Another (unplanned) penguin encounter!!
The rec office in McMurdo hosts snowmobile trips every week, and there are sign-up sheets next to the galley. The sign-ups (unsurprisingly) fill up very fast, especially because only 6 people can go per trip. I'd spent the whole season seeing already-full sign-ups that I had resigned myself to not going on a trip..... until day 67! A beautiful, empty sheet for a snowmobile trip up to the base of Erebus appeared after dinner one night, and I signed up immediately!
Day 68 rolled around, and with it came snow flurries and low visibility. We got an email saying that the trip to Erebus was cancelled, but the rec leaders would try to take us on a trip to the Pegasus crash site instead.
We met up at 6pm, with the snow and clouds still looming over us. To my surprise, the rec leaders decided to attempt the trip! I found a snowmobile helmet that fit, reviewed how to turn on the snowmobile and got some important safety tips, and we headed out in a shuttle to the ice shelf.
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| Me looking snazzy in my snowmobile helmet and big red. |
Only 5 out of the 6 sign-ups actually showed up (it's bad form to sign up for one of these trips and then no-show... the guy who didn't turn up is banned from signing up for any more trips this season). But this meant we all got our own snowmobile instead of having to double up.
We zoomed out towards the Pegasus crash, with a stop to take some pictures at Pheonix Airfield along the way.
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| Silly picture! Left to right: a Coast Guard guy, Avi, me, the rec leader, and 2 sailors from the tanker ship. |
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| The instructions for this picture were "point in a random direction". |
Unfortunately, as we were taking pictures, the snowstorm got worse. The rec leader decided that we should turn around. Everyone in the group was a great sport -- I was just happy to be there and getting to ride a snowmobile for the second time.
We were zooming back towards the warmth and safety of McMurdo, when everyone suddenly stopped. There was a tiny black dot in the distance heading towards us. We all got off our snowmobiles and huddled in a group, watching.
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| A tiny dot in the distance. What could it be????? |
The tiny dot waddled closer...... it was a penguin!! (you may have figured that out, what with me saying it at the beginning and all)
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| The penguin (we named him Phil) with McMurdo on the back left and Castle Rock sticking up on the right. |
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| Look at the lil guy! Photo credits: Avi. |
A lone Emperor penguin wandered his way towards us, as we all excitedly got out our cameras and filmed his every move. I think he wandered off from his group to molt -- you can see patches on his lower belly where his feathers are growing in. He looked a little miserable.
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| His back is covered in snow and ice. I was freezing, but Phil must have thought it was a warm summer day. |
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| Phil walking on the snow road towards us. Photo credits: Avi. |
The penguin was so curious about us -- he just kept walking closer. It's against the Antarctic Treaty to be too close to wildlife, so our group kept having to shuffle backwards.
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| Phil is studying us closely. |
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| Me and Phil! Don't worry, I made sure I was far enough away before taking this picture. Photo credits: Avi. |
This was such a cool experience -- infinitely better than seeing Erebus or a crashed plane. Our group watched Phil for 30 minutes before the rec leader had to herd us all back to the snowmobiles because the snow storm was getting worse (I was getting cold for sure. But.... penguin!).
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| Phil posing for a picture. Photo credits: Avi. |
The penguin had wandered up right next to the snowmobiles by this point. My snowmobile being the closest to the penguin, the rec leader instructed me to "pull off the road quietly". I don't know if you have ever been on a snowmobile before, but it is pretty dang impossible to be "quiet" on one. But Phil wasn't bothered one bit when I turned on the engine. I think he would have climbed on the back and rode around with us if we'd let him. He was very curious.
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| Gazing off into the distance. Bye, Phil! Photo credits: Avi. |
And with that, I think I've done it all. In the past 2.5 months, I've been in the coldest temperature I've ever experienced (-28°C), seen a penguin rookery, been on Erebus, flown in (several) helicopters, and seen an Emperor penguin up close. By the end of this day, I was feeling very ready to head back home to the US!
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