Superstition Mountains

The previous weekend I spent wilderness camping in the Superstition Mountains for my Volcanology fieldwork. One word - cold!!! It felt like Scotland. We arrived in the darkness of the night, raining heavy, fighting mother nature as we erected our tents for the evening. No stargazing for the night due to the epic amounts of clouds, however slightly entertained by the coyotes in the distance howling. 

However Saturday began on a slightly drier note. We headed for a hike to the top of a mesa in order to map the opposite cliff faces on topography maps. This wasn't something I had done before. Having to estimate elevations from hundreds of meters away and map by birds eye view, yet what I was seeing what the cross-sectional view. We spent most of the day on top of the mesa, mapping a km or so, using our knowledge of cross-cutting relationships in order to separate and distinguish different lava domes and tuff deposits. Luckily, the day had continued to stay dry and I was certainly looking forward to the evenings camp fire in the hope of a little warmth before bedtime. We brought the night to the close with roasted bananas topped with marshmallows and chocolate chips. A perfect way to end a hard day of work.

The weather continued to improve to the extent where it was t-shirt and trousers weather. One thing I've learnt from my mapping experiences so far is to dress for all occasions. Nothing is worse than being too cold or being too hot. Off came three layers as we arrived to our next locality for the morning. What I thoroughly enjoyed about this morning as brief as it was, was the fact that the fault surfaces at the locality were so polished, effortless to find which never has happened to me before. I always enjoy a challenge, however it was a great experience to see just exactly what those textbooks portray.

The afternoon soon came to a close and it was home time before we knew it. One thing for sure, just in time for the Superbowl!