Field Trip
The field trip is planned for Sunday, September 30, 2018. The bus will begin loading at 8:00 a.m. and will depart at 8:30 a.m. from High Country Conference Center, 201 W Butler Ave, Flagstaff. The bus will be parked on the street between the Conference Center and Drury Inn & Suites. A box breakfast (coffee, breakfast bar, fruit) and box lunch (sandwich, chips, cookie, water) will be provided. Note: Participants must bring an additional 1 liter of water to carry on the hike.
Onsite registration for the field trip will not be available.
This field trip will examine geologic features at Barringer Meteorite Crater (a.k.a., Meteor Crater). In addition, there will be a cultural stop at Walnut Canyon National Monument to examine ancient cliff dwellings. We will depart from and return to the conference site via bus. The trip will be led by LPI’s David Kring.
Hiking conditions will be strenuous at some locations and aggravated by high elevations. A 1-mile hike is planned for Walnut Canyon, which involves a steep 185-foot descent and ascent at an elevation of 7,000 feet. The path is paved, but not accessible to wheelchairs. This hike will be followed by an excursion at Barringer Meteorite Crater. A long excursion is planned that will descend about 600 feet to the crater floor and examine impact breccias along the crater wall, before returning to the crater rim to examine the overturned rim sequence and impact ejecta. The elevation at the crater is over 1 mile high, so this is usually a very taxing hike for visitors from lower elevations. Average daytime temperatures for the end of September are approximately 80°F, but can be highly variable. Well-groomed trails do not exist. This will be a rugged hike. Because conditions for this hike will be so strenuous, the organizers reserve the right to ask participants to stay on the crater rim. Sample collecting will be prohibited at the crater (and at all other cultural and geologic locations on this field trip).
The excursion that descends the crater wall to reach the crater
floor and return to the crater rim will be strenuous.
Closed-toed shoes are required for hiking at the crater; hiking boots are recommended. Participants should have a minimum of 1 liter of water and a snack. If we have sunny conditions, participants will probably want a hat and need sunscreen. (The Sun can be intense a mile high in the dry air of northern Arizona.) It is possible, however, for there to be thunderstorms at the crater in late September, so a poncho or very light rain jacket might be useful. Do not pack an umbrella. Wind conditions will likely make it useless, and lightning can be a serious problem at the crater. Participants should probably have a small backpack to carry supplies so that their hands are free during the hike, particularly when climbing down the crater wall. All participants will need to sign a liability waiver. Again, field trip leaders reserve the right to direct participants to a less strenuous option at the crater.
