What did they write? Some wrote about the science and society, which was rewarding for us. For example, Kelly Owings, and Environmental Studies major (2008) blogged:
“Surprisingly, seeing the Alaska Pipeline has been another highlight for me. While I thought I might just see it as an eyesore on the otherwise beautiful landscape, seeing the way the pipeline was engineered to be prepared for hazards like the earthquake in 2002 was pretty amazing. Based on the work of geologists, engineers have placed the pipeline on Teflon slides in areas where it crosses fault lines, like the Denali fault, to allow for the pipeline to move in case of an earthquake. It’s cool to see that after the 2002 earthquake all these precautions really did pay off.”
Some students just wrote about the general experience as it unfolded. They were clearly affected by the beautiful wild landscape of Alaska.
Karen Selchick (English, 2009) blogged: Since our last update we’ve been in Cordova, which is probably one of the most beautiful places we have seen so far, everywhere you look there are flowers and lakes with the Chugach Mountains and bald eagles in the background. We went to Childs glacier and Sheridan glacier which were both amazing, the hike up Sheridan mountain was a lot of fun. It was also exciting to watch Childs glacier calving into the Copper River and listening to the thunderous crash it made as it hit the water. I loved getting stuck in mud during our walk down the river and being able to figure out the amount of uplift from the 1964 earthquake on the beach by looking at how far up the barnacles were on the rocks.
As the trip concluded, I added blog entry that tried to capture the group dynamic:
“We’re in the Central Alaska Range and the mountains are brilliant as the low evening sunlight illuminates the snowy peaks. This trip has been amazing and I think it is safe to say it has been an incredibly rewarding and profound experience for all. We’ve seen faults, tsunami sand, landslides and mudflows, flood deposits, alluvial fans, galloping glaciers, volcanic ash, burst lakes, calving glaciers, down-dropped swamps, uplifted beaches, forty year old barnacles stuck to rocks in the woods, and fault-split trees. The Earth reveals secrets of dramatic events in subtle ways and leaves fascinating clues of dramatic events and I think that all have a new appreciation of how to think about natural hazards. While the science has been wonderful, working with this team has been incredibly rewarding. Our gathering in Anchorage three weeks ago seems like it was ages ago, but since that time we transformed from eleven individuals, to one team.
Kelly Owings (Environmental Studies, 2009) rests on the trail along the Savage River in Denali National Park (Photo: J.I. Garver).
Amanda Kern and Rosalba Queirolo (Geology Majors, 2009) rest on the rocks along the Savage River, where dramatic topography results from active fault movement (Photo: J.I. Garver).
The group bond is the strongest I’ve seen on a trip like this. This bond comes from shared experiences that are difficult to relate; some scary, some breathtaking, some routine. We’ve pitched tents, cooked dinners, chased moose out of camp, hiked the arctic tundra, crossed rivers, berthed in an ocean-going ferry, fixed flat tires, fished for salmon, told stories, negotiated bears in the trail, caught grayling, met Alaskans, sweated, shivered, started camp fires, discussed politics, roasted marshmallows, gotten wet and dried out. It is hard to put to words how all this interconnected activity builds a common bond and a life changing experience, but it has. It will be sad to break camp Sunday morning. Sad because it will be our last camp in the Alaskan bush and so it will mark the end of our adventure. Before we know it we’ll be back at Union, and campus life will seem just a little foreign. A little different than when we left. And that’s good, because we have a new perspective that has helped focus on what’s important.” JIG, 7 July 2007.
© Geology Department, Union College, Schenectady N.Y. 12308. All rights reserved. No part of the document can be copied and/or redistributed, electronically or otherwise, without written permission from J.I. Garver, Geology Department, Union College, Schenectady NY, 12308-2311, USA.
August 2007