The Burgess Shale via the Mount Stephen Hike
September 18th, 2009
With the summer coming to a close, I realized that the window for taking advantage of the centenary hikes being organized by Parks Canada to see the Burgess Shale was fast slamming shut. I was a geologist in a former life and had seen the gleam in the eyes of paleontology professors when referring to the historic finds at this site so I knew it was something that needed to be seen. This year, 2009, marked the 100th Anniversary of the discovery of the Burgess Shale, a UNESCO World Heritage site before the national parks held that status, and I wanted to be sure I was part of the celebration.
Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the human history associated with the Burgess Shale.
The abundance of fossils near Field, British Columbia was first discovered in the late nineteenth century by railway workers who found themselves in the area during the construction of the Trans-Canada railway. No doubt seeing an opportunity to make a few extra dollars, they were happy enough to pocket some of the excellent samples they found and sell them to collectors once they got back to the city.
Next up, in 1886, was Richard McConnell, with the Geological Survey of Canada. He was mapping the geology in the area and heard about the extraordinary amount of fossils from the railway workers. I’m guessing that he only collected samples of the fossils he found in the skree slopes and identified them before sending them into the Survey since he’s not credited with discovering the Burgess Shale.
That was left to Charles Doolittle Walcott, an American palaeontologist who had plenty of practical experience from trilobite fossil discoveries he’d made in New York. The fossil specimens from the mountains in BC had made their way to Walcott’s attention and, in 1909, he and his sons made the trek to Field, BC. At the end of the season, he’d discover the outcropped beds of the deposit now know as the Burgess Shale.
So what is all the fuss about? Well, in addition to there being an extraordinary number of them, the remarkable thing about the fossils in this location is the preservation of the soft body parts in this section of the geologic record. Normally, soon after a creature dies, and before it becomes a fossil, its soft tissue is either eaten or eroded so what’s left is either shell or bone. In the case of the deposit now known as the Burgess Shale, it is speculated that a catastrophic event occurred that altered and/or buried the environment so completely that the whole of many of the creatures swimming about were immediately and thoroughly preserved. That was about 500 million years, in the Cambrian era, during which time the whole area was under water and Manitoba boasted ocean views. But that’s another story entirely.
Racing ahead to present day, and the morning of the hike, my day started at HI-Whiskey Jack. This is a dream wilderness hostel, just inside the Yoho National Park boundary. Formerly the staff accommodation for a Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel, it is the only structure to survive a 1960s avalanche that completely leveled all the other buildings. It has all the charm of the other rustic hostels in the mountain parks but is blessed with running water, indoor plumbing and, yes, showers. The morning was dark but fresh and was promised to provide sunshine later in the day.
The rendez-vous point for the hike was at the Parks Canada information centre in Field, about 15 minutes drive from the hostel. We were to meet our guide at 07:15 which had translated to a 06:00 getting-out-of-bed time. It was a struggle to be sure but not beyond the realm of possibility. I packed up my backpack with lunch, water and some extra clothing and made my way down the road to the meeting spot.
Gathered around a cheerful Parks Canada guide were a few of my hiking comrades. A couple from Germany who’d been in Canada only three days, another from Edmonton who were trailer camping in the area, a newly anointed Parks Canada employee who was keen to take advantage of the guided hike on his day off and another couple from Sacramento, CA. As it happens, the gentleman from California was an avid amateur palaeontologist. Fascinated by “evolution”, he was an excellent secondary source of information and asked what I thought were some invigorating questions, my own paleontological memory having long since faded to black.
Once our modest day supplies were checked against the list, our small band of hikers began the trek through the enclave of Field until we reached the trail head. Here the Parks Canada guide shared some introductory information with us, showed us a few pictures of fossils that she had in her handy presentation folder and off we went. And so the hike began as it was to continue until we reached our destination, pretty much uphill the whole way. Happily, Parks Canada had supplied us with hiking poles, or old ski poles, which turned out to be very useful in relieving some of the pressure on the knees both on the way up but particularly on the way down.
We took the challenge at a steady pace with a few rest stops to gaze at the spectacular views, catch our collective breath and congratulate ourselves on the various heights reached before noon. All in all it’s a 780 metre elevation gain done over the course of about four hours, give or take. I felt for the couple from Sacramento who’d left home at sea level just three days before. Given that Field itself sits at 1260 metres, you had to applaud them for their tenacity and good spirits in getting to the top.
You need to know that a hike to the Burgess Shale cannot be done on a whim. No. It’ an exclusive experience and you need either a permit or a guide with a permit. Less than 2,500 people are allowed to visit the site each year. Considering an annual visitor tally to the Yoho Park of 600,000, those who go on the hike have every right to consider themselves privileged. Activity to and at the site is carefully, and daily, monitored via video camera, and our guide was very careful not to reveal the location of the cameras. Go up to the site without a guide or a permit and you’ll be met by a Park Warden and fined. Get caught removing any samples from the site and you could be facing a fine of up to $5,000. Indeed there is an area that is uber-restricted and left largely untouched even by sanctioned researchers. The outcrop and surrounding skree are to remain, without further examination, for “future generations” in anticipation of excavation and/or research methods as yet unknown.
Back to the day’s activity.
The first sign of the famous fossil samples is at the location where the railway workers made their initial discovery of what they called “stone bugs”. We pounced on the small skree slope and began the easy search through the pieces of shale. It took less than 30 seconds for one of us to locate the first sample. After that, exclamations came in rapid succession, “Here’s one”, “Here’s a good one”, “This one is nearly whole”, Wow, that’s fantastic”, and so on. The guide had a few classic examples in a storage strong box that seemed to be a permanent installation at that site. We all got a chance to handle those samples, take a few photos and hunt around for others in the area. After that, we carried on up the mountain.
On the next stage of the hike we passed a number of skree slopes and at every one, each of us easily spotted fossil samples on the side of the trail. Again, we were all excited at each find, “Look at this one”, “I’ll put this one here for you to see”, “Here’s a big one”, “Whoa, check this out” and so on.
We arrived at our destination around lunch time. As we munched on sandwiches or bread and cheese, or whatever we’d brought, our guide showed us some more pictures of what we should be looking for, and what some of us had already found, gave us some information about the former habitat in the area and the creatures that lived in it (with at least one of them looking remarkably like characters in a Star Trek bar scene). She pointed to the single chain barrier immediately behind us marking the boundary of the area into which we were not allowed to go, pointed to the only actual outcrop in the area and encouraged us to search through the skree below the chained-off area for fossils. We had about 30 minutes for lunch and exploration.
And we were not disappointed.
I found numerous trilobite samples, some whole and some pieces, and several examples of the claws from a predatory arthropod and a couple of bivalves. There was paper and pencil for anyone who wanted to take home a fossil rubbing and we all took plenty of photographs.
Once we’d had our time at the top, we headed back down to Field. Although going down took a lot less breath, it was quite a strain on the knees and remarkably tricky in the negotiation of one’s footing on the exposed, and slippery, tree roots against the force of gravity. I was glad to have the poles to help maintain balance.
When we reached the trail head, we marched back to the Parks Canada information centre of course. It had been a great day of hiking and history. Parks Canada will be running the hikes again next season, as will the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation. The latter, I’m told, are more scientifically focused in their approach to the guided hikes. Either way, I heard that the hikes were often sold out this past summer so I’d encourage you to book ahead.
Mr. Burgess, by the way, had nothing to do with the shale or the mountain that bear his name. Alexander Burgess was the Deputy Minister of the Interior in 1886 when the mountain was named. We’re not even sure he ever made it out to the mountain in person. One other minor and moderately relevant item is that Mount Burgess, beyond being keeper of the Burgess Shale, was featured on the Canadian ten dollar bill for seventeen years.
One last thing, if you’re wondering why a village in the mountains is named Field, it’s reported that in 1884 the Canadian Pacific Railway aimed to curry favour with Cyrus West Field, an American businessman and financier, by giving the village his name. Mr. Field was unmoved and, in the end, didn’t invest.
September 18th, 2009
With the summer coming to a close, I realized that the window for taking advantage of the centenary hikes being organized by Parks Canada to see the Burgess Shale was fast slamming shut. I was a geologist in a former life and had seen the gleam in the eyes of paleontology professors when referring to the historic finds at this site so I knew it was something that needed to be seen. This year, 2009, marked the 100th Anniversary of the discovery of the Burgess Shale, a UNESCO World Heritage site before the national parks held that status, and I wanted to be sure I was part of the celebration.
Here’s the Reader’s Digest version of the human history associated with the Burgess Shale.
The abundance of fossils near Field, British Columbia was first discovered in the late nineteenth century by railway workers who found themselves in the area during the construction of the Trans-Canada railway. No doubt seeing an opportunity to make a few extra dollars, they were happy enough to pocket some of the excellent samples they found and sell them to collectors once they got back to the city.
Next up, in 1886, was Richard McConnell, with the Geological Survey of Canada. He was mapping the geology in the area and heard about the extraordinary amount of fossils from the railway workers. I’m guessing that he only collected samples of the fossils he found in the skree slopes and identified them before sending them into the Survey since he’s not credited with discovering the Burgess Shale.
That was left to Charles Doolittle Walcott, an American palaeontologist who had plenty of practical experience from trilobite fossil discoveries he’d made in New York. The fossil specimens from the mountains in BC had made their way to Walcott’s attention and, in 1909, he and his sons made the trek to Field, BC. At the end of the season, he’d discover the outcropped beds of the deposit now know as the Burgess Shale.
So what is all the fuss about? Well, in addition to there being an extraordinary number of them, the remarkable thing about the fossils in this location is the preservation of the soft body parts in this section of the geologic record. Normally, soon after a creature dies, and before it becomes a fossil, its soft tissue is either eaten or eroded so what’s left is either shell or bone. In the case of the deposit now known as the Burgess Shale, it is speculated that a catastrophic event occurred that altered and/or buried the environment so completely that the whole of many of the creatures swimming about were immediately and thoroughly preserved. That was about 500 million years, in the Cambrian era, during which time the whole area was under water and Manitoba boasted ocean views. But that’s another story entirely.
Racing ahead to present day, and the morning of the hike, my day started at HI-Whiskey Jack. This is a dream wilderness hostel, just inside the Yoho National Park boundary. Formerly the staff accommodation for a Canadian Pacific Railway Hotel, it is the only structure to survive a 1960s avalanche that completely leveled all the other buildings. It has all the charm of the other rustic hostels in the mountain parks but is blessed with running water, indoor plumbing and, yes, showers. The morning was dark but fresh and was promised to provide sunshine later in the day.
The rendez-vous point for the hike was at the Parks Canada information centre in Field, about 15 minutes drive from the hostel. We were to meet our guide at 07:15 which had translated to a 06:00 getting-out-of-bed time. It was a struggle to be sure but not beyond the realm of possibility. I packed up my backpack with lunch, water and some extra clothing and made my way down the road to the meeting spot.
Gathered around a cheerful Parks Canada guide were a few of my hiking comrades. A couple from Germany who’d been in Canada only three days, another from Edmonton who were trailer camping in the area, a newly anointed Parks Canada employee who was keen to take advantage of the guided hike on his day off and another couple from Sacramento, CA. As it happens, the gentleman from California was an avid amateur palaeontologist. Fascinated by “evolution”, he was an excellent secondary source of information and asked what I thought were some invigorating questions, my own paleontological memory having long since faded to black.
Once our modest day supplies were checked against the list, our small band of hikers began the trek through the enclave of Field until we reached the trail head. Here the Parks Canada guide shared some introductory information with us, showed us a few pictures of fossils that she had in her handy presentation folder and off we went. And so the hike began as it was to continue until we reached our destination, pretty much uphill the whole way. Happily, Parks Canada had supplied us with hiking poles, or old ski poles, which turned out to be very useful in relieving some of the pressure on the knees both on the way up but particularly on the way down.
We took the challenge at a steady pace with a few rest stops to gaze at the spectacular views, catch our collective breath and congratulate ourselves on the various heights reached before noon. All in all it’s a 780 metre elevation gain done over the course of about four hours, give or take. I felt for the couple from Sacramento who’d left home at sea level just three days before. Given that Field itself sits at 1260 metres, you had to applaud them for their tenacity and good spirits in getting to the top.
You need to know that a hike to the Burgess Shale cannot be done on a whim. No. It’ an exclusive experience and you need either a permit or a guide with a permit. Less than 2,500 people are allowed to visit the site each year. Considering an annual visitor tally to the Yoho Park of 600,000, those who go on the hike have every right to consider themselves privileged. Activity to and at the site is carefully, and daily, monitored via video camera, and our guide was very careful not to reveal the location of the cameras. Go up to the site without a guide or a permit and you’ll be met by a Park Warden and fined. Get caught removing any samples from the site and you could be facing a fine of up to $5,000. Indeed there is an area that is uber-restricted and left largely untouched even by sanctioned researchers. The outcrop and surrounding skree are to remain, without further examination, for “future generations” in anticipation of excavation and/or research methods as yet unknown.
Back to the day’s activity.
The first sign of the famous fossil samples is at the location where the railway workers made their initial discovery of what they called “stone bugs”. We pounced on the small skree slope and began the easy search through the pieces of shale. It took less than 30 seconds for one of us to locate the first sample. After that, exclamations came in rapid succession, “Here’s one”, “Here’s a good one”, “This one is nearly whole”, Wow, that’s fantastic”, and so on. The guide had a few classic examples in a storage strong box that seemed to be a permanent installation at that site. We all got a chance to handle those samples, take a few photos and hunt around for others in the area. After that, we carried on up the mountain.
On the next stage of the hike we passed a number of skree slopes and at every one, each of us easily spotted fossil samples on the side of the trail. Again, we were all excited at each find, “Look at this one”, “I’ll put this one here for you to see”, “Here’s a big one”, “Whoa, check this out” and so on.
We arrived at our destination around lunch time. As we munched on sandwiches or bread and cheese, or whatever we’d brought, our guide showed us some more pictures of what we should be looking for, and what some of us had already found, gave us some information about the former habitat in the area and the creatures that lived in it (with at least one of them looking remarkably like characters in a Star Trek bar scene). She pointed to the single chain barrier immediately behind us marking the boundary of the area into which we were not allowed to go, pointed to the only actual outcrop in the area and encouraged us to search through the skree below the chained-off area for fossils. We had about 30 minutes for lunch and exploration.
And we were not disappointed.
I found numerous trilobite samples, some whole and some pieces, and several examples of the claws from a predatory arthropod and a couple of bivalves. There was paper and pencil for anyone who wanted to take home a fossil rubbing and we all took plenty of photographs.
Once we’d had our time at the top, we headed back down to Field. Although going down took a lot less breath, it was quite a strain on the knees and remarkably tricky in the negotiation of one’s footing on the exposed, and slippery, tree roots against the force of gravity. I was glad to have the poles to help maintain balance.
When we reached the trail head, we marched back to the Parks Canada information centre of course. It had been a great day of hiking and history. Parks Canada will be running the hikes again next season, as will the Burgess Shale Geoscience Foundation. The latter, I’m told, are more scientifically focused in their approach to the guided hikes. Either way, I heard that the hikes were often sold out this past summer so I’d encourage you to book ahead.
Mr. Burgess, by the way, had nothing to do with the shale or the mountain that bear his name. Alexander Burgess was the Deputy Minister of the Interior in 1886 when the mountain was named. We’re not even sure he ever made it out to the mountain in person. One other minor and moderately relevant item is that Mount Burgess, beyond being keeper of the Burgess Shale, was featured on the Canadian ten dollar bill for seventeen years.
One last thing, if you’re wondering why a village in the mountains is named Field, it’s reported that in 1884 the Canadian Pacific Railway aimed to curry favour with Cyrus West Field, an American businessman and financier, by giving the village his name. Mr. Field was unmoved and, in the end, didn’t invest.
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