed for the day, the summer crew returned to the ship for dinner. During this turnover period, the new summer crew would continue to live on the ship and then about half through the portcall we would swap with the winter crew. So still had a few days before we could actually move onto station.
I went to the galley, grabbed my dinner, and sat down at a random table – which I switched up every meal to keep things fresh. The table quickly filled up around me and we all chatted about our day. As we munched on our dinner, someone mentioned that they were interested in going hiking. And that’s all it took. The next thing we knew the group of us were clearing plates and started bundling up in our hiking gear.
Hiking in the backyard is simple. You sign out on a chalkboard to let station know that you are going out, and you bring a radio with you. That’s it. There are plenty of rules that we have to follow, like hiking in the backyard limits, keeping your distance from wildlife, and quite a few others but we were freshly briefed so we felt comfortable pulling the trigger.
On our way out, we stopped at the rec isle to pick up a few essential pieces of gear. This trip, I grabbed a set of micro-spikes and the mandatory pee bottle. You have this fancy bottle whenever you go to the backyard or an island so you don’t contaminate the environment. I have zero intention of ever using this bottle, but it is now mine for the season. Whoo.
From the rec isle, we walked up the hill and went behind the last building. Anything past this last building is considered the backyard. This area is surrounded by two sections of water and the landscape is rock with multiple dips and valleys. During this hike, it was all covered in snow.
There was a fresh coat of snow covering the landscape in front of us. So each step was accompanied with a welcoming crunch. As we made our way farther and farther from station, we noticed how quiet it got. There was a stillness that surrounded us. We found ourselves taking a thousand photos in every direction.
About a mile away from station, you find yourself at the bottom of the glacier looking up. It looked even steeper at the base. It was time to put on our micro-spikes and start our journey up. And the only way to tackle this is simply putting one foot in front of the other.
Each of us went at our own pace. A few speed demons charged ahead while the majority of us stopped to catch our breath a few times. It was cold out but the steep climb of the glacier kept us warm. My cheeks were rosey and you could see your breath with every huff you took. Luckily, whenever you stopped for a breather, all you had to do was turn around and boom! The most gorgeous views laid out right before you.
When we got to the top, you could see out for miles. It felt like we were on top of the world – which is extra funny since we on the bottom!
We stood for awhile in silence, just taking in everything that surrounded us. Looking at our group, there were large smiles on everyone’s face.
We should get a photo! One of the hikers exclaimed.
We gathered in close. 1…. 2….. 3….Cheese!
After some shenanigans, we started our venture down the opposite side of the glacier. As there was a hug reward on the other side.
Penguins!
When we made it to the bottom, I noticed a creature I wasn’t expecting: elephant seals!
If you know me, then you know elephant seals are my favorite animal. I once spent a whole week viewing the northern elephant seals in California. And I certainly was not expecting to see them here. Especially because it was such a whirlwind getting here. I was so busy trying to get everything together in 3 weeks that I barely had time to do any research. Plus I was originally scheduled to go to the McMurdo Station which was on the total opposite of side of the continent. So I knew very little about the Antarctic Peninsula.
But man, did I luck out! Southern elephant seals AND penguins in the wild?? I was in heaven.
I’m not going to lie. When I saw all the animals before me, my eyes began to water. Keeping ourselves at a considerable distance. I took it all in. It sunk in. I finally made it to Antarctica. And I never felt more alive.
We stayed, just watching, until the sun began to set. I could have easily stood there for several more hours if it wasn’t for the pesky lack of light.
As we started our journey back up the glacier, I noticed that this side was a bit steeper. On the plus side, anytime I needed to catch my breath, I just turned around and boom! Penguins and seals with a beautiful mountain background.
By the time we got back to station, it was fully dark outside. We washed our boots and went back onto the ship. We burst into the galley and told anyone who would listen about our amazing adventure. This first hike was truly something I will cherish for the rest of my life.
I have been stationed in Antarctica for 3.5 months now. I try to get out and hike whenever I can. Though this heavily relies on the weather and if I have enough energy after a long day at work.
Overtime, I had the opportunity to watch the landscape of the backyard slowly change. From the first magical hike, where the backyard was covered in snow til now, where it’s a landscape of rocks.
There were a few awkward phases too. The first happened when the snow became super soft, so that every few random steps your leg would randomly sink into the snow by at least a foot. One time I sunk all the way into my hip and got my boot completely wedged in between two rocks. It got to the point where I had to slip my foot out and had to dig the boot out! So after that, I switched to snow shoes. This made a huge difference in the hike for awhile. But once the snow fully melted out, the backyard turned into a mud pit. Which made for super gross hiking. I quickly switch to my boating boots and began hiking in higher ground. The boat boots made clean up a little easier since they were fully plastic and could be easily washed. It has since gotten a little colder out and the ground re-hardened making for perfect hiking conditions. Though I fully don’t expect this to last too much longer as winter is just around the corner and the cycle will start over again.
Overall the hike is a little under 3 miles out and back. And overtime the elevation change on the glacier has gotten easier to tackle. I have hiked it both with people and alone – though you don’t feel alone since you always have a radio on your hip for safety.
Another cool observation, is watching how the glacier has changed throughout the season. Each year the glacier goes through a cycle of a freeze – which typically happens over in the winter – and a melt out in the summer.
Being stationed here in the summer season meant getting to experience the glacier melt. When the first signs of melting began to appear, it was as if the glacier was melting in random sections – starting out slow, and eventually divots began to appear in the ice. Then before I knew it, the melt took form in whole valleys, carving out the side of the glacier.
This made for some really interesting hiking – lots of ups and downs and walking between mini ice walls. Then when the higher sections began to melt out, it made the surface even out a bit more. Now you might be asking well, where does all this water go? The answer is simple, it flows down the glacier creating small waterfalls all over and makes it way back to the ocean. The sound of mini-waterfalls down the side of a glacier is beautifully bazaar. A good reminder that nature is truly phenomenal.
Having access to recreational activities and specifically being able to take this hike has really kept me sane down here. Sometimes work can get a little stressful so having a literal escape from it all right at the edge of our station has been truly a blessing. From the first hike – which will always be the most special – to the worst weather day, in a place where the landscape is always changing, I will forever stay grateful that I have this space to explore.
