The past two days constituted the official beginning of the mapping project that serves as the premise of my entire field study here in Scotland. Since the 1700's, the Highlands remain an international site for the study of geology since the field was practically invented here. Visiting the outcrop where James Hutton first derived the Rules of Superpositioning or discovered trust faults is like walking into Marie Curie's actual lab. Basically, it serves as the ideal location for exploring the same locales that inspired scientist to create an entirely new field of science. Yesterday, after a rough early morning wake-up, Alex, Drez, Chris, Allison, Krista, and I set off to Knockan Crag only a ten minute drive away from our lodge. A line of cliffs within Highlands Geopark, Knockan Crag is probably one of the most important sites regarding the history of the field of geology. The discovery of unconformities of rock ages in vertical sequences lead scientists t develop the theories of massive horizontal movements of rocks that would create the foundation for the theory of Plate Tectonics. This region is to geology as the Galapogos are to biology. The cliffs themselves feature a beautiful hike up the side of the mountain along a series of steep switchbacks that scale the face of the cliffs. With 50 degree weather and 20 mph gusts of wind, the day stood poised for greatness.
Although having a former college basketball player (Krista) set the pace for the climb presented some challenges, I remain grateful that nobody on this trip plays that favorite game of the geology department called "Who can get to the top first?" I don't like that game. I never win. As we made our way up at a clipping pace, we encountered a group of elderly tourists (one of whom was 85 and a former ballerina for the Royal Ballet) and their guide who invited us to join them for the rest of the day. The guide turned out to be Donald Fischer, the official chief geologist for this region, and quickly took us under his wing. A dry witted Scot who loves America, rusty nail whisky drinks, and Harley's, Donald taught us all about the geology in conjunction with the cultural history of the region. I t was an amazing opportunity to learn from the definitive expert of our entire study area. Next thing we know, he's inviting us on glacial valley hike for Thursday and giving us free Gaelic translation books. FYI, Inchnadamph means "meadow of the stags". How bout dem apples?
Today actually marked the point of no return as I began my first field mapping expedition. After nine hours of tramping across mountains, ridges, and peat bogs, I've never been colder or muddier in my life. I. Love. It. After some intro to the basic rock formations to look for, Dr. Harris set us loose with our mapping tools and walkie-talkies with some vague instructions about what to do. Four member of our group set off with competitive zeal to be the first to find several geologic features we were supposed to find. However, Krista and I opted for a more laid back approach of "Oh! That mountain looks neat. Let's climb it and see what we find!" Not only did we find find and map all of the features, but we had a helluva lot more fun than the other group. Krista once again acted as pace setter and just about drove me into the ground at some points over the five kilometers of climbing, but by and large my mountain goat skills of leaping from ledge to ledge improved exponentially. It's kind of a keep up or get left behind kind of game. I won. Much to a collective dismay though, three of us discovered the perils of saturated peat bogs i.e. Scottish quicksand. After seeing two of my friends fall prey to this devastating trap (hence the title of this post), I stepped out onto a vibrant green plain in order to reach an interesting quartzite outcrop. Before I knew what happened, I found myself sunk knee deep into the foulest, coldest mud you can possibly imagine. Only after several minutes of tugging and laughing was Krista able to pull me free of my death trap. Being covered in cold mud for the remaining hike in 30 mph winds was a character building experience to say the least.
To recover from the group host of injuries ranging from rolled ankles to mild hypothermia, Dr. Harris drove us to Lochinver for a pub dinner. A filling meal of Glasgow meat platters and pints of cider diminished all pain and dissipated all complaints. I now feel fully rested and ready to conquer the Highland glacial paths with Donald in the morning. In the meantime, keep an eye out for those pesky peat bogs.
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