The 9.3 mile hike starts at the Firehouse in McMurdo Station. A hiking party has to check out a radio from the Fire Station and forecast a time of return. Knowing that even 5 minutes of tardiness could result in dozens of phone calls and a Search & Rescue Team out in the field, we gave ourselves a couple of extra hours to complete the hike.
This week I was accompanying a group that included DA-Jeff, Baker-Christina, DA-Ben, Shuttle-Erica and DA-Richard. Last week I did the same hike with Karen, one of my supervisors. On both outings, the weather Gods graciously smiled down on me.
This week, unlike the previous, we were treated to an utterly windless day, and so we attempted a climb up the 200ft Castle Rock. The backside of the outcropping was a relatively easy scramble that leads up to the flat tabletop. Where the climb was slightly exposed, fixed-lines had been set-up to provide some protection. The panoramic views were breathtaking.
DA-Richard, one of probably four people on the ICE who can make me laugh without fail, strolled off toward the sharp edge. Inching forward and peering out, he called back to us, “Oh my God, this is so beautiful… I think I’m going to puke.” He’s scared of heights.
In turn, we each find ourselves resting on the warmth of the rock beneath us. We soak in the sun’s rays and are utterly intoxicated by the pristine landscape that fills the space between our perch and the distant horizon.
We descend Castle Rock and exchange childish smiles at the base. Our glances say, “Are you ready for this?” as though the question actually needed to be asked. Tearing our backpacks open, we pass around the bright blue lunch trays we borrowed from the galley.
Before bombing down the hill, DA-Ben tells me, “Dude, my brother Nick brought some wax with him for his skis… next week we’ll wax up these trays and see what we can really do…”
CHECK IT OUT: click on either picture and you'll be linked to other photos from the hike.
3 comments:
How are you doing with The Fountainhead?
Timmy, sweet pictures...To quote nate brown, it really does look like Hoth down there. Did you see any destroyer droids wandering around the castle rock? The sledding looked fun, arent you glad we spent all that time back in the day at Sunnyside learning the art of sleeding...Just like MJ to teach us how to use a black garbage bag in more ways than the traditional... Looks like you are having a blast, hopefully life is figuring you out down there...Never seen the sun shine so bright, or maybe that comes from your smile. later bro
deucer
Deuceman... definitely reminiscent of Hoth, with a lot more sunshine. The hours spent on slopes of Sunnyside are definitely a blessing down here... I have flashbacks of the carnage wrought when my moonboots caught Christina Gouch flush in the face at the bottom that sledding hill.
Miss Mylastname… adult recess indeed. Glad to hear that kids on the other side of the tracks were enjoying similar winter adventures.
Sunnyside Shit-heads rule… Jefferson Jackasses suck.
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