Every morning as I walk to Crary Lab I stop and enjoy the view. I have a lovely view at home of the Chesapeake Bay but nowhere else in the world would I get to enjoy such a view. Don't you agree?
My view of Mount Discovery. I get to look at it from McMurdo and then look at the other side when I am on Heald Island.
It was another glorious day on Heald Island. The team was working like clockwork and I took the opportunity to take some pictures of everyone in action. The first is of Bob. We forgot the connector piece that allows us to use some teth er as an extension cord. Luckily, Bob is able to rig something up that works just fine.
Bob is figuring out a way to connect the tether and use it as an extension cord.
Francois is setting up the navigation system. He takes measurements to make sure that his calculations are accurate.
He will measure the distance to use in his calculations.
Our fearless leader, Dr. Stacy Kim, has her hands in just about everything. She is constantly on the go and I wonder just where she finds the energy.
Stacy is always busy. Where does she get the energy?
Scott is back in the lab taking a much deserved bit of a break. That is if you call taking care of about a dozen errands for the team a break.
The only one not doing anything is SCINI. She just sits in this amazing environment and waits to show her stuff.
The view is spectacular and SCINI enjoys a few minutes in the sun before diving into the icy water.
Once everything is in place (all done in an hour which is a record!), then Francois launches SCINI into the icy cold waters on Heald Island.
I wonder how many times Francois has launched SCINI. He looks like a real pro.
After a very successful deployment it is time to move the camp, again. This time we are moving everything one half mile the opposite direction. I have the great idea to drag the tent instead of dismantling it and having to put it back up (remember that it was a bit of a bother). Bob reminds me that there is about 150 pounds of wet cardboard in the tent that we have been using as a floor. However, I insist that pulling the tent is the better choice. Stacy and I tie a rope and then begin to pull the tent across the ice.
Stacy, Bob, and I worked together to drag the tent and its contents over half a mile over the ice.
It is actually not too bad until we hit a patch of snow-covered ice and then it got really hard. Two days ago when we were moving camp I dragged a survival bag (weighs about 80 pounds) across the ice and I think I pulled something in my back. After dragging the tent about a quarter of a mile, my heart was willing but my back was not. Stacy gave me a back rub and said the muscle was very tight. Bob graciously took my place and I pulled the much lighter banana sled instead.
We finished dragging everything across the ice and set up the new campsite. It was a long way but we persevered.
It is necessary to move camp so that Stacy can get transects in different locations for her study.
I was pretty sore and I will admit that I was glad to see the helicopter come over the mountains a little bit early. I will go to bed and hope things are better tomorrow.