Goo Goo G'joob

It was time for our afternoon hike.  We landed at Torrelnesset, with no beach for a wet landing.  Instead, we walked up on the gas tank box at the front of the zodiac, and climbed onto the landing by using some ice steps that the exploration scouts had cut for us.

Torrelnesset is, of course, an area on Nordaustlandet, which as geography nerds know, is the second largest of the Svalbard Islands.

Kasper was the guide for our group, as we were doing a long hike.  They offered two-three levels of hikes each landing (depending), and zodiac tours for those who did not want to walk on land.  Some people would mix it up, doing a long hike one day, and then a zodiac ride the next.  Or a long, then a medium.  Sometimes short shoreline hikes were offered, and at least once or twice they did photography walks, with the photographers there to give tips and point out composition and subject tips.

With around 140 people on board, it worked well to have such a system – for example, after doing the first two long hikes, Carol’s Oslo-bruised ribs were hurting, so she did a day on the zodiacs – and got to see walruses swimming.

Anyhow, back to the hike.  First, we went along flat ground that paralleled the water – maybe a bit under a half mile.  Maybe less.  The wind was whipping, and every so often, you would break through the snow.  But at least it was really cold.  For a flat walk, it was not easy.  But, did I mention it was incredibly windy and cold?  (Editor’s Note: Yes, you did.  You can cut that sentence now.)

(By the way, I have some folk music on my iTunes.  As I was writing about the zodiacs in this post, “Michael Row The Boat Ashore” was playing, which raises the question.  Why didn’t Michael just zodiac boat ashore?  It’s much faster.)

Anyhow, that brought us to the walrus hang-out.  There were probably 40-50 there, although since they were so bunched up in three groups, it was impossible to get an accurate count.  For some reason, the naturalists refused to let us walk right up to them.  (Editor’s Note: Some reason?  Here’s two: Try safety!  And not stressing the walruses!  Blogger: Oh – thinks for a moment – that makes sense.  Editor: SMDH!).

There were also walruses swimming in the water, but I didn’t think to use my fast setting on the camera, so I didn’t get many good pictures of them.  It was fun to watch them pop out of the water, then shoot down underwater again.  They’d show tusk and then not.  It was enthralling. 

Meanwhile, back on land, most of them were lollygagging around, but one would occasionally sit up as though to move, then think better of it and lay back down.  Apparently you have to want to move 2,000 pounds, and they chose not to.  My personal favorite was one who separated himself from the largest pack, laid on his back, scratching himself and sticking flippers and tail up into the air as though rubbing his back on the snow was the best thing ever.

(Please note, the large groups of walruses are male.  The female walruses try to stay away from the males unless it is time to have a calf.  And once the walrus young are born, they are kept away too.  As I noted to Kasper after he told us that, it explains why the group was watching sports, drinking beer, and farting.  Oh, related hint, try not to be downwind of walruses, they smell like all they do is contained in the previous sentence.)

After a bit, we moved on.  The island turned, so we headed along the coast, enjoying the bergy bits just off the coast, and the views across the water to other islands.  The island consists of a series of natural terraces, which extended the island over millions of years.  We also crossed streams packed with snow.

Then, we headed up to the top of a terrace.  It was pretty steep, and we were working.  When we got to the top, Pam Stuart quipped, “We all passed our treadmill stress test!”  And she should know – she’s a doctor!

We then headed back toward the landing area, but it was not a short stretch.  The views are sweeping, and we passed through some of the most solitary land in the world.  Pictures don’t do it justice, but they try.  We came across whale vertebra, and reflected on how far the island has grown. 

Eventually we returned to the landing area, after trekking through some extraordinary land.  Certainly it’s not for everyone, but it is for me.