Shark tooth hill help :) East Quarey vs. slow Curve

[NSRhunter]

Hey all I will be heading down to the Ernst Quarries in Bakersfield for 3 days and am scheduled to hunt Slow Curve. I was wondering if it is worth hiking over to East Quarey and paying the additional $20 fee to hunt there since I've heard they have better quality teeth there. Also how does one recommend hunting East Quarry because when I last sent to Slow Curve the ground seemed to hard to dig straight down into the Bonebed like I saw on YouTube videos which they did in the East Quarry? Thanks for your time

[ynot]

Hey all I will be heading down to the Ernst Quarries in Bakersfield for 3 days and am scheduled to hunt Slow Curve. I was wondering if it is worth hiking over to East Quarey and paying the additional $20 fee to hunt there since I've heard they have better quality teeth there. Also how does one recommend hunting East Quarry because when I last sent to Slow Curve the ground seemed to hard to dig straight down into the Bonebed like I saw on YouTube videos which they did in the East Quarry? Thanks for your time

Hey-hi NSRhunter,

I am far from an expert but the silt seems a little more solidified in the slow curve than the east pit. A shaker box screen will help. In the east pit, after I find an undug section of the excavation I use a pitchfork to break down the wall of My hole then screen the dirt. I use a stacked screen with 1/2 inch over 1/4 inch. (I put window screen on the 1/4 inch when collecting micros.)

A new "rule" in the slow curve area is You have to use a small sledge hammer and a large "nail" (Provided by Ernst Quarries.") to dig into the side of the newly uncovered bone bed. The East pit is accessible by car if the road is not to wet. I think there are very good pieces to be found at either place, but in the "fire zone" the roots of the teeth can be very fragile.

When are You going?

Good luck with the hunt.

Tony

Edited December 17, 2015 by ynot

[NSRhunter]

Hey ynot,

Thank you so much for the info and tips! I was thinking the same thing about the silt being softer and maybe way easier to dig than the overburden at slow curve. Another question, how does one find a good undug section at East quarry? Are they easy to spot or you have to punch a few holes and look for bones? Ahhh i see thanks for the tip, I don't plan on digging in the premium area due to the relatively high cost since this is my Christmas gift from my mom Okay that sounds great. I will be hunting the 27-29. Is the normal overburden still at Slow Curve and does it still contain teeth? Or is it only the premium location now producing things? Thanks for the quick reply!

NSRhunter

[ynot]

Hey ynot,

Thank you so much for the info and tips! I was thinking the same thing about the silt being softer and maybe way easier to dig than the overburden at slow curve. Another question, how does one find a good undug section at East quarry? Are they easy to spot or you have to punch a few holes and look for bones? Ahhh i see thanks for the tip, I don't plan on digging in the premium area due to the relatively high cost since this is my Christmas gift from my mom Okay that sounds great. I will be hunting the 27-29. Is the normal overburden still at Slow Curve and does it still contain teeth? Or is it only the premium location now producing things? Thanks for the quick reply!

NSRhunter

They have removed the overburden at the slow curve area, but will only let You dig in from the side. In the east pit I take a screen and do some test holes until I find a good area, usually under somebody's tailing pile. On the 27-29 of which month? There seem to be teeth in the 18-24 inches above the "bone bed". Have You looked at their web page?

Tony

PS there is a picture of My screen box set up in post 5 of this thread.... http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/59867-my-fourth-try-at-shark-tooth-hill/

Edited December 17, 2015 by ynot

[NSRhunter]

Ohh thanks! Do they still have the overburden that they dumped off to the side which they had before? Those usually still contained teeth so i was wondering would it be worth it to dig in there? Ohh thanks so much for the info! I'm going December 27-29 but it's posted Slow Curve only that's why i was maybe hoping to ask him if we could hike over to the East Quarry since besides premium digging there may not be much at slow curve for us I have but didn't realize they said that will check it out thanks! Do you recommend East Quarry more then if I'm not doing premium digging at Slow Curve?

[ynot]

I have not dug in the tailings/overburden so can not say. There are areas at the slow curve that are around the main digging area, and You can dig into the "bonebed" there, I do not know if that is considered a premium area or not. (I think it is not the premium area.)

Good luck with Your hunt!!

Tony

[NSRhunter]

Oh okay good that's exactly what I was digging in last time The wall was way too hard and we still found good stuff in the surrounding area. Thanks so much for your advice! One last question, to find more and better teeth would you choose Slow Curve or East Quarry? Thanks!

[ynot]

One last question, to find more and better teeth would you choose Slow Curve or East Quarry? Thanks!

There are rich areas in either pit, the choice is Yours.

Tony

[NSRhunter]

Thanks so much Mr.Tony! Your advice has greatly helped me Great finds on your previous trip by the way! Maybe one day I'll run into you down at Bakersfield and have the opportunity to thank you in person!

NSRhunter

[ynot]

Thanks so much Mr.Tony! Your advice has greatly helped me Great finds on your previous trip by the way! Maybe one day I'll run into you down at Bakersfield and have the opportunity to thank you in person!

NSRhunter

Glad to help. Good luck on Your trip. Looking forward to seeing what You find!

Tony

[NSRhunter]

Will post immediately after Hope I get a meg like you! How many square feet of the premium area did you dig in?

[ynot]

In the slow curve area I probably moved about 6-8 square feet of area . But I am a very enthusiastic rock hound.

Tony

[NSRhunter]

Ohhh I see I don't think I'm able to spend that much xD Maybe next time

Nsrhunter

[ynot]

Ohhh I see I don't think I'm able to spend that much xD Maybe next time

Nsrhunter

Rob does not always charge extra as the new rate change indicates. I dug all day for the single entry dig fee.

Tony

PS Have You thought about collecting some micromatrix? (There is no extra charge to take some home and extend the hunt!)

Edited December 20, 2015 by ynot

[NSRhunter]

Oh wow that is so nice of him! I guess we'll see when we're there thanks

I have thought about sampling micromatrix but I don't have any 1/8 screens that I could use to bulk sample. I'm also flying in too so not sure how much stuff I can carry back to Texas with me. I do hope to get at least a gallon size bag of "micro" matrix using my 1/4 inch screen. I know there is a place to sample at Slow Curve that is very productive.

Nsrhunter

[ynot]

In order to get the micro matrix You need some window screen. I usually do 1/2 to window screen when I collect micro matrix.

[NSRhunter]

All right thanks for the info! I'll try and get a gallon size bag of it at least Do you recommend sieving to digging in the actual wall? Thanks for being so patient and answering all my questions promptly!

Nsrhunter

[ynot]

I try to screen all of the material that I dig up. When I work My screens I put the 1/2 inch on top with the 1/4 inch on the bottom and place window screen on the 1/4 inch. I put all of the screened material in a bucket to take home where I re screen it through the 1/4 inch screen before washing it . If You do not remove as much of the silt as possible on site You will not have much micromatrix after washing. The formation seems to be 99% silt.

Tony

PS aluminum window screen does not hold up well to this process.

[NSRhunter]

All right thanks so much! I'll definitely try and get some micromatrix if I can

Happy hunting!

[JoeMioDigger85]

rob doesnt mind if you take buckets of matrix to find micro fossils... done it numerous times. as far as slow curve and east quary, ive only dug at slow curve. however i have heard it is similar digging to the slow curve premium area.... hammers and chisels.... there are areas around to dig into the bone bed at the normal price opposed to the premium area prices but normally have to get through a few feet of overburden to get to it. its only the center area that is considered premium... bring a sledge and a long chisel or standard screwdriver and shovel with screen. people miss too many very nice teeth by not sifting the loose matrix they create...

[ynot]

All right thanks so much! I'll definitely try and get some micromatrix if I can

Happy hunting!

Hey Hi ,

Happy New Year!!

Just wanted to see if You made the trip, and if so what You found.

Tony

[isurus90064]

I realize this is a bit late for your dig so here is some general STH dig info ..

If you're digging in virgin soil: enter the STH bone bed from the side and not the top is so that when you are about to uncover a large tooth you don't split it in two. The majority of large! teeth such as megs, lie roughly flat in the bone bed. Use a hammer or mallet that doesn't weigh too much (something you can work with for hours). Use it to drive a long screw driver or a crowbar (with a flat top) into the side of the bonebed. It needs to be long enough to give you some good leverage that helps you dislodge a large enough chunk of virgin matrix. You may have to get gloves because this kind way of working can give you some nice blisters.

Other than that, you need the obvious: plastic bags, toilet or tissue paper, couple of brushes (for micro material), couple of buckets, and 1 or shallow plastic containers (see below). Whatever comes out in matrix I leave in matrix until I can get to it.

I circled the tools I use in blue, the virgin bone bed in red. Of course if you're screening you need a separate set of tools for that.

[NSRhunter]

Thanks so much for all the advice Will be posting a trip report soon but will show a teaser for now. No megs but found this really great matrix piece while screening at Slow Curve. Hastalis measures 2 3/8 inches diagonal length.