Sundays are typically my one day off during the week. To me, it seems like a waste to hang around camp and sleep, so for the past two Sundays I've gone on hikes in and around the Brooks Range. The first hike was to see some local aufeis before the seasons changed. I went with Melissa, the kickass PolarTREC teacher who is on our research team for the first part of the summer. For the second hike, I joined a bigger group headed to Atigun Falls, located just inside Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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| Cartwheeling towards the aufeis. |
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| Mountain stream |
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| On the ice |
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| :3 |
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| The Dalton Highway is under construction so we had plenty of time to stare at the pipeline while waiting for the pilot car. |
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| Atigun River crossing 2, where we left our trucks behind for the Atigun Falls hike. |
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| The spooky Molar Mountain |
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| Gorgeous glacially carved valley, with a skin of arctic tundra plant communities. |
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| Marine stratigraphy |
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| View of the falls from our lunch spot. |
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| Mostly frozen this time of year. |
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| Hiking back out to the valley. |
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| The group. Photo taken by Lisle Snyder. |
