In which Bill Farrell tries to make me acutely jealous...and succeeds
Category: Fossils
Posted on: September 14, 2006 4:38 PM, by PZ Myers
He went to the Walcott Quarry for his vacation. And he waved his photos under my nose.
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Comments
Jeez. I'm not a paleontologist, and I'm jealous.
Posted by: Warren | September 14, 2006 5:02 PM
Still Anomalicaris's around lying on the ground? Wow.
I presume you cant carry stuff out. It would be great to have one, though.
I asked the lady at the fossil store once if she was unethically selling the fossils of endangered species. She didn't get it.
Posted by: John Emerson | September 14, 2006 5:04 PM
If you note the sign in one of the early pictures it reads:
"IT IS UNLAWFUL TO REMOVE FOSSILS"
or it did - in the photo it's been edited to read
"IT ISCUNTAWFUL TO REMOVE FOSSILS"
Which is funny, too.
Posted by: Evan Murdock | September 14, 2006 5:32 PM
I've been as far as the waterfall.....
Posted by: Coragyps | September 14, 2006 5:45 PM
I'm soooo jealous!!!!!!
Definately an honor to be invited to go.
Posted by: Rocky | September 14, 2006 5:51 PM
I was impressed too. Note that only guided hikes are allowed.
Posted by: llewelly | September 14, 2006 5:53 PM
Bastard!!! Wish I could go. However, I can content myself with downloading reams of papers from the Royal Academy, thanks to Carl Zimmer's post alerting us to the fact that their archives back to 1665 are free until December. Phil.Trans.Roy.Soc.B, here I come!
Posted by: Carlie | September 14, 2006 5:56 PM
I did the hike back in 2001. Great scenery, so many fossils even I could find some - what more could you want?
The most surprising thing to me was how small the quarry was, given it's significance. The second photo on page 3 is pretty much it.
Posted by: gengar | September 14, 2006 6:02 PM
I checked the original in my iPhoto library and it's the actual sign that's been modified, not the photo. The French version loses a lot in the translation.
Posted by: Doc Bill | September 14, 2006 6:03 PM
It's always fun to hunt fossils, but it's a shame when you have to do it in such mundane surroundings.
Posted by: craig | September 14, 2006 6:56 PM
OK, another reason to get in shape.
I wonder if they've got anything in place to avoid having some of those exposed fossils weathering away. Even for things as common as some trilobites, it is a shame for a bug to have been fossilized and survived all these years only to weather away because there's lots of them.
Posted by: Mike | September 14, 2006 7:02 PM
llewelly:
That's what helicopters are for.
Posted by: Warren | September 14, 2006 7:15 PM
Mount Stephen Fossil Beds in 1996. I really need to redo those pics now that scanners have improved a bit, sorry!
http://user.mc.net/~mena/sciences/paleo/burgess/BShale.htm
Posted by: Mena | September 14, 2006 7:18 PM
The Park has installed solar powered motion detectors on Mt. Stephens and there's a camera being installed at Walcott. You can see the camera, small black box, in the first photo on page Photos 4, to the right of the person in the red shirt.
Our guide said the penalty for poaching fossils is $2500 and 30 days in jail. I believe that's per item, but I'm not sure.
Posted by: Doc Bill | September 14, 2006 7:59 PM
I was supposed to go this fall but our plans got de-railed... something about my dad being sick and me not working. I'm jealous, too! Next year in the Walcott Quarry!
Posted by: monado | September 14, 2006 8:41 PM
Viewing the photos is cruel and unusual punishment. Even this retired book editor/publisher is jealous.
Posted by: Keanus | September 14, 2006 9:24 PM
I did a (ranger-led) hike to the mountain across the valley from the Burgess Shale. We couldn't walk on the shale beds without trodding on trilobites. Oh so memorable.
Posted by: folderol | September 14, 2006 10:28 PM
We sure are a geeky bunch aren't we? My next stop-Cern!
Posted by: Mena | September 15, 2006 10:26 AM
Are these guided hikes open to the general public, or do you need an excuse to be let in? I think it looks like a damned cool day out.
Posted by: aiabx | September 15, 2006 11:09 AM
The Burgess Shale Foundation operates the hikes. The cost is $60/person and you must bring your own lunch/trail snacks. The guide is a masters level or PhD geologist (ours was a first year PhD student), trained in First Aid and familiar with the area. There's a link on my About page to the Foundation where you can read all the details.
We really lucked out. The hikes are booked a year in advance. Stupid me, I called on Tuesday to sign up for a hike on Friday, the penultimate hike of the season, and they had two cancellations. Dumb luck or Intelligent Design? You be the judge!
Posted by: Doc Bill | September 15, 2006 12:59 PM
That place is just plain beautiful.
Posted by: Jake | September 16, 2006 5:01 PM