Emily & Luke's Travel Blog & more: Spring Time

Emily and colleagues learning to build a boot from scrap airplane parts

Well, spring is just around the corner. Yesterday was probably our last day of skiing (in Fairbanks). I did alot of skiing this spring and am getting better on the skate skis, trying to get in better shape also. The snow is finally melting, it was 50 F today. Luke still insists on having a fire in the woodstove at night, even though it's only about 30 at night. The nights are quite a bit longer than my last post, and as I write this post it is 9pm and still very light outside. Probably will be dark a little after 10pm now.

I am gearing up for the field season on the North Slope. This year my department got a big new project (it was a last minute award - kind of a suprise) to measure stream flow and precipitation on many new river basins that have very little (or no) historical data. The hydrology project is funded by the State of Alaska to support natural gas exploration on the North Slope. Right now I am in a frenzy to procure all the supplies we need in a very short time frame, such as zodiac rafts, sensors, staff gages, survey equipment, satellite phones, safety equipment, and other supplies. One week from today we head up north to begin field work, doing snow surveys in several large basins north of the Brooks Range. I will be up there about 10 - 14 days. Right after I return I'll have a few days in Anchorage for a conference in early May. After I get back to Fairbanks it will be a rush to get things ready to go for the stream gaging project, where we will leave in mid-May. The project logistics are very challenging (and expensive) because the sites are in remote wilderness (helicopter access only) so we have to make sure we have everything we need ahead of time. So anyways, last week I spent time in a fun survival class learning about swiftwater safety/rescue, aviation safety/survival, and delayed medical care. I took a similar class a year ago in Boulder. Here are some photos! I'll try to post a few blogs while I am at Toolik Field Station and Prudhoe Bay this summer if I have time. Wow - when I get back from this all in mid-June, summer in Fairbanks will be in full force and I'll try to take a couple weeks off so Luke and I can do a float or camping trip. Now I need to pester Luke to do a blog about his recent adventure caribou hunting up north.

Testing out life jackets

Colleages testing out home-made lifejackets. One is made out of a sleeping pad and duct tape. The other is made out of a pair of pants and some Nalgene bottles.