Pradagonia/Patagucchi

I bought a lot of Patagonia underwear, which I found ridiculously expensive at the time. After being in the underwear for these four months, I have to say that I don't regret paying the extra money at all. It is light, resists odors, and stays dry. It has met or exceeded expectations. That said, my REI gear has held up equally as well, and I probably could have gone with some lesser known brand. I think that brand-name items just take some of the research time out of the equation, which helped with my short deployment notice. For the most part, everything that I brought with me has performed well. My $16 Walmart wranglers were my best buy. I beat the crap out of them.

The one disappointment in my gear bag was the Smartwool socks and glove liners that I bought. They say that they resist odors, but they smell awful when wet. The issue-gear socks that are Wigwam-branded, pure wool performed much better even though they were much bulkier. From my past experience with Wigwam, I think I'll stick to buying them after the Smartwools wear out. Oh, I'm also very happy with the Wigwam sock liners that I bought as well as my very excellent Montrail GoreTex boots that only cost me $86.

In terms of hats, my $10 watch cap from an army surplus store was very good. Well, it was good until the wind picked up. I had to break down and buy an Outdoor Research windstopper hat. It looks silly and makes me feel like I'm putting a shower cap on every time it goes over my head. However, it holds up exceptionally well in strong winds. The combination of watch cap for inside or combined with big red and the OR cap for windy days without big red covered pretty much every situation.

Finally, the standout value was my North Face Apex jacket. Yes, four or five people here had the exact same jacket, but it is great. I got last year's model on closeout for $65, and I've been wearing it a LOT. It is a very versatile jacket that keeps out very stiff winds.

Resupply!

I think I forgot to mention that the NAVCHAPS (the U.S. Navy CargoHandling and Port Group) arrived a few days ago. Basically, they are Navy guys that fly around the world loading and unloading cargo from large supply ships.

From Antarctica

Anyways, the reason they are here has arrived today. The Tern brings in all the stuff that is heavy and/or not time-sensitive. Much of our computer equipment arrives on vessels like the Tern. The containers on the deck are called milvans. They conform to specific military standards in terms of size and function/design. The Tern usually marks the ending of the season, and redeployment flights vamp up next week (I'm on one of them on Monday).

Countdown to Redeployment

The Paul Buck, the fuel tanker, has left. The Tern, the resupply vessel, will come in around the 1st of February. My season is over in ten days and a wake up. My Hawaii plans are pretty much set, and I believe that will probably be the cheapest leg of my journey. Sydney seems very, very expensive. I'm trying to stay spontaneous for my New Zealand trip, but I'm probably going to be on hiking trails and huts for most of it. Hostels are a good way to save money, but I really am pretty tired of dorm-style living and no privacy.

On the Paul Buck

From Antarctica
On Saturday, we installed a computer on the Paul Buck. I got to take a look around and snap some pictures. The Buck has a crew complement of around 36 people, and is operated by civillian contractors employed by the Navy.

I received my redeployment itinerary today, so I now have hard dates on when I will travel. I'm actually kind of anxious about it, as I step into the unknown again.

Now We're Cooking with Gas

From Antarctica
The Paul Buck made port today. Fuel offload operations should begin tomorrow. I think they said something like 328 gallons per minute flow through the hoses from the ship into the tanks on station. It is an awesome process that I can't quite get my head around. MacTown will always use diesel and gas, but hopefully, the wind generators will alleviate some of the load soon. Hilary Clinton's visit to New Zealand to christen the generators was diverted due to the Haiti quake, but I believe that they should be "officially" running soon.

Cato, Noooo!

From Antarctica

I got the jump on the Minke whales. Unfortunately, my weak photography skills really didn't document the encounter well. Someone mentioned that they were much larger than expected, but I didn't really have any preconceived notion about the whales. I haven't seen a whale outside of captivity before, so I was really excited to see them.

Much Less Shaggy

Oh, thanks goodness! I got a haircut today, so I am not all crazy mountain man looking now. I still have this crazy soup catcher on my face, but that will go just as soon as I get off continent, maybe even sooner. Went out again last night to try and catch the Minke's, but no go. I'm heading over to Scott Base tonight for American Night, so maybe they are lurking in the water over there.

Also, the Adele vagrants are back out by Hut Point. The Oden came in and scared away the whales, so I guess the penguins figured it was safe to come back out again.