The views along the highway were stunning. We crossed the Yukon River, the Arctic Circle, thru Coldfoot, over Atigun Pass (highest mountain pass in the Brooks Range), past Galbraith Lake, and finally to Toolik Field Station. I've included a map below but Toolik is not labeled on it. The arrow for the BLM Utility Corridor is pointing almost directly at Toolik.
And check out these pictures from the trip (disclaimer that these pics were mostly taken out the dirty window of a moving vehicle):
Also on the first night, I jumped in a truck with new friends around 10:30 pm and we drove north to see a herd of musk oxen! Musk oxen are only found here and in Siberia. One of my friends wanted to collect some of the musk ox fur, called qiviut, so I helped her pull it off willow branches. Qiviut is very expensive and makes the softest yarn.
We had beautiful weather the next day so we went out and I got to fly my first drone! Since that day, the days have kind of started to blur together. I've flown the drone multiple times now, processed all the imagery, conducted RTK surveys and laser surveys, learned how to collect bathymetry data on a pack-raft, downloaded data from our base stations and sent files to OPUS, and set up a mobile base station. It's crazy how much I've already learned in just a couple weeks, but I guess we do work 6 days a week!
Camp life has been pretty good but was an adjustment at first. You live and work here so your coworkers are always around. You're allowed two 2-minute showers per week and are expected to use a makeshift shower at the sauna if you want to shower more than that (I've found jumping in the icy lake to be effective). One load of laundry can be completed every two weeks. The wifi has not been great and is only really good in the common areas. It's been difficult to get much privacy and the 4-hour time difference from home has been somewhat challenging to keep up with friends and family thus far. The mosquitoes here are TERRIBLE and are only getting worse as they continue hatching and getting faster throughout the month of July. Summer is really short here - the landscape just greened within the past two weeks and everything will be dead by the time I leave at the end of August.
Oops, sorry for word-vomiting everything. Here's some more pictures of camp life:
- Went to the Galbraith Lake aufeis
- Walked into an ice slot canyon
- Learned about candle ice
- Discovered how tiring walking in the tundra is…
- Saw SOOOO many flowers
- Jumped in the lake many many times (both when it was icy and after the ice melted)
- Went to the sauna almost every time it’s been available (it’s open three times per week right now)
- Attended multiple bonfires including our solstice celebration
- Went on a Sunday hike to the molar in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with friends
- Ate all this incredible food. The kitchen staff pampers us with options (and a full fridge of leftovers for consumption)! Some highlights for me included quesadillas, mashed potatoes and gravy, burgers with sweet potato fries, oatmeal, fresh fruit all the time, chicken masala, and Sunday brunch burritos. And don’t get me started on the desserts. We’ve had mocha mousse cups, strawberry shortcake, carrot cake, rose hip and pistachio cookies, berry cobbler a la mode, and a full fridge of various homemade ice cream flavors that are always available. And a snack wall, salad bar, and plenty of drink options.
- Drove to Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse to accompany a researcher who needed to send a broken instrument to get fixed. The furthest north I’ve ever been! 70 degrees of latitude!
- Saw musk oxen, caribou, a blonde grizzly bear (!), ducks, geese, birds, a fox, an eagle, a ptarmigan, and plenty of ground squirrels called sik siks
- Explored the area surrounding Toolik
- Pack rafted with bathymetry gear
- Participated in trivia night with my fellow App State Mountaineers
- Biked to a data collection site
- Put on a pageant skit with other staff members
As always, my instagram is more active than my blog so feel free to check it out: Instagram
If you're interested in learning more about Toolik, check out the Naturalist Journal that has super interesting daily entries (including animal/plant sightings, greenness levels, and snow/ice coverage): TFS Naturalist Journal
Liebe Grüße aus der Arktis,
Lyndee