Trip Statistics and a Final Word

As promised here's a summary of the trip's statistics. In total I drove 4800 miles and stopped to do geology in 8 states including Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. I was gone for 20 days with only 2 days off for vehicle repairs.

 

I crossed the continental divide a total of 10 times (twice through Ute Pass, CO) and they are highlighted in red in the chart below. The highest elevation crossing was at 11 939' in Hargerman Pass, Colorado, the lowest at 5922' in Deer Lodge Pass, Montana. I went through numerous other passes along the way and the noteworthy ones are listed below.

Grover achieved a fuel economy of 16.3 MPG (US gallon) or 15 L/100km. This is about average for a Land Rover with a 2.25L petrol engine. In total I burned a total of nearly 300 US gallons of gasoline emitting approximately 2.6 metric tonnes of CO2. To make myself feel better I calculated the emissions for a flight from Calgary to Toronto and on to Argentina, another area students from my department work. This would emit 4.0 metric tons of CO2.

Of the 17 sample locations 9 were within national forests, 5 were on Bureau of Land Management land, 1 was on Bureau of Reclamation land and 2 were on county or private land. I only missed one sample which I had firmly planned to get, the Ladore Sandstone in the eastern Uinta Mountains.

Here's a list of the National Forests I worked in.

• Lewis and Clarke (Montana)
• White River (Colorado)
• San Juan (Colorado)
• Gila (New Mexico)
• Tonto (Arizona)
• Toiyabe (Nevada)
• Fishlake (Utah)
• Wasatch-Cache (Utah)
• Helena (Montana)

In the end I collected 40 samples averaging around 20 lbs per sample. 39 were for my research with 1 sample collected for a collaborator.

What were some of the highlights? I think the people I met were one. The folks at 4x4 and More in Durango, CO. The French cyclist in Nevada. The Gordon Lightfoot fan and the drum maker in Colorado. The old couple with the rock collection in Utah.

Overall I found people to be very warm, welcoming and helpful. Grover was a great way to meet people as numerous strangers approached me to ask questions about the truck. I must have been asked 100 times "What year is your Jeep?"

In terms of scenery I think Colorado may be my favourite state. The desert is okay but I like trees and high altitudes so Colorado was great. Western Montana may also compete for my favourite.

Would I do it again? Of course! I wiil likely do nearly the same thing next summer as I head north from Calgary to collect the remainder of my sample suite through Alberta, British Columbia and into Yukon. Look for a part 2 to this blog around July 2013. Thanks for reading.