outdoor recreating
so, i’ve been trying to go outside for a walk a few times a week. i’ve been doing fairly well lately. now, going for a walk here is, as you may imagine, slightly different than walking around the block at home, or even going for a hike. here i feel like i have to be super prepared even if i’m going to be outside for a mere 45 minutes or so.
well, last saturday night, brad and i decided to walk out to hut point, aurora hunting. it was a fairly breezy night, i guess. neither of us were dressed for going, so we both went to our respective rooms to get ready. now, my idea of getting ready for a walk to hut point is this:
–1 pair thin long johns
–1 pair fleece pajama pants
–1 cotton t-shirt
–1 cotton sweat shirt
–1 pair wind pants
–1 fleece lined wool hat
–1 neck gaiter
–1 pair of mittens
–1 pair wool socks
–1 pair hiking boots
–1 big red parka
it took me about 10 minutes to don this outfit. now, i waddle over to 209 to get brad, and he’s still getting dressed. i have no idea how many layers of pants and shirts he had on, but i was overheating just looking at him. long story short, the only part of brad’s entire body that was exposed was his eyes. he looked like a ninja.
now, i’m not saying that i don’t understand where he’s coming from. if i were from california i too would be layering a lot more than i am, i feel. and perhaps he was the smarter one of us, because he was a lot better prepared for a weather change, which happens quite suddenly here. i couldn’t help thinking of the little kid in “a christmas story” though as we started to leave the building.
we didn’t end up seeing auroras that night, but we had a great walk. as we left town we joked about watching for wild animals, and serial killers. we figured though that if there was a mass murderer around, we probably already knew them, so we’d be okay. i think we could talk our way out of getting killed, between the both of us.
once we got out to the point, to vince’s cross, we sprawled out on the ground and looked up at the stars. i looked out over the ice and commented how weird it was that it looked like i was looking out to sea, but there were no waves. there was just vast nothingness. without the sound of the power plant there would have been no noise at all.
it is definitely a bizarre feeling to look back at town and know that everything you will know for the next few months, and every single person that you’re going to see for the next few months are all holed up in that one area. we walked up to roll cage mary and walked around the hut point ridge trail. it was amazing. i can’t wait to do it again.
we went out a few nights later with simone, peter, jana, and stacey. brad didn’t have on quite so many layers this time. stacey’s glasses froze, so she couldn’t see where she was walking the entire time. i walked next to her so that she didn’t fall off the side of the road and down a small cliff. just as we got out to the hut, we saw auroras.
we were all invigorated by this, and practically ran to where the lights of town wouldn’t block the auroras as much. it was an amazing night. peter, brad and jana had a blast running to the top of a hill and then throwing their body down the hill as if there was a toboggan underneath them. it was great fun to watch, and i was jealous of their ability to play in the snow that way. hopefully once i’m better i’ll be able to do the same thing. we laid out in the snow and watched the night sky changing colors. it was cold and eerie. i loved it.
heading back to town we all started to realize how frozen our various facial features were. stacey’s hair was the most amazing. it was like white spaghetti. peter got some great pics of it. brad had this amazing ice crystal on his eyebrow that was attached to his eyelash. it was awesome. i’m glad peter brought his camera to take pictures.
i don’t think that i’ll ever get over what its like to just “go for a walk” here. i have to remember to bring a full nalgene and make sure i have some sort of snack available, just in case. its amazing how fatigued you get in the extreme cold, and dehydrated so quickly as well. i’d hate to get stuck anywhere with out water. i’d also hate to get stuck outside in just my pajamas, but that doesn’t stop me from going from my dorm to another in just pajama bottoms and a sweatshirt. i should think about wearing longjohns these days…