About the Field Trip

FIELD TRIP TO NODULE POINT, MARROWSTONE ISLAND

The Jefferson Land Trust’s Geology Group will lead a walking tour of Nodule Point, which is on the southeastern coast of Marrowstone Island. The trip will be based on a field guide that Dave Tucker of Western Washington University has on his NW Geology Field Trip blog. Please download and read this guide before joining the trip (see registration info to left).

FIELD TRIP: The field trip will be both lay and technically oriented, so although a basic knowledge of geology would help, we’ll have geologists along to explain the features we’ll be seeing and touching. We’ll walk 0.7 miles from E. Marrowstone Road to Nodule Point and then back. You’ll have to be agile enough to get up and down the bluff via a narrow-steep staircase, but the walk is rather easy.

TRIP OVERVIEW: Nodule Point: why it’s there—basalt dike, baked zone, and weathering. Evidence for faulting after dike emplacement. The Scow Bay sandstone, a local building stone Nodules within the sandstone and on the beach. The overlying Vashon (latest Pleistocene) glacial till.

• To download a recent guide, click this link

LOGISTICS: When and Where.  Meet by 10:30 am at the home of Greg Lalish, 1101 E. Marrowstone Road. Drive/bike about 600 ft to the east on his access road, where we’ll park on his property. Carpool with others if possible. Then we’ll hike east on Hoyt Road (Private) and drop down to the beach via a private staircase. Bicyclists can go directly to the access point at 501 Hoyt Road (arrive at 11:00 am).

Access: Trip will be along a private road (Hoyt) and through private property. Adults and children over 12 only please, no dogs.
Space: Trip size is limited by parking and staircase access. Max. will be 50 or less. Sign- up for the trip is on a first-come basis, bicyclists get priority (because of parking issues).

No cost, just become an avid supporter of the Jefferson Land Trust. Bring: Wear footgear that protects your ankles. Hat, light jacket, water, bag lunch, camera, notepad, etc. We’ll go no matter what the weather, so be prepared. We’ll eat lunch on the beach.

 

About the Field Trip

Geology of the Quilcene to Center Area (Center Road)

Leaders:  Michael Polenz*, Trevor Contreras*, Harley Gordon*, Ian Huber*, Jeff Tepper, and Carol Serdar Tepper

The purpose of this field trip is to review the geology of the southern part of the Quimper Peninsula (sites between Chimacum and SR104 between Discovery Bay and the Hood Canal bridge), which has been mapped recently by geologists* at the WA Dept. of Natural Resources.  The main focus is on the Tertiary bedrock of the peninsula and the history and deposits of late Pleistocene glaciation, which created most of the present landscape.

The trip will start at 8 am at the Chimacum High School parking lot, where we will assemble our caravan of carpoolers.  Minimizing the number of cars is critical since some stops will be along narrow road margins.  There will be as many as eight stops, so it’s a full and arduous day with some hiking over uneven ground.  You should bring a bag lunch and other personal items (rock hammer, hand lens, sunscreen), but we will provide water and beverages for lunch.  The trip will culminate with an open-ended stop for cider, wine, bread, cheese, and chats at the Finnriver Farm (@ 5 pm), one of the Jefferson Land Trust’s farm partners.

We must limit the participants to 25 so don’t delay if you want to be on this rather hard-core geology field trip.  Cost of the trip is $20, which we’ll collect on the morning of the trip.

About the Field Trip

Geology of Nodule Point, Marrowstone Island

Advisors of the Geology Groups will run the rain-canceled beach walk on Marrowstone Island on Sunday, July 22, to see the Eocene and Pleistocene sections at Nodule Point, located near the southeast end of the island.  This walk is timed for the low tide and participation will be limited (by parking spaces) to 50 persons.

• To download a recent guide, click this link

Meet at Chimacum High School parking lot, NE corner.  Here we’ll stage vehicles, using the largest available (vans, SUV, station wagons) and packing in the maximum number of participants.  Arrive by 10 am, we’ll drive away at 10:15 am SHARP. ItIt’sbout an 8-mile drive to the East Beach Parking Lot, which only has a dozen spaces, some of which may already be taken when we arrive–hence the carpool restrictions.  Please DO NOT go directly to the parking lot and use up valuable space. Carpool with us from Chimacum HS.

Walk.   It’s about 2.4 miles from the East Beach lot to Nodule Point. Probable walking time, one way, is 1.5 hour–or more if we see interesting things in route. Arrival time at Nodule Point should be about 12 am (lunch). Collecting and/or defacing the outcrop is discouraged: please take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing but footprints. Wear your sturdy walking shoes/boots. Bring clothing for the weather, a pack, water, camera, and your own lunch. No bathroom facilities are available beyond the parking lot. We’ll plan to return to the parking lot by about 2:30 pm and be at Chimacum HS by about 3:00 pm.