A nifty tree seen on our first day.
We dug a lot of holes, thankfully I didnt have to dig this one.
Safety first.
Does this really need a caption?
Our fearless leader.
The hair and the kids.
Grubby Feet. Yes I did wear shoes.Saturday, September 27, 2008
Deployment Photos
A nifty tree seen on our first day.We dug a lot of holes, thankfully I didnt have to dig this one.Safety first.Does this really need a caption?Our fearless leader.The hair and the kids. Grubby Feet. Yes I did wear shoes.
Recovery
So I went back this week to pick up the seismometers and other equipment that we deployed the other day. It wasnt quite as long, significantly less tedious, but no less demanding.
Lets see things that happened:
I dropped a GPS on the way down from a site (super steep slopes). It was in my pocket but the lanyard snagged on a manzanita bush. It wasnt super accurate, usually was about 10m off, but it wasnt mine to lose. So the next day (after it had rained for the majority of the day and night) we had a little spare time and went back to look for it. I found it! The bright blue case was pretty visible hanging off the manzanita, just waiting for me. We hiked to the rocky outcrop near by and took some photos. At least it was sunny, cool but hey I'll take that over working in the rain any day.
Earlier that day we came across a seismometer that had been dug up. It was just hanging out by the hole. The bag with the battery, recording device, and GPS antenna was completely untouched. It was very odd, and we had a debate about who or what could have done it. We came to either bear or human.
Pro human: the hole wall looked very staight and sharp on one side.
Pro bear: bag wasnt touched, humans probably would have screwed with the other equipment.
That same day I found a 4 point buck skull and several vertebrae. I kept the skull but left the spine parts. The bones were pretty fresh as they still had connective tissue and ookie stuff. The skull made it home and is sitting out side waiting for the bugs and ants to clean it out before I bring it in the house.
The nights were cold, I mean frost on the inside of your tent cold. I bought a down jacket just before going out and I am so glad I did, as I pretty much lived in it. Other than that, I worked my butt off, had a good time and drank lots and lots of beer.
East Lake
North and Middle Sisters, as see on the way home.
Lets see things that happened:I dropped a GPS on the way down from a site (super steep slopes). It was in my pocket but the lanyard snagged on a manzanita bush. It wasnt super accurate, usually was about 10m off, but it wasnt mine to lose. So the next day (after it had rained for the majority of the day and night) we had a little spare time and went back to look for it. I found it! The bright blue case was pretty visible hanging off the manzanita, just waiting for me. We hiked to the rocky outcrop near by and took some photos. At least it was sunny, cool but hey I'll take that over working in the rain any day.
Earlier that day we came across a seismometer that had been dug up. It was just hanging out by the hole. The bag with the battery, recording device, and GPS antenna was completely untouched. It was very odd, and we had a debate about who or what could have done it. We came to either bear or human.Pro human: the hole wall looked very staight and sharp on one side.
Pro bear: bag wasnt touched, humans probably would have screwed with the other equipment.
That same day I found a 4 point buck skull and several vertebrae. I kept the skull but left the spine parts. The bones were pretty fresh as they still had connective tissue and ookie stuff. The skull made it home and is sitting out side waiting for the bugs and ants to clean it out before I bring it in the house.
The nights were cold, I mean frost on the inside of your tent cold. I bought a down jacket just before going out and I am so glad I did, as I pretty much lived in it. Other than that, I worked my butt off, had a good time and drank lots and lots of beer.
East Lake
North and Middle Sisters, as see on the way home.Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Mount Ashland Hillclimb
Hows about we go ride our mountain bikes up hill only for several hours? Ya? I've had better ideas, but I also know I've had much much worse.
Oof.
4800 feet of climbing. 18 miles. Almost all uphill. And I dont mean some nice little 3% grade, but we're talking 8ish% on average, with some definite steeper slopes.
I wasnt super motivated, but I did want to do it just to see how much I could make myself suffer. But I did it. And I came in 2nd for all the mtn bike women, 1st for my category.
The 1st solidified my Oregon Bicycle Racing Assn, Best Allround Rider for Sport Women 19-39. Which I'm pretty happy about.
Oof.
4800 feet of climbing. 18 miles. Almost all uphill. And I dont mean some nice little 3% grade, but we're talking 8ish% on average, with some definite steeper slopes.
I wasnt super motivated, but I did want to do it just to see how much I could make myself suffer. But I did it. And I came in 2nd for all the mtn bike women, 1st for my category.
The 1st solidified my Oregon Bicycle Racing Assn, Best Allround Rider for Sport Women 19-39. Which I'm pretty happy about.
Venomously Against John McCain/Sarah Palin
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Life as a Geology Grunt
So, I havent blogged in a while because I was away from modern technology for 7 whole days. It was nice at first, but by the time it was over, I was scared to open my email. I had 242 emails at work and over 90 in my gmail account. Yikes.
I was/am part of a study to image the "red hot magma" chamber under Newberry Caldera. For those of you who dont know, Newberry is in central Oregon, south of Bend and just north of La Pine. Mini geology lesson: It is the same type of volcano as Crater Lake, but has had more volcanic activity post massive eruption. There is a small cone in the middle of the caldera as well, but there have been several other lava flows in the last 7000 years to create 2 smaller lakes and a pretty nifty obsidian (volcanic glass) flow (which stumps geologists because Obsidian doesnt usually flow and so the mechanism to make it do so is poorly understood).
So in a NE-SW direction we put in seismometers every 300 to 800m (depeding on location). The farther away from the center of the caldera the farther apart the seismometers got. There are currently 80 sensors in 80 holes that are 12-14 inches deep. About 20 of which I dug or helped dig. The other components are above ground, the recording device, the GPS antenna, and a set of 8 12volt batters wired in a series. All of this had to be packed in, usually 500m-2k from a road so that wasnt too onerous usually. The battery, recording devince, and GPS antenna all were placed in a very durable black plastic bag with an opening left so the battery could breath. On the 2nd day, a rodent had already chewed through the bag and gnawed on the cardboard box the batteries were in. Yippee. We also put these in rattle snake and yellow jacket territory. I am no so excited about the recovery week after next.
I will post pictures soon when I find my mini USB to USB adapter for the camera. It was fun though. And really really dusty. Its all pretty much just ash and when you are digging in the dirt for 8 hours a day, one tends to not stay so fresh and so clean clean. My hair would stick up straight a la Sonic or the villian on the Incredibles. It was pretty amusing and impressed pretty much everybody.
Finally a week after my return, almost everything (except my shoes and sleeping bag) are dirt free and put away. Only to do it again in a week. Weeee!
I was/am part of a study to image the "red hot magma" chamber under Newberry Caldera. For those of you who dont know, Newberry is in central Oregon, south of Bend and just north of La Pine. Mini geology lesson: It is the same type of volcano as Crater Lake, but has had more volcanic activity post massive eruption. There is a small cone in the middle of the caldera as well, but there have been several other lava flows in the last 7000 years to create 2 smaller lakes and a pretty nifty obsidian (volcanic glass) flow (which stumps geologists because Obsidian doesnt usually flow and so the mechanism to make it do so is poorly understood).
So in a NE-SW direction we put in seismometers every 300 to 800m (depeding on location). The farther away from the center of the caldera the farther apart the seismometers got. There are currently 80 sensors in 80 holes that are 12-14 inches deep. About 20 of which I dug or helped dig. The other components are above ground, the recording device, the GPS antenna, and a set of 8 12volt batters wired in a series. All of this had to be packed in, usually 500m-2k from a road so that wasnt too onerous usually. The battery, recording devince, and GPS antenna all were placed in a very durable black plastic bag with an opening left so the battery could breath. On the 2nd day, a rodent had already chewed through the bag and gnawed on the cardboard box the batteries were in. Yippee. We also put these in rattle snake and yellow jacket territory. I am no so excited about the recovery week after next.
I will post pictures soon when I find my mini USB to USB adapter for the camera. It was fun though. And really really dusty. Its all pretty much just ash and when you are digging in the dirt for 8 hours a day, one tends to not stay so fresh and so clean clean. My hair would stick up straight a la Sonic or the villian on the Incredibles. It was pretty amusing and impressed pretty much everybody.
Finally a week after my return, almost everything (except my shoes and sleeping bag) are dirt free and put away. Only to do it again in a week. Weeee!
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