the ridge trail

In my time off, I completed the Hut Ridge Loop Trail. I'd never done the entire track, so it was a treat to run, walk and snap some photos along the way. From the top of the ridge, I was able to see open water; a vivid blue line along the horizon that will get larger and larger as the summer goes on. Our volcanic island is quite peculiar. At some points there is hard, exposed rock, and around the next bend, it turns to dust, or loose rock. Due to the snow, ice, and glacier erosion, there are numerous riverbeds, hills, and mounds that form as the rock is eaten away and washed into the Ross Sea. And, this portion of the Ross Sea, along the coastline of our island, and shoved up against the permanent ice shelf ripples with pressure ridges.

I saw a little seal sliding its' way across some of the icy ridges from my perch on the hill. More and more of these sea slugs are popping up now that the temperatures are warming and the ice is getting thinner along the shore. The Weddell seals have a big chisel of a front tooth and are able to chew through up to six feet of ice to reach the surface if they need to; so even the smallest of openings can be a great door to the underworld.

The weather was sunny and beautiful. The mountains were out in amazing array across the sea from our island and town of McMurdo!