When

Sun. Nov. 10th, 2019    
10:00 am - 1:00 pm

WHERE/Location (link)

Event Type(s)

Details

  • Hike Leader - D. Smith
  • Contact -
  • Distance - 4.5 km
  • Difficulty - Moderate
  • Special Note -

Description

A hike across rugged terrain to known fossil beds.

  • we will carpool at the Ord Road meetup spot and then drive to the traihead, a short drive
  • the route is above the tracks on the sidehill heading toward Battle Bluff for 2 km
  • a steep route up the slopes to the less-frequented exposed mudflows and shales (the fossiliferous lakebed)
  • this area is covered in material deposited in the Pleistocene era (2.5 million years ago to 12000 years ago), mainly as glacial material moved downhill to a glacial lake so the main fossils are plants growing on the slopes above the lake and buried in silts and muds, solidified into fossils
  • we will work our way up the gullies inspecting exposed shales for fossils
  • in the exploration section, we will get dirty so gloves may be appropriate, footing will be on loose material, and there are no trails
  • bring a bag for any “finds” or just take photos of your finds and leave them behind
  • good boots are needed for the steep sidehills
  • we will work our way across the upper slopes to loop back
  • there are some interesting quartz deposits to look at and bighorn sheep may be in the area
  • we will spend some time in the fossil beds so this hike may not be for impatient hikers
  • article on the route – Cooney – Battle Bluff Fossils
  • we will reserve spots on this special event for anyone interested in finding fossils (not just going for a hike); in our last trip we found over 25 fossils
  • dress for the weather
  • watch the listing for updates
  • comments are turned off – contact me by email or telephone to discuss

Doug Smith
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Bookings

Booked Spaces - 4/8