Sunrise: 3:33am
Sunset: 12:20am
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| Shoot star with the Alaskan Range |
Week 6 has been full of many many surprises. Both good and bad. My week started on Sunday with a repeat hike of Sushana Ridge. The day was warm, sunny, and consumed with giant mosquitoes. Regardless, the day went great. I still huffed and puffed my way up, but the hike up went overall much better than the first time. I ended the hike feeling tired, but strong. I also go to see Shooting Star, a super pretty wildflower that smells like grape soda. :)
Monday and Tuesday were typical. I exhausted myself in the office crunching through data. Which was good, but I'm not sure how useful this data will be for reasons that I might explain later, but not right now.
I had off Wednesday and Thursday. A much needed break since I was increasingly feeling like I was catching a cold.... again. I started Wednesday off relaxing, but had my fingers crossed that I might hear back from Clemson University. To my surprise, I did. I listened as the voice on the other end informed me that I had been picked for the position and I would need to be there by Aug 15th.
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| Forget-me-nots |
I tried not to squeal, but I'm pretty sure I did a tiny bit. 23 years old and a year out of undergrad and I find myself postponing my traveling adventures to take on the real world. To move to western SC to take graduate level classes and to spend my winters and springs in coastal NC to study herpetofauna diversity in wetlands of managed forests. I'm excited, and I know this is what I've wanted for a long time, but it doesn't change the fact I already miss the desolate dirt roads, the high alpine lakes surrounded by craggy mountain peaks, and the sweet sweet smell of ponderosa pine in a dry summer heat.
As my supervisor told me, the Rockies aren't going anywhere. And if I play my cards right, I'm setting myself up for the opportunity to land a permanent position in the Rockies by the age of 26. Fingers crossed for the right cards.
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| POL4 Station |
Friday was my field day. I packed up the two stations I had out in the park and moved them to new locations. The day was long, but went smoothly. I brought back what I hoped to be 2 weeks of data for each of my 2 stations. To my dismay, technical problems on multiple ends might have left me with data mostly unusable. For each station, I need sound pressure levels (SPL) AND bus pictures that are synced with the SPL. I got great pictures for IGL1, but what looks like possibly no SPL data. And I got a full data set of SPL from HOG3, but only a days and a half worth of pictures.
Mostly useless.
Saturday was another work day riding the EVC bus. It was nothing terribly exciting. I did a hike up the ridge near the EVC. I was excited to do it. About 1000 foot climb in less than a mile, so a tough hike, but what should have been really rewarding. To my surprise, as I crested the ridge line and began to look North to the other side, I found myself still staring at the road.
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| Top of the Ridge |
I was disappointed. My exerted energy had left me staring back down at what little civilization existed in Denali, much like the Sushana Ridge hike. I sat and listened to the air brakes of the buses, people at the EVC loudly talking back and forth, and the screaming of kids. In soundscape terms, it was all noise. The technical definition of noise being unwanted sound. My own thoughts sat empty in my head.
I once again thought about sitting at Farley Lake in the Sawtooth Wilderness of Idaho. A high alpine lake nestled between giant 11,000 foot peaks, high passes, and other partially frozen alpine lakes, miles away from anything remotely considered civilization. And then I thought about the 6,000 foot peaks in NC. The small stretches of wilderness that were characterized by sweeping deciduous growth and high elevation spruce forests, hundreds of waterfalls, and in it's own way, a lack of civilization.
The fine line between designated Wilderness, and the enjoyment of wildness.
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