The Search for Steve Fossett
Day 2:
Adventure Science Crew / 17.07.2008
It was another early morning and 7 am departure with a longer drive into the search area, and a road run to access the entrance of the large ravine, Masonic Gulch. The ravine is a very deep north-trending scar with a very densely forested stream bottom, which made for slow and painful going, as there were dense patches of thorny plants that we had to battle through. In addition to the thorns, the valley walls were extremely steep and cliffy, which compounded the difficulty of the search by forcing the team members to travel on this off-camber terrain. Several members developed some blisters today, but nothing that can’t be treated tonight.
Following the Masonic Gulch, the team focused on an area near the Liberty Mine that was very thick with poplar trees. This area was around 7900 feet and was physically challenging.
The team has seen and found some interesting objects during the two days. Yesterday team members discovered a snow mobile windscreen well off the trail, but items like canteens, metal and pvc tubing, and a other scrap metal were found, so we’re feeling very good about our coverage of the areas we search.
Animal sightings today included a black bear, and a close encounter with a rattle snake by Greg Marshall, who was thankfully not bitten. He also declined our requests for him to try and get a picture of it!
It was a hard day, and tomorrow the plan is to move to higher elevations on the flank of Mt. Patterson. This will no doubt be challenging terrain, but that is the goal here, so we’re all looking forward to a change of scenery.
SleepMonsters
