GMR trip 5/4/2017

[ffemtb1]

I will be out at GMR in Greenville NC. Anyone interested is welcome to come along. I will have a small group with me.

[sixgill pete]

@ffemtb1 I wish you luck. You may be able to get in the creek, but I am not sure. The Tar River at Greenville is in moderate flood stage right now(it was at major flood stage yesterday morning) so at least the river is dropping. Normally when the river is that high ( 17.85 feet at 7PM tonight) the water backs up into GMR and makes it way to deep and swift moving to hunt safely. If you do go, please exercise caution and make sure the water is low enough and safe enough. No fossil is worth putting yourself or others in danger.

 

@RickNC @AshHendrick do either of you know if the creek is huntable right now?

[ffemtb1]

I was told that the water level in GMR is more affected by rain water vs flood stage. The elevation difference there from the mouth of GMR to the river is almost 20ft. lol why dont you carry your out rick haha.

[FossilDAWG]

12 hours ago, ffemtb1 said:

I was told that the water level in GMR is more affected by rain water vs flood stage. The elevation difference there from the mouth of GMR to the river is almost 20ft. lol why dont you carry your out rick haha.

You have also just been told, by someone with a great deal of experience on that stream, that flooding can have a significant effect on water level.  Yet you respond with an incoherent but apparently sarcastic insult?  Nice!

 

Don 

[SailingAlongToo]

13 hours ago, ffemtb1 said:

I was told that the water level in GMR is more affected by rain water vs flood stage. The elevation difference there from the mouth of GMR to the river is almost 20ft. lol why dont you carry your out rick haha.

 

ffemtb1,

 

During any normal day when the Tar River is not in Moderate or Major flood stage, you are correct that precipitation amounts will affect GMR levels more than the Tar River level. This is true even if the Tar River is running higher than normal. As Don advised, the Tar River is still currently in Moderate Flood stage at the Greenville gauging station. The water flowing out of GMR is having trouble flowing into the Tar River because it's water level is so high (Moderate Flood stage.) This is causing the water to back up in GMR.

 

I know someone who was at GMR this past weekend who sent pictures showing deep, muddy, fast moving water at the "normal/usual" entry points. Unfortunately, the Tar River levels have not dropped that much since this past weekend given they got 7 inches rain +/- in the drainage basin this past weekend. Hopefully, if you still decide to go, you go find somewhere shallow near 10th St or Elm St. bridges to safely collect.

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

SA2

[Auspex]

13 hours ago, ffemtb1 said:

I was told that the water level in GMR is more affected by rain water vs flood stage. The elevation difference there from the mouth of GMR to the river is almost 20ft. lol why dont you carry your out rick haha.

If it were my choice, based on the information presented by experienced GMR hunters, I would make other plans.

Good Luck, in any case!

[powelli1]

Hi As you have been told already GMR is up and it is raining in Greenville now and a lot more is on the way today until around 10 or 11 am tomorrow and I would stay safe and NOT try it. I have never seen a fossil worth your LIFE! By the way I live 3 miles from GMR, Stay home & Stay Safe. George

[RickNC]

I went out there last Sunday and it was only workable way up by ECU main campus. My advice is to stay out of there right now. The river stage does affect it just like sixgill said under the current conditions. 

[ffemtb1]

So I went, and I really got a better understanding on the depths further up the creek. I found a nice spot in the parking lot by the campus, nothing exciting found,  but I did manage to stumble across another access point that seemed very promising. I ended up in Surry county the next day and that ended up with some interesting finds. Looking forward to potentially going this weekend if anyone is interested in going. 

[ffemtb1]

On 5/4/2017 at 9:47 AM, FossilDAWG said:

You have also just been told, by someone with a great deal of experience on that stream, that flooding can have a significant effect on water level.  Yet you respond with an incoherent but apparently sarcastic insult?  Nice!

 

Don 

Don, I'm not really sure how you managed to take what I said and twist it into some absurd accusation. I've never disrespected any of these guys ever. Thanks for YOUR input. <---- That's sarcasm. For a Moderator, I expected less of a confrontational statement, and you bashed me for insulting? Pot calling the kettle black ehh? I don't want to make this personal, but I'm sure if one of these guys had an issue with my statement they would have spoke up. Its a Moderators job to act when there is a confirmed issue, not your assumptions. Thanks!

[FossilDAWG]

First you completely blew off sixgill pete's warning about the unsafe conditions at GMR, in essence saying he had no idea what he was talking about, then you said:

"lol why dont you carry your out rick haha."

Whatever that means, it certainly does not mean "I appreciate your concern and will take your advice under consideration".  It doesn't mean "I respectfully disagree".  It does have an air of "buzz off and MYOB".

 

I did hear from people afterwards thanking me for speaking up.  Perhaps they did not respond in public directly to you because your post indicated you had no interest in a civil response to advice from people who actually know what they are talking about.

 

Since you here posting again, it appears you didn't drown.  I hope the others in your expedition were similarly fortunate.

 

Don

 

 

[ffemtb1]

On 5/9/2017 at 10:38 AM, FossilDAWG said:

First you completely blew off sixgill pete's warning about the unsafe conditions at GMR, in essence saying he had no idea what he was talking about, then you said:

"lol why dont you carry your out rick haha."

Whatever that means, it certainly does not mean "I appreciate your concern and will take your advice under consideration".  It doesn't mean "I respectfully disagree".  It does have an air of "buzz off and MYOB".

 

I did hear from people afterwards thanking me for speaking up.  Perhaps they did not respond in public directly to you because your post indicated you had no interest in a civil response to advice from people who actually know what they are talking about.

 

Since you here posting again, it appears you didn't drown.  I hope the others in your expedition were similarly fortunate.

 

Don

 

 

This is nothing personal, and I'm not looking to offend anyone at all. I can't completely help how people perceive certain statements through a message board when it lacks tone and facial expression. I am completely aware of the risks involved and as a 10 year master firefighter/Paramedic and NC State fire instructor, I carry a lot more experience in judging dangerous situations than most people on here and very well prepared to make the decisions myself. That isn't going to stop me from going out to take a look, as I don't live but an hour away. I actually went that day and further upstream found a number of locations that were accessible with the water level no deeper than a foot or two and very slow current and was successful in my findings. I am by no means an expert fossil hunter, but I am an expert rescue technician. This does not make me invincible by any means, but rest assure I don't lack common sense when it comes to my personal safety. My post wasn't intended to fuel any drama from what others perceived as me disregarding their statements, all I wanted to know was if anyone was interested in going. For those who weren't interested simply didn't have to respond and it could have been simple as that. I do appreciate the concern from the members about my safety. Some of the members that you mentioned in your post, I've talked to quite a bit on here and so the way I talk with them may come off different and others may interpret that differently because they don't understand the dynamic of the relationship with other members that I deal with frequently on here, but they understand that's just me and there SHOULD be no offense taken. I do apologize for any misinterpretations on how it came off to others, that wasn't the intention. I suggest the best thing to do is to just avoid responding to my post if you don't agree with the hunting conditions of the suggested fossil hunt. I'm not confrontational by any means, so if any of the members associated with this post were offended, I would expect them as grown men and women to come to me with their concerns and talk about it like adults. I respect everyone on here, as such, I expect the same in return. I don't want to be talked down too or treated like I'm an idiot, because I promise I'm far from it.