Poking Around Camp Millar

Shore landings are divided into three segments – long hikes, medium hikes, and short walks/shore walks.  People choose which they wish to do.  Our first stop was at a scenic area, Camp Millar. 

The hike was nearly cancelled, as the scouts spotted a polar near the landing site.  The juvenile polar decided to head off up a valley high up into the mountains, and he never was seen again that day.  (Editor’s Note: That’s kind of mean!  Blogger: Oh boy.  Calling a bear “juvenile” is not a comment on his emotional state. . .I’m not implying he plays fart jokes on people. . .it’s a statement about his age, past cub status and before adult.)

As long hikers, we got to depart the ship in the first wave of landings.  The zodiac hit the rocky beach, and we scrambled out.  It was a wet landing, which makes the muck boats a must to protect our feet.  

We hiked about three and a half miles, out to a point where there had been a gold mining operation.  There are also a couple of cabins owned by the government that people can rent.  They are spartan, and you have to lug your human waste back out (fun!), but apparently they are popular with locals as a way to get away from the big city of Longyearben.

Along the way, we saw numerous reindeer, pretty purple saxifrage flowers, and scores of birds.  Birds spotted included kittiwakes, skuas, arctic tern, barnacle geese, snow bunting, and the famed Brunnich’s guillemots.  

We hiked amongst the moss, rocks (both huge boulders and small pepples), and dirt patches.

The route back was circuitous, and those with binoculars were scanning the high cliffs for Arctic foxes.  One person said she saw a pair, but I didn’t come close.  I am resigned to not seeing them on this trip.

Back at the landing, we put our life jackets back on, closed up our hiking poles, and reloaded onto the zodiacs.  It had been a good first landing.