Kaitlynn in AK

Here's an update from Kaitlynn up in Alaska:

This summer I’m working at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’s Arctic biological research facility (Toolik Field Station), which is located eight hours north of Fairbanks just off the trans-Alaskan oil pipeline on the North Slope.  There are a lot of researchers here from a variety of institutions and I’ve met quite a few Vermonters!  One of the first people I met here actually went to Bowdoin and had the same undergrad advisor as me.  I’m technically working for the University of Alaska Anchorage and my research group is studying the climate change feedbacks of the carbon and hydrological cycles in the tundra.  I spend a considerable amount of time picking plants, which I can do surprisingly well thanks to my many years of weeding experience.  

View of the Brooks Range from one of our field sites

The oil pipeline and the haul road

I get most Sundays off so I’ve had the chance to go on some fun hikes in the Brooks Range.  A few weeks ago I hiked in an area called Atigun Gorge, which is actually part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).  The wildflowers were beautiful and I saw some really neat birds including a Snowy Owl and a Golden eagle.  The running here is also pretty good and the station even has a very small gym with a set of free weights and a pull-up/dip apparatus.  Unfortunately the haul road that parallels the pipeline is under pretty heavy construction right now so my running options are a bit limited unless I want to fight belly dumper trucks and massive graders for road space.  

  Atigun Gorge in ANWR

Dwarf fireweed

Life at the field station is quite fun.  I live in a nice tent with electricity and a real bed, and the food here is amazing!  The camp cooks make delicious homemade ice cream and bread, and there is an extensive salad bar.  The kitchen serves real maple syrup, which means I think the food here is better than at Bowdoin!  Two weekends ago we had a huge bonfire to celebrate the fourth of July.  We exploded helium-filled plastic bags as firework substitutes and people were dancing in mud puddles.  The kitchen staff went all out and made king crabs legs and steak for dinner!

The researchers are not the only ones who are eating well up here.  Apparently the mosquitoes are the worst they’ve been in about 10 years.  I don’t leave any skin exposed when I go into the field and sometimes our equipment malfunctions because the sensors get clogged with bugs.  I’ve become a pro-bug swatter and the walls of my tent are dotted with squashed bugs.  I’m incapable of outrunning the mosquitoes so I’ve had to start exercising in my hooded bug shirt.  I’ll be mosquito food for another four weeks and then it’s back home for a few days before returning to Bowdoin for Pre-Os!   

Lots of mosquitoes (Photo: Jesse Krause)

 

Knitting in the field in my mostly bug-proof attire (Photo: Niccole Van Hoey)

Training in Maine

James and Tyler are living and training in Brunswick this summer.  Here's an update from James on their adventures:

Last March, when I first got accepted to a summer research fellowship at Bowdoin, I was a little ambivalent.  Sure, everyone talks about how summers in Maine are unbelievable, and sure, I would be able to eat more than my share of lobster and corn on the cob, but could I really stomach running and rollerskiing on the same roads and trails that we train on for the rest of the year?  Well, I decided to go for it, and about four months later, I am glad I did. Together with my trusted sidekick Tyler, we have been having an incredible summer and learned that Maine is one heckuva place.

A three-day-old zebrafish embryo in a transgenic line we created to cause developing teeth to fluoresce.

Here is a rundown of a typical week in our lives:  From Monday to Friday, I work with my advisor in the bio department to try to isolate the effects of a specific cell-signaling pathway in zebrafish embryos.  Tyler works at the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, doing random tasks throughout the community such as developing new trail systems and working at the farmer’s market on Saturday (he brings home a lot of freshly picked strawberries).  After we are done with work, we’ll drive somewhere to rollerski or run; so far we have found some great new roads around Hallowell and Woolwich but also visited old haunts.  We fittingly celebrated the week of the Fourth with a rollerski threshold up Penny Road, known far and wide as the most patriotic street in America.

 

Penny Road, where even graffiti is pro-establishment.

While our weeks are great, the weekends are even better.  With no homework to speak of, we have been able to spend almost every weekend away from campus, getting to the far reaches of the state for some pretty cool workouts.  Some of the highlights include running up the Camden Hills, bounding up Sugarloaf, traversing the entire Bigelow Range, and most recently, visiting Acadia where we got to do some massive hikes across the park and visit ski team alums Will and Maren. 

Tyler (looking pretty bro) on the ferry to North Haven. 

 Bounding up Sugarloaf.



Tyler and Dan atop Little Bigelow.

Sadly, my time in Maine has flown by and I am headed home soon. Some exciting things are in the near future, though.  In just under a month, Tyler and I will be reuniting in Jackson Hole, WY to visit Henry, Tess, and former skier Rainer Kenney.  More to come on that soon!

Nice and sweaty atop Mt. Megunticook.

 

Truckee Adventures

Riley and Alec are out in Truckee this summer - they're training with Spencer and the rest of the Far West crew.  Here's Riley's account of their adventures so far:

Alec and I headed out with fellow EISA skiers Calvin Wight and Josh Harrington from Colby and Williams, respectively. Prior to this trip I read On The Road, which had me buzzing with beatnik vibes for our westward adventure. Every stop the four of us did some sort of adventure run, hitting up the Niagara river, North/South Dakota badlands, Baldy Peak in Bozeman, MT and even in a quaint park tucked into the suburbs of Chicago. We were able to see Tess Hamilton and former Bowdoin skier Rainer Kenney in Jackson, WY, where we managed to get in some L3 skate intervals and an awesome hike/run up Death Canyon with Rainer.

 Here is a sweet campsite we stayed at with the Grand Tetons behind us.

Tomorrow will be our fourth week of training and it has been really great so far. We do a fair bit of roller skiing, adventure running and strength twice a week in a local park. Intervals have been very tough for me, partly because of the altitude and partly because there are some fast guys our here. We did a 1 mile time trial a week ago up a fairly step set of switchbacks. The fastest time ever recorded is 10:07 by Noah Hoffman. I recorded a 12:06, Alec a 11:58 and Spencer was around 10:58. I think my running is not as strong as my skiing so I felt happy with this time, especially since it was my first time doing it too. I hope to get it down to around 11:30 next time.

Alec running the time trial.

There was also a 1 mile fun run in town that was mostly down hill with over 500 participants. I got there late because Josh’s car broke down and I also did not have shoes because of a mix up with someone who was supposed to bring me gear for the race. I had no option but to run the race in socks. I got 10^th, beating a lot of people that weren’t very competitive but also some fast people. I also PR’d my mile time with 4:58. The winning time was 4:17. Me and two other Far West skiers made the newspaper too.

On the left is Gus Johnson, a former UNR skier, middle left is Dylan McGarthwaite with a killer costume that ripped at the crotch, right middle is a giant dude from London, and then me without socks sprinting to the finish.