We had a successful field excursion to the West Elk Wilderness in early July! Spencer, Sam, and Sarah backpacked in to West Elk Creek on the Lion’s Gulch Trail with GPS gear and gravelometers where we measured stream sections around a large valley-blocking landslide (see picture from top of the slide). This was the first truly remote test of the new RTK system, and happy to report that the batteries held up, there were no kinks in the set up, and we were able to get 2-3 mm precision! Data from this trip will help Sam calibrate his numerical model on landslide blockages, and help Spencer assess the upstream effects of base level change via dams.
