August 7 - Fen Day 1!

First Fen Day

The day started out early (6:45!) for a select few of us, known as the Skeleton Crew, who were sent out to sample at a site we missed yesterday. For the rest of us, we woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes prepared by another group of early-rising volunteers. Everyone else quickly got up and prepared for the second day of sampling, finishing breakfast just in time for a yoga session with Carla! 

After we were stretched and refreshed, we drove over to the CNSC to pick up waders so we could go to our second site, which was a fen! We met up with the Skeleton Crew, who had a very successful morning at the burn.

At around 10:00 we began our work on the first of the two sites. We had to wear hip waders to traverse parts of the fen that were deep and muddy. This posed a unique challenge, as traversal became a fight to keep our balance in massive mud puddles. In addition, the muddy soil required three people to steady a probe at one time, increasing our time out in the cold, thigh-deep water. We finished up the first site at around 1:00 and then ate a quick lunch before starting the second.

The second site posed even more of a problem, as the water was deeper and the mud even squishier. The groups taking the active layer thickness needed three people just to take the measurements, sometimes even four. After a tiring three and a half wet and muddy hours, we were finally able to go back to Camp Nanuq. 

Once back at home, we were treated to a hair washing station provided by Ryan Brook, a delicious dinner, and a trip out to watch Belugas at sunset before heading to bed.

That’s all from us,

 Nathan and Emmett