Geology in the Pyrenees

This year's field training course was in the southern pyrenees.  Truly a breath taking place!  Our two tutors teach at the university in Barcelona and were nothing short of amazing!  The theme for this year's training was structure.  Basically faulting and more specifically extensional and contractional faulting.

There's not a lot I can really say because I think the pictures speak more than words do when it comes to geology, as long as you know what you are looking at.  The first day was extension tectonics, followed by 3 days of compression tectonics (thrusting), one day of growth strata and the final day was spent inside a salt mine.  Salt tectonics is an amazing thing when you realize that salt is a solid state rock but the ability it has to "flow" and create folds and vertical beds.

We stayed at a wonderful hotel, the Can Boix.  If you ever find yourself in that part of Spain, the Can Boix is a must!  The views are amazing, the hotel is adorable and the food is out of this world!!!  We had three course meals for lunch and dinner, even when we had packed lunches in the field.

The tutors do these amazing sketches in the field

This is the outcrop they were sketching in the picture above

View looking down the hinge of an anticline

More amazing views

Josep sketching the outcrop

Vertical beds in the background

The poppies were in full bloom

Can Boix hotel

Entrance to the salt mine

Stalactites forming on the ceiling

Salt folds 

Salt precipitating out from the water creating stalactites

For the complete Photo Album

Barcelona

Every year I get to go back into the field and do what I love best, look at rocks.  This year I selected a trip to the southern pyrenees where I would be looking at structural geology, i.e. faults.  Not just faults but some of the best faulting you can imagine.

Well our kick off point for this trip was Barcelona.  I was able to fly in early enough on the first day that a little exploring was possible.  I had previously been to Barcelona so I didn't feel that I needed to add vacation days to this trip as I have on previous ones.  And let's be honest, I'm kind of lacking vacation days with the big Antarctica trip that is quickly approaching.

The first day in Barcelona I visited the Palau Guell mansion that was designed by Antoni Gaudi.  It was very impressive.

The last day in Barcelona, with a bunch of my new friends from the field course, was spent exploring Park Güell before finding a lovely tapas restaurant la lluna de júpiter for dinner.  If you are ever in Barcelona and would like to eat in what I call a hole in a wall place that serves some of the best tapas I've ever tasted then you must visit this restaurant!!

For the rest of the Photo Album

Gordon Way Training Hike

Yesterday was a beautiful day spent out hill walking and training for my upcoming Caledonian Challenge.  Our original plan was to hike Mt Keen but with "winter" still hanging in there and signs of spring taking their time to become obvious we changed our plans.

As of yesterday morning when we set off from the trail head parking lot we were going to complete the entire trail called Gordon Way or at least as far as we could since it's 20 miles round trip.  Since I had been up at Bennachie the previous weekend I knew how much snow had been there.  Given that we had a mild week of warmer (above freezing) temperatures and very little precipitation we felt that the trail of Gordon Way would be passable without too much trouble.  And it was, at the beginning!  We soon found that there was still a lot of snow, and you could and would often fall into a weak spot up to your knee.  There was one point I fell in all the way up to the middle of my right thigh!!  I had to have Simon and Anna pull me out because I was too deep in the snow to move.

Needless to say we decided to modify our route back to the car park via roads at lower elevation that would be clear of snow.  All in all it was a great day for a walk and we covered at least 12.13 miles.  I know it was longer than that my but my Garmin GPS watch battery decided to give up the ghost and die before we reached the trail head parking lot.

Needless to say we didn't make our 20 mile goal but the way my body is feeling this morning I'm glad we didn't!  Kady is glad too since she is really exhausted this morning and limping a bit from muscle fatigue in her front left leg.  I'm now a bit concerned that I will be able to do the 54 miles in 24 hours in June.  I guess I better get out there and do more hill walks and longer ones.  I think anything over 10 miles though and I'll have to leave Kady at home.  She's no spring chicken anymore and is quickly approaching 9 years old.  I still see her as a puppy who has endless energy and can do anything I do.  It makes me sad to know that she isn't.

Anyway here are some pictures of our walk and a video of Kady rolling in the snow, her favorite thing to do!  Also if you would like to sponsor my teams efforts in the Caledonian Challenge this is the link to do so.  A big thanks to all of you who already have sponsored my team!!

The snow has melted a lot but there is still quite a bit on the trail

Most of the surrounding hills were covered in snow just a week ago.

Trail signs

Still quite a bit of snow at Bennachie

Kady enjoying her walk

Simon, Anna and Colin trekking along

Colin toppled over at one point

Lamb season!

They are so cute when they are jumping around

Awesome tree house on the way back

Much better minus the snow on the way back

Kady leading the way back to the parking lot

Our route tracked by my GPS watch until it died.

Sunday's are for lazy days!

Wait isn't it supposed to be spring??

Jill and I took our labs up Bennachie this morning for a nice long walk to wear them out.  We sure did! We figured there would be some residual snow off the trails as it had rain/snowed in town a little last night.  It can only be assumed that if town gets a little dusting then the hills around would to so we prepared for the worst,  since after all we do live in Scotland!  They say there is no such thing as bad weather here just bad clothing decisions.  We thankfully came prepared because as we pulled into the parking lot there was snow, everywhere and still falling!

It really was a very beautiful site and the entire walk looks completely different when covered in snow. Angus and Kady must have had a spike in energy and enthusiasm as they were spastic almost the entire time.  You could spot the moment that they had exhausted themselves as Angus stayed very close to his mum and Kady no longer came back to see where we were and just waited for us to come to her.

At one point Jill and I lost the trail and we had to go off piste to find our way back.  This was no small feat as the snow quite often came up to our knees and we sunk constantly.  We eventually made it back to the trail and not a minute too soon as all of us, two legged and four legged, we were exhausted.

I've started a tradition every time I climb up Bennachie to stop at Gadie's and Touched by Scotland.  Gadie's is a great restaurant that has yummy food and Touched by Scotland is a gallery where artists of all kinds can sell their work.  I'm a huge fan of getting a hot chocolate with marshmallows post hikes, especially when it's cold outside.  So today Jill and I each ordered a hot chocolate and shared a GF brownie with hot fudge sauce on it.  It was just what we needed after hiking through the snow for 3 hours.

Every time I had been to Gadie's I had admired two prints hanging for sale.  Last time I was in I took a picture of the artist name and googled him.  It turns out that Isaac Abrams  the artist in question is an American artist who founded the first gallery of Psychedelic Art.  After doing a bit more research and viewing some more of his work online I decided that the next time I was at Gadie's I would purchase the two pieces of art, assuming they were still there.  And to my luck they were!  I am now the proud owner of two limited edition signed pieces of Isaac Abrams!  I wouldn't mind getting a couple more and since I now know one of Isaac Abrams friends (she owns the Touch of Scotland shop and sold me the two pieces) I might just be able to (since she offered to get me more if I wanted).

Leaving the parking lot

"The Tumbling of Waters is the Teeming of Life"

a couple of inches by this point

Sporadically covering the trail

Race to the top!

Jill capturing a cute shot of Angus

Angus and Kady rough housing

Anyone need a Christmas tree?

Me knee deep in snow and falling all over the place!

Ontogeny
(Print 5/50 of Isaac Abrams)

An Observant Landscape
(Print 2/50 of Isaac Abrams)