11/25/2016
About a week ago we were told to be prepared for a camp move on the 22nd. We packed up the majority of our camp the evening of the 21st. On the 22nd all flights were cancelled due to problems with logistical planning in the field office. Then we had two days of cancelled flights from bad weather at McMurdo. Yesterday we had one flight that took one of our skidoos away with the plan to take it to the new field location. The skidoo ended up at Shackleton Camp. Now there are no flights for the weekend because this is Thanksgiving weekend. So now we are three people and the kitchen stuff jammed into one Endurance tent, stuck on a glacier for Thanksgiving, feeling strung along with inaccurate and conflicting field flight info. Everyone else is enjoying a long weekend and the best feast of the year, while we are making spaghetti and frozen meatballs on a Coleman. Needless to say, we are not exactly pleased with pushing hard days to be ready for a camp move four days early only to be jammed into a single tent and told to sit tight for seven days without being able to do any more field work. At least I have had a lot of uninterrupted work time. Though it would be more productive at a field camp galley with warmth and unlimited hot drinks that don’t require shoveling snow and melting it on a propane stove… or the need to wipe off the newly frosted walls so water doesn’t constantly drip down onto my notebook and sleeping bag anytime we turn on the stove…
Elizabeth Erickson 