Snow hike on skis: the first half

We got onto our skis, and off into the whiteness of the northwestern edge of the Hardangervidda we went. The start of the adventure proper! It was one of those days with heavy clouds and some snow; you couldn’t see the horizon, you could barely see where you put your skis as everything was featurelessly white. Not a good day to enjoy the landscape! But well, at least we were on our way, and the skiing went well. Today would be easy; the only way, pretty much, was up. No issues with pulks overtaking skiers and either cutting them off or bowling them off their feet. But pretty soon I noticed something that wasn’t there the day before; my skiing boots were pressing on the tendons on the outside of my ankles. I have a healthy respect for tendons; during an earlier episode of the winter hike I had developed tendonitis in my right arm and it had been painful as hell. I didn’t want to get something similar in my legs this time! That would be a show-stopper. I knew Thomas had brought a camping mattress specifically for repairs and such; I got some, and tried to stuff some in my sok for extra padding. That didn’t work. Then I tried to use it for raising my foot in the ski boot. Maybe that would lift the the painful bit above the boot. The idea was good, but the foam was too squishy.

 Me in the whiteness that only seems to contain sticks and a nice wooden structure

In the afternoon we reached a waffle hut. In there I discussed with Carl and Hannah; the latter had the brilliant idea to stuff empty boxes of Compeed in my show. These aren’t squishy! That made a big difference and though it didn’t entirely solve the problem, it became manageable. I left the hut happier than I had entered it; and not just due to the hot chocolate and waffle!

A while later the wind suddenly picked up. Interesting timing! Wind isn’t so bad, generally, while you’re moving, but doing faffy things that require gloveless hands, or sitting still, are not so nice in a stiff breeze. I also like washing at the end of a hiking day; in wind, though, that’s not so pleasant. This time I quickly washed only the upper half before we pitched the tents; that isn’t made any easier by wind  either. But we had two experts with us; both guides had gone to the South Pole more often than most of us go to the supermarket, so they knew exactly how to pitch a tent in high winds. Theirs stood in seconds. They had the same as I would sleep in, although we were with four, to Carl’s amusement.

 Pitching tents in the wind

We managed to pitch all tents; on Carl’s advice, in a line, perpendicular to the wind. Wind on snow with obstacles leads to snow scoured out one place and deposited elsewhere; your tents and pulks are such obstacles, and you most certainly don’t want them to be the place where the scoured away snow deposits again. The previous trip, the groups had pitched in the protection of a cliff; that was a mistake; the wind dropped all available snow on their tents and luggage, and one tent didn’t survive, and they needed an entire day to dig out the rest from the 2m thick snow pack. This time something like that wouldn’t happen to us.

 What tents and pulks looked like the next day

When they stood I took some pics; a camp in windy snow makes for good images! And there was a group cooking in our tent; we had chosen to not align the cooking groups with the sleeping groups, as that would mean hanging out with the same two or three people too much. We want to see everybody! This was a slightly weird mix of people I had known for over 20 years, people I had hiked with before and people I had met only once, but generally, this sort of hike attracts a rather specific type of people, and it tends to be extremely easy to get along swimmingly with everyone. It’s quite nice to be completely at ease with such a big group! But in the evenings it’s not so easy to socialise; we had decided it was generally best to cook inside a tent; temperatures in the evening would often hover near -20°C, which makes cooking very slow. Cooking inside a tent is quicker, and also more efficient. It doesn’t come very much view but one can’t have it all. Anyway; we had two groups cooking in the tipi and one in my tent; that sort of meant the tipi was full and my tent too. Where to go? Fortunately Hannah invited me to come pop by in her tent. Plenty of room there! And she and Carl had many tales to tell. 

After dinner I lingered outside a bit. It was windy but not very cold. There even was a bit of northern light to be seen! But then it was bedtime. It’s nice to make these long nights on a winter hike…

We woke up to lighter skies. The big escarpment behind us came into view. The wind was still strong but it was nice to see what landscape we were in. I also tried another method of dealing with my still tormented ankles; a band of foam around the ankles, with a slot for the tendon. The idea was good but this way I couldn’t close my boots. And with open boots you have little control over your skis. Oh well! Work in progress. 

We had breakfast, packed up, and got ready to leave. This always takes hours; we need to melt snow and boil the resulting water for breakfast (porridge, for us) and coffee, and also for lunch including hot drinks; everyone brings at least a litre of hot water with him or her. And even with powerful stoves as dragonflies and XGK’s that just takes a while. It’s worth it, though; I love the hot meals. In the evening we start again with water for dinner and drinks. It’s a lot of sitting still!

The escarpment appears from the clouds!

A slightly cold morning when we set off!

Skiers along the escarpment

Now we could see where we went things got better. And more exciting, too; today we would have some downhill fun. Not trivial on fjellski and a pulk, be it drawn with a rope or a frame. Luckily, you can apply a brake to a pulk if you want to, if you don’t want to be pushed along (frame) or overtaken by your pulk (rope). Just undo one of the straps, and strap it along the bottom of the pulk. Done! Easier if it’s on a rope, though; if you’re in a frame you can’t get to your pulk without getting out of the harness. 

The first slope that was serious by our standards was hilarious. It swiftly turned into a battlefield with bodies strewn across the landscape! But nobody was hurt; not even some hurt pride, as we are all too old to be embarrassed about not being good at something like this. It was fun! And something new. I was starting to catch on to this using a rope to pull a pulk. It quite works, although you have to be aware it can go its own way and you sometimes have to give people wide berths as your pulk might take a lower route than you do yourself. 

 The first proper slope down, causing many interventions of gravity

At the end of the day, Hannah and Carl would leave us. They would be heading for the hotel Carl lived in (his wife is the chef) and leave us to ourselves. We did some last groups pics and waved them goodbye. We then decided to pitch our tents not too far away. That meant pitching in the sun! I started digging kitchens with Thomas. They are in less use than before, given the efficiency of cooking in a tent, but it was such a nice evening it seemed a waste not to. After that I had a full shower in the calm conditions. Very relaxed!

 Group pic with guides (on the right)

As the night was so nice the cooking of our group happened in the pit after all; Jitske made red cabbage mash. With luxurious dessert! We were living the high life. After dinner and tea I sat in the pit a bit more, enjoying the quiet night and talking about life. But then it was bedtime after all!

The next morning it was my turn to get up early and start melting snow. I went back to the pit. It was a beautiful morning! We did the usual morning routine, which involved, again, me trying to improve the foam construction on my ankles. I cut out some excess foam but still couldn’t close my shoes. Oh well. For a while my biggest concern was the cold shoes anyway; putting on your shoes if they have been standing outside in -24°C really hurts!

 Me in cold weather gear in a lovely sunset 

We set off, through the nearby village, over the nearby lake, and then up the hill on the other side. It was such a nice day I soon put on my glacier glasses; they wouldn’t come off again until the sun set. And it was so sunny it got warm; I even considered walking in a shirt only. We also came to a hill that provided a challenge; up was very tiring, and down was so steep many of us took our skis off and walked down. All good fun!

Ready to go again!

 Walking the pulk dog; having to do a small stretch on the public road

View from the bridge over the lake

Later the fun turned. Suddenly the wind picked up. I immediately zipped up my jacket and put on hat and gloves. But that wasn’t enough; I was still cold. And I was doing the stupid thing of not wanting to stop and take off my jacket and put on some extra layers. I was hoping for a protected spot to appear to do that in, but it didn’t come. We were climbing up a beautiful little valley, but I wasn’t enjoying it. Then I saw the kites. There were kite skiers ahead! I hoped someone else would take pictures and battled on. When we had to cross a road I put on two jumpers. I was still cold. A bit further I found the others, sitting down for lunch; I put on my down jacket, was still cold, and was a bit miserable. We didn’t linger there. But when we went on again we got out of that valley, and pretty much immediately the wind died down. That made things much better! I was tired and my feet were feeling the strain, but I was warm again, and enjoying the landscape. 

The only pic I took of the windy valley 

The kite boarders

We crossed a lake and some more flattish terrain. At about 4PM we stopped at some signs; what would we do? Jitske decided we were travelling too slowly to reach the originally intended unmanned hut; we would go to a manned specimen some 3.5 km ahead, and have our day of rest there. We tend to have one such day in the middle of such a hike, both to recover, to do repairs in the warmth, and to be able to dry stuff. With four people breathing in a tent, and people even cooking in it, you get water in your sleeping bag! It’s nice to get it out as well.

I was tired and ended up in the back of the group. At some point I saw a white thingy; I figured it was some steam. This wasn’t Iceland, so it had to be the chimney of the hut. There it was! It would take me a while to get there. The sun was already behind the horizon. I was tired. 

 The hut looming in the distance while the sun sets

 Me arriving zonked and white-haired (it was a cold day) at the hut

When I arrived I took off the pulk and went in. I was glad to sit down! I didn’t very long, as Thias asked me to help him get out of his boots. No small challenge! And soon Jitske’s negotiations with the hut warden were completed; we would stay in the dormitory, and we were welcome to cook our own food as long as we did that outside; he feared gas stoves in a wood building. The toilets were in a separate building (which made the standard hole-in-the-ground with a seat above it look slightly less unglamorous) and we could shower in our own building. Spiffing!  

The handsome hut dog

 

Our dorm

We lugged all our luggage inside, left the pulks and skis outside, and settled in. There was a big drying space which was quickly filled with dubiously smelling socks, shoes, sleeping bags and whatnot.  I was knackered! I was glad Jytte had energy left; she volunteered to cook. It was already -18°C when we arrived; it would get down to -28°C, but she seemed not to care. I struggled not to fall asleep. After dinner I had a shower and not much later I was in bed. Quite where I wanted to be!

The next morning I was feeling better; I volunteered for going outside and boiling water for breakfast. It was faster here, as we could use tap water to start with, instead of snow! We had breakfast outside, where it had gone overcast and was only -10°C. That was so warm we even had breakfast outside. After that I took the opportunity to write some notes on my phone. One forgets! But after that I was pretty much back to bed. Jitske read some stories to whoever wanted to listen; it was bliss to just lie in bed, eyes closed, and just listen to her voice. I really needed this break! 

Later that afternoon we retired to the lounge of the hut for a very expensive Norwegian beer. I also readjusted my foam ankles once again. There was still room for improvement! After that we went back to cook, and we stumbled upon three Frenchmen who had arrived too, and would join us in our dorm. We were spread out rather widely, so we condensed a bit; so far we had one side of the room for the snorers, and the other side for the snore-haters. We had to abandon that and give Snore Corner to the French. I moved bunk.

 My custom-made foam ankle; this should do the job of protecting my tendons from my skiing boots!

Jitske cooked one of her famous over-copious meals (we gave the leftovers to the French) and after that we had a meeting. We had to decide whether we would head north to complete our original route, or head south for a shorter version. So far we had been slower than expected, and if we headed north we would be committed. We decided to go for it! I was a bit apprehensive; I didn’t know if my ankle solution would now work as desired, and I also had massive blisters. I wasn’t looking forward to having to forcibly keep skiing to make it! But who knows, maybe all would go smoothly.

After the meeting it again was soon time for bed. Another serious day tomorrow! Then we would head off for the second part of the hike. How would it go?

Snow hike on skis: getting used to the equipment

Long, long before this blog was started some friends started to go on a hike together over Easter. Many years later they were up for a new challenge, and decided to go for a winter hike. The venue was the surroundings of Winterberg, Germany. It was a success! You can hike quite well on snowshoes. And if you bring enough clothes and fuel, the low temperatures are no problem. We tried the Vercors too. When I moved North, the snow hike came with me; our first northerly hike (I think) was on Senja. And with that the trend was set! Iceland followed, and Norway again, even though by that time I lived in the UK. I missed a few years and then caught up in Norway again. Then two years ago I was just changing jobs around the time of the usual winter hike, last year I was too busy teaching, but this year, I would be able to join this marvellous annual event again. So I did! And it was our trusted destination of Norway again. But something would be different: this time we would leave the (majority of the) snowshoes behind and do the honourable thing: go on skis. A first! For this group, that is.

I had ski'd with a sled before, on several-day trips (this one and its reprise), and of course I had done plenty of day trips on fjellski (I think they call them backcountry skis here) during my time in Norway. I know I'm terrible; I don't like speed or sliding, and I have floppy knees, but I know I will get from A to not too complicated B. If I can do this the other Dutch hikers can too! Several of them are pretty good on alpine skis, and we expected to do this trip on randonnee skis, which is almost the same. So I had faith! We would bring two pairs of snowshoes in case we would encounter obstacles we were not comfortable with in skis, or in case of ski breakage, but otherwise we would be committed. And we would not even touch these snowshoes!

When the time came I prepared (sort of) and got to Norway. There I met Thomas; he was the only other early arrival. I had realised I had forgot to bring all the water capacity I had intended to bring, and he mentioned a big outdoor shop a small bus ride away. Going on a small adventure is more fun than sitting on your bum on an airport! We went. They didn't have water bags with a tube, but they did have other water carriers, even discouted, so it was a success. Thomas himself went for a flask too!

When we got back the others were due. It would take a while before they appeared, but there was still time. We soon piled into the train for the 4 hour journey to Geilo. The train trundled through pretty, snowy landscapes. During the journey I had a sinking feeling; I would bring my DNT key, which gives access to unmanned Norwegian huts, but did I really pack it? I had packed more casually than ever before, and I had not checked my packing with the minutes of the meeting we had had. Oh dear. And we wouldn't have another one. Jitske said she'd discuss with the mountain guides we'd have with us the first two days. Maybe they had access to one? For now we'd better just enjoy the trip.

On the way to Geilo 

 

In Geilo we were picked up by a small bus and taken to the youth hostel. Youth hostels aren't what they used to be; we had two serious apartments there. We distributed ourselves over them. Ours had three spare beds; we had plenty of room! Although one wonders what sort of queues for the bathroom you get if you have all the beds full. There was the one...

After some brief unpacking we went for dinner in the hostel's facilities and pitched our rented tents. We had received them at the airport and this was the earliest we could pitch them! The tipi for cooking provided some challenges but mainly because the snow on the premises wasn't deep enough for our snow pegs. After our well-meaning attempts it was time for bed.

 The view from the living room of our apartment in the morning

The next day we had a calm start; the youth hostel did not serve breakfast until 8.30. After said meal we got our bags and went to the ski rental place to get our kit. Jitske, who had organised this trip, had promised us randonnee skis, but we got fjellski. Quite a different cup of tea! More in line with Norwegian habits; no Norwegian would use randonnee skis for modest terrain as we would have, but it did mean much less control. Oh well.

It took me a while to get a good pair of shoes as it's always hard to find a pair of shoes that fit both my feet and my orthopedic soles, but I got one in the end. And with our kit we went to the start of one of the prepared tracks of which Geilo has many. Time to get used to these bits of wood, plastic and metal that would be our mode of transport! I left the pulk behind; I knew what fjellski are like and was keener to try to ski not just with a pulk (luggage sled), but with a pulk that was fixed to me with a rope rather than with a frame; however, the guides advised against it.

 The guides introduce us to the skis

We put the skins on we'd be using. I had only used full skins; half ones would leave more glide. We set off! It was a nice day and we were nice people but soon I was a bit unchallenged; I was on skis with skins on a prepared track around a lake! There was no learning there, nor challenge, nor play. I took them off. And not an awful lot later the others were told to do the same! Now it got more interesting. The others were introduced to herring-boning up (not something you learn on a ski slope) and descending on the floppy long skis. Many Dutch bottoms descended onto the snow, and many skis ended up waving in the air! It reminded me strongly of my own first attempts. A first blister was also taped. But skills were learned and fun was had and all was well.

 Herring-boning up the løype

We sat down somewhere in the snow for our sunny lunch. Life was good! And then we moved on. I found out both our guides were British, although Carl lived locally and Hannah in Salt Lake City. Carl had even worked at Plas-y-Brenin, half an hour from where I live, for years! Small world. They mentioned, as well, that the unmanned hut we intended to visit would also be accessible without key. Good!

During the afternoon the weather got cloudier and the people got tired, so when we got close to town again it was none too early. Some people wanted to get back to the ski rental place; some people had shoes that turned out to be too big and poles that were too long. It was quickly sorted! Then we could go home, and get ready for the next day's departure. Five of us had dinner there; I festooned it with some Penderyn whisky I had brought. It was universally appreciated!

The next day we packed our pulks, which was easy; the rental specimens came with a bag that was big enough to hold the most ambitious amount of luggage. Just chuck it in, strap the bag in, and done! We then had a last breakfast in luxury, and off we were to the start of our trek. It was all uphill, and further than we had figured, and the weather wasn't too nice, so it was a trying start, but we got there. At the bottom of a local ski slope, where a winter route heading west started as well, we teamed up with our guides again. It was time to take the wax off our skis, glue the skins back on, and set off!

 Walking our pulks to the starting point

 Putting the skins back on the skis at the start of the route

We had the kit, had got to know our skis, had sorted our accommodation issues, and had had two good nights of sleep (I had, anyway). The real adventure was to start!

Ready to ski!

Going to Daventry just before my hike wasn't very convenient. And maybe celebrating getting out of my container by going underground and into the mountains in the weekend before leaving was a bit much. But I only have so much time left here, such opportunities are not to be sniffed at! But with a dash to Sheffield to complicate things I spent the run-up to the Norway trip tired and with a headache. Which important items will I turn out to have forgot?

I also wondered how to bring my luggage. We would have sleds, so it didn't need to come in a backpack. Maybe a duffel bag? These give easier access to the luggage. I decided to go for it, even though mine has nothing to make carrying it easy.

When I walked to work in the morning, luggage and all (I would leave for the airport after work) I chose to carry the bag on my head. It seemed the easiest option! And it attracted attention. Soon a car stopped and offered me a lift. So nice!

When I left for the bus station this did not happen, but once there, I recognised an MSc student I had once taught. He helped me with the bulky thing, and even helped me carry it to the ticket machine at the railway station! What a nice man. He even confessed he had walked into the wrong room that day I taught him; he was a marine biologist, specialising in jellyfish... nothing I have much to add to.

 Made it to the station!

My rather heavy luggage

Getting to my hotel at the airport was a bit of a nightmare; it was undergoing maintenance or something, and many passages were blocked. I had no pound on me for a trolley. I had misinterpreted my notes and ended up at the wrong terminal. But I got there! And after a short night I was ready to check in. It will be nice when after eating all the food that bag will be lighter on the way back!
Anyway; some of the worst was over (travelling back will be a chore too) and soon the fun could begin!

To Sheffield

(Due to the winter hike this post concerning events on March 1st appears on the blog with quite some delay)

How was the project going? How many 14C samples were we expected to dig up? The higher echelons of the project wanted to have a meeting to figure out what the state of things was. And it was agreed to hold that meeting in Sheffield; Chris is based there, it is on route between Daventry and Edinburgh so Tom could easily stop off there on his way home from GeoTEK, and thus so could I (although it wasn't quite on route) and it's easily reached from Durham. But as I wouldn't spend the last day in Daventry I would be coming back from Bangor. I had a hasty Monday unloading cores, sampling cores, completing the lists of samples taken, plotting the samples on maps, etc etc, and then I was back in my van, on the way East. It was actually quite far!

I left at 8AM and reached Sheffield (not via my intended route) by 12. It was a bit nerve-racking; I was still in the enormous van, I have never been in Sheffield, both the signs and my satnav sent me off my intended route, I didn't fit inside the parking garage that had come recommended (van too high), so I had to on the fly find a parking spot in Sheffield City Centre with this heap of a vehicle. But I managed.

The rainy route to Sheffield; I stopped for a leak in the Peak District

 I don't often get such a view from a roadside loo!

I got there tired. But it was good to see everyone! And we could report back from our adventures in Daventry. And we thought of a few more samples to take to fill some gaps. And we discussed some problems we came across; in one area of the project, it looked like the glaciomarrine sediments were terribly reworked. We'd do some clever things with these to find out it that was the case.

Time flew. I had paid parking until 5PM, thinking that was massively exaggerated. But it wasn't! We were done just in time for me to get back to my van. I spend 20 minutes in traffic deadlock before I was out of town. This time I stuck to my intended route: over Snake Pass, and for a reason; it was beautiful! But I was only home close to 9PM. I decided to drop off the van right away. So after 9 I was finally definitively home. And still knackered! I would only have 1.5 days in the office to sort out what we had discussed, and then I would be on the road again...

Another sneaky mountain

(Due to the winter hike this post concerning events on February 28th appears on the blog with quite some delay)

When I started climbing with Phil I had no idea I was diving head-first into an active outdoor club. I realised I was registering with the Clwb Mynydda Mon, as I filled out a form, but the practical implications were not clear to me. I thought they'd just do rock climbing in a hall in winter and outdoors in summer. I had no idea they hiked! but they do! And quiet often, too! I am very glad I met them as people to hike with was just what I needed. My underground friends are hard to lure onto a hill, and my colleagues also don't seem very fanatical hikers. But after my first day on the mountains with these chaps I realised there had been a CMM-shaped hole in my liffe. Now it's filled!

They wanted to go up Glyder Fach. The first time I had been there (or near there) was years ago, with the Plymouth folk. I had been near too on my only (and it will stay that way) fell race. But this was the first time I'd go up in winter. It would be lovely!

We arrived in two batches: the usual Eifion and Simon who had been there two weeks before too, and Janet with her partner Phil travelling separately. We gathered near Hotel Pen-y-Gwryd and started uphill. It was a beautiful day! With amazing views on the Snowdon Horseshoe.

Agreeing on a route

 View on the Snowdon Horseshoe

We got to the plateau on the top, from which the view onto Tryfan, which for a change didn't have its nose in the clouds, was amazing. The people on the top had picked a good day for it!

On the plateau

 View on Tryfan

Approaching the top

On the top we had lunch in the sun. Nice! But when we started down it got more and more cloudy. We were descending in a swampy gully without a path. I didn't care but the others weren't so enthusiastic. They were glad to be down!

Me at theCastle of the Wind

 Descent

Once down we popped past an outdoor shop to buy some club kit. Then it was time to get home. I wanted to wash my kit so all was clean again for the upcoming proper hike!

Productive rendez-vous with the Cornish

Everyone comes to North Wales! It's just THAT beautiful. Last year two of the Cornishmen came up, and I took them through a mine they didn't know yet. And this year they came again! And a similar thing happened. I wasn't going to be very well-prepared; I had come home the evening before close to 10PM. I was knackered. I suggested we don't meet up too early...

At 11AM we met up near a mine. This time there were three! Like last year Darryll and Mike showed up, but this time they had Dan with them. They are spiffing men. It was good to see them again. But we didn't waste time; we went to the parking place and got kitted up. The mine I had had in mind was somewhere up the hill; fine for Daz and Mike but Dan struggled. Before we got to the entrance he gave up. Oh dear!

The thre eof us went in. I realised I didn't have a camera with me. Oh well. We'd be faster this way! I do roughly know my way around down there. We had to do a bit of searching for the bits I wanted to show them. But I showed them all the good bits I knew of, and some bits I hadn't seen before myself. We moved fast so we saw the length and width of the place! And a nice place it is. I saw a pendent ladder I had only seen the first time I had been down here. And I squeezed through a collapse I had never been through! Exciting times.

We even broke the spell of one of the mysteries of the place; we had stumbled upon a ladderway down, but the top ladder, which was a bit awkward to get to, had only a very small number of rungs left. We didn't want to akwardly get to it only to crash straight through it. We were thinking of rigging a rope and seeing where it went to. We had never got round to it...

This time we were on the lower level; somewhere in a remote part we saw a ladder. It looked like you could climb up to it! So I did. And it went. I recognised our near-rungless ladder! We had found the other side! And said ladder wasn't as frail as it looked; we got up it! So now we've done it. Spiffing!

Two pictures, by Simon (top) and David (bottom) from unrelated earlier trips

When we had done that we had seen pretty much all of it. We decided to go out and look for Dan! We found him near the cars. He hadn't been bored. Good!

We went to Betws-y-Coed, where the men had rented an apartment, so we could have a cup of tea. I pointed a few more mines out they may not know. It was a snug afternoon! But I was all too aware of what was both behind and in front of me, so I didn't stay exceptionally long. I had to get home, get some food, and get ready for the Sunday and, hopefully, for the upcoming trip too. And do some stuff I had not gone around to in the previous busy days.

I don't know if I'll still be living here the next time they come up. I hope I do!

Industrial core X-raying: the work

After the first day core scanning I was knackered. It is hard work! In itself, it’s not hard to scan cores. You shove them in, sort out some settings, and the machine does the rest. But we have more sections than we can use. So we have to make decisions there and then, based on the stratigraphy, the spatial distribution, where we already have samples, how good these samples are, etc etc etc which sections of what cores we want to scan. And then we want to sample whatever interesting stuff we find on the spot. So then you have to make sure you review all the scans, make notes of where you want to sample, and then do that. And every scans only takes ten minutes or so. You can pick a next section to scan, take it out of the big pile, put it in collars ready to go, and pack the previous one and put it on the “done” pile in the time it takes the scanner to scan the next, but the reviewing the scans and sampling won’t fit in that time. Generally, Tom is just loading and unloading the machine, while I do any sampling on a table near the container. But the continuous switching between thinking “which core section” to “how to work the machine” to “where to sample” and back to “which core section” is exhausting. And we have the machine for only five days; I am not keen to lose a minute of that time, so I want to arrive as early as we can and leave as late as we can, and take as few breaks as we can. But it does wear you out!

 Me finding a shell we saw on the X-ray

The first evening Tom went to the pub to watch football, and I volunteered to cook. I would cook for 3 people; that way I would have dinner and we wouldn’t have to cook the next day. Sounded spiffing! It took me a while, though, among other things because i wasn’t used to this kitchen. When I was done and had had dinner I was almost ripe for bed! 

The next day I did another morning run; I headed for the local reservoir this time. I had more time as this time we’d drive to GeoTEK. And I had time to run all the way around! It was beautiful! The sun wasn’t properly up yet, the moon was looming low above the water, the trees stood black and resigned in the water. The dawn chorus was loud here! I had a ball. And that night indeed we did not need to cook. It was nice! That was the night most of the blogging on this trip was done…

 Daventry reservoir in the early morning light

And the scans? We learned a lot. On some scans we found the cliché articulated shells you can’t possibly see otherwise and which make excellent dating samples. Sometimes there was nothing to see; that often meant I would take slab samples for analysis in Bangor. Sometimes we suddenly could see the structure of the sediment; sometimes that meant we then left the core, as it turned out to not be good for our purposes. But sometimes it worked the other way around too; at the end of the second day, we scanned a very unspectacular-looking piston core, but in the X-ray we saw an amazing contact between till and glaciomarine sediment. Perfect! Exactly what we need!

The control screen 

One of the shells we found thanks to the X-rays

The third day I ran along a hill that had a TV transmitter station on it. Nice too! And after that we did piston cores; so far we had done vibrocores, and these are smaller. We managed every single one! That was success! And we had been told we had to be out by 5PM. And I had made so much food we could eat it that day as well. Good work! So that evening we even had time for some planning. What would we do the next day, would I come back on Monday, how would we do the logistics? 

 TV mast and cattle

We ranked our remaining sections by priority. We'd see how well we'd do! And the next day I did a short run, made a big lunch as it would have to be dinner too, had breakfast, got Tom out of bed and packed my stuff. We wouldn't be back in our snug apartment. 

We got moving in our container. We made good progress! But it took its toll; at some point the cores to be sampled piled up, and so were the scans to be checked. When I had too much on my mind already, and Tom wanted to show me the latest scan, I realised it was time to do something else. Time to unload and reload my van! I had brought some sections back for Tom, and would take some of the sections he had brought to Bangor. for our PhD student Catriona. That was a nice brainless distraction. When that was doen I was fresh again and attacked the piles of work.

We scanned the entire first priotrity list. And some sections from the second priority too. Good work! In the end we decided I did not have to come back. Tom could do the rest on his own! I quickly checked the last scans. We then decided I would take the sections home that had anything interesting in them. I'd sample them in Bangor, and bring them to the project meeting on Tuesday. Sorted! 

I knew I had a 4 hour drive awaiting me so I was keen to leave. We gave the key back and that was it! Goodbye Daventry! It has been very useful!

The dream team is done!