Back to the Taylor Valley for another polarhaven-pitchin'-party. This time, we had two to build on the same lake; one at the west end and one at the east. Our helicopter ride was a bit sketchy going out due to low clouds and gusty winds, but the beam of light from above (shown in first picture) served as a nice comfort.

On day one, we were unable to start work due to a delayed helicopter that couldn't make it over behind ours and as a result, our cargo didn't get slingloaded out to the lake until much later in the day. So after a relaxing afternoon of hiking, napping and horseshoes we were able to zoom down the lake on six wheelers (a most exhilarating ride... thankfully I didn't get picked to tow the sled with the 200 lb propane tank in it... casually nicknamed "rocketsled") and get started at 6 in the evening. We worked steadily through the evening and made it back just before midnight, cooked up our shrimp stirfry and hit the sack.

The next morning was an early riser, but we had to finish the second polarhaven before our 1:30 pick up. We stopped off at Lake Fryxell to add a couple parts that were left off the polarhaven we had put up earlier in the week and had time to hike around a bit before our homeward flight. I was lucky enough to get to ride up front in the A-star and enjoyed a good view of the sea ice dotted with seals, which looked a lot more like garden slugs from 1,000 feet. Our pilot was nice enough to fly a bit off course for sightseeing and even attempted to land on that same iceberg that was shining in the storm the day before; however, upon final approach, it turned out to be too snowy on top of the block to land the helo.

The other pictures are of a mummified Wedell seal and an adelie penguin both found in commute to the west side of the lake. It is unknown why penguins and seals make these oneway trips deep into the dry valleys. Some scientists speculate that they may contract a virus that affects there sense of direction and navigational capabilities, but it is still a mystery. The last picture is of my coworkers Graham and Luke having a game of horseshoes on the beach.

~G