Charles laughed when he saw the patchwork made of the Cat. He said it adds character. We got new windows in it and they put a new heater into it. I’ve been practicing with the rifle and I’m getting better, but I don’t know if I could hit an animal or if I want to. I guess if I had to maybe.   

That lone wolf showed up again. He followed me for a few hours. I think I’m getting a pet. I left some scrap of the food I brought along and he gobbled them up. He likes beef jerky and butterscotch pudding.  I can’t help but ponder the domestication of the dog and the cat for that matter. I realize the implications of the mutual relationship, humans using them for hunting and pest control. I wonder how difficult it would be to domesticate a wolf? Perhaps I’ll make it a side project for amusement.

Charles should return in a few days. That should give me ample time to figure out this new equipment. Also, it’ll get Ben off my back about the bear. I can’t wait to get fresh eggs and fruit for a change. We haven’t had time to hunt, so it’s been all powdered and freeze dried food.

Charles and half the crew flew out yesterday. It took awhile to offload new gear. I’m not even sure what half of it does yet, but I have plenty of time to figure it out.

Yesterday I found the oddest thing. I went to check the transponders in the south and came across a bear laying prone on the shelf.  It was kind of eerie. I’ve seen dead animals before but somehow this was different. I guess because these beasts are endangered and we are killing their habitat. I half expected it to come back to life and come after me. I was on a snow mobile and was able to get directly beside it. I got some good images I hope to share soon. I actually touched it. It was completely solid, muscle and still warm, so it hadn’t been dead long.

I saw something shiny nearby and investigated and found a piece of metal with what looked like an American Airlines logo on it. Ben assured me that my theory it fell of a plane and killed the bear was incorrect. I aruged that though the odds are very much against it, the evidence was right in front of us on the ice. His position was that there are no civilian aircraft flying over our position and that this particular piece, if it were to fall off a plane would disrupt the structural integrity of the aircraft and we’d know  about it because the plane would have crashed. I told him that his theory, though intriguing, lacked the credibility to support his supposition. He said I could take supposition and shove it somewhere (he gave me specific directions,) then told me I should contact the U.S. Navy and tell them to revise their aviation metal smith ratings to account for my newly formed scientifical-like notions and that they should go back through their records to determine what aircraft he’d worked on and ground them until they can be repaired correctly.

Tomorrow we’ll go back with the Cat and a crew to get the bear and the metal. I guess the fur will make for extremely warm clothing and they said they could find a use for the metal.  

I did apologize to Ben.

With the crew breaking down for a couple of weeks, Charles decided I should learn how to fire a rifle. That’s not really my thing and I protested, but I suppose it makes sense for defense of the camp from polar bears and wolves . They gave me a class on loading the gun and on the safety of it. Then they told me how to fire it. It seemed simple enough from the instruction. It was kind of intimidating at first, but then it felt empowering. They made me practice aiming and pulling the trigger for hours before they gave me bullets. I sat in the mess shack aiming at a coffee can with a little guy on it. There is a scope on the rifle that Charles calls a crutch for wussies. I think it’s kind of cool to be able to see so far away. They had the coffee can set outside on the ice and I could see the little guy like he was right in front of me. After a few hours the guys brought me out to shoot bullets at the can. That’s when things went wrong. I had devised a scheme that kind didn’t work out. There is a switch on the side of the gun that has three positions that  read: safe, semi and auto. This seemed simple to me and was kind of the basis of how I had planned to shoot all day. I was extremely nervous and exhilarated when we went out on the ice.  My plan didn’t work though. When I pulled the trigger, half the bullets came out of the gun before I could stop. I dropped it after it kicked back and hit me on the bridge of my nose.  I thought that if I just put it on auto it would automatically hit the target at which the scope was aimed. Apparently, auto means automatic fire, so the gun turned into a machine gun. Everyone had been drinking and they all laughed at first but then the realized I hit the Snow Cat and one of the  snow mobiles. Luckily I hit the Cat that the wolves already scratched up. I hit a fuel line in the snow mobile so that is out of commission until resupply. The Cat has several  holes in the side.

Charles was surpringly calm. I think if he wasn’t traveling home for a few days he might still be angry. They are going to teach me how to use a pistol tomorrow. They think that might be safer.

Also, Adina sent me more beach pictures today. She actually included herself in a few wearing a black bikini and sporting a nice tan! She sent another of herself in a white dress from a photo shoot near the water.  I can’t rememeber what it was about her that could have possibly put me off.

No steak today, but my clam chowder was meal enough with the day I’ve had.

We had him captive for almost 18 hours before the hunting party showed up. Charles and the boys had been drinking and kept the idiot locked up in Carl’s hut. They would not let me speak to him. I had so many questions. Why steal my gear? How can you be so blind with everything Al Gore and the entire Global Warming community  have proven? Do you have any idea what your carbon footprint is? How can a hick have so much money?

Charles and the guys got into a massive fight with the hunting party. They all put down their weapons and just went at it. I was beside myself. After about 20 minutes they all got tired and decided to settle it a different way.  They wanted me to fight the idiot to be King of the Ice. They almost had me drunk enough to do it when Charles told me the hunting party leader was his cousin Kublu and they liked to mess with each other out on the shelf. My gear was all back at their camp.  I was furious, but wasn’t able to share that with Charles, because they didn’t tell the redneck the fight was a joke before he had a chance to pounce on me. I defended myself as best I could. He got into Carl’s liquor though so he wasn’t easy to reason with and busted my face up pretty good. My lip was split and that’s deadly out here.  Carl stepped in when he realized the guy had stolen his booze. He stopped the guy with one punch. Luckily I have a face mask and plenty of bandages.  

I’m still angry.  Can you imagine if that “other,” expedition had to suffer these setbacks? I’m considering firing Charles if they continue my study. I should hear back any day.

 We did manage to venture out to check the gear, but we didn’t get readings. We just made sure it was standing up in the weather.

The caribou have taken shelter from the wind on the leeward side of our camp. The guys are calling me Kris Kringle, because the caribou are congregating around my shelter. It was funny at first, but I can’t sleep. They keep grunting and bumping up against the walls. I just hope the bears don’t return.

I saw the caribou today. The herd seems to have bounced back. The new bull chased me on a snowmobile. Well, I was on the snow mobile, he was running mostly. Carl picked off an old cow that was lagging behind. We were spoiled again with steaks. I affixed the antlers to a Cat boss hog style and Charles got pissed. I thought it was a religious thing, but realized at 3 a.m. that it was a wolf thing. I stepped out of my hut yesterday morning into a compiled stack of wolf scat Charles had collected and deposited in front of my door. The wolves scratched up the Cat pretty good. I guess we’re lucky it wasn’t a bear.

I emailed Adine when I had a bit too much the other night. She sent me a picture of the clear water way down at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

I did salvage some data from the remaining five devices. It is consistent with the previously recorded data. The fissure has increased. Without all of the data, I cannot calculate exactly how much at this point, but there is a distinct reverbration.  Again however, I must account forthe tremors from Mt. Redoubt. I hope to calculate that once I’ve gathered data from the southern and eastern sites.

The fried gear we flew out last week should be analyzed soon.

I saw my old friend the wolf on the way back to camp. He wasn’t alone this time. They followed us for awhile. I wanted to get out of the Cat and see him. Charles refused to stop. Good thing I guess in hindsight. We were hit by a massive storm.

We ate a heavy dinner of steak, eggs and potatoes with a few loaves of bread. I brought some back to my shelter just in case we are snowed in tomorrow morning.

Mt. Redoubt erupted and we’re well out of it’s reach, but the tremors sent the gear haywire on the ice flow, so we took the zodiac out. Round Two with the buoys. I dont’ want to say that the results were negligible, but there wasn’t much change from the last reading. The salinity, while not excessive raises questions about the possible existence of basal melting on this flow. Though not the focus of my study, I hope to secure more funding to extend the study, as I do not think the study is complete without covering all scenarios. I know what you must be thinking and yes, I did lobby for this funding up front, but the request was turned down. (Things really are tough all over.) I hope, with sufficient data my request will go through quickly.  Although I’d love a warm shower and a bed, it kind of excites me to think I may get to attack this problem while I’m here.

Of course there’s the contract with my support crew. Charles may want to get back home to spend some of his hard earned money. And on that note, I must apologise to him and for blogging drunk. Although I do hope if and when we renegotiate the contract, I can get him to understand the importance of what is at stake here. We’ll see. I just hope for that opportunity.