Castle Rock: A Rock That Looks Like A Castle But...Like...Better

"Never fear quarrels, but seek hazardous adventures."
    -Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers 

Anyone who knows what it feels like to put hard hours into a location will tell you that they don't want to hang out where they work. Well in Antarctica, work, home, and social gathering points are generally the same place (especially if you work in the Galley). The only way to solve this problem is to "get out of town" which is a limited device but one worth the while. 

Hazards of the Antarctic Wilderness:
Antarctica is constantly trying to kill its inhabitants, that's sort of why no one really lives there (also no one is allowed to). That and the fact that if we were to adjust the land to suit our needs, we would destroy it quickly (but let's not get into talk about the Treaty). 
There are many things items that are in play when it comes to Antarctica's homicidal desires. The ozone layer above the continent is nearly gone making the air very dry and the rays of the sun more harmful than in other areas of the world. 
There is a lot of wind convergence across the continent making the weather difficult to predict and sporadic. 
The place is covered in snow, making it extremely cold (I know, duh, right?)but it also makes surfaces slippery, the snow can suck the heat out of your body, and there are crevasses EVERYWHERE (giant cracks in the ice that go down hundreds of feet/meters).
With all of that said you can guess that hiking and getting away from station is very hard and pretty dangerous. There are a few hikes available to the general public and the one that gets you the furthest away is known as Castle Rock Loop. Castle Rock is 7 miles round trip or 6 miles if you go out to the rock and come back (very popular option). There is a flagged route and two "Apples" which are round, red shelters that have blankets, food, reading material, and a book to write a quick blurb about your hike. 
Being that this hike will take a few hours there are certain procedures that must be adhered to before departing.
1. The hike must be cleared to be hiked by the firehouse (which is easy to find out).
2. You must bring at least one friend, no solo hikes out there.
3. Each party must have at least one radio to communicate with the firehouse
4. You must check out with the firehouse, giving them how many people are going, when you are leaving and coming back, and who is leading the trip.

Once everything is squared away you can pack and head out on the hike! People bring a lot of things that makes it seem like a multi-day hike but it's only like 4 hours. You want to dress in layers due to the changing weather, bring plenty of water and food, hand and toe warmers, eye protection, gloves, neck gaiters, hats, extra socks, sturdy boots, and a camera.

Unreliable Friends Can Make For Memorable Nights
After a few grueling nights of closing down the Galley and getting drunk immediately afterwards we desired to alter our schedule for our general health. Being that I was restricted to working as a PM Galley slave I had a lot of time to talk to Morgan Seag, the Galley's captain and fearless leader. This girl is accomplished in many aspects of life and still answered the call to captain a ship full of dirty dishes and a group of not-so-willing, soggy individuals. After a few conversations we decided to try and put together a group of people to run out to Castle Rock to brighten moods and experience the Antarctic wilderness. We alerted the troops during a stretch break and gave times with details of equipment needed for our multi-hour outdoor excursion. Once we were done with work, Morgan and I ran to our rooms and began packing. I realized that I had no idea what to pack for and started doubting everything I put on and decided to just bring it all. Once somewhat packed and ready to leave I ran over to Morgan's room and the news began of people dropping out. Her roommate is a lovely being known as Alicia Sutherland and though she is extremely social and a hell of a singer she was the first to abandon us. After a short discussion about gear we left for our meet spot of the hand washing station in the main building. The two of us were late and thought there would be a group waiting on us and we could leave immediately but after waiting for 15 minutes we decided that it would be best to just go without any of the lazy unappreciative sacks of Stewards who failed to show up (only joking, you guys are alright). 

Okay, now it's Morgan and myself with entirely too much gear trying to hustle our way up to the trail that will lead us to Castle Rock. Cool, right? Well mostly. I had no idea which direction the trail began and was a little bummed to see that it was up the only steep road in McMurdo Station. But you know, sometimes you gotta keep it cool and be like, "I'm new here, this person's cool, don't be a bitch." So after about 15 excruciating minutes of climbing up a 45 degree angle we reached the trail head. 

Hurrayyyy. Already sweaty and tired we were able to begin our hike. Keep in mind that we were on the cusp of summer so we were experiencing multi-hour sunsets and darkness for a short time. The horizon ahead of us was dark and full of stars but the scenery behind us was a miraculous view of a mountain range with a strip of light beaming across it. We stopped every few minutes to peer behind us and stood in awe of the scene. Seeing McMurdo Station from a distance put our lives back into perspective. Our little plot of land was a pin prick in the canvas of this continent and we were microbacteria on it's skin. There was plenty to talk about but we kept walking in silent contemplation, reflecting on what brought us here. The first apple shelter is about a mile from the trail and we took a moment to explore the insides. The shelter is a simple, red dome with a pile of stuff inside of it. Simple as that. We found the journal log inside and started reading other people's entries while thinking of our own. I can't remember what I wrote but I can guarantee it was unremarkable or just bad. 


The hut offered us shelter from the slight wind outside so we got ourselves to an appropriate temperature and headed back on the trail. After a while Morgan became very concerned with a cloud up above, saying it looks like an aurora. I looked at it and was fully convinced that it was a cloud and disregarded (I was under the impression the time had passed for auroras). Luckily, Morgan was very insistent and made us stop to fully investigate her suspicions. There was a long, wispy cloud that sat just above our heads that seemed to stretch for miles and after staring intently for a few minutes we saw the colors shine through and wrap around in a way that could only be an aurora. Not only was this my first aurora but I was now it the small group of people who have actually seen the southern lights. Of course they dissipated after a while and we were back on our way, gushing about how cool it was. But after a half hour or so the lights came back but this time it looked like a spotlight was shining from Castle Rock itself. No words were exchanged for a moment but we both were halted, mid-step, arms our as if we were going to protect one another from something bearing down on us. The only sound that could be heard was us gasping over and over again with words trying to be whoas and wows but coming out as elongated vowels. Once again, the light dissipated and we continued, now almost screaming about what had just happened. 

By now we were just about to the second apple shelter and stopped in for a quick refuel since the rock itself was within spitting range, looking all kinds of glorious. Later in the season there is a cleared and roped route that leads to the top of the rock but we were satisfied with wandering around the base, marvelling at the world before us. The last leg of the journey is at a slight incline that lets you see more of Antarctica than you could ever hope for. At our backs stood an enormous precipice looming above us while a wide horizon peppered with mountains on fire at one end by the sun, peaking from just below sight.

After a victory dance and a few cheesy, staged photos we began our return to station. The walk back had our typical bouts of silence but with a new energy. We were bouncing around on the inside with everything we had just seen and how alive we were feeling. McMurdo Station laid ahead of us the entire walk back but it didn't bring us any negative emotions about how hard we have been working and how much would be asked of us in the next coming weeks. We only spoke in excited tones about how cool it was that we were there and how we couldn't wait for the next adventure, living in the afterglow of our current endeavor.

Antarctica wasn't done with us just yet. On our way back Morgan asked for us to hold still for a few moments and not make a peep. It didn't take long to understand what she was trying to experience. The wind had completely settled and we were far enough away from anything that there was zero sound. The term "deafening silence" began to make more and more sense. As we stood there our ears began to ring; at first, very faintly but with every second it began to grow to a point where I had to make some noise to keep from going deaf. We repeated this a few times to make sure we weren't just crazy. Hearing nothing was one of the most interesting things to happen to me in my lifetime (thus far). 

Continuing, we looked to our left and saw another amazing site, nacreous clouds. We first couldn't tell where the snow ended and the sky began but then we saw that the clouds were rippling low across the sky, looking like someone was actively causing brush strokes in cream colored paint with accents of pink and green. I've been a big fan of clouds for a while now but I never knew they could dance with so much color and beauty. 

Just before we made the walk down Antarctica's steepest road, we took one last photo of how happy we were. 

Angry hikers, 2012.