Lake Levels

Today we ran lake levels. Need I say more, but I will. Is a question mark required after that previous statement? Who the hell cares about grammar? Isn't that the point of being liberally artistic, to use the language as a medium for communication and not a strict guideline for how and what to write? As long as you know what I am saying. Which may be difficult at times...So today we ran lake levels. We flew to 5 lakes all across different valleys. Started at Hoare, flew to Bonney, then for the first time flew over Taylor glacier and ended up at Lake Joyce. From here we flew about 2 minutes away to a very secluded Nevada like lake with small forlorn hills with no top in sight. A ride over the pass and we ended up at Don Juan pond which even in the heat of winter never freezes. It is so hypersaline that it would have to be -70 degrees F to freeze. The water does not want to evaporate or freeze because it is so saturated with salt. We then followed the Wright valley down a couple of miles to Lake Vanda which is the terminus of the Onyx river (Longest in Antarctica ~ 17 miles?) then upward (Toward the ocean) to the start of the Onyx river, and back to lake Hoare for dinner! Paul the pilot said that flying 1 hour in a Helo is comparable to driving 4 hours in a car...All you did the whole day was sit, and when you get out all you want to do is sit...Damn...Ok Picture time...Also, Will somebody please clue me in on Egypt. It is very difficult to get news out here. The world is turning over every time I check.

Self Portrait on House Stream in front of Suess Galcier

Suess Glacier and 1882

Snow?

Lake Hoare camp

Big Colorado size flakes were falling!

Suess again with 1882, sunny!

Taylor glacier and blood falls

blood falls again, flowing very gently, not blood red this season.

Taylor glacier extending back towards the last mountains before south pole!

Friis hills where some friends from UND stayed the season! Plant fossils about at the top of that plateau!

Friss hills and 36H (three six Hotel)

Ventifact

Fountain and Nylen glaciers named after people down this season

Tall tall mountian

Antarcticas towers to climb!

The Cerro Torre of Antarctica

Don Juan pond, or what is left of it, salt flats

Don Juan again

Paul walking downhill towards Don Juan

Lake Vanda ice breaking up

Lake Vanda

Storm of the Century!

26 Jan 11

Rumors abound, boredom persists. A knee is scratched, and soon enough we have calls thinking we need a medivac. Ever played telephone? Was it Chelsey eats pancakes and likes statistics, or rather jealousy is an emotion that destroys egotists? We have been grounded due to weather for the last two days. This is my last week in the dry valleys and this is the time we need to be working the most. Now is when the flow has subsided enough to work in the streams, and the ground is still somewhat warm that permafrost has not invaded the topsoil. This means that it is the conditions are ideal to dig up old rocks and sandbags, or conversely lay down a control (Dam).
Digression is almost as bad as the rumors I was trying to spread. Apparently over yonder at the Kiwi's Scott base all that was in discussion was the storm of the century moving in over the next two days. The weather forecast looks fine, although it means jack squat. Regardless, I have seen my first major snowfall here and it has been accumulating, then sublimating, accumulating, sublimating etc. We may see what work we can do, and if we can't do anything we are going to hike about 5 hours to our other camp and raid it for frozen bacon and RISK. If we can't make it for those two we will have to resort to LOTR LARP'ing. We are still waiting for a LARP video to load so we can figure out what to do. For those that have faster internet, just google video LARP. Enjoy...Renaissance festival anyone? Taylor, Jealous?

You load a 16 tons and what do you get?

Another day older and deeper in debt. Two posts in one day. One that I meant to post a week ago, and another one while I finally have the time AND the energy to write. ie. Today.

The last two days have seen the dismantling of two stream guages, Priscu and Huey. They are both to be moved further upstream where Priscu has filled with sediment and the lake is about 20 feet away from the control, and the latter is filled with head sized cobble now frozen to the permafrost layer. Yesterday we got Priscu looking like it did 20 years ago when it did not have a guage on it. Today we got about halfway done with Huey which I spent about 6 hours just digging out tarp that was lain out to direct water. Read the previous blog for more...For now I am at a fast computer and going to just try and post pictures.

Pictures are taking too long...will post them later.

Lost Seal at high flow. There is also this much water going around the guage about 200 feet to the right ha!

Becky Ball did not appreciate ma Odor de Naturale

Berry Lyons wrote me a poem...But I don't want to read it yet...

Crossing the Moat at Fryxell camp...This is the "Typsy" Boat

Calm morning on Lake Fryxell

Snowing on the ice

More winter wonderland

Stroke!

Classy Classy

Ice cave

West Lobe of Bonney

The Terminus of the glacier with Chris

The most badass boat in all of the valleys. Steam Powered, wind driven Haus of a boat.

what is left of the old bonney camp, blown in a stream and covered in algae

Priscu stream guage before. That flume is supposed to be level.

Priscu from above. The lake is about a foot below in elevation. The lake used to be about half a mile away...

Priscu before

Priscu during

Priscu after!!! Many rocks moved...Way too many

A glacier that feeds Doran stream...This glacier makes me feel something good, but I can't explain what it is. But it makes me feel very euphoric when I look at it.

Cathedral in the LaCroix glacier

Me in front of the cathedral

March March March, all day long...Love it!

Finished Priscu!

January

Hokay, so, Here is de Earth, ROUND. And that is where we begin.

11th Jan 2011

At least I think it is still 110111. I am declaring today the first day of winter. 21 days after the 21st of December. Summer Solstice. It is finally cold here. I used to wake up hald unzipped from my liner in a pool of sweat. Now I am covered by my -40C or F bag only dreading the moment I hear a helo cutting the air with each rotation of its bladde, to go out into the biting cold and on with the day. Granted it is much easier to sleep now that it is cooler, but much more difficult to put on carhartts that are frozen to a mold of the pile the way I left them the night before. At least they are waterproofed with natural oil from 3 months use! A walk of shame turned into shivers. Back to the hut for some cowboy coffee.  There is snow about halfway up the 6000 ft mountains now, and an always looming cloud layer at our zenith just above the snowline. The streams have all but shut down leaving a few stragglers to dump their load and others to fill with sediment then freeze prolonging the time it takes to remove sand vs. ice from a flume. The moat is still holding fast and allows us quick and easy access to water.

Diane arrived in the valleys today. We all flew to a couple of concerning streams that are either being flooded by the rising of lakes on one side, or a barrage of cobble filled water on the other. There is a lot of work to take care of in the coming days. Thank god for people in McMurdo with a strong back that want to help in this process!

The last week I spent back in McMurdo for New Years and visiting friends I had made as well as preparing many items we still needed @ F6 1/2 way through the season. Funny as it seems, I learned a lot about mylife and myself in the short time I spent there. More about what I do and do NOT want in  life. What truly makes me happy. And yet conversely to pink floyd, I have been trying, but have yet to get what I need. What I need however only makes life more exciting with the expectation of the fact that I have no idea what is ahead. Surprise with no security, DEAL. Many things I find make me temporarily happy or cure my thirst for happiness but only for a short time. My happiness is insatiable, and can only be achieved by making those around me happy as well. That is if they don't try to kill me first.