happy camper

this past tuesday and wednesday i was given 2 days off work for my boondoggle (vacation off-station) and went to Happy Camper. for a lot of people on station (those going out to field camps), Happy Camper is not a boondoggle, it is simply part of the training for their job. but for those of us that have no business ever being off-station, Happy Camper is welcome release from the daily grind.

i woke up around 7:30am, finished packing my gear, and got some breakfast. the 10 people in the class (all janitors and dishwashers, plus N8) all met at the SSC (science support center) at 9am for an hour of class time with danny, our instructor. from there we all loaded into a Delta and drove out to the campsite. we had a bit more classroom time out in the field (learning how to use the camp stoves) and then it was time to start digging and digging and digging.

we set up a scott tent, two mountain tents, a quinzhee, built a wall out of snow bricks, and used the snow brick quarry as a kitchen. we also had a few helicopters give us a show by “buzzing” over our heads, only 20 feet off the ground.

the quinzhee was a lot of work. it’s sort of like an igloo, but instead of using blocks you just make a huge pile of snow and dig out the inside. by the time we were done with ours (around midnight), it was the biggest and baddest quinzhee of the entire season. it easily slept 5 people (with room for at least 2 more), and had a kick ass staircase-entrance that went 5 feet down into the snow and then back up into the floor of the quinzhee, like a beaver dam.

at some point during all the digging we took a break for dinner. everything was dehydrated so all we did was boil a shit load of water. we had hot drinks (cider, hot cocoa) followed by hot soup (black bean, tomato, clam chowder) followed by bag dinners (black beans and rice, chilli, beef stroganoff). overall, it was pretty good. unfortunately, while nate was hydrating his dinner he burnt his hand (2nd degree) with the boiling water and had to go back to station. bummer. he’s OK now though.

that night, after everyone else had retired, i spent some time by myself walking around and taking pictures. it was incredibly quiet and bright and peaceful. i slept in the trench that nate was planning on using, and i stayed very warm despite the -15C low. just as i was lying down for bed i heard another helicopter approaching, and i popped my head out of the trench just in time for it to buzz right over my head. after that, i pulled my hat down over my eyes and put my goggles on to keep the light out.

we woke up at 9am the next morning and broke camp. we did a few field exercises (someone lost in a white out, plane crash) and talked with the South Pole using an HF radio. we got back to town around 3pm and i went straight back to the room and passed out. i’d never been more tired during this entire trip.

Photos: Happy Camper