By Tommy and Owen
It has been quite a week: we have dug up dinosaurs, visited volcanoes, and talked about terraces. However, we now faced our most challenging adventure yet: an all day hike up the basin creek trail. We started early, meaning we made sure that Caid was awake. After a hearty meal of breakfast burritos and loading up on an obscene amount of food and water we set out on the 15 minute drive to the trail. In the white van the students learned that Chris has an interesting music taste to say the least conversely he gray van had a relaxing drive set to Bob Marley. The whole convoy arrived in the parking lot for the trail and began the long climb.
I (Tommy) had volunteered to carry one of the spare 3 liter water bottles. About five feet into the hike, I realized this was a mistake, but it was too late to change my mind and too early in the hike to already pass it onto someone else. From our topographical map knowledge, we knew that the hike was completely uphill, so we would have to conserve our energy, drink lots of water and take frequent breaks. After walking through an area of forest that appeared to have been destroyed by a forest fire, we stopped at our first destination to take a look at our topographic maps and try to figure out where we were. The key to determining our location was to look at the slope of the terrain and where the water was relative to the trail. After yet more hiking up rocky hills and through fire damaged slopes we arrived at the first stop for our geomorphology lesson. We looked out onto the massive U shaped valley dominating the horizon. During the last ice age the Laurentide ice sheet ploughed down from the north and carved out the huge depression. After millennia of advance and retreat the vast glaciers melted away at the end of the Ice Age and what remains is a spectacular landscape.
After our glance into the Pleistocene we continued up the mountain. We reached a point where the creek turned into a marsh. This was caused because the creek flowed over a flatter area, which caused it to move with less speed and spread out more. Since the water had less energy, it was worse at carrying sediment and organic material away, which meant more plants decomposed in the flat area, and it created a lush marsh.
Shortly after our survey of the marsh I (Owen) had a battle. I was tasked with getting Cynthia a walking stick from the woods near the trail. I swiftly spotted a suitable stick and set about prying it out from the earth. Unfortunately it was a fallen tree and was still attached to its’ root system. When it did come loose I stumbled backwards and the nearby branches slashed my knee.
After a few more snack breaks and several more miles of hiking we made it to the lake. Once there we broke for lunch by the shore. I (Tommy again) had managed to carry the water all the way up, and by then people needed refills, so I was able to lighten my load and share the joy of water. I refueled myself by putting my hat on my face and laying down for a nice, relaxing lakeside nap that was only occasionally interrupted by rocks jabbing my back and ants climbing up my legs. Chris showed all the students up in a rock skipping contest.
After some much needed rest we began the long trek down. We stopped first at a small stream close to the lake and tested its chemistry. We compared our data there to that collected by Marie and the lake. Next we went to a larger stream and some of us took a dip in the freezing water. We collected more data for comparison and repeated our marshmallow experiments on this stream. We found that the flow of a stream or river is actually slower higher up in its journey. Less water was being moved in these high elevation streams than in lowland rivers where the collective force of the whole watershed thunders towards the sea.
After returning to the vans, we were given the choice of heading straight back to YBRA or taking an ice cream stop. And that was a very easy choice. Interestingly, the huckleberry milkshakes tasted suspiciously strawberry-like. Who knows what was going on with the store’s supply of the Montana classic. After our ice cream, we returned to YBRA and took very quick showers so we could make it to dinner on time.
After a filling meal of hamburgers we ambled over to the classroom and gave presentations on volcanic tuffs, geothermal activity in Yellowstone, glacial sculpting, and groundwater wells. Following the presentations we received our certificates to much fanfare and settled in for a stirring montage of our time in the field set to John Denver’s Country roads, easily the most frequently played song on our many long car rides. Rosie then gave a wonderful poetry reading about our time followed by an addendum by Nick describing how important she was.
And just like that it was over, our time as Geodesla students has reached its end. I am sure I speak for all of us when I say that this week was the experience of a lifetime and it will leave a lasting impact on all of us. Now, if you will excuse us we have a meteor shower to catch.
P.S. the boys cabin also is in desperate need of cleaning.
GeoDESLA 2018 