So...To begin...I have pictures but this computer is too slow so I will only discuss what happened as more likely then not some of the pictures may be a little more than revealing. Christmas eve rolls around, and everyone takes off from F6 except Chad and I. We hold down the fort, and instead of actually doing something productive, carve a bunch of bamboo poles and post flags all around camp in case Fryxell camp decides to invade. We succeed at that, and then play darts, baseball darts, more cricket, and then split and I play a ton of guitar till my fingers ache. We were bored at this point where
THIS may have come in handy. We open up the fridge and inside we find a huge pork tenderloin. Our mouths start watering and we scrounge for more food. We start unthawing chicken, vegetables, berry turnovers, open boxes of brownie mix, and my god if we are going to be here by ourselves, anything else we can find. It is Christmas eve damnit. Our eyes were obviously much more gratuitous to our stomachs than we had anticipated, so we ended up putting all the food away except for the steak and potatoes I think. It was a very good dinner.
The next day we woke up relaxed and ready for anything including the hike to Lake Hoare for christmas dinner and party. I pack a full 40 pound bag, and then being sympathetic to the LAMENO (Limno) team I hack onto my pack their Paco pad which ways in itself around 20 pounds and is bulky as hell. It begins. We cross the moat on our newly aquired Zodiac boat! It is extremely flat however, but we pump it up and paddle to the ice which has melted about 150 feet away by now. We make a cool anchor out of the ice and strap down the boat then prepare for a VERY bumpy ATV ride which I would have preferred riding in a washing machine to. We make our way to Fryxell camp after breaking through thin ice a couple of times and use their boat and talk for some time to them. It is now off to Canada glacier.
The hike is uphill for the first couple of miles and the hills are nothing more than false summits. The worst of which is the Moon dust that kicks up acting as a scree shoot of tiny tiny marbles making you float backward without you actually acknowledging. From this soft powder, we finally hit the glacier. Chad and I split a Bumper bar (Rasberry white chocolate The best) and I fill up my stomach from the stream water melting from the glacier. Very cold...Now for the glacier push
The glacier has turned into a smorgasbord of dirt, rocks, water, and slush, with no ice to be found. Hyperextension of the knees is very likely if not guaranteed. These potholes that form look like normal ice until you step on them and find that they are the width of a foot and about a foot deep. You lose all momentum, almost break your shin, all the while after realizing that you did not lose a limb, you are about to because your foot is soaked. Now walking across this slushy glacier was slow especially with the pad, but we made it after a lot of trudging and path finding between streams on the glacier. (Pictures are awesome and will be posted later)
Lake Hoare
We make it there and unload our gear and head straight for Rae's leftovers. It is our sole job at Lake Hoare to devour Rae's leftover cooking, and I will tell you we are damn good at what we do. We feast on salmon and capers with red onions, and await dinner. A lot of effort went in to the dinner from the Lake Hoare people (Rae and Sandra) Dinner had about 19 people at it, and was completely blacked out from the sun. The first time I have seen night in months! Candles and lit up gingerbread houses allowed us to see, and with this came amazing ham and alaskan crab legs. Much more food that I can't even begin to describe. After living off of rice and mac and cheese anything sounds awesome, but this was EPIC. And I do now throw around that word loosely. Lots of wine was consumed at dinner and wouldn't you know it, greenland coffees followed. A flaming stream of liquid is poured into your cup and you just enjoy. Time to open gifts.
The presents are all anonymous, except for mine which was wrapped in bubble wrap, then a rock bag, then paper, then more bubble wrap, then wrapping paper, then more bubble wrap, then steel wire, then more paper, then I added a rock for weight, then tied it off with a paper bow, added a ripped t shirt somewhere, lots and lots of duct tape, and to finish it off another steel wire. Awesome. So everybody gets a number and the first person picks a present and unwraps it. The next person can either open up their own present, or steal the previous presents that were opened. These shenanigans continue until all the presents have been opened. I am not going to discuss the details because it is late, but, I had one of Rae's famous hats in my possession and there was only one person after me. They stole another gift which in turn had that person steal some socks, which eventually led to the sock holder to steal my kitted hat. (Damn you Becky Ball!) So I stole a Mexican wrestlers facemask and a bottle of Vodka from the Fryxell group! Turns out they were holding it to give to us afterwards...good to know...So I wore the wrestlers mask throughout the rest of the night and only pictures mark the occasion. The vodka is long gone between 19 people and running outside in the bright light and then dancing inside lake hoare commenced. This lasted well until the sun had reached spots in the sky I had never seen before. Turns out you must either wake up early to see it in these positions, or just stay up late which I think is much easier and more sensible. Fell asleep tired as a dog, and woke up around noon the next day.Good times.
I am now heading back to McMurdo for the first time since I left to resupply and take a shower etc. Annamarie did send me some deodorant out here and soap...but hey that is for people who care. Also I had a toast in my honor to wearing deodorant the other day as I was labeled with my initials SC = Stinky Cheese as a radio call sign...Wonderful... I wanted Sugar Cane. Goodnight!
