November 5, 1996

Seal camp at Big Razorback Island.

Guy Fawkes Day and Election Day. Most of us had cast absentee ballots and, with the International Dateline, the polls would not open until tomorrow in the States anyway. We felt very far away from it all. The weather was still closed in and it looked like travel would be limited. Flights had already been canceled, although at breakfast several of the Navy's Herc crews were looking over flight plans. I ran into Don, and he said that it did not look to good for the trek out to Big Razorback Island. I checked e-mail and went back to bed for a few hours.

At lunch, Don and Tom had discussed the weather situation and decided that a quick trip to repair an antenna at the camp was in order; we would be back by dinner time. Don has been down here about 20 times--he has lost count--and is anxious to get into the field after being delayed at Christchurch and waiting around MacTown for a few days. They asked if I would like to come along--I was ready, as my bags had been packed for two days. We loaded up the Spryte, with food, fuel, electronics equipment and all of my sound recording gear. In addition, we packed two survival bags, a couple of VHF radios and a GPS unit. Although the route to camp is flagged, whiteout conditions can sometimes preclude seeing more than a few feet. These are necessary and a routine precaution. We stop at the edge of town to hitch a fuel sled to the Spryte and head out into McMurdo Sound past where I had my sea ice training the week before. The horizon and sky merge into a light gray and white blank; the green and red flags which marked our route were the only spatial definition we had. "I can see about a dozen flags," exclaimed Tom, over the roar of the engine, "not bad..."

We motored along at about 8 mph, hauling the fuel sled. Every now and then we would be jolted as we passed over a crack in the ice or a sastrugi: a compacted snowdrift. "Slamming into one of these on a snowmobile will send you flying," Tom grinned. We followed the route past the Erebus ice tongue; the Dellbridge Islands which include Tent, Inaccessible, Big and Little Razorback lie in the shadow of Mt. Erebus and the seal camp lies in the leeward shelter of Big Razorback about 100 yards from the shore. The island is about half a mile long, very narrow and, as its name implies, a jagged knife of black, igneous rock. Each end rises to a promontory slightly over 150 feet. Scree had fallen to the ice below. The island is circled by tidal cracks and the Weddell seals are scattered on the surface like big, black slugs; some were covered in snow and others were sleek from the water. They took little notice of our approach.

The camp comprises a hamlet of structures, including two huts--one a kitchen and sleeping quarters for Tom and Rob and another serves as a laboratory. In between these two is a polar haven--a ribbed structure with a fabric cover. There is an outhouse to the back of the kitchen. We set to work repairing and antenna and receiver rig and headed back to MacTown. It was a good opportunity for me to get a sense of the site and be thinking about how to proceed with my recording work.

Tent Island	Inaccessible Island
Razorback Islands, with Mt. Erebus in the background.	Seal Camp.