Leaving On A Jet Plane

The time has finally arrived. I'm leaving for Antarctica tomorrow. I still don't think it has sunk in that I'm going to Antarctica for 2 1/2 months despite all the moving, planning, and packing. I'm glad to nearly be done packing. You don't realize all the little things you need to take until you're going to a place where you can't just go to the store. Anyway, I don't know that I have much to say about all of this but felt obligated to write one more post before I leave, so wish me luck and see you in a few months.

Where Am I!?!

The title has a couple of meanings. First, physical location. BTW, I don't know how to add a link to some maps of Antarctica and where I'll be, so this seemed like the next best idea. If you don't already know (as some people surprisingly don't), Antarctica is south. Waaay south. Like, 10,000-miles-from-Washington, DC south. I've tried to show where other continents and New Zealand are for some reference in the map to the right, and the red box highlights the area where I will be - Ross Island.

The next map shows where McMurdo Station is located at the southern end of Ross Island on Hut Point Peninsula. An interesting feature on Ross Island is Scott's Hut. Scott's Hut is kind of a base camp from which a British expedition set off to the South Pole. It was built in 1911 and abandoned in 1913, but because of the cold temperatures it is still in pretty good condition. There is still some 100 year old seal blubber hanging from the ceiling!

And finally, a detailed map of the study area. Our camp will be located right next to Big Razorback Island and the seal colonies are scattered from the Hutton Cliffs area to Cape Evans.

Second, my brain is fried. I've been doing everything from packing to getting my plane tickets to forwarding my mail, and I'm tired of it all. It takes a lot of planning to go to Antarctica. I can take 2 70-lb bags on international flights, but only 1 50-lb bag to Antarctica. Some of my stuff can be left in New Zealand, but of course, my winter clothes - the heavy stuff - has to go with me. I'm going to need a scale to pack! Anyway, I guess I'm in good shape if trying to pack for Antarctica is the worst of my problems.

The worst part of this trip is definitely going to be the flight(s). I'm leaving Nashville at 2:25 PM CDT on the 29th and arriving in Christchurch at 10:20 AM NZT on October 1 nearly 30 hours later. And I will never get back September 30, 2007. It will forever be lost in the wormhole that is the International Date Line. Note to self: Add sleeping pills to my packing list.

When did I accumulate all this junk!?!

I've put it off and put it off thinking Antarctica was oh so far away, but the time has arrived. I received an e-mail yesterday regarding what to bring, when we'll be leaving, and so forth, and Elan put things into perspective when she told me that I'll be in Antarctica in 3 weeks. So now I have to pack up all my stuff to move home and, at the same time, try to keep things I will be taking with me to Antarctica seperate. Meanwhile, I have work to do and worst of all, my iPod broke.

Now, I'm not one of those people that have their earphones glued to their head at all times, oblivious to the world around them. In fact, those people kind of annoy me. But, nevertheless, 2 weeks before a 16+ hour flight to New Zealand and 2 1/2 months on a frozen rock is not the time for my iPod to give up on me. I've done my fair share of crossword puzzles and sudoku, but 16 hours adds up to a lot of puzzles. I guess I could spend the time browsing through SkyMall and dreaming of the day I could own my very own Sopwith propeller. So I'm going to the Apple Store to have them take a look at my iPod, and, hopefully, they will fix it or just give me a new one. Either way, it beats staring at the seat in front of me.

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my new blog! This is my attempt at cutting down on all of the pictures and e-mails I'll have to send while in Antarctica. I'll be adding to this shortly to give everyone some background on my trip to "The Ice." I guess some very brief background is in order.

About 3 months ago I was accepted into a PhD program at Montana State University under Dr. Jay Rotella to work on population dynamics of Weddell seals. Weddell seals only live in the sub-Antarctic and Antarctica, so that means I get to go to Antarctica for my field work. Not a bad deal! It beats sitting at the computer like my master's work. So I leave on Oct 1 for L.A. and then Christchurch, New Zealand, where I will stay for a couple of days to receive some training and my 30 lbs of clothes issued to me by the U.S. government. From there, it's off to McMurdo Station in Antarctica and whatever awaits me. Here's a link to the project website, and I'll be adding more in the next few days.

http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~rgarrott/antarctica/project_description.htm












http://www.gdargaud.net/Antarctica/Life/WeddellSeal.jpg