Today we drove north to Toolik Field Station. I woke up around 4:30 and stayed in bed for an hour, desperate for more sleep. I finished repacking, had an everything bagel and met Cory and Helen downstairs at 8:30. Helen is the PhD student who will be Cory's postdoc once she graduates this fall.
How can there be this much stuff?
We took a cab to the university where we met Pete at the truck. He gave us a detailed explanation of the truck - where all the emergency equipment is, how to use the CB radio, where the satellite phone is, etc. We also met Dylan, a new employee of both the Park Service and Wildlife Conservation Society who would be headed up with us to work with the team currently studying wolverines.
I sat in the middle seat for about two-thirds of the drive up.
We drove to Fred Meyer and bought some food for lunch and met Travis, the final person in the truck who would go up with us. He works at Toolik. It was a really nice group and we spent the next eight hours together on the drive northbound.
Travis, Helen and Cory at the Yukon River Camp highway stop.
As we drove, the scenery slowly changed from trees to tundra once we passed the Arctic Circle. Along the way we saw two moose, ptarmigan, a glimpse of a snowshoe hare and my first wild Arctic ground squirrel.
One of the views from the drive.
We arrived at camp at 6pm, just in time for dinner. It was snowy and below freezing, but sunny and relatively warm. I got to meet a lot of other people here, staff and researchers alike, had an excellent meal, got my orientation of the camp, and unpacked all of my stuff in my room. It is one of the in-between warm rooms. Not warm, not too too cold, though my hands are cold as I type this. I'll be here for three weeks and I'm happy with the amount of space I have to myself.
Our photos and group appear in the main area for all to see.
After I unpacked I ran into Dylan. It was nearly 10pm and quite cold out by this stage, but still light. He had binoculars and showed me some caribou that were off in the distance.
This is what our truck looked like after the long drive up.
To sleep I pulled down the blinds, put on my eye mask and my fleece-lined socks and got into my sleeping bag and fleece liner. Cozy.
This is where I will be staying for the next three weeks. I'm all unpacked and cozy,
The mountains looking pink as the sun sets.
A view of camp at sunset.
A view of camp at sunset.
Add new comment