Hiking to Scott's Discovery Hut
Last evening Matt and I hiked out to Scott's discovery hut, a trail that leads to the hut made by Scott's failed expedition to the South Pole. Its located on a small peninsula protruding into the sea ice shelf past McMurdo. There are some crosses put up to remember the explorers, as well as those who died during the construcction of McMurdo some 50 years ago.
Something interesting about the hut is it looks perfectly preserved. This is because there is nothing alive here to eat away the old wood or decompose it. The same is true of the ground. The sections not covered by ice and snow consist of loose rock and sand, like the ground around a volcano. There is no soil, as there is not organic matter to act as a binder. It makes the hiking a little more "interesting".
We encountered the strongest winds out on the point I have felt down here in Antarctica, and it got cold in a hurry. This was the first time I had to use the hood on my expedition parka, I felt like Kenny from South Park, but it worked great!
Scott's Discovery Hut Trail Point (very cold)
Bliss did a little searching on our expedition parkas, known as "Big Red", made by a company called Canada Goose. He came across this site which sells the parkas for $500! Having experienced only 1/2 of the cold that these things repel, I will fully endorse this large cost as worth it, in exchange for prevention of hypothermia and frostbite. That said, they do come in colors other than red, but the "US Antarctic Program" badge is already sewn on from the factory! Antarctic Approved and Appreciated!
Here is the gallery of images from the hike, I think the sea ice cracks are particularly interesting:
Something interesting about the hut is it looks perfectly preserved. This is because there is nothing alive here to eat away the old wood or decompose it. The same is true of the ground. The sections not covered by ice and snow consist of loose rock and sand, like the ground around a volcano. There is no soil, as there is not organic matter to act as a binder. It makes the hiking a little more "interesting".
We encountered the strongest winds out on the point I have felt down here in Antarctica, and it got cold in a hurry. This was the first time I had to use the hood on my expedition parka, I felt like Kenny from South Park, but it worked great!
Scott's Discovery Hut Trail Point (very cold)Bliss did a little searching on our expedition parkas, known as "Big Red", made by a company called Canada Goose. He came across this site which sells the parkas for $500! Having experienced only 1/2 of the cold that these things repel, I will fully endorse this large cost as worth it, in exchange for prevention of hypothermia and frostbite. That said, they do come in colors other than red, but the "US Antarctic Program" badge is already sewn on from the factory! Antarctic Approved and Appreciated!
Here is the gallery of images from the hike, I think the sea ice cracks are particularly interesting:
posted by Nathan at
8:51 AM
4 Comments:
Dude, you don't have a face in that picture. Are you a ghost or vampire or something? Or is that just a dummy they set up by the cross so that if you hike out there by yourself sans tripod, you can claim to have a picture of yourself by it?
By
Matt, at 8:37 AM
I'm Kenny from South Park. Look closely, you can see my nose, sunnglasses, & hat.
By
Nathan, at 8:50 AM
Hey, Nathan. This is pretty cool! (no pun intended ;) What's the daytime temperature outside now like? Are you able to take pictures with your gloves on, or do you need to whip them off quickly?
By
Unknown, at 1:28 PM
The temperature today is balmy 20 degrees F! Its the warmest its been since I have been here! You can check the McMurdo weather link in the "links" section of the blog too.
I can take pictures with my gloves on, as I did for a lot of the shots. However, if its not too cold out I can take the gloves off for a bit. My roommate the dentist took his hood off at the South Pole to snap a few photos for about 30 seconds, it was -60F and he said it took about a week for his ear to feel right again it go so cold so quickly.
By
Nathan, at 2:11 PM
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