I will describe recent results on the early metal enrichment of loosely-bound galactic halo gas, inferred from our group’s quasar absorption line observations at Magellan. These surveys utilize optical and infrared spectra of 100 sightlines with the FIRE infrared spectrograph, including 35 objects at z>5.7.  I will also summarize several ongoing projects within MIT’s optical/IR instrumentation lab, including concepts for integral field spectroscopy at Magellan, and early IR science with the Giant Magellan Telescope.