5 July 2013 Life at Toolik...it's a lot nicer than you think!

Journal

Hours from Civilization?

Location wise, Toolik Field Station is literally in the middle of nowhere. There are no towns nearby, unless you count the pop-up city of Deadhorse, which is home to all of the people employed by the oil operations at Prudhoe Bay. Even so, Deadhorse is a good 3 hour drive from Toolik. The location, while remote, is beautiful and pristine, which is pretty much what you want when you are studying concepts related to the functions and processes of the natural environment.

Prudhoe Bay General Store — ELOONor and I check out Deadhorse.

Views of Toolik — Typical views around the field station. Pretty difficult to look at everyday, right? Notice the Brooks Range in the distance.

Toolik Field Station is located in the “North Slope” of Alaska, which stretches from north of the Brooks Range to the Arctic Ocean. The only road that goes through this region, The Dalton Highway, follows the Alaskan Pipeline to Deadhorse. In the picture below, notice that the North Slope tundra (green) is dominated by water tracks, which explains why during the warmer months (like now), the place can be a soggy mess to deal with. Good thing I have my Xtratufs to slog through the damp marshy summer tundra!

All the Comforts of Home

So if this place is in the middle of nowhere, then obviously I must be roughing it in a tent and eating dehydrated meals, right? As if. The field station is an engineering marvel and is fully stocked with everything anyone would ever need to be content. Sure, there are some accommodations that are made to insure that the natural surroundings remain relatively unspoiled (water conservation, incineration of waste, etc.), but it’s really a pretty cush place. I even lucked out by getting a weatherport all to myself. I guess that’s one of the perks of being a PolarTREC teacher?

Weatherport Village — Home sweet home. Weatherports are pretty cozy, have power and even have a space heater when it gets cold!

Quiet Zone — Shhhhh! People are sleeping.

Trash — All waste (including food waste) is either recycled or incinerated.

People waste goes in the Towers. There are several around camp, all above ground (to protect the permafrost).

Getting Clean

Back when I told people I’d be heading to the Arctic, the thing that seemed to worry most people was the fact that I would only be able to take 2 showers a week, each one only 2 minutes in length. I wasn’t that concerned – most days it doesn’t get above 60 degrees, and there is a sauna every other day of the week. There’s also a nice deck of the sauna for a literal bucket shower. It’s a pretty effective way to get clean. No biggie.

Towels — Everyone gets a hook and a cubby. Just like pre-school.

Squeaky Clean — Showers and also sinks for brushing teeth, etc.

Sauna. There is a deck around the back and a path down the dock (and a slide!) for an invigorating dip in the lake.

Getting Fed

Toolik Field Station is known for their food. They do NOT mess around. Thus far I’ve had turkey pot pie, vegetable tofu curry (awesome), bacon every morning, and anything else I could possibly want. I have to force myself not to eat dessert with every meal because the options are so tantalizing. I joked the other day that I am often “paralyzed by choice” because there are always leftovers in the fridge in addition to the menu choice of the day. Mmmmmm….