The Dry Valleys

The Dry Valleys

This is one of the parts of our trip that I enjoy the most. That is our trip to the Dry
Valleys. We typically camp at a location that has a group of structures called Lake
Fryxell Camp. I prefer to use the Scott tents like we did at Mount Erebus and on
Fang glacier, but others prefer mountain tents. Either way we set up behind the
camp away from the lake front.

Much of the work I do here is soil collection and for that we hike across the desert
landscape for many miles. It is pretty bleak with no plants to be seen – just miles of
glacial moraines. The walking is tough too since the moraines are loose sand and
gravel sprinkled with larger rocks.

But there is life there! Just beneath the surface there is a community of microbes
that live off of very little. These are the oligotrophic communities we seek. The
fungi that we find here have adaptations so they can scavenge enough energy
to survive.

Here I collected many kilograms of soil for shipment back to Maine. Stay tuned to
see what we will find in the samples after they get back.