With Happy Camper School over, we spent the day making sure everything was in order for our real camping trip to Cape Royds, just two days away. We’ll be there for five days with Dr. David Ainley, studying a colony of 4,000 Adélie penguin pairs. Their chicks should be hatching soon.
Before we go, we have a ton of details to arrange. We spent today in a succession of dimly lit, very warm storehouses and offices. We learned about how to keep our field site pristine. We scheduled flights with helicopter pilots. We assembled the food we would eat, learned how to contact McMurdo by radio, and weighed the camping gear we’ll be using so the helicopter pilots can plan for the load. For good measure, we also learned how to drive and repair snowmobiles. We’ll spend tomorrow around the sea ice of McMurdo Sound, learning how to travel safely over the floating floes, which are just beginning to break apart with the arrival of summer.
Read on about our adventure in the slideshow below. Can't see the slideshow? Get the Flash plug in »
