Take It Easy

An emperor penguin in motion

1-24-11

While in this isolation, I’m craving pizza probably more than anything else.  Otherwise, life is good.  Night shift is getting a tad redundant, but with far less pressure originating from time constraints, we are beginning to have a little more fun. 

Saturday night?  The waste barn (trash facility) was hosting a party and everything else was closed for the usual “town schedule” night off.  But cargo is 24/7.  No airplanes were flying and we had built ahead several priority listings.  Basically, we had enough cargo to send on three C-17’s (about a week ahead), but nothing to do with it.

A cargo delta

Dylan, Andrew and I took a caravan of deltas out to the strip.  It’s about an hour drive, pushing maybe 18 miles per hour in the clunky, all wheel drive, extremely fuel inefficient flatbed trucks.  They are loud and bouncy.  The road to Pegasus field is on the Ross Ice Shelf; between 50 and 200 feet thick snow/ice.  It’s not perfect and the deltas do not respond well to inconsistencies.  I’ve been airborne in the cab several times, flopping around hoping the pain will end shortly.  I’ll sit hunkered down so it’s usually my shoulders bouncing off the somewhat padded ceiling and my knees hitting knobs and toggle switches across the dashboard. 

I was the lead driver, paving the treacherous path in the cloudy evening flat-light.  Eye’s heavy, nothing but white land and sky, I found a pothole that nearly bounced me into orbit.  Tire diameter is about 4 feet with thirty year old leaf springs holding them away from the frame.  The vehicle is articulated; bending at the frame waist turning the entire front end of the vehicle and not just front wheels.  Articulation is lateral only, not vertical, so if you’re driving straight ahead you have a rigid, 15 ton piece of steel rattling anything inside the cab. 

My life flashed before my eyes.  Radio traffic was minimal Saturday night, and looking behind me towards Andrew’s swerving delta, I called him to ask if he’d seen the horrors ahead of him.  Intending to pull over to collect myself, as well as my backpack, parka, coffee mug, fire extinguisher, cargo straps, passenger seat cushions, papers and tools strewn about the cab, I advanced not too much further to the pulled over galley truck on it’s way back from the airstrip.  

Reed and Richard from galley staff were roadside observing a pair of emperor penguins.  We took a few photos, I shook out the cob webs and we kept on our way. 

As the season winds down, field camps are beginning to clean house and C-130’s are returning to McMurdo full of retro: returning supplies, but mostly trash.  The three of us grabbed nine pallets of trash and got them strapped to our trucks as quickly as our cold fingers would permit.   By the time we had some hot chocolate and checked email and facebook, it was going to be about lunch time upon our return. 

A &A: loader teamwork

I’m pretty sure Dylan got to go home after (midnight) lunch, while Andrew and I together took one delta for the remaining retro.  Andrew’s girlfriend, Andrea, had yet to see a penguin, so she joined us.  Andrea’s excitement during out photo shoot with three penguins was contagious.  It continued for each of the dozen or so penguins spread out along the drive.  We buttoned up our delta in warmer, early morning sunlight, and headed back into the whiteout conditions encompassing most of the length of the road.  Waving at passing penguins and making a group effort at completing a cross word puzzle, the drive home was pleasant. 

Back in the yard,  our team lead called us into the office.  Well, it’s the office over the radio, but otherwise known as the slack shack.  Our day was done.  We’d done enough work for the day.  We could not have had a more relaxed or easygoing day.  But it was plenty productive as well. 

I could not have asked for a better day.  Servicing the C-17's is enjoyable but a lot of work. Today was a great change in pace.  I think this season is going to end well.

A captive audience.

 God bless.