Polar Date June 29, 2008
Sunday is the single day off from work here at camp, although you wouldn’t know it by walking around the labs. Few people were doing fieldwork, but there were plenty of people working on computers and working with the samples they had previously collected. There were a few hikes listed on the large message board in the dining hall offering people a chance to walk into the Brooks Range or take a bird-watching tour.
I was hesitant to go hiking because I knew so little about the terrain and the level of fitness required, but when Dr Bret-Harte (Donie) and her husband Dr. Peter Ray invited me for a hike I was thrilled to go. After packing a lunch (the usual for me, peanut butter and jelly, trail mix and a pear), filling my water bottle and putting on my hiking boots, I was ready to set out on the trail. Or so I thought…
The truck was parked alongside the Dalton Highway. We grabbed our backpacks and headed across a flat stretch of tundra toward the distant hills.
First of all, there isn’t a trail, per se, only the general direction you want to go. Our destination was Jaeger Valley, named for the Jaeger birds that live there. To get to the valley, we went up and over hills, forged creeks, walked through tussock tundra, dry heath tundra and wet sedge tundra and across rocky areas. It was a tough hike! We stopped for lunch on top of a large cairn where the view was breathtaking.
It's a long way off, but we took off right after eating and headed to the slide.
Afterwards, we took off across the tundra to look at a very large landslide. All along the trail, we found many different plants and flowers, and Peter collected some for his herbarium. We saw a Siksik (ground squirrel, very cute) and many caribou antlers and pieces of caribou hide and hair.
An intact set of antlers but unfortunately much too large to carry on my backpack and take home to Michigan.
The hike back felt much longer than the hike in, although of course it wasn’t. I was extremely tired, my ankles and hips were sore from the constant elevation change and from walking through the tussocks. I didn’t care though, I made it back to the truck and we drove back to camp just in time for a great dinner of baked chicken, roasted root vegetables, peas, and a mixed green salad with Italian dressing and cookies for dessert.It was a really good day off!
Along with candy, ice cream, pies, puddings and other treats, there are usually freshly baked cookies. Keep in mind that people working here work out in the field most of the day and burn up a tremendous number of calories, so they can afford to indulge in sweets. The sugar also give quick energy which is necessary if you've been out in the field working, with your body doing double duty keeping you warm, a quick cookie or two perks you right up.
Signing off from Toolik Lake, and remember, "There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew”. ~Marshall McLuhan, 1964