5/7/2023 0 Comments Timenet dishwasherThere has been a good bit more slumping, but it looks like the overhanging block that was making access so dangerous has fallen, which is a good thing indeed. Kaare made it to Walakpa, although there is still snow on the beach. In the end, folks couldn’t get refunds for the nights they paid for (a downside of online booking, I guess), but if anyone else gets stranded overnight on the way in or out, at least I’ve got a bunch of phone numbers and we should be able to help out. I figured maybe 2 nights in Anchorage would be a student budget-buster (having slept under some stairs once when stranded in England for a week on the way home from the field–Laker had raised ticket prices over the summer and I didn’t have a credit card), so I posted on a couple of northern archaeology Facebook groups, and had 5 offers of places to stay from folks in Anchorage within a couple of hours. One got on the early flight today on standby, but the rest are now coming tomorrow morning. The first of the volunteers were to get in Tuesday night, but the plane couldn’t land, so they all wound up heading back to Anchorage, getting in quite late. That is, once there are enough volunteers here. ![]() The freeze and chill food got in, and Kaare will be working with the volunteers to prep a lot of meals to freeze before we head down. Not optimal, but it will sort itself out. ![]() The lab looks a mess, because everything is still out from the inventory, and needs to be packed, but some of the things to pack it in are part of the freight. We are still waiting on the parts for a water screening station, and the dry goods. I got my new tent stuff sack (the original lasted one trip, and all the duct tape in the world isn’t enough to hold what’s left together if I actually put the tent in it) and my InReach. However, we have gotten the replacement cover for a Weatherport, all the recalled transit batteries, extra new batteries for the handheld radios, Rite in the Rain paper for field forms, the refurbished iPads, the nice new big First Aid kits, chaining pins, Sharpies (lots of Sharpies) and a bunch of other goodies. We have been ordering things, and waiting for them to get here so we can build things, or pack things or prep meals or… And of course, this being the Arctic, shipping delays abound. It has been insanely busy trying to get some projects to a point that they can be left for a few weeks while we’re in the field, while at the same time getting set to actually go to the field. Clean gear □ Putting gear away until the next time I head for the field. The crew power washed the crushed mosquitos off them, but they wound up muddy, so I’ve got to wash them again. I’ve still got to rewash the chairs I loaned the project. I spent the weekend washing and drying two sleeping bags (one that I used, and a spare that one of the crew members used, cleaning and packing two Thermarests (ditto), and washing and renewing the waterproofing on my tent & fly. I have been washing field clothes since I got home. ![]() I’ve still got a UICS sleeping bag to wash and dry, and some down jackets to drop off at the dry cleaner. I’ve also washed a pile of assorted gloves. I’ve washed the tent and blanket Garrett Knudsen was kind enough to leave, which was used by several other crew members, and will be mailing it on Monday, along with a few souvenirs that crew members didn’t manage to pack. I’ve been working on both project equipment and my personal gear. My dishwasher is full of coffeepots & plates, which will get stored for the winter. We were going to donate it to the common pool, but there were already 8 bottles of mustard in the refrigerator, so we’ll store that for next year. We dried several tents, dried and hung up jackets, dried and got the sand off a lot of equipment, and sorted the remaining food. This past week, the remaining crew have been working to get equipment cleaned & stored. If we are camping, showers and laundry are rare events. ![]() We excavate things out of the dirt, and, in the process, we can get pretty dirty ourselves. Archaeology is, in some respects, a dirty business.
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