5.6.09

Not a bad day; I got to have a little variety and I spent most of it in the field.

First, we posted up at the ol' Palmer Creek stream gage (yes, it is actually "gage" in this situation) for a couple of hours. Riveting stuff.

Then for the fun. We drove around looking for dead, windblown, and/or hazard trees near forest roads. We need these trees (about 40 of them) for a stream restoration project on Palmer Creek where they will be strategically added to the stream channel to add complexity and create fish habitat. So, I got to 4-wheel the big Forest Service truck around some pretty awesome country on some pretty remote and rugged roads. I may have gone on a couple of roads I shouldn't have and may have gotten us into at least one hairy situation, but it was awesome driving over, around and through deep ruts, big rocks and through the encroaching brush. At each tree, we had to record its diameter, GPS location, height, and a whole host of other information. One small road system and we're almost a quarter of the way done.

But, it can't be all fun, so we returned to the stream gage to take an hour and a half of readings. And, back to the office to meet Ian who wasn't even there...