Ray of Hope; Musical Discovery

A bright discovery to end the day. UPS claims on their website that if Rovers North (a parts supplier in Maine) has the package for pickup by 4 PM Friday they will guarantee it by end of day Saturday in Glenwood Springs! There is hope of getting out of here before Monday. Now to get a big shopping list together. Here's their page, it's like a Sears catalogue for Rover enthusiasts.

www.roversnorth.com

A band, previously unknown to me, seems to be providing the soundtrack to my adventures. Florence + the Machine. The album is Lungs. Cool sound and I like her voice. Particularly the song My Boy Builds Coffins.

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

A twilight view of camp.

Derailed

Well when you set off driving long distances in a 53 year old vehicle you intuitively know that things can go wrong. Today they went wrong. That float valve issue of yesterday came back today. Only today I couldn't even get the truck to do 30 without the power cutting out. Thankfully I was in a town called Rifle, Colorado at the time. Couldn't get onto the interstate so I thought I'd pull into the local parts store and do my best to eliminate possible causes.

First I thought maybe it was a bad case of vapour lock. So I bought some muffler wrap and some insulative tape. I wrapped the muffler and taped the fuel lines and had no better luck.

So then I thought maybe the fuel pump had died, this would also lead to fuel starvation issues. So I purchased an electric fuel pump and plumbed it in. Everything seemed better so off I went to Glenwood Springs a bit happier but still wary. The truck was still running hot on the interstate and then while driving around in town I managed to run into fuel starvation issues again.

I noticed in town while musing over an open engine bay a bit of fuel leaking from the accelerator linkage on the carb. Perhaps the cause of my troubles? Perhaps not, but certainly not a good thing and maybe indicative of bigger issues with the carb. The good thing is I've eliminated the fuel pump as the issue so hopefully the issue is in the carburetor.

Unfortunately, while Weber 34 ICH carbs are still made and quite common, they are not common enough to be an off the shelf part in Glenwood Springs. Therefore I'm going to have to order one from back East, which given it's Thursday evening, won't arrive until Monday. So I'm stuck here until then.

The really unfortunate thing is I felt I was beginning to develop some momentum. The last few stops had gone well and I was getting ahead of schedule. Now I feel deflated and have sunk into a real low. Grump with Grover. Grumpy with my decision to try to do the field work this way. Grumpy to be away from my family for longer than necessary.

Drama with White River NF

One of my sample locations, near Glenwood Springs, CO, lies within White River National Forest. The way the timing is working out I will need to sample this location on the weekend. Apparently this is not possible as the geologist has to accompany me to the sample location!, Also there is no way to pick up the permit on the weekend as I have to sign for it.

White River NF has been very inflexible since my first contact with them. They have been by far the most difficult forest to deal with. Most gave verbal authorisation or sent me letters via email authorising my work. None required that I be accompanied. None required my to pay for a permit to sample for academic/research purposes.

So apparently my Eastern Uinta, Utah samples will have to wait until the end of my field work as I'm off to Colorado today to accomodate White River's inflexibility.

GRRRRR.

Rawlins and My New Found Work Ethic

Big day. For some reason today I sprouted a work ethic! Woke up in the Rattlesnake Hills and finished my work there by measuring the exposed section of rocks. Then drove to Rawlins, checked into the KOA (loving the KOA's for some reason, easy I guess) and then went to check out my sample location. Described the section in Rawlins, took my samples and I'm off to Utah tomorrow. Crazy.

I can't express how pretty the Rattlesnake Hills are. Here's a shot of the road I used to access the sample location. Those are foliated diorites in the background.

The Land Rover seems so at home on dirt roads. I had about 30 miles of dirt to do today and I was puttering along so happily with a big smile on my face. So much better than an Interstate.

There was so much wildlife in the Rattlesnake Hills you almost stopped looking at it. Antelope and elk were everywhere. When I rolled out of bed this morning I startled a herd of elk on the hill beside my campsite. I grabbed my camera, put on my telephoto and went stalking to see whether I could get a good shot of an elk . Not a chance. Those wily creatures were miles ahead of me and clearly knew exactly where I was at all times! This is the best I could do. They were about 400m away and this photo was taken with a 300mm lens. I have a whole new respect for hunters and nature photographers.

Back to the geology. Ends up the geology I wanted to see was best accessed through a backyard. The landowner was mowing the yard and he graciously allowed me to pass through. Not as spectacular a location as the last one but the geology is excellent. Big conglomeratic sandstones! I love conglomerates so was in heaven when I saw these.

I only measured the lower section of the Flathead, that part which was exposed on the slopes I was working. I suspect that this represents about half of the section. Unfortunately the section is dismembered and I would have to piece the entire section together from several outcrops. I have what I need for my purposes so I'm done here.

Had a scary moment with the Land Rover today. The idle was terrible, it kept losing power climbing hills which is a strong symptom of fuel starvation and was running a bit hot, not overheating, but hot. These symptoms added up to a sticky carburetor needle valve which was causing it to run out of fuel at high throttle (starvation), idle poorly (fuel bowl level too low) and overheat (lean condition caused by fuel bowl level being too low). I called Rovers North and they agreed. Fifteen minutes of work later and the symptoms have cleared up for now. I suspect the rough road I took to and from the last sample location shook some dirt loose which jammed up the valve. Hopefully that's the last I see of that problem.

I think it is starting to dawn on me that I will have to ship some samples back at some point. I have filled an MEC large duffel bag already and will start on a second tomorrow. I have only so much space so my original plan may not work out.

I'll be in the middle of nowhere tomorrow, random camping at the East end of the Uinta Mountains near Vernal, Utah. I'll update you again when I get to Glenwood Springs, Colorado on the weekend.

Rattlesnake Hills, Wyoming

Today I made my way from Cody, WY to the Rattlesnake Hills, WY. Left behind the comforts and trappings of the KOA and I am now “dispersed camping” on Bureau of Land Management Lands (BLM). The drive south through Wyoming was stunning. The area just south of Cody is breathtaking and reminded me a lot of Iraq, just with better infrastructure and less garbage. I went through the Wind River Canyon which reminded me very much of the Awaspi River canyon at Qara Dagh in Kurdistan.

So I said I was on BLM land. In the US land is administered by a number of government and non-governmental bodies. Federally administered lands include those administered by the Department of Agriculture (typically Forest Service land), Department of Defense (bases, training areas and ranges), Bureau of Reclamation (some reservoirs and other such infrastructure), National Parks Service (the parks and pretty bits) and a host of others I’m likely forgetting. There are then state lands such as state parks, easements around state highways and other assets such as reservoirs. County lands are typically found as easements around county roads. Non-government controlled lands are termed “Private” and are held by members of the public. 

BLM lands are common throughout much of the western United States and are best described as land that nobody else wanted. In other words all of the other possible administrative bodies were uninterested so it falls under the watchful eye of the BLM. The good thing about BLM lands are access is easy and free. The lands are “for the people” so you can camp where you want, drive where you want, and to a limit, take what you want. I can, without any permits remove I believe 650lbs of rocks each year.

The Rattlesnake Hills are a mix of BLM and private lands. Unfortunately my ArcGIS license expired and I cannot access my land map. I suspect I’m on private land but could plead ignorance if somebody challenges me. Here’s a photo of my campsite and sample location. 

The rocks in the foreground are Proterozoic foliated and lineated diorites. Just past the truck, in the trees, are Cambrian sedimentary rocks of the Flathead Sandstone. The foliation in the diorites give the area a very interesting appearance with “fins” of diorite sticking out of the ground. Here’s another general photo of the Rattlesnake Mountains.

Getting to the sample location was difficult. I ended up in the same situation that lead to the death of that fellow in States some months ago. The GPS navigation system turned me onto a somewhat disused track, which I blindly followed enjoying the opportunity to off-road the truck, until it ended at a river with a very dysfunctional bridge. Here are pictures of the track and the bridge.

After an hour of searching about for a safe way across that wasn’t likely to result in me burying the truck in bottomless muck, or breaking it somehow, I gave up and decided to backtrack to the main road. My pulse quickened somewhat when the truck refused to start for the return trip. Thankfully I quickly diagnosed a case of vapour lock which is easy to rectify and I was back on my way.

I was once again sampling and describing the Flathead Sandstone. In the Rattlesnake Mountains it looks much like it did in Cody. Lots of beautiful cross lamination and bedding makes for quite pretty rocks.

Interesting black and red spots found throughout the sandstone. They appear to be staining associated with the breakdown of some accessory mineral. I’ll bring a sample back and see what it turns out to be. Here’s a photo of the spots. It looks like chicken pox.

Just to prove to my wife that I can eat well, even when I don’t have anybody else to cook for here was my dinner tonight. BBQ chicken and red pepper on a multigrain ciabatta with tomatoes. Looks pretty good doesn’t it?!?!

Saw a beautiful sunset this evening. Managed snap a shot of the sky just before the sun was engulfed by some clouds on the horizon.

Finally, I have made a few logistical changes. I froze to death the first night and was uncomfortable the next two nights due to the cold. Granted the first night was a snowstorm and the second night it was nearly snowing but last night was beautiful and I still froze. So I went to Wal-Mart this morning and bought a super cheap sleeping bag to add to the one I already had. Hopefully this solves the cold problem as tonight looks cloudless and I’m at twice the altitude of Calgary (2400m). I also bought a tub to store food in. If fits nicely on top of my cooler. I just need some better straps to hold it down. It got free today and went bouncing around the interior when I was getting excited off-roading. I think I simultaneously dented my barbecue when one of my 28L water jug got free and landed on it. The BBQ still works, just a little more used looking.

I am missing my family a lot today and I had to spend the big bucks on a satellite phone call home. Should be back with internet tomorrow. Already thinking of ways to speed things up so I can get home as soon as possible. Gotta get the data though.

Cody, Wyoming and SUNSCREEN!

The rains have definitely ended, I had to put on sunscreen today!

Cody Wyoming is a very nice little town. Capitalizes on its heritage as a western frontier town with much tourism associated with typically western things like cowboys and rodeos. Here's a shot of downtown Cody.

They do make one claim which I feel they cannot back up. They claim to be the Rodeo capital of the world. However, we all know to which city that title belongs. Cody derives it's name from Buffalo Bill, who's real name was William Cody and there is a very popular Buffalo Bill interpretive center in town. Bill started out as a Buffalo hunter who supplied meat to railway workers during the civil war. Later he became a performer founding the "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" show which toured around North America and Europe in the late 1800's.

Today I was working in the Shoshone River canyon a few miles west of Cody and below the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. The canyon is quite impressive with rocks ranging in age from the Pre-Cambrian to Cretaceous in age exposed on either side. Here's a shot looking up the canyon toward the reservoir. You can just see the river at the bottom. All the rocks in the photograph are crystalline.

Here is the Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

I was sampling the Flathead again today. Sampling the Flathead will be a theme of my work until I get to Utah in about 5 days. The exposure of the unconformity between the Flathead and the Pre-Cambrian crystalline basement is breathtaking. I knew from Streetview images that it would be impressive but I actually laughed out loud when I saw it. See if you can interpret the unconformity from the picture.

The Flathead looks completely different here to the exposures in Montana (Neihart). Pretty rocks with lots of trough cross bedding.

Pitched the tarp tonight off the back of the truck. There were showers around this evening so I thought I would set up the tarp. The tarp is a Moss Heptawing we bought years ago for backpacking. Works pretty well for car camping I think.

I'm off to one of my more remote sample locations in the Rattlesnake Hills tomorrow. The nearest town is Casper, Wyoming some 80 km to the east and its not exactly a metropolis. I will be incommunicado for a few days before I get to Rawlins on Thursday. Hopefully I will find a place to reconnect and fill you in on all the developments between now and then.

I showered today. First time since Calgary. If felt good.

Neihart, Montana and the Snowstorm

After my rather chilly night in Great Falls, MT I drove south through worsening conditions to get to my first sample location near Neihart, MT. This sample location is within the Lewis and Clarke National Forest. Here's a couple of shots of Belt Creek just south of Monarch.

The Land Rover, of course, took it all in a stride. I even used four wheel drive at one point!

Lewis and Clarke NF resides within a larger physiographic region refered to as the Little Belt Mountains. The Little Belt Mountains have a long history of mining with copper being discovered at Copperopolis (seriously I'm not making up the name!) and gold along Yogo Creek, both in 1866. Later, silver and lead were discovered, notably by James Neihart who founded the town of Neihart in 1881. Today the region is better known for it's recreational potential with hunting, fishing, skiing, snowmobiling and ATV'ing being very popular.

Before braving geology in the winter conditions I stopped at the Neihart Inconvenience Store (their name, not mine) and had a hot chocolate and a nice chat with Royal Westervelt, one of the proprieters. Neihart has a winter population of 36, all of which Royal knows the names of. If you're ever in the Little Belt Mountains stop by and have a coffee and chat. Very nice establishment.

I, of course, was here for the rocks. Unfortunately due to the atrocious weather I didn't get to see much of the rocks. They were buried under a good 6 inches (I've gone entirely Imperial now that I'm in the US so suck it up) of wet snow. This not only made observations difficult it also made work treacherous as on each step you had no idea what you'd get.

First an overview. The Little Belt Mountains are one of a number of Laramide structures found in the western US with similar structures at Rawlins, the Rattlesnake Hills, the Uinta Uplift and others. These structures largely post-date deformation in the Sevier or Rocky Mountain fold and thrust belts and record the last stage of active compression and mountain building in western North America. The Cambrian Flathead Sandstone sits unconformably on crystalline basement and Belt Supergroup rocks within the Little Belt Mountains and was the subject of my interest in the area.On to the rocks. Here is a general photograph of the Flathead.

In general it is a well bedded, upper medium to lower coarse grained, horizontal laminated, red to pink quartz arenite with no bioturbation. Here is a close up of a bed showing very nice ripple cross laminations which were rare.

I got my first sample of the Flathead and then moved on to an older unit, the Neihart Quartzite which is at the base of the Belt Supergroup, making it some billion years older than the Flathead. After collecting a sample there I drove the Cody, Wyoming my next sample location and campled at the KOA near the airport.

Today I will do some sampling above the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, again of the Flathead, at a location where the unconformity between proterozoic crystalline rocks and the Flathead is exposed. The weather has improved so I will likely spend most of the day there. I'll let you know how it went this evening.

Cold First Night

As I mentioned in my last post I spent the night at a KOA campground in Great Falls, Montana. The drive down was pleasant. Clearly still winter in the mountains. Here's a shot looking at Waterton National Park.

The weather is terrible in Montana and Cascade County is currently under a winter weather advisory:

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/alerts/wwusmtz012/usmt0146/weather?ref=warnings_citypage

This is what my campsite looked like this morning.

I managed to stay warm last night but only by putting on every stitch of insulative clothing I had! Here's a shot of breakfast time.

I may skip camping in the Little Belt Mountains for fear of freezing in the snow and go straight on to Cody, Wyoming this evening. I will attempt to get a sample as I pass through Neihart but I suspect it may be under a foot of snow.

Great Falls, MT

First day went well. Made it to Great Falls, Montana before running out of energy. A total of about 365 miles today. It is raining continuously, and has been since Glacier National Park, so I've checked myself in for some glamping at the KOA. Still sleeping in the truck but I have internet access and will now go to watch some live music.

Grover worked well today. I stopped in Pincher Creek to adjust the timing and check the valve clearances. Both needed a bit of attention but are now spot on I think. Unfortunately my recent efforts to seal the roof up have failed miserably and it was like driving a sinking submarine today. Dripping all over the place. However it looks like the area where my bed goes is okay so sleeping should be fine.

I'll drive to Niehart tomorrow and to my first sample location. Cambrian Flathead Sandstone sitting on the Neihart Quartzite of the lowermost Belt Supergroup. GEOLOGY!!! YAY! I'll give you another update as soon as I can.

Leaving Tomorrow

Everything is packed and ready to go. The truck feels really full already with just my camping and field gear. I guess we'll see how full it is in 5 weeks!

Tomorrow I will be driving south through Alberta, crossing into the US at the Coutts/Sweet Grass border crossing and heading to Neihart, Montana. I will likely stop in Great Falls to buy food and try to work out how to get 3G internet for my iPad.

Three years after conceiving the idea of going back to school, 20 months after leaving my job and one year since my first thesis died I finally feel like I'm on my way. Amazing how time passes so slowly but also so fast.

Tool Box

Land Rovers are not known for their security. Sliding windows and very simple door locks make them very easy to break into. I will be traveling with a satellite phone, computer, iPad and a pile of tools, all of which are primo targets for thieves. While having a computer stolen is always a bummer, having the computer in which you've stored all you field data stolen is a major issue. I have had a big locking tool chest for a number of years and have used it to store recovery gear and tools. Here's a picture.

The box is a big rectangle which fits nicely between the jack (left side of picture) and the support for my bed (right side of picture).

Land Rovers are essentially a big cube with windows and wheels. However, there is one curve running down the side of the truck at the "waistline" just below the windows where the truck bulges out about 3 inches. Interestingly this bulge is a major distinguishing feature between pre-1959 Land Rovers (Series I Rovers) and 1959 to later Land Rovers (Series II, IIa, III and Defenders). The rectangular box essentially sterilizes this storage space, wasting almost 5 inches of storage space on the wheel well. I'm already worried about fitting all my rocks and gear in Grover so this waste of space is unacceptable. I designed a tool box specifically to fit on top of the wheel well and to take advantage of this space but was quoted over $600 dollars to build it. This was unacceptable so I modified my current tool box to fit. I added a five inch bulge to the back by bending sheet metal to fit. Adding sides and riveting it together approximated what I had designed and cost about $50 dollars. Here's a picture of the back of the box, bulging out to take advantage of the extra space.

As you can see it adds significantly to the interior volume. Here's a shot of the inside.

I bolted the storage box to the wheel well and can fit all my tools, electronics and spares into it and it is just the right height so my hip doesn't rest on it when I lie in bed. Perfect and for less than one tenth the cost of a custom box!

Not Leaving May 25

I had planned to depart May 25 for Neihart, MT. However, I still need to print a bunch of maps and information in case my computer dies and do some final modifications to Grover (my Land Rover) so will delay my departure until May 26.

Cooker

This was a fun project I fit in between the fuel tank and the split charge system. I wanted to have a dual burner, propane stove mounted on the rear door of the truck. I elected to use a standard Primus stove instead of a purpose built vehicle mounted stove due to the vast difference in cost. I purchased the stove at MEC (MEC.ca) for about 70 $CDN. I strengthened the hinge on the lid by replacing it with a full length piano hinge and reattached it using twice as many larger rivets. I then reinforced the lid by riveting aluminum flat stock to the lid, through which the bolts to mount it to the rear door would pass. I then rigged up some steel cable from which the base would hang when the stove is open. I managed to utilize bolts already in the door to hold on the spare tire carrier for mounting the stove so as not to have to drill holes in the door. All told it cost about 100 $CDN, hopefully it will stand up to driving about off road mounted to my door!

Here are the aluminum flat stock mounted to the door and ready to accept the stove.

 

 Here the stove is mounted to the door and stowed.

And finally the stove deployed. The cables support most of the weight when the stove is open.

Auxiliary Gas Tank and Auxiliary Battery

The last two days have seen some major projects finished. As I mentioned in a previous post I have installed a "split charge" system and an auxiliary battery. The "split charge" part refers to a special smart solenoid (a.k.a. a big switch; Cole Hersee part 48530) which isolates the start battery from the auxiliary battery when the voltage drops below a certain level. What this does is allow you to run electrical accessories from your auxiliary battery without depleting the charge on your start battery. This ensures that you always have enough charge to get the car going again, which is important if you are parked for a few days in a very remote area! I also installed the optional override switch allowing me to boost the start battery from the auxiliary battery should the start battery become depleted providing another level of safety in remote areas.

I had to figure out where to put the second battery. I briefly entertained the idea of cutting a hole in the floor of the truck and mounting it below the bed. However, this seemed a bit extreme and time consuming so instead I mounted it into the bed. This takes a bit of space but I tucked it up under the jack, behind the sloping bulkhead so it does not protrude too much into the bed.

I then made an aluminum shield to protect it from my soon to be extensive rock collection.

The batteries and the solenoid were all connected with 4 gauge wire with an 8 gauge wire supplying my accessories behind the dash.

As I've mentioned previously Land Rovers generally get very poor fuel economy. The standard fuel tank on an 88" is fitted beneath the passenger seat and contains 45 L of fuel. If you're lucky and you drive slowly with a tailwind you might get 300 km from a tank! This is unacceptable given the distances I will be going on this trip. Therefore I fitted an auxiliary fuel tank to double the amount of fuel I can carry. Many 88" Land Rovers came with an auxiliary tank under the driver's seat. This tank was filled by removing the driver seat and filling it through a screw cap mounted to the top of the tank. I wanted to have the second tank filled from the outside of the vehicle, just like the passenger side tank, so I copied the right side tank setup on the left. This involved having a frame outrigger welded on to hold the front of the new tank. This was done at the local welding shop using a prefabricated outrigger from Rovers North (Roversnorth.com). I then cut holes in the body, wheel wells, seat box and bulkhead to run the filler tubes. The only tricky part was cutting the rubber filler tube and splicing it back together with some muffler pipe so that it bends the right way.

A photo from the inside of the filler setup.

Here the pipes go through the wheel well. I formed a mud gaurd for the pipes in the wheel well just like the factory one for the passenger side. Because the tank was made for the right side the vent is on the wrong side of the filler tube. I had to wrap it around the big pipe to get it to the bottom of the filler. You can see the splice in the filler pipe.

I mounted a marine fuel tank selector switch to the front of the seatbox near the handbrake to switch between the two tanks and plumbed it all with 1/4" rubber fuel lines. I also installed a switch in the dash which allows me to switch between the two fuel senders. This allows me to, with one gauge, check the fuel level in both tanks.

Big day of working on the Land Rover. Started by reinstalling all the drivetrain components and refilling/changing all the fluids. Then started work on the auxilliary gas tank by fitting the filler neck, removing the tool box which used to occupy the space beneath the driver's seat and cutting holes to run the filler pipe and vent. All told I worked from 9 this morning until 9 this evening. Tomorrow The Welding Shop will weld on the frame support for the fuel tank and then I can get started running all the fuel lines and locating the tank selector switch. Hopefully I will take some photos tomorrow so you can see the progress. I have decided to install a second battery and a split charge system. I have been worried about draining the battery with cell phones, satellite phones, iPads, computers etc. while camping. A split charge system alleviates this problem by not allowing the starter battery to become discharged while the auxilliary battery supplies all the accessories with power. Slick but expensive. Also have to find a place for a second battery. I have ordered all the parts which should arrive tomorrow.

Field Plans Approved

Met with the department's field safety coordinator today to review my field plans. She has approved my plans removing the last beaurocratic hurdle before my departure! The only thing left to do is make the final decisions about exactly where to sample, finish my modifications to the truck and then pack up. Yay!

Just out of historical interest, this was the step at which my previous thesis died. They did not approve my travel plans to Kurdistan effectively scuttling the entire idea.

I'm Back

I'm a ball of stress at this point. I just got back Wednesday from being a teaching assistant to a field school in southeast BC and this coming week will need to get the final preparations made for my trip. I've tentatively decided to leave May 25 and will be camping for the long weekend (Friday-Monday). This in mind I effectively have one week to finish my preparations (AAAAHHH!). This week I need to:

• Install the auxilliary fuel tank
• Reinstall my rear differential/half shafts/drive shaft
• Reinstall my overdrive
• Install a split charge system and second battery
• Seal up my roof so that it does not drip on my bed in the rain
• Renew my alpine window seals
• Change all the fluids

Most of these things are not long jobs, with the possible exception of the gas tank. I have a date with the welding shop for Wednesday to install the frame outrigger for the fuel tank. This means I need to have it running by then so I need to get the diff and overdrive back in by Tuesday.

Stay tuned. Interesting times ahead. I will try to stop and take pictures along the way and keep you posted.