Thursday, November 12, 2009

Time to Leave the Dry Valleys

After six days and five wonderful nights, my time in the Dry Valleys did come to a close. My final day there was beautiful. Blue skies. Shining sun. Low wind. It was everything I could have asked for. The Comms guys came in and we got the Internet working at camp again. Something was wrong with the repeater on Voslips.

I didn't think I'd experience too much else on the flight home. I felt like I'd been overloaded for days and didn't know if I could handle too much. However, it turned out that my trip of a life time wasn't quite done yet. After leaving Lake Hoare, we didn't fly straight to McMurdo. We went to 1882 (one of the peaks in the Dry Valleys) to check on the repeater equipment. Then, we went to another mountain top, Voslips, to pick up the Comms techs who were fixing the Internet for Lake Hoare. Finally, we headed home to McMurdo Station. Here is a time lapse of the entire flight.

My helicopter ride from just after take off at Lake Hoare, to 1882, to Voslips, to McMurdo

0:00 The Northern Slope above the Seuss Glacier
0:40 Lake Bonnie
0:50 Loop around back toward Frixel and Lake Hoare
1:10 Lake Bonnie on the loop back around again to gain altitude
1:20 Lake Frixel
1:42 1882 repeater and panorama
2:38 Mt. Voslips
5:15 Mt. Erebus, southern most active volcano in the world
5:35 McMurdo Station

Happy Days

My time out in the field was amazing. My final day at camp with six people instead of just three was much more representative of the field camp experience. To have only three people there was peaceful bliss. I loved it and feel so fortunate to have gotten to go at all, let alone to be delayed there for so many days. I just hope that this series of blogs has conveyed even a small part of what I felt and went through.

Lake Hoare camp

Lake Hoare field camp.

The day after I went to Lake Frixel and saw the sundogs, I was delayed yet again! I could not believe my luck. SIX DAYS in the dry valleys. Unfortunately, I was so wiped I didn't get out to explore. I hung around camp which left me with more time to spend with my hosts and enjoy a slower pace of life. My hosts, Rae and Becky, were such a treat to spend time with. I don't think I would have enjoyed myself nearly as much if they weren't there.

Daily life in the camp moved at a precious pace. It was the anti-thesis of life at McMurdo where everything is go, go, go. Each morning, you woke up and were responsible for your own breakfast. Before the work day started, we would usually chat, drink hot drinks, and do a group crossword puzzle. After breakfast, Rae and Becky both had a bunch of work to do to get the camp ready for the season. They would have me help them where possible. I think I helped harvest glacier berries for fresh water the most because it was a simple task they could set me to and then do their own thing. I also shoveled snow, resculpted snow steps, changed propane tanks, carried boxes, put up tents, started a really, really cold ATV, tied cables down, and cleaned.

After a few hours labor, we'd come in for lunch and eat leftovers from the night before. Rae might whip up some cookies for an afternoon snack and then we'd get back to it. They were pretty busy with camp opening activities. I'm not sure what they do once camp is fully operational, but it would probably involve assisting the grantees somehow in addition . Life moved at a wonderful place for the few days I was there. Usually, Life moves a bit faster there usually because they have more people there to support.

I'm missing lots of odds and ends that I should be talking about. Rae sent me home with one of the best batches of macadamia nut cookies that I've ever had. She made a ridiculous peanut sauce to over veggies and rice. I had white chocolate. I must be hungry since I keep mentioning food or it was just that good. We all take turns cleaning up. We did a ton of crosswords. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed doing so many crosswords.

Glacier berry box by the door of the main hut.

Glacier Berries and the calved spot we harvest them from in the distance.

The ATV to haul things around Lake Hoare. We used the pull cord over a hundred times to start it in the cold. Ugh.

Mt. Rae

Canada Glacier calve site and place to harvest berries for weekly showers.

Rae, the camp manager for twelve years running, in the dining/kitchen area of the main hut.


My sleeping quarters for my one night in the Scott tent we set up. I was in the main hut the other nights since no one else was around.

Solar energy.

One of the research labs at the camp.

This dead penguin was just outside the Scott tent I slept in.

The rocket toilet that burns your human waste. Kind of smelly.

The urinal for men since the rocket toilet doesn't do too well with too much liquid.

A helicopter coming into to land at Lake Hoare on my final day. Most people sleep in tents while at Lake Hoare.

Sundogs and Lake Frixel

A morning sundog over Lake Hoare camp.

After spending one more brilliant day in the Dry Valleys, I woke up feeling like Charlie when he found the last golden ticket. I was elated at having been able to spend an extra couple days in the valleys. After a quick morning walk, I settled in for breakfast. Rae called in on the radio to get that day's helicopter schedule so I'd know when to be packed up. I was slated to head out in the afternoon. However, they also said that all flights were on a two hour delay due to more bad weather. As the day progressed, two hours became four, four became six, and soon all the flights were canceled for the day again! My two day trip had become a five day escapade!!

A second sundog over Lake Hoare camp.

Over the course of the morning, we saw two sundogs. Sundogs are an atmospheric phenomenon that create a halo around the sun. They can occur at any time of year, any where in the world, but I've never seen them until I was in Antarctica. In order to form, sundogs need ice crystals or fine snow particles in the air to refract the sun's light. That refraction can give the halo some coloring, just like a prism. It is such a neat natural phenomenon to see.

Canada Glacier

After another slow day of camp chores, I was set loose for another trot around the valley. This time, I set off towards Lake Frixel, which is the closest lake to McMurdo Sound. Unfortunately, I just didn't have the energy. I had been going too hard for too many days. When I reached the lake, I decided to just turn back instead of heading for my final destination. I didn't need to go any farther. The extra day and being there was scenery enough.

Lake Frixel