ARCHIVE - Landscapes of Change: Dry Falls » Green Lake

ARCHIVE - Group 4: Day 1 – Site 1 Red Alkali Lake Map

Trevor Manns — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:37:24 +0000

At Red Alkali Lake we defied Peters wise words, and climbed the loose basalt up to a cave. From there we watched, like hawks circling the sky, looking out at the dry valley. We watched Jayden almost get sucked into the Alkali, and others walk around the valley floor; so contrast from the yellows and browns of the dried plants. Here at Red Alkali Lake we claimed our cave, and got our first taste of the many surprises Dry Falls had in store for us.

Group 4 place 3

ARCHIVE - Green Lake: Map

Pan — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:11:45 +0000

ARCHIVE - Green Lake: Collage Essay

spooky ghost — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:58:22 +0000

Green Lake Cake

Green Lake did not strike me as particularly green, or at least not when we were there. Perhaps earlier in the year green graces the lake’s banks and waters, yet for us it was in mourning of summer’s passing. White mud stretching ice-like all across the dry bed. Unmistakably a lake, yet the oddest sight to behold. Our group walked for about a mile through the dry scablands, sun warming our heads. When we first arrived, we rest on a hill overlooking the white flat plain. After much pulling grasses out of our socks, we went down to investigate.

The Lake’s surface seemed covered in powered sugar. I could see the tall yellow grasses surrounding and decorating the lake. The grass near the lake was green and as it receded, the color turned from a bright green to a beautiful golden yellow. When observing the lake I couldn’t help but feel like an explorer. Like I had discovered something important past compare.

Beyond the lake are cliffs, boulders piled halfway up its base, massive, majestic, more than a hundred feet tall. I could not capture all three sides in one tiny photograph as much as I tried, and it is the cliffs that make this place as much as the lake itself. Jagged shapes appear on the cliff face, the rock is too brittle to climb yet I cannot help but imagine doing so. I would stand at the top and shout. Voice echoing out across the wide winding plain, and down below absorbed as if by felt. It is quiet on the floor of the lake. I find my instincts piqued, my ear expectant of some danger in silence such as this.

I ended up exploring the lake with my feet. Barefoot I could feel the soft first layer, white as snow yet warmer than what lay beneath. As I stepped down I could feel the moist gushy mud molding around my foot, squeezing through the small cracks between my toes. Mud almost up to my knee, I could now feel my feet getting the warmth sucked out from them, and the cold darkness started to creep in. Wanting to keep going forward I pulled my leg out of the abyss and back to the surface. Walking on the surface of that lake was fascinating. The only thing comparable to it is a giant ice cream cake.

ARCHIVE - Green Lake: Pictures

spooky ghost — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:42:33 +0000

[nggallery id=2]

ARCHIVE - Group 4: Site 1 – Red Alkali Lake/Green Lake Field Notes

Trevor Manns — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 23:37:24 +0000

Plant Species:

Stiff Sage Brush, Lichen on North faces of rock formations, Queen Ann’s Lace, Cheap Grass, Wheat Grass, Reeds, Purple Sage, Common Cattail, Wild Rose

Rocks:

Basalt is the major rock type in the area. The loose rocks that litter the area range from a few inches to a few feet in diameter. There were no Granite erratics in the area that we could identify. The lakes are surrounded by a large cataract. A small cave can be seen to the east of the lake on the ridge at the bottom of the solid wall of the cataract just above the loose rocks. It seemed to have been inhabited by small animals, as scat covered the floor of the cave.

Animals:

Gardner Snake, Bull Snake, Raven, Bees, Flies

Coyote scat, Deer scat, Rabbit scat

Field Notes:

The dried up lake bed of Green Lake was covered in calcium deposits, which was caked on top of the mud. As a result, the surface had become spongy in texture, and formed large cracks as the mud/calcium mixture began to dry. Sage brush was littered throughout the area, and tall Reeds had grown around the edge of the lake. Red Alkali Lake was about 200 feet north of Green Lake, and had almost identical features, except for it didn’t have the calcium layer on the lake bed. Red Alkali Lake was also surrounded by tall Reeds, which were accompanied by a few scattered Wild Roses.

ARCHIVE - Group 4: Site 1 – Red Alkali Lake Collage Essay

Chi Lin — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 23:28:56 +0000

   Dear Former Self,
    I would ask you how you are, but I already know. Perhaps you are running on the driftwood along the beach, avoiding the sand at all costs because it’s lava. Perhaps you are climbing the big hemlock outside the house, the one that mom told you not to ever climb, so of course you had too. Maybe you’re out with the other kids in the neighborhood, weaving through the trees like a soldier, plastic gun in hand; making forts out of chairs and boxes, and mountains out of dirt mounds. The world is your playground, and nothing can stop you right now. That’s important to remember, for the rest of your live. The world is your playground, and you can make anything you want out of it. Don’t lose your inner child.
        Sincerely,
                                       Yourself
Being at Dry Falls brought that child back out of me, just as the woods on campus had. I wanted to run, play and throw rocks. Yell into the canyons and listen for my echo to bounce off every surface. And I did, it was superb. I could feel myself lose all the stress and worries that I had carried with me here, falling off as I jumped over streams and climbed the rocks Peter told us not too. The idea of falling didn’t scare me, just as it wouldn’t have scared a child climbing a tree. The cave that was a thousand feet in the air, with nothing but sheer basalt under it had to be conquered. And after it was I declared myself King of The Mountain, for surely I had earned that title. I learned about my physical capabilities, my strength, and cunning jumping over, and under all the obstacles that the flood had left in my way. The child with in was truly brought out by the landscape, and I remembered how important it was to view the world as my playground.

ARCHIVE - Green Lake: Field Notes

spooky ghost — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 20:30:40 +0000

Touch: The lake is dry, but moist just beneath, and in the middle the mud is deep. On top of the mud is a layer of white powdery stuff, the consistency powdered sugar perhaps, or maybe salt mixed with ash. There is a wet clumpy form that resembles moss or fungus in patches all across, and a crusty dry form, almost like corral, but brittle. The lake itself has layers, dig deep and you’ll find mud, slick against the powder-dry fingers that touch them.

Layers down, layers in and out as well. The edge is dry, hard not brittle, like soft ceramic tiles. Further in you begin to sink, maybe three inches into the crust. It feels spongy like wet felt to walk on but not touch.

Smell: The smell is distinct but hard to describe. There is a clayish damp sour smell, like plaster perhaps with a hint of plant decay, or grout mixed with seaweed that’s sat in the sun, or shrimp that’s just been shelled. It’s not a bad smell, just interesting. It’s a thick white smell

Sight: The lake itself isn’t very green. Looking from the North East a 100 feet from the lake’s edge I can see that the right side is covered in a layer of white, resembling, or a t least reminding me of salt flats. From my perspective the left side is a visible puddle of water, apparently the lowest part of the lake. All across it’s also reminiscent of snow, footprints scattered across the surface forming odd patterns all across.

Taste: It tastes like baking soda, sharp on the surface, flatter the deeper I dig. The taste stays in my mouth long after I’ve spit it out, still present the following morning when I wake up.

Sound: Silence. An occasional bird chirp, an amplified voice of a far off student.