The Heart of the West Loop

[blacklbzbeauty]

A heartfelt thank you to Dale for leading this adventure and posting up this report! What a great trip we all had!!
The tracks on the HOTW routes were amazing. Getting to stand and see very visible wagon wheel ruts from the Oregon trail era where emigrants faced challenges we cannot even fathom is very humbling. Having bull elk serenade us to sleep every night under starry skies. The history of following Pony Express routes and mountain man rendevous sites was very enlightening. Will try to post a few pics we took along the way as well.
Cannot wait to finish the route next year!!

 

[Byways]

It was a pleasure to at last meet you all, after so much planning. I know your journey was a long time in the works, with important obstacles to overcome (Covid, wildfires, heat, life ...). Heart of the West Adventure Route is a true, 21st-century American West expedition, not to be taken lightly, and it takes patience, work, and leadership to pull it off. And you did it! ???

 

[Foy]

Sounds like a great trip, Dale and Company. It'd be terrific to consider a loop like some of Tony's and focus on some "geology one can see and lay one's hands upon". I'm transitioning into partial retirement after April of next year and am already in the advanced daydreaming stage of planning a short series of day-trips from my 1978 geology Field Camp location in Dillon, MT for some of my eastern geology school classmates. A longer trip with a small group of overlanding-minded folks of similar vintage might be a lot of fun.

Nice work on putting together and executing the trip, and nice work on a fine trip report.

Foy

 

[WU7X]

Foy, my 1974 field geology course took us through SD Badlands, northeastern WY, southeastern ID near Mackah (sp?) and Arco, then into southwestern MT. I’d love to tag along with your group should you ever make the trip out West.

Dale

 

[Byways]

For some reason, retired geologists seem to find their way to HoW more than any other professional group. Speaking as the progenitor of a geology major, I've decided it's a DNA thing.

And Dale, the Mackay, Idaho area is an all-time favorite, an ideal venue for multiday backroad, hiking and camping outings. In fact, for HoW clients who are forced to abort due to weather and poor road conditions elsewhere, I provide a free, detailed gpx track file for the greater Mackay region because its more mineralized soils tend not to turn to grease when it rains, as soils throughout so much of the West typically do.

I hope to see you all back this way again soon!

 

[Ace Brown]

Sounds like a great trip, Dale and Company. It'd be terrific to consider a loop like some of Tony's and focus on some "geology one can see and lay one's hands upon". I'm transitioning into partial retirement after April of next year and am already in the advanced daydreaming stage of planning a short series of day-trips from my 1978 geology Field Camp location in Dillon, MT for some of my eastern geology school classmates. A longer trip with a small group of overlanding-minded folks of similar vintage might be a lot of fun.

Nice work on putting together and executing the trip, and nice work on a fine trip report.

Foy

There exists just such a group. We call ourselves Retired Ol’ Farts. We cater to overlanders age 50 and up. There is another similar group that aims at 45 and up called TTT (Tracks to Tomorrow). Both have groups here on the Portal. We don’t necessarily talk about rocks but it certainly comes up now and then.


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[Foy]

Thanks Ace. I've been generally aware of ROF and TTT. Reference to geology as a focus for a trip goes back to come PM communications I'd had with Dale concerning his academic and professional background as a career geologist. Turns out I'd done some field work where his undergrad school was back in the Midwest and had done my Field Camp in Montana where some of his professional work was focused.
Bottom line is as soon as I can get untangled from my present profession, I intend to spend more time in the Northern Rockies and the Basin and Range.

Foy

 

[dierkz]

For some reason, retired geologists seem to find their way to HoW more than any other professional group. Speaking as the progenitor of a geology major, I've decided it's a DNA thing.

And Dale, the Mackay, Idaho area is an all-time favorite, an ideal venue for multiday backroad, hiking and camping outings. In fact, for HoW clients who are forced to abort due to weather and poor road conditions elsewhere, I provide a free, detailed gpx track file for the greater Mackay region because its more mineralized soils tend not to turn to grease when it rains, as soils throughout so much of the West typically do.

I hope to see you all back this way again soon!

View attachment 692824

Wonderful shot!

 

[Byways]

Thank you. Nature gets all the credit

 

[devero4]

Looks like a great time, and nice pictures ?

 

[Foy]

Foy, my 1974 field geology course took us through SD Badlands, northeastern WY, southeastern ID near Mackah (sp?) and Arco, then into southwestern MT. I’d love to tag along with your group should you ever make the trip out West.

Dale

Dale,
I somehow missed your reply to my mention of a geology-focused tour last month. I'd like to say that your participation is ROF-style trips is one of three primary inspirations for my own thoughts on the matter. The second is an ongoing appreciation for the Montana Geology Facebook page established about 18 months ago by U of Montana-Western geologist Rob Thomas, himself the principal author of the third inspiration--the updated "Roadside Geology of Montana" volume. I'll also add here that there is a new "Roadside Geology of Idaho" now out. Both new volumes feature sharply upgraded graphics and color geologic maps by one Chelsea Feeney, so they really pop for professionals and lay persons alike.

I'll stay in touch about upcoming plans.

Foy

 

[WU7X]

Dale,
I somehow missed your reply to my mention of a geology-focused tour last month. I'd like to say that your participation is ROF-style trips is one of three primary inspirations for my own thoughts on the matter. The second is an ongoing appreciation for the Montana Geology Facebook page established about 18 months ago by U of Montana-Western geologist Rob Thomas, himself the principal author of the third inspiration--the updated "Roadside Geology of Montana" volume. I'll also add here that there is a new "Roadside Geology of Idaho" now out. Both new volumes feature sharply upgraded graphics and color geologic maps by one Chelsea Feeney, so they really pop for professionals and lay persons alike.

I'll stay in touch about upcoming plans.

Foy

Foy,

I will have to look into the MT geology Facebook page! Thanks for the insight. Have you heard of the Tobacco Root Geological Society? They do annual field trips and are a fun group of folks.

I am going to order the MT and ID updated Roadside Geology books. Thanks again for letting me know they've been updated. Alt and Hyndman did the originals years ago and I have been anxiously awaiting their updates. There are updated versions of the CO, UT, WA, and OR books too. Maybe even WY. They cover the areas I am most interested in.

Three books I typically carry with me for general rock and field geology identification are: Exercises in Physical Geology 10th ed. (I know there are more modern versions out there, but this one works for me), terry Maley's Field Geology Illustrated (I have the second edition from 2005), and finally a long out of print booklet from the U.K., Pat Bell and David Wright's Rocks and Minerals. Having not worked in the field for close to 20 years I've probably forgotten more than I was ever taught. These three books get the synapses popping in unison once again. Yes, all three are pretty basic, but very useful to a ROF. What do you take in the field for references? Oh, I always have a rock hammer in the 4Runner along with an old 10x hand lens. Probably should carry a squeeze bottle of 4% HCL, eh?

Dale

 

[WU7X]

This is really getting off topic, but...

Here is a collection of well rounded rocks I picked off the beach just north of Porta Vallarta, MX, a couple of weeks ago. The beach sands are typically quartz with heavy sheen of black sands. These rock samples trend from igneous to heavily metamorphosed. I don't have a geologic map of the area but they all point to a subduction zone off the western coast down there. My favorite is the large one. Huge crystals of hornblende in a olivine and Fe/Mg rich matrix. That contrasts with the beautiful basalt specimen in the lower right.

Although I didn't do it on the HOTW trip, I will often collect small samples like these while overlanding. Just can't get the geologist out of me.

 

[Foy]

Foy,

I will have to look into the MT geology Facebook page! Thanks for the insight. Have you heard of the Tobacco Root Geological Society? They do annual field trips and are a fun group of folks.

I am going to order the MT and ID updated Roadside Geology books. Thanks again for letting me know they've been updated. Alt and Hyndman did the originals years ago and I have been anxiously awaiting their updates. There are updated versions of the CO, UT, WA, and OR books too. Maybe even WY. They cover the areas I am most interested in.

Three books I typically carry with me for general rock and field geology identification are: Exercises in Physical Geology 10th ed. (I know there are more modern versions out there, but this one works for me), terry Maley's Field Geology Illustrated (I have the second edition from 2005), and finally a long out of print booklet from the U.K., Pat Bell and David Wright's Rocks and Minerals. Having not worked in the field for close to 20 years I've probably forgotten more than I was ever taught. These three books get the synapses popping in unison once again. Yes, all three are pretty basic, but very useful to a ROF. What do you take in the field for references? Oh, I always have a rock hammer in the 4Runner along with an old 10x hand lens. Probably should carry a squeeze bottle of 4% HCL, eh?

Dale

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I have in fact heard of the TRGS and I meant to mention that earlier. Membership is practically free and from what I've read in various prior year annual field trip guidebooks online, it does seem like a great group. With retirement looming, maybe I can schedule a TRGS annual field trip soon.

I've got you beat on elapsed time since I did field work: My last day in the field as a W-2 employee of a mineral exploration outfit was in October 1983. Some of my old Appalachian State University textbooks still refer to geosynclines and related theory, only mentioning "new emerging plate tectonic theories".

I began a slow "return to the fold" (pun intended) a few years back when one of my ASU classmates retired after 40 years in the Houston oil patch and bought a vacation home in our old college residential neighborhood. We both joined the Carolina Geological Society and have gone on 3 or 4 of the annual field trips since then. That started me getting interested in my southwestern MT Field Camp areas and the rest is sure to bore non-geologists to tears. Suffice it to say that most of my evening reading has for several years been geology related (I haven't routinely watched network or cable television in probably 5 or more years).

I have the Roadside Geology volume for all of the Rocky Mountain states as well as a number of East Coast states + some similar references related to California (notably some of the "Geology Underfoot" volumes). Between those and DeLormes, Benchmarks, NF paper folding maps, and the occasional Trails Illustrated folding map, I keep a fair load of rolling library in the truck. Enough to annoy my wife, anyway. And yes, my old rock hammer, belt holster, hand lens, and my treasured Brunton are always on board.

What I most enjoy today, as mentioned above, is "structure you can see" at all scales--macro, micro, and everything in between. Fault contacts, folds, slickenside, contact metamorphism, and in particular mineralization related to contact metamorphism (a throwback to my prospecting days). More recently, and entirely due to Rob Thomas' and Richard Gibson's terrific regular contributions to Montana Geology on FB, I've become fascinated by the Yellowstone hotspot and the related tuffs, flows, and tephra draped all over the place in SW Montana and Idaho. That, and syntectonic deposition and deformation of units like the Beaverhead Conglomerate (K-T). Next year I hope to find the outcrops of thrust fault contact with the Madison Group (M) carbonates pushed up over the Beaverhead Conglomerate (K-T). Seen some pictures, and it's right up my alley. I'm also keen to see some shatter cones from the Beaverhead Impact Structure in MT and ID, and I expect to do exactly both of those on a drive-by basis in July 2022.

Last, I here thank Ace, Byways, dierkz, and devero4 for their contributions to this discussion, not the least for their patience as two "senior geologists" burn up some bandwidth with a bit of somewhat off-topic recollections.

Foy

 

[Ace Brown]

I’m almost a senior geologist having retired from USGS after 37 years. But I worked in water, not rocks.


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