June+22+Washington+Gulch+Snow+Shoveling

Jane Suiter post First full day at Crested Butte. We started the day with an overview of the course and then took a 3 mile hike along Mt Crested Butte. It was a beautiful day for a hike. Along the way we looked at the flora. Some of the flora were skunk cabbage, lupin, and indian paint brush for example. We talked about intrusive rocks and how they were formed. We saw some intrusions with crystals of feldspar. We talked about cirques, aretes, and horns in relationship to the cirque behind Crested Butte. We shared the trail with mountain bikers. We ate lunch at Teocale Tamalli. I had a chicken burrito which was good. We then headed to the top of Washington Gulch. It was a beautiful drive. I rode up with John in his Jeep CJ, a fun ride. We stopped and looked at the Mancos Shale. Shale is a sedimentary rock formed from mud in ancient seas. It has its black color because of organic matter in the clay. We reached the peak and had a wonderful view of the valley. We talked about glaciation and why the valley doesn't drain. We then continued to the other side of the valley. There were snow banks in the way and we were able to negotiate most of them after the guys did some shoveling. We then encountered a large snow area. We all pitched in with our rock hammers to help clear the way. We used rocks, branches and pine cones to help get traction in the snow tracks. We then stopped at Slate River and true to its name, there was slate. We were also able to find some pyrite samples. Our last stop was at the Meas Verde Sandstone exposure. All in all it was a great day. Can't wait for more.

Marion Patterson, post CAVU - clear and view unlimited. On our morning hike we entered the coordinates and elevations. The total descent was around 300 feet. Bikers were courteous as they barreled down the hills or pedaled up. An amazing array of wildflowers that range from spring to almost summer. John explained cirques - hanging glaciers. Two cirques are an arret and three form a horn like the Matterhorn. Iowa was covered by continental glaciers which are very different from the mountain glaciers. The valleys are classic U shaped and the streams then cut through a V shape. The valley is filled with glacial till and the bottom of the valley is waterfilled so indicates an impermeable layer that keeps the water close to the surface. Some discussion on [|E.O. Wilson] and his theory of social organization. Beginning discussion on the rock types, geologic history which is very difficult to wrap our minds around and the order of the periods of time. Erica noticed that the igneous rock with feldspar appeared to have more erosion that "usual." We decided, based on several pieces of evidence (tire marks, excessive breaking of the rock near the bottom, the groove in the rock) that bicyclists regularly go over the rock. The afternoon saw us wending our way up Washington Gulch where we engaged in a discussion in differntial erosion. Basically, igneous rock erodes more slowly and sedimentary rock more quickly. So we see the peaks of igneous rock and shale in the lower elevations. Tropical seas (inland) vs. being part of the larger ocean systems. Mud settled and formed shale. Igneous rock intruded and cooked the shale. Some of it seeped laterally forming sills (think window sills) and some uplifted through fractures creating dikes (think of a dike as a structure that holds back something.) Resulting rocks are pyrite, quartz, slate.

Supper in town Pitas in Paradise. Excellent discussion on The Floods of 2008 and past trips to Colorado.