Fixing Lakes 2008-06-09 20:00:19.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer NULL In my comment the other day, I talked about how I ventured down to the Lakes of the Clouds AMC hut to check out a broken, well actually missing, temperature and humidity sensor that we have down there. Today, after recovering nicely from an extremely nasty cold that severely limited my productivity yesterday, I took intern Ted with me back down to Lakes to attempt to get the site back up running.We headed down the Crawford path with, hopefully, everything we needed to get the job done. We had a new

Nice Day 2008-06-08 19:24:54.000 - Ted Letcher,  Summit Intern View of Clay with Mysterious Snow Field After spending the first half of the shift awash in a thick swampy fog, I was not about to let a day like today be wasted inside the observatory. So I used an intriguingly symmetric stain on a distant snow field as an excuse to hike over to Mt. Clay. So I packed a bag of gold fish and a couple of small granola bars and set out to investigate the snow. Upon arrival I was disappointed to find that the mystery stain was

Trip to Lakes 2008-06-07 17:27:54.000 - Brian Clark,  Observer I made my first trip of the summer down to the Lakes of the Clouds AMC hut yesterday after my shift was over. My trip had two purposes. First, one my friends, Caty, is a member of the croo at Lakes (as the hut is affectionately known) and yesterday was her birthday. So, I braved the less than ideal hiking conditions (thick, wet fog with 40 mph winds) to bring her birthday wishes and a birthday card.The other reason I went down there was to take a look at a temperature

This is a test... 2008-06-06 22:53:03.000 - Ryan Knapp,  Meteorologist What do you see? I enjoy the fog, I will admit it. It is not that I do not like our views. It isn’t because fog weather observations are easier than non fog observations. And although I like the cool, damp experience fog provides, that is not the main reason either. I like the fog because everything becomes fairly monochromatic to me and the rest of the people around me. To a person with excellent vision, this might not be that great but for extremely color blind people like me,

Carbon Footpring Project 2008-06-05 17:06:55.000 - Natalie Martin,  Summit Intern Spring Commute Lisa and I have been working on calculating the observatory’s carbon footprint and hope to complete our project this summer. I have been figuring out the transportation side of the equation with help from the auto road. We can now calculate how many gallons of gas and diesel we use each year, our miles per gallon for our vehicles, and a conversion factor to find out how many pounds of CO2 the vehicles produce each year. With preliminary numbers in place it is looking like we are doing

Carol 2008-06-04 06:22:43.000 - Summit Volunteer,  Summit Volunteer Enjoying the weather room Eight days on the Summit for a first time volunteer have just flown by... so many new and exciting experiences to share, starting with 70MPH winds gusting as we were greeted at the Summit by the downgoing crew who helped unload our gear. Next we met with the previous volunteers who gave an update on the pantry, then on to the weekly crew meeting! The Observatory windows were covered in ice, but by the afternoon we were treated to the big view and we got outside to take

NULL 2008-06-03 11:16:17.000 - Summit Volunteer,  Summit Volunteer Me enjoying the sunset This is my second tour volunteering and it's even better than last. Wearrived early Wed morning to see rime ice coating everything. Just enoughfor us to marvel at it's beauty in late May and then it melted later inthe day. The first two days were clear, we could see forever and then thefog set in. Count out about 50 rocks and that's it. I could hear the cogtrain and people but couldn't see it when it stopped here at the peak tolet off passengers. Other days, the train

Feelings of June 2008-06-01 20:42:39.000 - Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer NULL June 1st. For many, this brings a feeling of absolute summer. For those in school, vacation has already begun or is very near. Outdoor activities include paddling, climbing on rocks that are not so cold, and hiking without eroding the trails. Back in Burlington, VT there will be talented street performers who I can give a few dollars to and in the NEK there will be field parties accompanied by fire flies/lightening bugs. Music can be played outside. Yup, summer is pretty great – it just hasn’t moseyed its

NULL 2008-05-31 14:20:16.000 - Lisa Hodges,  Summit Intern Thursday Springtime in New England has always been my favorite time of year. The approach of summer never fails to boost my mood. From mud puddles to late season Nor’easters, the weather of the northeast continues its predictably fast-changing pattern. The sun shines longer and longer each day as the flowers begin to bloom and the trees begin to leaf out. This spring, however, was slightly different for me. I spent March and April adjusting to the gray drizzle of Portland, OR, where I go to school, only to return to New

Interns and anemometers and high winds, oh my! 2008-05-29 20:59:05.000 - Jeff Wehrwein,  Summit Intern The sun split by a cloud as it sets. Hi! My name is Jeff Wehrwein, and I'm a new summer intern at the Observatory. I recently graduated from Middlebury College, and I am excited to be spending the summer on top of the highest peak in the northeast. Both yesterday and today have been sunny, cold, and windy, so I have been spending most of my time inside. This has given me a chance to learn about the daily operation of the observatory, as well