Sub Zero Fossil Hunting Trip For Trilobites

[Cluros]

Let me start off by saying that this has been a much colder than normal winter. The average temperature these past 30 days has been 7⁰ F. Usually we average 22⁰ F this time of year. A friend of mine just sent me pictures of fossils he saw at the Tucson show which really gave me the collecting bug. Last night I decided to go out collecting this morning despite 12-18 inches of snow on the ground.

Because of the extreme cold Lake Champlain has frozen solid for the first time in five years. I decided to try collecting using a technique I tried 25 years ago. The method involves walking on lake ice and checking out the ledges that are only accessible by boat in the summer. I packed light because I knew that I would be walking in deep snow for several miles and I didn’t expect to find much. I now wish I had brought heavier equipment, snow shoes and a sled.

When I got in my car for the trip up to the Islands my car’s thermometer read -3⁰ F. By the time I got to the parking lot the temperature had rose to a balmy 0⁰ F. After walking for about a mile of familiar collecting ground buried under snow I reached the cliffs that I wanted to look at. While most of the ledges were covered by ice and snow, some protected areas were visible.

These ledges are close to the Grand Isle ferry and I noticed that every time the ferry went by their travel zone through the ice about 200 yards away that the ice would pop, crack and buldge under my feet. My mantra for the day was “The ice is over three feet thick. It won’t break out from under me.” Before long I had my first Flexicalymene Senaria, which is known in the Devonian layers I was searching. The cold was so bad that any time I stopped to look at exposed rock my feet would go numb and start hurting. Thankfully there was no wind.

Within an hour I collected several of these trilobites in various degrees of completeness. After walking about four miles I saw what looked like a limestone layer that I recognized on other parts of the Island as holding Isotelus Gigas.

Within 10 minutes I found an enrolled Isotelus which is still in the rock where I found it. This formation is so hard that a masonry hammer has no chance of breaking it apart. After walking another ten feet I found a prone Isotelus Gigas which is shown in one of the photo’s. Shortly after finding it I found a nice 2 inch Flexicalymene Senaria which I will be prepping as soon as I fix my dust collector.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Cluros

[Cluros]

Here are a few more pictures. One with the ferry going by and one of myself. My fingers nearly froze off taking this picture.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Cluros

[Cluros]

One more photo.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Cluros

[Cluros]

Last picture of one of the ledges.

[Auspex]

Great Googly Moogly! Walking to an exposure on lake ice...

This is one of the best trip reports ever!

You really know how to make lemonade from lemons!

[Raggedy Man]

Sounds like a blast! I'd be out too if we had good place to hunt for trilobites...

[willy]

"Great Googly Moogly " really says it all, but might I add... Holy guacamoley! Talk about a dedicated fossil collector.

Edited February 28, 2015 by willy

[ZiggieCie]

Great and Brave expedition Cluros.

March is coming in like a Polar Bear this year for us north this year, Cleveland, Ohio area, calling for -10 tonight and another all time cold record for us again this month. Lake Erie is 99.4% frozen over still this late in Feb. My therm was -8 f, this morning.

My Roses will be toast this year.

[Auspex]

Seriously, when have the words "(fossil) collecting" and "snowshoes" ever occurred in the same paragraph before?

[Doctor Mud]

Indiana Cluros and the temple of trilobites!

[minnbuckeye]

Great winter finds.And I thought I was the only crazy one!!!!! Last week I had a continuing education seminar in Columbus Ohio. Being from Minnesota, I am fairly tolerant of cold weather. So I had arranged a trip to check out a trilobite location in the Mount Orab area. Unfortunately my guide decided 8 inches of snow the night before was going to hinder our excursion. I had to reluctantly agree. Instead, he allowed me to tour his lab where trilobites of exquisite quality are prepped. I was overwhelmed! But back to being crazy. Mother nature provided the area with early morning temps at 10 below zero and all area schools were cancelled. By noon when I decided to play hooky from my class, temps hovered around zero but wind chills much worse than that. Hardly a sole was on the snow covered roads-except me. Lo and behold, I lucked into an area similar to Cluros where the vertical nature of the rock kept it free of snow. And the search was on for an Ohio trilobite. Success came to me three hours into the hunt when a rock loose enough to pick up and examine, meaning not frozen to the ground, showed evidence of not one, but three trilobites in it! Who says us northerners have to wait till spring to hunt! Just pick your spots carefully and keep the car running. Yes I did take a few breaks to warm my hands.

Unfortunately, prep work on my specimen today revealed only partials.

[Fossildude19]

Great report and fortitude, Andy!

Thanks for posting this.

Regards,

[PaleoWilliam]

Nice finds!!!

[jpc]

Excellent reports to both of you. Great to see some wintertime collecting.

[Ludwigia]

Having grown up in Montreal in the 50s and 60s I can easily identify with low temperature weather since our mother was continuously bundling us brothers up and sending us outside into subzero fahrenheit weather to play in order to get some peace and quiet in the house on the weekend. I still have vivid memories of sitting on the heating shaft afterwards dealing with the excruciating pain in my toes as they thawed out. Nevertheless, I find it was a brilliant idea on your part to take advantage of the ice and embark on this adventure, which was obviously crowned with success in the end. Will you be returning to that spot again before the thaw with snow shoes, a balaclava and some more appropriate equipment now? Maybe you should take along a blowtorch as well

[Coco]

Hi,

Wouahhh ! -7° F ! It is -22° C here... When I think I don't go to hunt fossils Under 12 / 15° C (= 55 / 60° F)... You are my heroes !

Coco

[Cluros]

I thought I would post an update. My wife noticed that one of my partials was actually a buried complete trilobite. Photos of it can be seen in the prep section of the Forum. She was so excited by all of the fossils that I came back with that she agreed to go out on the ice with me so I will be going back out later today with a sled to haul the right tools and bring back the specimens I left behind. I did find an enrolled Isotelus Gigas which I hope to free from the rock with a sledge hammer. Carrying 50-60 pounds of gear and specimens can be exhausting when trudging through thigh deep snow. The sled will allow me to drag everything back. My wife has more patience than me and usually finds more than I do so I hope her eyes will find what I missed.

Edited February 28, 2015 by Cluros

[Auspex]

A show of hands: who has tried to use snowshoes for fossil hunting?

Now, lower your hands if you never tried again.

[Fossildude19]

Good Luck with the new hunt!

Keep warm!

Regards,

[lcordova]

Cluros,

Just reading your trip made me freeze!

I´m here in Houston at 45 F and I´m complaining.... , it was a really nice idea to use the ice in order to reach the ledges ... really nice, good rewards.

Once again congrats,

[Ludwigia]

Good hunting! It's nice to have some company this time around.

[JohnJ]

An extremely redundant hunting trip...exposure on the exposure. Kudos to your creative thinking and fortitude.

[MarleysGh0st]

I admire your dedication.

Not that I'm motivated to go out in this cold weather and emulate it...

[Cluros]

Check out my other report. My wife and I went out again today. It was the best collecting trip we've ever had. My wife found a complete Isotelus gigas and I found the largest Flexicalymene senaria we have ever found. All told we came back with six Flexicalymene senaria to prep and one ventral to prep. Our most productive trip ever. Especially in a state like Vermont where whole trilobites are very difficult to find. I've never seen a complete Isotelus from Vermont in the literature or in a collection.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Cluros

[Ludwigia]

Congrats on the Isotelus! If it's as rare as you're suggesting, I'd recomment getting in touch with a local palaeontologist about it.