Escape to the High Sierras

This past weekend, students and faculty of the Geology Department took the opportunity afforded by the pre-midterm lull (let’s not talk about how I have three in one day next week) to embark on the annual department trip. We departed early Friday morning for Mineral King (located in Sequoia National Park) and watched out the windows as the urban landscape faded into open farmland and clear skies. We reached the last leg of our trip by late afternoon, spiraling upward into the mountains, and as we meandered around the final bends in the road and through the groves of Sequoia trees, the fading sunlight crept over the mountaintops, illuminating the forest with a soft orange glow. We quickly set up camp (minus tents so that we could sleep under the stars) and then munched on burritos for dinner, a staple of all Pomona-sponsored outdoors trips. As the night settled in around us, we built up a warm fire, toasted some marshmallows, and sang some songs under the starry night sky before curling up inside of our sleeping bags.

Photo of Geo Dept. Field Trip (taken 9/21) - Bryan Gee
A shot of the morning sun peeking through the trees. Photo credit to Jonathan Harris.

We awoke on Saturday morning to the vibrant hum of the forests, reluctantly crawling out of our warm sleeping bags to huddle around the propane stoves while nibbling on bagels and cinnamon rolls. We soon began our hike to an abandoned mine on the White Chief Canyon Trail, weaving through the forest and along the ridge of the mountain. The ascent was quiet (both because half of us had to keep catching our breath and because there was no one else on the trail), allowing us to bask in the beauty and serenity of our surroundings. We marveled at the speed with which the clouds swirled above our heads and at the exquisite landscapes that appeared beyond each crest of the trail.

 

 

We paused for lunch in a magnificent meadow that tapered at the end into a canyon carved by glaciers. On a nearby hillside, a black bear ambled around, foraging through the shrubs in search of its own lunch. As we began to pack up, a doe and her fawn bounded gracefully through the meadow and to our right, pausing long enough to allow us to snap some photos before darting into the forest.

Geo Dept. Trip 2013 - Bryan Gee
A view of the meadow where we enjoyed our lunch.

As we continued into the canyon, the clouds (white and fluffy-looking) gently rolled in behind us as if guiding us toward the mine. We finally reached the end of the canyon and then scaled the mound of marble tailings left over from the mining operation. We scrambled higher in search of skarns, a type of rock which forms at the contact area between hot magma intrusions that form granite and sedimentary carbonate rocks, picking through the littered fragments for garnets and other eye-catching minerals. It was only after the cold began nipping at our fingers that we noticed that the clouds had coalesced into a dark fog, and with that, we quickly began the hike back to camp.

As we descended, the skies opened up, and it began to sprinkle lightly, providing both a welcome shower, but also a rather unwelcome drenching of everyone’s belongings. After pitching some extra tents, we tossed the wet items into the car to dry off, set up our burrito line, and built a fire, but within a few hours, the rain was coming down too hard, and we were forced to seek shelter at the early hour of 8:45 PM. A few people stayed up to play cards or to chat, but Kurt Crandall (PZ ’17) and I decided to get some shut-eye, only to be rudely awakened an hour later when we discovered that our air mattresses were floating on an inch of water. We abandoned the tent in favor of the car, only to find that the car, although drier, was even colder than the tent! We spent the next nine hours in a semi-conscious state of shivering, clinging to the hope that the morning would (eventually) come around. When morning finally arrived and we began to pack up, one of the rangers stopped by and informed us that upon her arrival that morning, the thermometer had read 29°F, and thus the temperature during the night had been at least that cold if not colder!

Geo Dept. Trip 2013 - Bryan Gee
A group shot taken along the way up to the mine. Photo credit to Jonathan Harris.

The ride back to Claremont was mostly spent trying to recoup whatever sleep we’d missed the night before, only this time we were snugly situated in the heated car. Thankfully, the weather in Claremont was a bit more comfortable, although some of my sponsees commented that I appeared to be shivering slightly whenever a breeze blew by…

It’s experiences such as these that make me thankful that I chose to come to Pomona. Not everyone has the opportunity to have such intimate bonding experiences with faculty and other students. Trips like these reflect both the liberal arts experience and the Pomona experience through the hands-on learning, commitment of Pomona and its faculty to an excellent education for its undergraduates, and the tight-knit relationships between faculty and students. I certainly recommend that everyone try to take at least one geology course in their time at Pomona; the faculty and students are fantastic people, and the field trips are amazing regardless of how much outdoors experience you have. Just remember to bring a good tent if you ever go camping.