Sitting Positions

[Trevor]

Hey everyone, I am Trevor. Recently I have been thinking about different sitting, kneeling, or searching positions for fossil hunting and am in search for possibly better ones than I have currently.

When Surface Scanning: Kneel with waders on and hands behind back. Drag my legs and bend over searching. This method appears very funny in the gravel. The weighted dragging of the boots makes very strange tracks in the gravel that could resemble a dying animal or body being dragged. The waders protect my knees.

In water: I also kneel in the water(when low) and use a clear plastic bowl to surface scan.

My main issue is that I bring the sifter out of the water I have to sit back down and put it on my lap, covered by waders. This constant back and forth sometimes hurts my back. What are less body stressing positions I can do to avoid strain?

Edited January 30, 2015 by Trevor

[erose]

I wish I had a picture of it, but many years ago there was a collector at Big Brook who had attached a sort of square of plywood to the handle end of his shovel. He would load the sieve and then jam the shovel in the creek bed. After shaking the sieve he would balance it on the shovel and scan through it at eye level.

Edited January 30, 2015 by erose

[fossilized6s]

Here is a similar topic that is more broadly based, but still may be helpful to your inquiry.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/44142-fossil-hunters-a-clash-of-personalities-and-abilities/?hl=+digger%20+sifter%20+crawler

Edited January 30, 2015 by fossilized6s