ob hill

Well, it was an incredible day in Antarctica.  Mild temperature (~34F) with little to no wind and clear skies.  It was awesome.  [From what I understand, it might have been nicer here than in DC, which is pretty much a given, but even weather-wise today.]  All the same, I really struggled to find any motivation to do anything, which really sucks.  I sat around for a while and went to an arts and cra(p)ft show and was content to just sit around and wait for my next feeding.  I hope I am not becoming complacent…

Eventually I decided that I would climb Observation (Ob) Hill.  I had attempted it before when it was windy, cloudy, and snowy.  Today seemed to be the perfect opportunity to conquer it.  It is actually pretty tough.  Sure, it’s only a hill, not a mountain, but it is pretty steep.  Not to mention that the entire “path” is loose gravel of assorted size.  I think I mentioned the last time that I couldn’t see the path because of the snow and how it was loose footing and pretty squirrelly.  There was still some snow this time, but considerably less and from afar I could see a relatively well established path.  However, as I was climbing up, each step was very calculated and I had to focus on it so I found on numerous occasions that I had deviated from the path because I was so engrossed on each individual step.  I couldn’t really get lost, I could only either go up or down, but I did get off the path/trail a few times. 

What a great view from the top.  Just a little bit out of McMurdo and I could see for what seemed to be miles and miles and miles.  I could see all of the noteworthy surrounding landmarks:  hut point, the old ice runway, the ice dock, the town itself, Castle Rock, Mt. Erebus, Mt. Terra Nova, Mt. Terror, the NZ wind farm, Scott Base, the pressure ridge, Long Duration Balloon site, White Island, Mina Bluff, Black Island, Mt. Discovery, the Royal Societies, etc.  This place is awesome and times like this make me realize, if only briefly, that things will be ok when I get back.  Not the same, but ok.  I CANNOT become complacent here and miss this stuff.

So I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but I’ve meant to, but as hard as something is to go UP here, is a lot harder going down.  It was more of a controlled and constant fall down the hill than it was a hike down.  It was pretty hairy and, I have to think, kind of dangerous.  But I made it and hope to do it again before long.  Here is a picture of the cross on the top of Ob Hill.