Back Log: 2/25 - 3/1

Average size of the boulders we'd haul off the hill.

Here they are in storage back in the labs (bags for
preventing moisture loss)

Since 2/20 we've had access to the canal expansion zone through the temporary permit granted by the Canal Authority. As I mentioned in previous posts, the permit allows us to collect from a site rich in plant fossils, and since these fossils are preserved in heavily fractured and extremely fragile rock, the best way to get them out of the hillside undamaged has been for us to remove enormous boulders and haul them back to the lab. However, on Friday 2/22 the job became even more difficult than it already was: we learned that the lead researcher wished to use the fossils (which in some cases contained original material) for DNA and isotopic studies and as such, we would now need to bring the fossils back without exposing them to the open air. In effect, this meant that we now had to exclusively collect 200+ lbs boulders that contained a good 10 or more inches of material on either side of the leaf layer. Anything smaller was liable to fracture and expose the leaves. So for every week day until last Friday, we've headed into the field with pickaxes, shovels, chisels, sledgehammers, and digging bars in hand, ready for some serious work. From 7:00 AM until 3:30 PM each day we were hauling out rocks, usually two truck beds' worth, then driving back to the lab and hauling them once again into storage. And it was damn hot out there in the construction zone. We avoided working for the very hottest part of the day, but it was still consistently in the high 80s and low 90s, with a steady wind that felt like it was blowing out of a furnace. Within minutes of starting work I'd be drenched in sweat, which allowed the dust and debris we kicked up to adhere to my skin layer after layer. I always brought at least two liters of water plus some kind of Gatorade or coconut water or juice, but it was never enough! The more I packed, the more I seemed to need throughout the day. Needless to say, I thought I was going to die from exhaustion before reaching the weekend, but somehow all of us made it through.

And some more...

On the last few days, we got additional help from some of the Colombian interns in the lab, which made things a lot easier on everyone. They were much more animated than our group in their complaints and lamentations, which was very fun to watch and listen in on. Also, many of them are biologists by training, with very little paleontological field experience, so they looked at us like we were crazy when we told them what it was we needed to do. Despite all the sweat, blood, and tears, I actually had a pretty good time doing all that manual labor. The amount of thought and work that went into shaping each boulder and getting it to the truck made the hours fly right by, and the fatigue and frustration of the job gave everyone out there something to bond over. I'm glad to say that it's all behind us now, but it was a good experience nonetheless.

And some more!

And our efforts paid off in more ways than one! We attracted the attention of a lot of the workers on the site with all the material we were moving without machinery, and eventually some of the lead geologists on the expansion project stopped by to meet us and see what we were up to. They immediately took a liking to us and what we were doing, and led Aaron to a ton of nearby localities to show recently exposed beds, interesting volcanic features, and areas of high fossil density. In no time flat we had made a connection with these geologists on the "inside" and they were able to extend our temporary permit with just the wave of a hand. We'll now be able to work in the canal expansion zone through March, regardless of whether or not our long-term permit comes through. It really does pay to know the right people...