Fall 2013 – New England upland backpacking trip – Sage’s Ravine, Bear Mountain

October 12-14, 2013
contacts/more info:
Christoph Geiss, Jon Gourley or Joan Morrison

Jon on Bear MountainLimited space available!  Priority will be given to ENVS majors/minors and new students considering the ENVS major.  Limited backpacking equipment is available from ENVS.

Three days/ two nights backpacking/hiking trip to the highest elevations in Connecticut in the southern Berkshires.  Topics will include:

  • Upland New England forest biomes
  • Geology of the Taconic mountain building event
  • Low impact back country camping/cooking.
  • Triple corner of MA, CT and NY…be in three states at once!
  • Highest point on Connecticut – guess what…it’s not the top of a mountain!!??

This year will be the first trip of the new ENVS fall field trip series.  We plan to lead a trip each fall that will feature a new location/ new environment.  Our future trips may explore coastal processes on Cape Cod or watershed management strategies as we paddle the Delaware water gap.   All trips will focus on relevant environmental/ecology/earth science topics as well as outdoor/backcountry living.  These trips will be a taste of what we do on our larger summer field trips.  The cost of this trip is free but you may need to purchase or borrow personal equipment such as backpacks, headlamps and proper clothing.

Trinity Students Present at Regional Geology Conference

Jon Gourley and I joined four of our students, Justin Beslity, Danel Hong,Stephani Roman and Sama Shresta on a trip to Bretton Woods, NH to attend the  Geological Society of America’s Northeast Section meeting.

The meeting took place in the historic Mount Washington Hotel (pictured above in the snow), and we spent three days attending talks, talking science and hanging out in a pretty fancy place.

Jon Gourley pondering some slight modifications to our oh-so-fancy digs in McCook Hall.

On Tuesday it got serious for the students: Sama, Justin and Dan were all presenting posters. Needless to say, they did great, and after a long day we all went up to nearby Fabyan Station for dinner.


Sama explaining her poster.


Dan and Justin talking to Dr. Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University


Dinner at Fabyan Station

On Wednesday morning Stephani convinced everybody that grass-fires are a really bad way to change the magnetic properties of soils and Jon Gourley convened a session on urban watersheds.


Stephani explaining her poster to Dr. Bob Darling, SUNY Cortland

In summary, we definitely had a few rough days, but, hey, somebody has to do it, right?


The flannel shirt boys in action. The girls were too fashion conscious to join us.
Dan fattening up for the long drive home: 2 burgers, 1 wrap, a shake and a large soda…