If you are going through the archives, I will note that there was a significant time jump between the last post on this blog and this one.  Like many people at the pole, I let time slip away from me, and I focused almost wholly on my time there.  Honestly, this is one of the better ways to convey the way time stretches down there, though I think most of the world got a taste of that during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, in the interest of having one fewer orphaned pole blog, I intend to write up a number of my experiences and release them week by week.  The photos are prepared and 80+% sorted.  All of that said, back to our regularly scheduled programming:

This week I want to talk about the rest of R and R.  Winterovers who are staying for close to a full year at the pole are given time at the luxury coastal resort town of McMurdo.  Usually approximately a week, though in our year, most of use were there a bit shorter.  I’ve already shown you some pictures of the penguins and the wildlife, but today I am featuring Castle Rock.

Castle rock is one of the major hikes you can do in the Summer at McMurdo.  It is several miles long and features climbing the titular rock with some “light scramble”.

All along you get to walk on top of the mostly unblemished ice and see wonderful views of Mt. Erebus.  While the day we went was relatively warm and clear, the weather is not 100% predictable, so the trail features warm up huts or “apples”.

As you approach the rock, it becomes apparent exactly how tall it is and what climbing it will require.  The ropes, however, make it relatively doable, even for a novice like myself.  And the warm day ensured that there were plenty of non snow covered portions to get some good traction.  Once you reach the top, it is flat and you have lots of time for pictures.

Once you’ve done the climb, you have the option to go straight back, or you can go around on the sea ice and come back by way of Scott Base, which is what we did.

All told, it is a wonderful hike that I highly recommend if you ever find yourself in McMurdo.  Bring cookies.