harriet lake: Anatomy of a Field Camp

The Jamesway at the field camp at Lake Fryxell

This year, I was immediately whisked out into the field upon my arrival at McMurdo. I usually have a week or two of settling in and getting things going, but within 3 days, I shipped off to the Dry Valleys for a weeklong data collection extravaganza. The Dry Valleys are a set of valleys in the mountains across from McMurdo Sound. They make for an incredibly beautiful settings and unique environment in terms of weather, life and land.

The Dry Valleys of the Transantarctic Mountains are just
some 60 miles west of McMurdo Station (lower right)

Most of what I do down here (and back up north) involves helping various science groups collect GPS data and terrestrial LiDAR data. A lot of them are glaciologists, geologists, and other earth scientists, but we also work with other researchers, like biologists, environmental groups and atmospheric scientists. This makes my job really interesting as I get to dip my fingers into a lot of different projects and see the different studies happening on this side of the continent.

For a majority of the groups that ask for GPS support, we train the team members on how to use the GPS gear and then hand them the equipment and wish them the best on their field campaign. But often, the groups want us to collect the data for them and we get to go out into the field to help them do just that. In fact, with the LiDAR, I get to go out on 90% of the data collection runs, and I consider myself pretty lucky in that respect. That’s my favorite part of my job – the field aspect.

Fieldwork is awesome because you get to have this as your commuter vehicle:

I *heart* helicopters.

And this as your office:

That photo is of the Canada Glacier, which is in the Dry Valleys, just a 45 minute helicopter ride from McMurdo.

Often, science groups will stay in established camps that are pretty cozy and comfortable – some of the buildings are even heated and have 24-hour electricity. This post will be about one such camp. Other times, the groups will have to set up their own temporary camps, and these vary from group to group. These generally don’t have any kind of heating and very limited electricity. I’ll post something about these camps at some other time.

Solar power provides most of the electricity [Lake Fryxell]

The main hut at Lake Hoare

My favorite field camp in the Dry Valleys is the one at Lake Hoare. Lake Hoare is located in beautiful Taylor Valley, which has 3 large lakes: Lake Fryxell (lowest elevation), Lake Hoare, and Lake Bonney. Two things make Lake Hoare my favorite spot in the Taylor Valley – the location and the food! The camp sits right at the foot of the Canada Glacier and just above the lake. It’s a gorgeous spot and getting to camp that close to a glacier makes my knees weak every time.

Making pizza dough inside the Lake Hoare kitchen hut

The camp is pretty luxurious – there are several little lab huts where scientists can look at the samples they’ve collected right there in the field so as to avoid the samples spoiling while waiting to get back to the main science lab at McMurdo. There’s also a main hut with a big kitchen/dining room and an annex that serves as a computer room/nap room/hang out room.

The lab huts at Lake Hoare

Lake Hoare has a wonderful staff that cooks delicious meals (easily 10 times better than the regular McMurdo Galley fare) and takes care of all of the camp chores. The staff really helps move things along and, in general, they are just great people. In almost every other camp, the science groups are responsible for all of the camp duties – cooking, cleaning, organizing cargo, ordering food, coordinating helicopters, etc. So getting to stay at Lake Hoare comes with a big dose of pampering.

Inside a Scott Tent

Welcome to my tent! There are two kinds of tents; the Scott tent is a tall, pyramidal shelter that is great for space, but not so warm, and the mountain tents are your everyday mountaineering tents and are much warmer, but a little low on space. I like ‘em both.

I’ve always slept in a tent in the field (as opposed to a hut), and I really love it. There’s something about the cold air, the warmth of your sleeping bag, and the absolute silence that is entirely unique to this place and makes for a really good night’s sleep.

People are often curious about taking care of those basic human needs in field camps. Well, in short, the answer is that pee gets collected in big 55 gallon drums and solid human waste goes back to "town" in a bucket. Every camp is a little different, but usually the loo is either in a small closet sized shelter or in a tent. I once worked with a group that didn't like shelters for toilets... the bucket just sat in a private spot behind a rock. Wonderful views, but I'm glad it didn't storm when I was there. Anyway, here’s a photo of what one of the closet-type toilets looks like: