Location: Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 0F

I had a request to describe daily life in the Dry Valleys, well, with my extensive experience (3 days), it is grand. Today my day started around 7am deciding the fastest way to change into clothes without losing too much warmth from my sleeping bag. After that I went to the hut (heated and pretty posh) and made coffee (Starbucks Sumatra) with a couple english muffins (w/ New Zealand butter). Around 8am, I start planning my reconnaissance of the lake, I took GPS measurements of the moat ice. The work (hike?) took about 6 hours to map the perimeter of the lake (I get paid for this?), with some pit stops. I stopped at Lake Chad on my walk, the ice was extremely beautiful there, it was so clear (and decorated with algae and ice bubbles) that you could see at least 10-15 feet to the bottom. I also saw my first mummified seal there; I guess some seals get to the Taylor Valley by getting off course from the ocean (which is about 100 miles away and 2000 feet of elevation gain). The next seal is saw was not mummified, it looked like a recent addition to the valley.

The afternoon had me testing and calibrating the permeameter in the instrument lab. The good news is that it calibrated fine so I will calibrate again tomorrow on the lake ice and then searching and marking sampling sites.

The evening was a treat. First, we had an Indian feast, with 4 Indian dishes and fresh naan (life is tough), the food at the camp has been outstanding, after dinner and clean-up duties I went outside to enjoy the sun in the western sky. This time of day (10:00pm) the sun illuminates the glacier that is just in front of my tent.

It's almost 10:30pm and nearing bedtime. I'm going to heat water for the water bottles (cuddling kitties). The picture is from the ice on Lake Hoare. Signing off.

Location: Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Weather: Mostly Sunny, negative something, calm wind

ROOM WITH A VIEW. I arrived at L. Hoare today. This is one of the two lakes I will be conducting my research on. The scenery on the helo trip out from McMurdo was great, but the Taylor Valley is exceptionally beautiful. The picture is the view from the front door of my tent. Now I know why I became a geologist.

Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Weather: -10F, Overcast, Windy

Snowcraft school went well. It was very informative and cool to be out with two mountaineers for a couple of days. I have spent a lot of time in the outdoors, but it is always neat to pick up ideas from others. It was really cold, wind chills near -50F, but I stayed "moderatly" warm unless I had to expose some skin.

Location: McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Weather: -27F, Overcast, winds WSW @ 20

The flight from Christchurch to McMurdo was uneventful (which is the best news). It took 5 hours on an USAF C-17 to make it, and was surprisingly comfortable, for flying in a jumpseat. It is very cold here, something I'm sure I will have to get used to. I have "happy camper" school starting tomorrow for the next two days. I am actually looking forward to camping out tomorrow night, and to getting into the field, which is scheduled for next Wednesday.

I am exhausted. We had a 2:30am wake up, and had to make it to the Antarctic Centre by 4:00am. Of course, we didn't go wheels up until 7:45am, and landed almost exactly 5 hours later at 12:47pm. I am off to read a little, go to the coffee house, and then get an early night sleep.

Take care all. I'll report after my snowcraft school.

Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Weather: Sunny, 52F
Date: 10/16/2006

I arrived in NZ this morning. All four flights went smoothly, however, it was a long travel day (28 hours) and I did miss out on Sunday.

The Atlanta Falcons lost today even despite me putting on my lucky shirt during the LAX to Auckland leg. Anyhow, my schedule says that I am on the Thursday flight to Antarctica, if the weather holds. It's supposed to get cold here tonight, but a partly cloudy, cool day tomorrow. I plan to tour the city, since I have no official things to do until Wednesday. I'll write later.

DAY 1
Location: Columbus Airport
Weather: 78F

I will be updating this journal as much as possible on this trip. Knock on wood, but everything looks good for a field season in Antarctica. As long as the equipment shows up I should be able to start my data collection within a week and a half.

First stop is Christchurch, New Zealand (after 4 flights today), to get clothing issued and departure to McMurdo Station.

I will update from NZ. I hope everyone is well.