Locomotoring

I am no stranger to hiking through poor visibility (Mindego Hill, San Bruno). The sensory deprivation where you disengage and simply focus on the action of walking can bring mental quiet and a new appreciation of an otherwise familiar environment. Here on Antartica, the environment is brand new. Walking on snow and ice with the bulky jacket, boots, and life vest was proving to be an act of controlled slipping while alternately sweating and freezing. There was no rookery at the site, which meant no guano and no smell. Photographs were already proving to be difficult due to lack of familiar objects that define the scale of the environment, like the trees or rivers. So don’t judge. Here is what the camera saw over the course of a two mile hike, climbing perhaps 200 ft.

My partner joined me at the end of my hike. They had come off the kayak for the continental landing. We took some customary photos together marking our continental landing. My partner was wet and apparently, he and his kayaking buddy had ended up with a capsized kayak and the dry suit had sprung a leak! Hurrah for polar plunge on Jan 1. Later, my partner, showed me his photographs and they were all cheerfully bright and blue. That made me wonder if the cloud cover on the mountains was indeed as low as 100 or 200 ft.