Saturday, June 25

The Daily Grind




There will be future blog posts telling about more intricate details of the SCAP expedition, but I believe it is necessary to describe our everyday and ordinary experience to our readers. This is a day in the field:

We wake up at 6 am, and eventually drag ourselves out of bed. Everyone’s eyes say quite clearly that we want more sleep, but there is work to be done. Some of us shower, and all of us make our lunches, eat our breakfasts, and pack our bags. The group splits in two and gets into one of two cars, each car going to a different location. At 7, we head to the trail, and our adventure begins.

By the time we get to where we’re going, most everyone is awake. We get out, get our packs on, and begin walking. The trails we traverse often go up mountains or down to streams and rivers to where the plant life is most diverse. By around 9, the sun is scorching and the travel is hard. Along the way, we collect a variety of plants, from cacti to exotic flowers (in photo, Alex and David).

At some point in the day, a break is taken to eat lunch. By the time we reach the car it is early afternoon and everyone is hot, tired, and dusty. Once we arrive back at home base, known as Trailfinders Lodge, we unpack the cars and our bags. Depending on what our individual jobs are for the day, we will have to press the rest of the collected plants, enter data or pictures into the limited supply of laptops, or simply do odd jobs that pop up around the lodge.

The rest of the afternoon is up in the air. A variety of activities, including frisbee, blogging, and card games take up most of this time. Eventually we eat dinner, which is most likely cooked by Alex, who seems to be volunteering her time and energy whenever she can. The day ends and we go to bed when our exuberance wears out and our eyes can no longer stay open (or when we’re told to).

1 comment:

  1. The pictures are cool... Saw the view from Black Mt. this p.m. when Rachel sent me it. Absolutely breathtaking.Cant wait for more pictures and videos. Looks like you guys are doing great job.. Keep enjoying the snow cones...

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