September 14
In case you didn't figure out, I am back from the Arctic and in good ol' High Prairie. Not much to report from down here. I help out on the farm and get free room and board! I did the Terry Fox Run today- I don't think I was quite ready for that 8km. I am going to hurt tomorrow.
I will restart regular posts on a new blog when I move to Australia in November. You can read them at http://nelsondownsouth.blogspot.com, with the clever alliterative title of "Dispatches from Down Under". I am sure the first post will have something to do with sunburns. I have a feeling that my albino-like skin will need some adjustment to the glare of the southern sun.
-A.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Ow, my head.
Why oh why did I have so many jaggerbombs? I should have stuck to beer. I blame Heather.
-A.
-A.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Out of the wilderness
August 22
The plane to civilization arrives in about 4 hours to whisk me back to the land of cars and taxes. I am absolutely ecstatic, but a little sad too. The tundra and I have bonded thoroughly over the last six and a half weeks and have become good friends. Though we will not see each other for a while, I think I will keep in touch. Being out here as really cleared out my brain of a lot of crap and I feel like I am fresh for the world. It's hard to focus on nagging little things that would normally bother you back in the world when you are living in such a vast, beautiful place.
Next on my list is a night at the pub tonight- I take no responsibility for my condition tomorrow morning. On Sunday I am off to the farm with my crew partner Heather, to show her around the bustling mecca of High Prairie. A week or so off, and then I will be sent to some other god-forsaken outpost, which will have to be pretty awesome indeed to beat Zip Camp. I'll let you know when I know.
-A.
The plane to civilization arrives in about 4 hours to whisk me back to the land of cars and taxes. I am absolutely ecstatic, but a little sad too. The tundra and I have bonded thoroughly over the last six and a half weeks and have become good friends. Though we will not see each other for a while, I think I will keep in touch. Being out here as really cleared out my brain of a lot of crap and I feel like I am fresh for the world. It's hard to focus on nagging little things that would normally bother you back in the world when you are living in such a vast, beautiful place.
Next on my list is a night at the pub tonight- I take no responsibility for my condition tomorrow morning. On Sunday I am off to the farm with my crew partner Heather, to show her around the bustling mecca of High Prairie. A week or so off, and then I will be sent to some other god-forsaken outpost, which will have to be pretty awesome indeed to beat Zip Camp. I'll let you know when I know.
-A.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Knowledge is power
August 20
T-1 day left in the field!
Things I have learned while at Zip Camp:
1. Blackflies are minions of the Devil.
2. A helicopter is a great way to beat traffic.
3. Be nice to the cook or things become unpleasant.
4. Bring winter clothes. Just because it's summer, it doesn't mean it's going to be warm.
5. Never trust map topography. A little creek may, in fact, turn out to be a deep river.
6. Target areas are generally covered in swamp.
7. "Night" is a relative term when it doesn't actually get dark.
8. Showering is optional.
9. You will never get as much reading done as you think you will.
10. One can never have enough socks or work gloves or movies on their computer.
11. Caribou are not as dumb as they look, just very curious.
12. Always ALWAYS bring toilet paper into the field (I will not name names, but you know who you are!)
-A.
My partner in crime, Heather on her birthday (22 years young)
T-1 day left in the field!
Things I have learned while at Zip Camp:
1. Blackflies are minions of the Devil.
2. A helicopter is a great way to beat traffic.
3. Be nice to the cook or things become unpleasant.
4. Bring winter clothes. Just because it's summer, it doesn't mean it's going to be warm.
5. Never trust map topography. A little creek may, in fact, turn out to be a deep river.
6. Target areas are generally covered in swamp.
7. "Night" is a relative term when it doesn't actually get dark.
8. Showering is optional.
9. You will never get as much reading done as you think you will.
10. One can never have enough socks or work gloves or movies on their computer.
11. Caribou are not as dumb as they look, just very curious.
12. Always ALWAYS bring toilet paper into the field (I will not name names, but you know who you are!)
-A.
Don't I look happy? I believe this was taken after the rain had finally made it through all 3 layers of clothing I was wearing below my rain gear.
My partner in crime, Heather on her birthday (22 years young)
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Layering is the key
August 19
T-2 days left in the field
I know that you guys are probably sick of me talking about the weather, but this, you're going to want to hear. Note the date above this paragraph, now imagine snow. Yeah. Snow. In August.
I woke up this morning at about 5am because the walls of the tent were being blown around so much that it actually bumped my head. There was a raging gale of a storm outside, complete with icy rain and frigid north winds. On the bright side we didn't have to go out in the field right away, and thank god for that because just after breakfast it started snowing for about 10 minutes. The temperature was sitting at a cozy 3 degrees Celsius, which I am sure was below zero with the wind chill. We got out in the field by about 11, after the rain had blown off, but the winds were still pretty nasty and it didn't warm up very much. My wardrobe consisted of longjohns, work pants, rain pants, tank top, t-shirt, long shirt, puffy vest, fleece coat, rain coat, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, a balaclava, and toque... and I was just warm enough to function. I definitely did not pack winter gear for this job, since it's, you know, AUGUST! I just have to keep saying my warming mantra: "Auuuuu-sTRAlia, Auuuuu-sTRAlia, Auuuuu-sTRAlia".
It was also Heather's birthday today- 22 and counting. Due to the lack of retail outlets in the vicinity, I made her one of my patented mix cds, lovingly wrapped with flagging tape, along with a guarantee of a free drink when we get to the Black Knight Pub on Friday. Mmmm beer. I kept threatening to throw her in the lake all day, but she one-upped me and jumped in herself for a (VERY) brief birthday swim. Crazy girl! I would have gone but I had just had a deliciously hot shower that had warmed my cold bones and had no intention of getting chilled again. I do plan to go for one last tundra dip on the morning of my departure (assuming the damn thing isn't frozen over by then).
Frigidly yours,
-A.
T-2 days left in the field
I know that you guys are probably sick of me talking about the weather, but this, you're going to want to hear. Note the date above this paragraph, now imagine snow. Yeah. Snow. In August.
I woke up this morning at about 5am because the walls of the tent were being blown around so much that it actually bumped my head. There was a raging gale of a storm outside, complete with icy rain and frigid north winds. On the bright side we didn't have to go out in the field right away, and thank god for that because just after breakfast it started snowing for about 10 minutes. The temperature was sitting at a cozy 3 degrees Celsius, which I am sure was below zero with the wind chill. We got out in the field by about 11, after the rain had blown off, but the winds were still pretty nasty and it didn't warm up very much. My wardrobe consisted of longjohns, work pants, rain pants, tank top, t-shirt, long shirt, puffy vest, fleece coat, rain coat, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, a balaclava, and toque... and I was just warm enough to function. I definitely did not pack winter gear for this job, since it's, you know, AUGUST! I just have to keep saying my warming mantra: "Auuuuu-sTRAlia, Auuuuu-sTRAlia, Auuuuu-sTRAlia".
It was also Heather's birthday today- 22 and counting. Due to the lack of retail outlets in the vicinity, I made her one of my patented mix cds, lovingly wrapped with flagging tape, along with a guarantee of a free drink when we get to the Black Knight Pub on Friday. Mmmm beer. I kept threatening to throw her in the lake all day, but she one-upped me and jumped in herself for a (VERY) brief birthday swim. Crazy girl! I would have gone but I had just had a deliciously hot shower that had warmed my cold bones and had no intention of getting chilled again. I do plan to go for one last tundra dip on the morning of my departure (assuming the damn thing isn't frozen over by then).
Frigidly yours,
-A.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Damp.
August 18
T-3 days left in the field
It started raining at about noon today. It didn't stop until the helicopter picked us up at 3:50. It may not seem like a long time to be outside, but with the wind and the wet, my fingers were losing feeling by 2. Of course it didn't help that my gloves are so worn out that three fingers have very large holes in them. I also managed to smash my fist into a very sharp rock and break skin after slipping on a rock while hammering an outcrop. All in all, not quite as good of a day as yesterday.
The summer is definitely coming to an end up here in the tundra- all of the shrubs and plants are a tired green with the occasional burst of red or yellow and all the berries are starting to become overripe (except those stubborn cranberries). I am going to miss my daily blueberry fix.
-A.
T-3 days left in the field
It started raining at about noon today. It didn't stop until the helicopter picked us up at 3:50. It may not seem like a long time to be outside, but with the wind and the wet, my fingers were losing feeling by 2. Of course it didn't help that my gloves are so worn out that three fingers have very large holes in them. I also managed to smash my fist into a very sharp rock and break skin after slipping on a rock while hammering an outcrop. All in all, not quite as good of a day as yesterday.
The summer is definitely coming to an end up here in the tundra- all of the shrubs and plants are a tired green with the occasional burst of red or yellow and all the berries are starting to become overripe (except those stubborn cranberries). I am going to miss my daily blueberry fix.
-A.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Esker Runner, Lake Jumper
August 17
T-4 days left in the field.
I didn't exactly go out into the field yesterday, due to a tailbone injury and a very ungraceful fall down the stairs to the cookhouse on the way to the helicopter. I spent the whole day on my back to make sure nothing got strained, just to be safe. I think my back hurt more from laying on my crappy bed all day than from the initial injury.
A plane was supposed to show up yesterday afternoon carrying the drillers, but apparently they didn't show up on time so the plane was 5 hours late. This was not so good for Carolyn, who intended to leave on the flight to catch her 7am plane back to Halifax for school. It showed up eventually, and now camp is a much more crowded and potentially interesting place. The drillers kind of remind me of people in High Prairie- a little less academic and a little more blue-collar- kind of refreshing to be honest.
Sometimes I feel a little out of my element with all the PhD and MSc folks kicking around, though they do like my farm stories. It's funny that I come across as having a rather mysterious background, just being a farm girl. The majority of folks out here are from Vancouver or somewhere urban in BC, since that is where the company Aurora is contracted to is based out of. I tell them about rodeos and cutting hay and they all think it's really exotic or something. Who knew I was exotic?
Today I went for a run to try and stretch out my back, along an esker that runs north of camp. For those who don't know, an esker is a long snaking hill that is created as gravel and sediment are deposited by a retreating glacier. As the ice melts this trail of rocks and dirt is left behind that can stretch for many kilometers. It is probably the least trecherous terrain on the tundra, if one wants to get somewhere quickly. The lowlands are covered in humocky bumps from frost boils and frost heave and knee-high shrubs called dwarf birch, not to mention swamps and lakes.
It was really fun running on the esker- it felt like an old abandoned road or something, and I was constantly dodging rocks and having to cross streams and running uphill in gravel. True cross-country running to say the least- it was a very arctic experience. After the run a bunch of us (in other words, the more crazy folks in camp), jumped in the lake, despite the 12 degree temperature and mid-level wind. Shortest swim of my life! It was a good day.
-A.
T-4 days left in the field.
I didn't exactly go out into the field yesterday, due to a tailbone injury and a very ungraceful fall down the stairs to the cookhouse on the way to the helicopter. I spent the whole day on my back to make sure nothing got strained, just to be safe. I think my back hurt more from laying on my crappy bed all day than from the initial injury.
A plane was supposed to show up yesterday afternoon carrying the drillers, but apparently they didn't show up on time so the plane was 5 hours late. This was not so good for Carolyn, who intended to leave on the flight to catch her 7am plane back to Halifax for school. It showed up eventually, and now camp is a much more crowded and potentially interesting place. The drillers kind of remind me of people in High Prairie- a little less academic and a little more blue-collar- kind of refreshing to be honest.
Sometimes I feel a little out of my element with all the PhD and MSc folks kicking around, though they do like my farm stories. It's funny that I come across as having a rather mysterious background, just being a farm girl. The majority of folks out here are from Vancouver or somewhere urban in BC, since that is where the company Aurora is contracted to is based out of. I tell them about rodeos and cutting hay and they all think it's really exotic or something. Who knew I was exotic?
Today I went for a run to try and stretch out my back, along an esker that runs north of camp. For those who don't know, an esker is a long snaking hill that is created as gravel and sediment are deposited by a retreating glacier. As the ice melts this trail of rocks and dirt is left behind that can stretch for many kilometers. It is probably the least trecherous terrain on the tundra, if one wants to get somewhere quickly. The lowlands are covered in humocky bumps from frost boils and frost heave and knee-high shrubs called dwarf birch, not to mention swamps and lakes.
It was really fun running on the esker- it felt like an old abandoned road or something, and I was constantly dodging rocks and having to cross streams and running uphill in gravel. True cross-country running to say the least- it was a very arctic experience. After the run a bunch of us (in other words, the more crazy folks in camp), jumped in the lake, despite the 12 degree temperature and mid-level wind. Shortest swim of my life! It was a good day.
-A.
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