Back to the "Deep South" in Duluth GA

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I get a kick out of hearing the term "Deep South" in 2026. It is a crazy incredibly outdated label. I think maybe I should start saying the "Deep Northeast". I am a Yankee. My family came over on the Mayflower and moved to Upstate NY via Connecticut. Terms used in the revolutionary and Civil war days are generally inappropriate. My family is all but totally out of NY State now. I find the term "deep south" to be of the same thinking that the movie "Heidi" is what contemporary Europe is like. Watching the fireworks in Rochester, NY from the back yard of a house in the city made it look like a real war zone. It is a long drive between Berkshire, NY and Duluth, GA. Most of the 35K miles on the truck were spent in between. I drove the truck about 3k miles in 2-1/2 weeks. It was great to spend time on the farm. It was good to make some progress on needed repairs and improvements. I also felt good about making some new friends up there. I will be...
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Today is the day I head out to Taylor Dome on a twin otter skiplane. I have been having fun at work fixing radios and troubleshooting system issues all week. There are a lot of radios down here thats for sure. And there is a great variety. I have been reflecting on the three things that I believe make this place hospitible: Communications, Mobility, and Shelter. I find these three items to be a key classification system to understand and optimize sucesss in operating in such a harsh environment. I expect to sleep outside tonight. It will be between -25 and -40. It will be the coldest I have camped out I think. -25 below has been my coldest experience in happy camper school a few weeks ago. Before that it was with Jeff in Alfred NY. We did not have a thermometer but it was definately well below zero that night. That was few years ago but you have a tendency to remember them. Since then I have learned a lot about cold weather. Most of the lessons have come in the last month. A real good lesson is that "Don't get cold." That may sound over simple but the fact of the matter is that when you get cold it takes a lot of work to get warm again. You must pay attention to getting cool or too hot and constantly regulate your temperature buy adding or removing layers.

I will not be blogging for a couple of days. Weather plays a big part. I may be delayed by a week or even more. I don't expect to be out there past Monday. I will only be in contact by HF radio or sporadic irridum satellite phone. I will be in a deep field camp.

Here is a picture of a Basler.

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