Prey

I've never been hunted before. It's....terrifying.

I was casually walking along my gird lines with my magnetic survey equipment, a 5 foot metal pole with a blunt point on one end and a 10lb magnet on the other, and a little box that hangs on my chest. Rocking out to my tunes and trying to ignore the bugs, i see some quick movement out of the corner of my eye. Upon closer observation, there was a medium sized, white with sooty black spots, wolf. Now, you might not think 50m is very close for a wolf to circle you, but, when you're all alone with no one within 20 some-odd miles of you, and your radio and sat phone are sitting four kilometres away because you can't carry them with you for the survey....it's pretty fuckin' close.

As I stood there, with my aluminum blunt pole in hand, ready to fend off a ferocious attack, I watched the wolf saunter around me, and head upwind. This is when I got scared. From all those damned nature programs, I figured he was going upwind so the pack/mate can attack from downwind. I started looking all around me, but nothing. Eventually the beast disappeared behind a low hill to the east, but I didn't relax my guard for one second.

this all happened around 10am. I was freaked out and paranoid until my pickup at 5.

needlesss to say it was a very interesting and exciting day. Part of me wishes it had made a charge or something, and I could take home a nice pelt for the wall, slightly punctured/clubbed. The other part of me, the rational and sane part refuted with "jesus fuck thank god it disappeared".

Today: less than interesting. Back to laying out pickets on a second, much large grid to the northwest. Pretty boring. I wish I could be looking at some actual rocks, but....such is the life of a student. Sucks for the people doing this that aren't students anymore. Suckers.


It is very nice to be back to working in the field. My week in Rankin Inlet really made me appreciate the time I have alone, in absolute silence (when there is no wind and it's too cold for bugs), to think. I really do love this job, and I certainly can make a life out of this. Though eventually I'd like to be working in some more...let's say....tropical locales.