by Gabriela Schaepman-Strub
Kytalyk, July 19, 2013
The story goes as follows: We had a very long walk yesterday to the pingo (Rus: була), about 4.5km away from our station, with many stops for vegetation relevees to complete our local flora. Wonderful weather, warm, the upcoming wind nicely kept the mosquitoes away. We found many new plant species and Olga is now almost happy with the diversity around Kytalyk. We had nice Lomo for lunch at the top of the pingo, making me and especially Maitane very happy!
Maitane on top of the pingo, yesterday at lunch time. We enjoyed the lomo imported from Spain by Maitane. The pingo has an elevation of about 37m, allowing a beautiful view of the surrounding landscape, hundreds of km2 without people, breathtaking each time again (Photo: G. Schaepman-Strub, 12 July 2013).
We are sweating quite a bit, certainly on the way back. How much we will be enjoying the bania the same evening and refresh, wash the dirty clothes. As we arrive at the station, Bingxi is telling us that plans have changed – the pontoon will be coming tonight, just left Chokurdah at 2pm, no relaxing bania. Like last year, we will need to help with unloading the drift wood collected along the Indigirka that will serve on the station for cooking and heating (it provides heat at least 3 times – during unloading, sawing, chopping and carrying…). A big pile of wood, probably, as last year, and lots of work.
Further we are expecting a heavy diesel generator to start the closed-path methane analyzing system and some gas bottles for calibration of the instrumentation of the VU group. The pontoon is expected at around 7pm. But no boat at that time, and not until 11.30pm either. We are looking out of the window again and again. Last year we could see the pontoon from far away – as a white box moving through the tundra – as only the top of the ship is sticking above the shrub layer along the meandering river. After a short discussion with Lena we decide to go to bed. Knock, knock at our door at 2am – the pontoon is arriving – get up! Crawling out of the warm sleeping bag. A look out of the window. Terribly foggy. The arctic air brought cold weather during the 2.5 hrs we were sleeping. Putting on warmer clothes. Everybody up and waiting, suddenly we see the pontoon from a short distance, ok, let’s walk to the river bank. On our short way we see how the pont0on is coming closer, continuing, slowly, but steadily! What’s up? Did they miss the station due to the fog? Should we go back to sleep? The guy that came by small boat to help us unloading says that there is no problem, this was just the wrong pontoon. The one bringing the wood will arrive in about an hour. No reason to panic….
Lena is starting to clean the tschir that she brought for the Ukha (fish soup, Rus: Уха), we go back and have a cup of tea while waiting. What now? How crazy life is out here sometimes! I start writing. Olga takes her field book and is updating me on the status of the species count in the middle of the night– there were 42 species on Roman’s list, we are at 90 now!
Some people go back to bed. No sound of the large pontoon engine and of course nothing to see through the fog … Ok, then back to bed…. Difficult to fall asleep, the wind is blowing and each time the chimney is shaking we fear that it is the noise of Lena coming up the stairs and waking us up to help, not the only nightmare tonight…. Eventually the pontoon arrives at 6am, we get up and help the local guys to unload the huge pile of wood, they manage the diesel generator and the barrels with fuel and diesel (not even thinking about how heavy all this is – they are carrying the generator to the tundra with the four of them – judging the weight by the heavy stems they carried before, the generator must be REALLY heavy!).
After realizing how long they have been up and working during the night we cannot complain at all anymore that we had to get up for nothing at 2am (their start in Chokurdakh was delayed to 6pm yesterday as they had to wait for some cargo from the plane that arrived on Friday afternoon, collected all the drift wood on the way and arrived this morning at the station)! At 7am an Ukha for them and a rice porridge for us, a few toasts on the good collaboration of locals and scientists, a short discussion with a journalist of the local newspaper who came out to take some pictures (Trofim Maximov from IBPC will provide the text) and off they are on the pontoon to Chokurdakh. Looking out of the window to the foggy river- the pontoon makes some strange noise, redraws, the guys are cleaning the platform.
To Lena who stayed up all night cooking for 17 people, and to the whole crew who came out – сбасиба (thanks a lot!)!!
Pontoon with about a quarter of the wood left. Luckily we were many people to help at 6am this morning, but everybody was very tired after a sleepless night … (Photo: I. Juszak, 13 July 2013).
Unloading the barrels and the diesel generator. We could never have done so by our own! (Photo: I. Juszak, 13 July 2013).
The whole group that helped unloading the boat, while the people from Chokurdakh first collected the drift wood along the river on their way to the station during the night (Photo: I. Juszak, 13 July 2013).