In a recent batch of questions from my students, it seems that many people are wondering more about our daily routine, so I thought I'd share with you a typical day here at Lake Joyce!
We wake up in the morning around 7:30. I can hear alarms on phones chirping from various tents. Getting dressed takes extra time because of all of the layers we wear, but we save time by not showering! We meet for breakfast at about 8am, and head down to the lake at about 9am.
Our walk down to the Lake. A good view of Taylor Glacier on the other side...
Megan on Lake Joyce.
We spend nearly all day, every day down on Lake Joyce. It's about a 5-minute walk from camp, and the lake is very, very beautiful and fun to be on! It usually takes us a couple of hours to get all of our gear ready for the day – the drill sled and the science equipment sled must be outfitted. The divers are at the dive tent getting their gear ready for taking samples while diving. We need to clear space in our data storage devices to make room for more drop camera footage. It all takes a while.
Typically, we divide into two groups – those who drill, and those who dive or help with diving, and I think you've seen a little bit about what those tasks look like in some of the other journals. We usually stop for lunch sometime between 1-2pm, and are finished with our tasks between 7:30-8:30pm.
The evening commute.
Dinner is usually served between 8-9pm, with a different person volunteering to cook each night. In between dinner and bedtime (10-11pm) we usually get to hang out, although sometimes we have lengthy science discussions during that time. Sometimes we listen to music, but sometimes we just chat.
Lots of people have been asking about how difficult it is to sleep at night because it never gets dark. I find it convenient, actually. I can read before sleeping. I hate fumbling around in the dark looking for a flashlight I can't see, and that's no problem here. When I want to sleep, I pull my hat down over my eyes and call it good. Nobody here seems to have a problem with the light at night.
Comments