Day 6: July 10, 2012

Canoed back to Mott with everything for our first processing day!! On processing days, we double check all of our data sheets, freeze samples, re-pack for our next set of lakes, and most importantly sanitize all of our gear. We have to sanitize between lakes to make sure that nothing is being carried between them that wasn't originally there. We didn't sanitize between LeSage and Richie because they're connected. LeSage flows into Richie, so anything in LeSage has the possibility of being in Richie as well. Had we sampled the lakes in reverse though, we would've had to sanitize our things in between.

To sanitize, we submerge our gear in water that's 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The volunteers are in charge of the sanitation, so they set up the turkey fryer that we use to heat the water and do the sanitation. We sanitize everything that's been in any of the lakes or that's contacted lake water. Things that can't be submerged in the hot water, like electronic equipment, gets wiped down with a mixture of bleach and water.

Things that go in Lake Superior need to be wiped off, and be submerged in boiling water in order to make sure that they're completely clear of invasive species. Currently, there aren't any invasive species in the inland lakes of Isle Royale, and we as scientists are hoping to keep it that way, to preserve the diversity of the aquatic species there. Lake Superior has invasive species in it, like zebra mussels, spiny water fleas, and eurasian watermilfoil.

Here's the whole turkey fryer set up, with some of the equipment to be sanitized!

Here, some of our gear is out to dry in the sun after being sanitized.

It was nice to have a day back at base camp too. We didn't have to do any hiking, and we got to take our first showers since arriving at the island, haha! I'm going to do my best to never take showers for granted again.

Heading out again tomorrow to sample another set of lakes! It's really nice that our Lafuma sleeping bags and Eagle Creek backpacks have compression straps on them- makes it extra easy to pack them up and save space! :D