Weeks 2 – 5: Second week of December 2019 through first week of January 2020. Cape Shirreff, Antarctica. When you return to open the same camp with 4 of the 6 people who closed it in March, the definitions of time change. Being back for a third stint that wasn’t originally expected takes the peculiarity to another level. Some camp opening activities are the same, but others are different or…
Week 9 (?) Su 26 January 2020, morning at Cape Shirreff Somehow Friday marked the halfway point in my third season here at Cape Shirreff. Having experienced the glorious full length season of late October to mid-March my first year, these shortened seasons of early December to mid-March are difficult to fathom. The drastically lower amount of snow at the start breaks my spirit; there’s not enough for skiing to work,…
Week 15: Tr 1 February 2017, 23:21. Cape Shirreff, Livingston Island, Antarctica SDH: It’s what I call the fur seal puppies that are especially Small, Dark, and Handsome. 2 January: Today Doug, Adam, Sam, Nai, and I had face-to-face interactions with about 10 new people for the first time since we were dropped off on 24 October. Doug and Sam somehow knew how to have conversations with strangers. The other…
Saturday 26 August 2017, week 15: Buldir Island, 22:44 … finished Monday 11 September 2017, week 18: Homer, AK – while watching MNF “If our mountain was erupting, the earth would be shaking, right?” asked McKenzie, voice full of nervous excitement. For a moment, Buldir’s cloud blanket assumed a dusky violet color before disappearing into the darkness again. One one thousand, two one – BA-BOOOM! Nerves of electric excitement moved…
Monday 21 August 2017, week 15: Buldir Island, 22:39 As the wind strengthens and the rain intensifies, I find myself alone in our main cabin, writing in the dim light of day that remains. The clock above me ticks away the seconds that make up minutes, but I can’t help but notice it’s also ticking down the minutes remaining in my second season on Buldir. Today was our final day…
Thursday 25 August 2016, week 15: Buldir Island, 19:10 Time is rapidly flying by, and mere days are left before we Buldirians leave our summer home. I keep looking for ways to delay our return to society, with the only possible winner being a mega storm that means the Tiglax can’t pick us up on time. Unfortunately our current forecast for Friday through Monday calls for variable 10 knot winds…
Monday/Thursday 15/18 August 2016, week 14: Buldir Island, 17:00 Since I was so wrapped up in relaxing on our day off that I forgot our day off means shower day, it seems fitting that I address how we deal with personal hygiene in field camps. Field life is certainly not for everyone; showers – if possible at all – come less than once a week, in my experience. For someone…
Thursday 28 July 2016, week 11: Buldir Island, 20:46 Sorry, but there will be no post for this week. Before our overnight at Spike Camp, I had 2 different posts started, but the words weren’t coming. Books are also to blame, as I read the first 75 pages of “The Last Season” in an afternoon and the first 90 pages of “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” last…
Following an exhilarating day of grain sampling (looking for good kernels and cobs of corn inside certain plots in a cornfield) and field condition surveys (listing crop, post-harvest condition, and relative stages of flooding), I went for a sunset run. Then life made me laugh. Right before I headed out the door to run, the power went off. Thinking it would probably be back on by the time I returned,…