Dry Lab

I am back up in the Bitterroot Valley for at least a week.  Robert Hamlin Bicycles will be closed until Friday, or, perhaps Saturday.  I have quite a bit of field-work to do:  vegetation plots at all of the wildlife crossing structures, changing batteries, and copying pictures.  Each structure gets 60 plots, all on a 25 meter grid.  You have to get to each plot, even if there is a sheer slope, black bear, jungle, or billabong in the way.  Today it was a billabong, a deep-dark-slimy-beaver-infested-gooey side channel of the Bitterroot River.  I knew it was deep so I took off my shirt and left it on the bank with my phone, keys, hat, wallet, and glasses.  I had to swim sidestroke with one hand holding my field notebook and pen in the air to keep them dry.  I put in the remaining 15 plots on a cottonwood island, and then swam back across.  You can't dry lab the data if you are cold and wet.  No, I never saw the bear, but he was there about 9 hours before I was.

The dry and brave biologist goes to get the data.

 

 

Soggy bottom boy.