Shackleton's Last Voyage: The Story of the Quest

by Frank Wild; A. H. Macklin

Photo: Dr. Macklin

THE QUEST SEEN THROUGH ARCHWAY ROCK, GOUGH ISLAND

Photo: Dr. Macklin

DELL ROCKS, AT THE NORTH-EASTERN END OF GLEN BEACH
The photograph shows the steepness of the cliffs on Gough Island

Before returning the party picked up Macklin and brought him off. He had followed the main glen to where it divided into two, taken the one to the right till he reached the grass-covered higher slopes of the island, made a traverse to the base of the “Apostle” and returned by the other glen. The following description is from his diary:

After leaving Commander Wild I set off up the glen, following as far as possible the course of the stream. To appreciate the keen enjoyment of a walk like this one must have spent many weary months knocking about at sea in a small ship. The little stream was very beautiful as it wound down the glen with its deeps and shallows and little torrents. Every turn produced a new and attractive picture, and the setting behind with the Apostle standing out dominant and high was really magnificent. One had to proceed carefully, for the stones and boulders were very slippery. Sometimes it became necessary to leave the stream and take to the bank, but nowhere was the going good. Having passed several waterfalls, I came to a long straight stretch running between steep sides covered over with branches of island tree to form a long tunnelled archway. I waded along this to encounter a high waterfall up the sides of which there was no way. I was compelled to take to the bank, climbing a steep mossy slope, and plunged in amongst the trees and tree ferns which grow in thick masses on either side of the glen, running upwards from the edge of the stream to a height of about a thousand feet. The going was now very difficult, for the waterfalls became too numerous and steep for one to continue following the stream. I forced my way with difficulty through masses of fern and island tree all soaking wet, much of it rotten and thickly covered with lichen and other forms of parasite.

The glen divided into two and I chose the one to the right, working my way laboriously till I reached at last the upper edge of thick vegetation and emerged on to grassy slopes, which were very sodden and covered with numerous grasses and mosses. The air blew pure and fresh, rather cold, but a welcome change from the stuffy atmosphere of the thicker vegetation. I was now able to get a look round. The island certainly had a curious formation with its rugged rocky pinnacles and ridges. I was attracted by the huge mass of the Apostle and determined to make for it. This necessitated descending into the glen, crossing the stream and climbing again through the thick belt. I chose wherever possible the course of small tributaries, but these dropped very steeply and had many long thin waterfalls which fell over smooth rock covered with moss, which readily came away and afforded no hand or foothold. I reached a ridge which rose in a series of thin sharp rocky pinnacles, and working along this at last reached the grass land at the foot of the Apostle. I made an effort to climb the mass from the front, but was not successful. The time limit allowed me by Commander Wild was now up and I had to make my way down again. The geological party, Douglas, Carr and Argles, who came here later found an easy way up by walking round to the back.

I descended into the other glen and attempted to work down the stream, but found myself in a narrow gorge between high, smooth walls of rock and, coming to the head of a high waterfall, could find no way down, so that I was compelled to go back out of the gorge and come down through the vegetation on the banks. This was almost as hard work as going up, and long before I reached the bottom the climb had ceased to be a pleasure and had become mere hard work, increased by the fact that I had overstayed my time and had to hurry. The fresh upland air was changed again to the hot stuffiness of the valley, and when I arrived at the landing-place I was soaked to the skin as much with perspiration as with wet from the outside. Anyone working through this vegetation at this time of year must be prepared to get wetted through, for everything is sodden.