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How Do You Carry Your Finds Out?


pinkpantherbeekeeper

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Very small fossils can be carried between the cheek and gum... all the way to the backpack lying a few feet away...

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^^^^ Katfish re socks. I keep an extra pair in my pack. Like to change into them if I get wet or too many little 'pickies' stuck in the socks I'm wearing. However, I often put a fragile Dino toe bone, fractured ammonite or whatever into a sock to keep it cushioned against further jarring. . Kind of weird thinking that part some Ceratopsian or ornithomimi 's foot part is now in my sock.

Jpc...true. I'll put a tiny raptor tooth or little blastoids, etc. in my mouth when needing both hands to negotiate some monkey- like climb back to the pack.

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Another good way to pack small fragile fossils is in toilet paper then wrapped in tin foil. I have packed some quite fragile teeth and bone that way and had them in my pack for several hours without issue.

A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey

http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com

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I only put the special ones in there..... Then for my big finds, I have very special way to haul them out. I would post a picture, but I'm sure nobody wants the see my 6' 7" husband on here..... :D

Kathy

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I usually bring a big coffee mug (or a beer glass)... and use them once empty. I am lucky to collect in the back yard, and have not yet had an actual trip where I had to think about special gear. For now it is a golf cart and a coffee cup!

I only put the special ones in there..... Then for my big finds, I have very special way to haul them out. I would post a picture, but I'm sure nobody wants the see my 6' 7" husband on here..... :D

:popcorn::P

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I have been using my Camelbak MULE for most "hunts" down creeks. This version is nice. It has a 100oz water bladder, 3 zipper comparments, one that is felt line that my camera and phone go in, a carry all pouch that snugs shut by belts, and the front medium pouch has multi comparments, and lastly a large zipper comparment. Different versions of the mule run $80 to $100. I got mine clearance from a bike website for $50. I also use my medium ALICE pack for larger finds. You can get these for $30 on ebay complete with frame, shoulder straps, kidney pad, and pack. I can get around 100 pounds of material in it, but u might collapse under that much! ;) One tip is to put some padding in the bottom to prevent any rock penetration. Lastly, I have two canvas and leather bags from habor freight. Think these were $5 each. Probably equivalent of a 4 gallon bucket. They have small pockets inside and have a large rope handle. I used two of these and walking stick to carry some finds out before. Walking stick across shoulders and bags hanging from each side! :)

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Edited by pinkpantherbeekeeper
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Pink panther...is that your son on your shoulders...feed him well... future fossil carrier.

Re heavy packs. There's a location I ride my bicycle into. Found a nice complete 'heavy' Triceratops bone. Squeezed it in my pack and hung it on the handlebars. Because of weight and terrain, couldn't ride faster than walking. Steered around a cactus and the front wheel got stuck in a gopher hole. The bike tilted forward and the pack and me flipped over the handlebars. I didn't break anything and the Dino bone didn''t either.

Moral of the story...none.

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http://bicycling.com/bikes-gear/bikes-and-gear-features/heavy-lifters

That is a link for cargo bike reviews. Nice if you have the money. I haul my son in a pull-behind bike trailer which could be converted to carrying fossils as well.

Pink panther...is that your son on your shoulders...feed him well... future fossil carrier.

Re heavy packs. There's a location I ride my bicycle into. Found a nice complete 'heavy' Triceratops bone. Squeezed it in my pack and hung it on the handlebars. Because of weight and terrain, couldn't ride faster than walking. Steered around a cactus and the front wheel got stuck in a gopher hole. The bike tilted forward and the pack and me flipped over the handlebars. I didn't break anything and the Dino bone didn''t either.

Moral of the story...none.

Yep thats my three year old future pack mule! Haha. Edited by pinkpantherbeekeeper
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Well I'm just starting out and I see alot of good ideas here, but when I went a couple weeks ago to Green River, printing paper boxes with the lids were my best friends!

They measure 11" x 17" and if you fill them so the lids can still be put on it was only about 50 pounds of rock in each one. not terrible, but much easier to carry than multiple plates!

extra cardboard can be used to divide them into sections or layers, and the lid holds it all in on those bumpy roads

Edited by Sully
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I just throw everything that i shouldn't have kept (fragments etc) in a backpack, and anything good i usually carry out in hand.

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

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after a great chat room discussion on the merits of wheeled carts, the variety of one wheeled creations impressed me. I will be on the lookout for one of the many discarded bicycles littering the road to base a cart on... :) I also enjoy bdeveys golf cart idea, but want to make the footprint even smaller for this cart.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1600&bih=744&q=one+wheeled+carts&oq=one+wheeled+carts&gs_l=img.3...925.5194.0.5590.17.11.0.6.6.0.200.1336.3j7j1.11.0....0...1ac.1.24.img..4.13.1121.m85mxN28_ys

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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  • 2 weeks later...

I use a backpack with towels for fragile things of larger size. Normally I use cat liter containers and small plastic fishing boxes. When I collect small things I use film canisters.

: )

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I use a backpack with towels for fragile things of larger size. Normally I use cat liter containers and small plastic fishing boxes. When I collect small things I use film canisters.

Film canisters, those are just about extinct as well :P

They hoarded THOUSANDS of them at the museum when they started disappearing....they are quite useful!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pill bottles seem to work in place of film canisters. Not as easy to open though. I would suggest taking perscription labels off though. Might get mistaken for smuggling drugs! ;)

If you know someone with a baby, see if you can get baby food jars. Not so much for in the field use obviously, but work good as a cheap storage system.

Edited by pinkpantherbeekeeper
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As my stash of film cans dwindles I am switching over to Altoid tins. I snag those extra wide, but small, rubber bands they use on produce to keep them closed.

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Tic-tack containers, altoid containters, and mini M&M containers are taking the place of my film canisters that is dwindling as well.

Ramo

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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I've reached the age where I have a variety of pill bottles in several sizes coming out my wazoo. I've also reached the age where I often forget to stick one or more in my pockets. I haven't reached the age yet where I'm smart enough to quit smoking, so the small, delicate finds often get tucked into the bottom of a cigarette pack.

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For small stuff I usually put them in a bucket and carry them out, or for large stuff I put them in a cardboard box or the boot of the car with something over the top to stop them sliding and getting damaged.

"In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..."

-Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas

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  • 1 month later...

I don't know who invented paper towels, but they have earned the undying respect of this fossil hunter. I usually just bring a backpack and some stuff to wrap my finds in. Paper towels work very well for wrapping fragile fossils.

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man, the museum HOARDED film canisters, they've got a box of empty ones I swear there must be at least 1,000 in there.

As for me, altoid tins and mini M&M jars are a favorite as well ;)

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This is my fossil collecting machine - stripped-down baby stroller. Sure beats the h#(( out of carrying them! It can't be used on really rough or steep terrain, but I have a flat wooden box (not pictured) ~1.5x the length of a beer flat with rope handles for carrying by hand over the rough spots and it can fit in the stroller, which is parked as close as I can get it to the fossils.

I might use a backpack/etc like most of you do but my fossils/matrix are much too delicate. Now I guess I need a tool belt for the tools, for when the flats get too full of fossils to fit tools in with them...

attachicon.gifFossilCollector.jpg

I just use a back pack, but after seeing your carriage, I'll dream of making a Moon Rover / remote control type vehicle, with a pickup bed; of course !!! :)

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Something like this, only with a pickup bed ...... I'll just have to see if the cops have a garage sale perhaps :blink::D

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I don't know who invented paper towels, but they have earned the undying respect of this fossil hunter. I usually just bring a backpack and some stuff to wrap my finds in. Paper towels work very well for wrapping fragile fossils.

Yes, paper towels. I like to take stuff hiking or backpacking that has more than one use. I always take extra socks hiking....they are also good for wrapping fossils in. Also a wide mouth water bottle...I can wrap fragile specimens up and stick them in the bottle if needed.

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delicate finds often get tucked into the bottom of a cigarette pack.

I thought I was the only one who did this. Ya see...there are advantages to smoking.

Unfortunately, smoking doesn't help when it comes to the hike in or out of some areas, unless you consider taking a break to smoke a cigarette and catch your breath is okay. I think they call this an "oxy-moron".

SWard
Southeast Missouri

(formerly Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX)

USA

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