Antarctica
Weddell Sea
December 2007
I am on a ship sailing through the Weddell Sea, exploring the northern tip of Antarctic. We live on the ship but we stop twice a day and get off the boat and explore the area. The process to disembark the ship is very orderly. We are
divided into groups: Shackleton (my group), Scott, Amendson and Munsen. Each group is given an announcement to
prepare for landing. And at the appropriate
time we all scurry back to our cabins and get ready. First, we go to the bathroom and make a huge
effort to drain our bladders of any fluids as we are going to places with no facilities
and we are forbidden to relieve ourselves and contaminate the snow.
Then
we start putting on the clothing. I
start with neoprene socks. Then I move
on to heavy woolen socks. Then I have
neoprene leggings (which are not flattering) and then I put on my $150 Gore Tex
pants. Then the big, stiff, heavy rubber
Wellington boats go on.
Then I
put a neoprene shirt on. Then a layer of
fleece and then my kayaking, dry suit jacket goes on. Then I put on one of two neck gaiters. The first one just covers my neck and
ears. The second one also extends into a
hood and covers just about every area from my neck to the top of my head. Then I have my woolen hat from Iceland. Then I put on one of two coats: my blue
rubber coat or my black coat. And
sometimes I wear them both. Then I put
on my big, encumbering ski gloves. Then
I get my backpack which is already packed with two extra pairs of gloves,
another fleece hat, glove mittens, a neck gaiter, and my camera equipment.
I just
don’t know how the earlier explorers made it through the cold for months. I am so bogged down with the panic of being
cold. And I can come back to a warm ship
each day. I would have never made it as
an early explorer. This degree of
exploration is wearing me out.
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