Katy Quinn’s Devon Island Journal: July 8, 2001

Note: Text and photos republished from Katy Quinn’s FMARS page by permission of the author.

Sunday afternoon, July 8. I’m on Devon Island!

Well, I finally made it. We’ve had a spell of sunny, still weather
the past couple of days that has really helped with the Devon Island logistics.
It also made me very happy when we arrived and had to set up our tents
that we didn’t have to do it in the freezing rain. We were originally
scheduled to leave Resolute for Devon Island at 4 am today but that was
moved up to 2 am. Got the wake up call at 12:30 am, my fuzzy brain
couldn’t quite analyze what was going on at first but excitement and anticipation
soon cleared the cobwebs. We loaded up and were in the air by 2 am,
it was clear and the sun was low in the sky making for beautiful lighting.
The flight the Devon Island was about 45 minutes, spectacular views the
whole way. On final approach we flew over the HMP tent city, then
as we were landing the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station was visible
to the left side, we had a nice sweeping view of it. At that moment
I can’t describe how amazed I was. All the pictures and stories I’d
been following from last year were coming to life before my eyes.
As far as the eye could see, rocks and snow, rolling hills and sharp outcrops.
I can’t say it looks very Mars like yet because the snow is so late in
melting this year, perhaps a spring scene at the Martian polar caps with
residual water ice patches covering the landscape.

After a quick briefing from John Schutt, the HMP camp manager, we went
to set up our tents in tent city, about 200 meters away from the camp work
tents and mess tent. I finally got all set up around 4:30 am, only
a few hours before we had to get up for breakfast. I didn’t
really sleep, the bright sunlight in the middle of the night takes some
getting used to. After breakfast we had an all hands briefing, this
happens everyday to make plans and allocate resources like the ATVs.
This morning the recent arrivals had an ATV lesson from Oz, one of the
resident geologists. Then we had a polar bear safety briefing from
John Schutt and a shotgun lesson. Polar bears are smart, fast and consider
us food, so we have to keep alert and play it safe. Had to do a practice
fire of the shotgun, I’m pleased to report that I hit the cardboard box
we were targeting. So if you’re reading this, Mum, don’t worry.
Too much. The rest of the day I’ve been settling in and doing odd
jobs. The second shift at FMARS has had it’s start pushed back to
Tuesday night. The first shift has unfortunately been curtailed because
of the bad weather and snow conditions, so they are getting some extra
days. That’s the way it can be in the Arctic, I don’t imagine things
will go exactly to plan on Mars either but flexibility can smooth the way.

Copyright © 2001 Katy Quinn – All rights reserved. The text and images within
this web document may not be used or reproduced in any form or by any means,
or stored in a public database retrieval system, without prior written or
electronic permission of the author. Reproduced on SpaceRef with the permission of the author.