hungry?
10/22/04
8:48 PM
Another long day. Woke up again at 6:45 for breakfast and then had to go to a waste management and evironmental training class at 8. It turns out that we have to record every environmental disturbance that we create while in the Dry Valleys. That is going to be an incredible pain in the ass, considering that nearly every pit that we dig is considered a disturbance. And there will be many, many pits.
We spent the rest of the morning in the food pantry, figuring out what we are going to eat and drink for the next two months. It was really difficult and incredibly tedious. I finally see why Adam was dreading this part of the preparations. We had about 30 wooden crates, maybe 1’x2’x1.5’ that we had to fill. We had a sort of ad hoc system for boxes divided up into breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beverages. It is tough to think about cooking meals in the field for 8 people at a time on December 8th, when you don’t know everyone’s preferences or how much they will be eating. We settled on six main dishes for dinner. Chili, bean burritos, spaghetti, a mashed potato/stuffing/gravy/chicken/ground beef concoction, stir fry, and a rice dish. Then on day 7, we will have something special like steak or chicken patties. Then the cycle repeats. For the next 8 weeks. Not too bad for camp food.I was assigned to pack the chili and spaghetti boxes. I couldn’t believe how much food we are actually going to need. Granted, we will be working hard under cold conditions and burning calories, but even so. I gathered what I thought would be necessary to make a pretty hearty chili for 4 hungry people. Adam looked at it and told me to double it. When I kind of looked at him blankly for a second, he said, “just do it, you’ll understand when we get out there”. It took about 4 hours just to gather and pack all of the dry foods. Each box ended up weighing 50-60 pounds. The food pantry itself is worth writing about. It is filled with a lot more than I expected, from dehydrated green peppers to oreos. They tell you not to look at the expiration dates on anything down here. You see, the dry foods that come down here are usually bought directly from the source as surplus or rejected products, in bulk – dirt cheap. And they don’t throw them away for a few reasons - mainly because a very hungry person in the field will eat them at some point without thinking twice and because waste management is a big deal down here. I found out today that 68% of "waste" from Antarctica is recycled. By far the highest anywhere on the planet. I’ve heard that sometimes things will sit in the pantry for years. You’ll open up a box of Ritz crackers and then see that they “expired” in 1999. I guess it's just one more form of environmental conservation.
Anyway, we ate a huge lunch and then spent another few hours preparing boxes and filling a few coolers with frozen meats and veggies. We miscalculated a few things and ended up with 180 tortillas for two weeks. We have another appointment tomorrow morning to return 120 of them.
I can’t believe that I just got here on Monday. It has only been four days, but I feel as though I have been here for a few weeks, at least. We have packed so much into those 96 hours, it is really hard to believe. And the crazy thing is that I have been getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Maybe it is just the early starts.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the BFC getting things ready and testing our equipment. Dinner tonight was a feast. King crab legs, prime rib, steak fries and mixed veggies. I had two full plates. And then a bowl of soft serve ice cream. I have been eating very seriously lately, trying to store some energy. I’m actually gaining weight, both muscle and fat, adding a little girth. I'm already up to around 178ish. The goal is to be 180 before we leave. The only thing that I am afraid of is that once we’re in the field, I will be this uncontrollable eating machine because my body is used to such a high caloric intake. Like my Uncle Dave used to say, "gotta feed the boiler". Adam has told us that we will probably be consuming 8000-9000 calories a day out there. It is amazing how much energy it takes to keep your body at 98.6°F. There’s a lot of water in there that has to be maintained at 80-90 degrees above the ambient tempearture. And Adam pointed out that I have the highest surface area to volume ratio of the group. Hence the name LankyPoobah. Actually, they say your core temperature usually drops a few degrees after being out in the field for a little while. That will be fun.
I keep forgetting to bring the cable for my digital camera when I come here. I will have more pictures soon.
I hope everyone is doing well. I have been thinking about you all.
8:48 PM
Another long day. Woke up again at 6:45 for breakfast and then had to go to a waste management and evironmental training class at 8. It turns out that we have to record every environmental disturbance that we create while in the Dry Valleys. That is going to be an incredible pain in the ass, considering that nearly every pit that we dig is considered a disturbance. And there will be many, many pits.
We spent the rest of the morning in the food pantry, figuring out what we are going to eat and drink for the next two months. It was really difficult and incredibly tedious. I finally see why Adam was dreading this part of the preparations. We had about 30 wooden crates, maybe 1’x2’x1.5’ that we had to fill. We had a sort of ad hoc system for boxes divided up into breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and beverages. It is tough to think about cooking meals in the field for 8 people at a time on December 8th, when you don’t know everyone’s preferences or how much they will be eating. We settled on six main dishes for dinner. Chili, bean burritos, spaghetti, a mashed potato/stuffing/gravy/chicken/ground beef concoction, stir fry, and a rice dish. Then on day 7, we will have something special like steak or chicken patties. Then the cycle repeats. For the next 8 weeks. Not too bad for camp food.I was assigned to pack the chili and spaghetti boxes. I couldn’t believe how much food we are actually going to need. Granted, we will be working hard under cold conditions and burning calories, but even so. I gathered what I thought would be necessary to make a pretty hearty chili for 4 hungry people. Adam looked at it and told me to double it. When I kind of looked at him blankly for a second, he said, “just do it, you’ll understand when we get out there”. It took about 4 hours just to gather and pack all of the dry foods. Each box ended up weighing 50-60 pounds. The food pantry itself is worth writing about. It is filled with a lot more than I expected, from dehydrated green peppers to oreos. They tell you not to look at the expiration dates on anything down here. You see, the dry foods that come down here are usually bought directly from the source as surplus or rejected products, in bulk – dirt cheap. And they don’t throw them away for a few reasons - mainly because a very hungry person in the field will eat them at some point without thinking twice and because waste management is a big deal down here. I found out today that 68% of "waste" from Antarctica is recycled. By far the highest anywhere on the planet. I’ve heard that sometimes things will sit in the pantry for years. You’ll open up a box of Ritz crackers and then see that they “expired” in 1999. I guess it's just one more form of environmental conservation.
Anyway, we ate a huge lunch and then spent another few hours preparing boxes and filling a few coolers with frozen meats and veggies. We miscalculated a few things and ended up with 180 tortillas for two weeks. We have another appointment tomorrow morning to return 120 of them.
I can’t believe that I just got here on Monday. It has only been four days, but I feel as though I have been here for a few weeks, at least. We have packed so much into those 96 hours, it is really hard to believe. And the crazy thing is that I have been getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Maybe it is just the early starts.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the BFC getting things ready and testing our equipment. Dinner tonight was a feast. King crab legs, prime rib, steak fries and mixed veggies. I had two full plates. And then a bowl of soft serve ice cream. I have been eating very seriously lately, trying to store some energy. I’m actually gaining weight, both muscle and fat, adding a little girth. I'm already up to around 178ish. The goal is to be 180 before we leave. The only thing that I am afraid of is that once we’re in the field, I will be this uncontrollable eating machine because my body is used to such a high caloric intake. Like my Uncle Dave used to say, "gotta feed the boiler". Adam has told us that we will probably be consuming 8000-9000 calories a day out there. It is amazing how much energy it takes to keep your body at 98.6°F. There’s a lot of water in there that has to be maintained at 80-90 degrees above the ambient tempearture. And Adam pointed out that I have the highest surface area to volume ratio of the group. Hence the name LankyPoobah. Actually, they say your core temperature usually drops a few degrees after being out in the field for a little while. That will be fun.
I keep forgetting to bring the cable for my digital camera when I come here. I will have more pictures soon.
I hope everyone is doing well. I have been thinking about you all.
posted by LankyPoobah at 8:48 PM
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