A view of McMurdo from the Hut Point trail. that’s Ob Hill to the left, and Mount Discovery in the distant clouds to the right. Hut Point sticks out into the sea ice in the middle right.
Flights to the field seem to be like unicorns – we’ve heard that they exist, but we can never seem to catch one! Unfortunately all of the Twin Otter flights were canceled again today due to weather. That’s six attempts in a row for those of you keeping score. It’s affecting all of the deep field teams, so that’s also less helpful… we were hoping a few of the other teams would have success getting to the field and that would free up more flights for Davis Ward when the opportunity arises. For now we’ll just keep hoping that Brian and Amelia can fly out tomorrow (Dec 28), which will give them a few days to groom the runway. There are no flights over New Years, so the earliest that some of the rest of the team can depart will be next Tuesday January 2. NYE in McMurdo? Sounds like we’ll be ringing in the new year with the midnight sun!
a view along the trail.
In the meantime we’re trying to keep busy and stay positive. Getting to catch up with friends and family over the holiday weekend was really helpful. Today Minako, Robert, Erin, Daniela and I went on a hike on the Hut Point Loop, and the views were fantastic! The trail provides a nice perspective on McMurdo Station, Observation Hill, and Hut Point, with some glimpses of Mt Erebus and the Royal Society range through the clouds. Erin and I were enjoying the geology along the way, and probably telling Daniela more than she wanted to know about phenocrysts, magma chambers, vesicles, and xenoliths. Each rock tells an important story! Like journalists. 😉
Another view along the trail. Even the colors tell stories (the yellow and ochre tones characteristic of trachytic lavas produced when mantle melts have assimilated some continental crust).
Most of the team is having a quiet afternoon, catching up on work, naps and laundry. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to report that Brian and Amelia are en route!
Almost there- the descent to Hut Point.
Special shoutout to my niece Evelyn and nephew Andrew who asked me to include the word “unicorn” in the blog. Thanks for inspiring this post, and we hope there are many flights to the field in the near future!
From Lauren in McMurdo
Special add-on for Evelyn and Andrew from Ralph:
Yes, this is a thing that exists. I really don’t want to buzzmarket, but search for “penguincorn” on the website of a major online retailer named after a very large river. Every time I try to hate them they do something like this.