Field Camp sets WWU geology students apart

The summer sun rises early through the ponderosa pines in central Oregon. Thirty WWU geology students gather around picnic tables in cooking groups under the large pavilion at Ochoco Forest Camp, and smells of bacon and maple cut through the din. One student rubs a swollen spider bite. This group is eight days into Geology Field Camp.  

Western’s Geology Field Camp is a six-week field-mapping course where junior and senior geology majors learn to identify different types of rocks and their relationship to each other, construct maps and use data to solve real-world geological problems.  

Western is among the universities still offering a field camp experience to undergraduates, and it’s one reason WWU has one of the best undergraduate geology programs in the country.  

“Field camp is a culminating, immersive thing where students learn to work out a geological history of an area,” said Geology Professor and Department Chair Bernie Housen.  

Field-mapping courses have been part of Western’s Geology Program for more than half a century. This year, field camp was organized around different sites in Oregon, Idaho and Montana. In Oregon, the students are studying glacial sediment and mapping volcanic rocks. In Idaho, they studied lava flows at Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, and in Montana, they’ll study sedimentary rocks that have been folded and faulted. 

Back at the campsite pavilion where students are gathering, Housen flaps his arms like a crow and calls, “cuh-CAW!” to get the campers’ attention before sharing the day’s fieldwork agenda. Then Housen, 26 students, three undergraduate TAs and one graduate TA pile into three big vans, which were generously donated by Paul Rady, and head for the hills near Mitchell, Oregon. 

On the way to the field site, the first two vans pull over to wait for the third to catch up. As soon as the vans shift to park, a long-haired student with a plaid shirt and a wide-brimmed hat flies from the side door and down the hill to relieve himself in a grove of trees. The other students cheer him on in a moment of hydration appreciation, the first of many such moments throughout the day.  

“Dehydration is the most common health issue we deal with in students at field camp. It’s not easy to get every student to drink enough water, so we’re glad when they do,” said Housen.   

The field site near Mitchell is in southeast Oregon’s Blue Mountains, amidst Eocene-aged volcanic rocks called the Clarno Formation. It’s 100 degrees outside. There’s no shade, no breeze. Sagebrush dots the golden-baked hills that stretch as far as the eye can see.  

Sweaty, panting students unload their backpacks and drink from their canteens after hiking to the top of a steep, dusty ridge. Housen flaps his arms again and calls, “cuh-CAW!” The students gather, and Housen talks them through mapping this steep, hilly area and its volcanic rock outcrops. The students break into groups and set out to measure the strikes and dips of the rock beds.  

Teaching Assistant Sean Whipp, Geology Field Camp veteran, is working with a group of students and says the ash flows they’re looking at represent various volcanic events throughout history.  

“Part of what we want the students to understand today is how these rocks have been deformed since they were deposited after past volcanic events,” said Whipp. “We see all kinds of folding layers around this landscape. So, students use their Brunton compass to measure the angle at which these rock beds are dipping, and then the direction at which they're oriented — that’s called the strike. Then they plot that on a nice little map.”  

The students don’t know this yet, but if they map the area correctly, they will identify a fault line in these hills.  

Twenty-six students are a large group when it comes to organized research activities, so they’re divided into smaller groups, each led by a TA. The TAs keep all the students informed and check each student’s data and mapping throughout the day. TAs are also trained and certified in First Aid, CPR and using an automatic defibrillator, and they know where the nearest hospitals are at all times.  

Madelyn Cook, a recent alum of WWU’s master’s program in geology, is a graduate TA at field camp this year, and she said field camp is the best way to learn geology.  

“It’s like when you go to another country, and you’re fully immersed in another language and forced to learn it. Field camp is like that. You get dropped off in the desert for five weeks. You learn to map, think critically and put all the clues together to understand the geological history of a place,” Cook said. “You can't really get that same experience in a classroom with worksheets and pictures on the board.” 

Cook said she was excited to TA at field camp this year because she had already been a TA for most of the students and knew them. Back on campus, in a lab with faculty, grad students and undergrads, Cook and undergraduate Olivia Ernst worked together. Over the past year and a half, they did research on separate but related thesis projects on the Three Sisters magma system in central Oregon. At times, they worked casually, side-by-side, and at times, Cook used her expertise as a grad student to mentor Ernst in the lab and in the field. Now they’re at field camp together. 

“Already knowing the students helps us both. Field camp is a lot — it’s a big routine change. Having a TA they know can make it less scary for the students,” said Cook. 

Field camp can foster lifelong connections and friendships between students. Yes, they learn geology skills, but they also learn interpersonal and survival skills. And for a camper named Carson Rader, it’s a much-needed break from the world. 

“My favorite part is the camping. I haven’t camped much in my life, and I’ve been so busy the last few years with school and work. It’s just nice to not be working — to dedicate all my time to geology. It’s a nice break. And it’s good to be outside,” said Rader.  

But field camp can also be uncomfortable. After the hottest day yet, students wind down with large water bottles back at Ochoco Forest Camp. Some jump in Metal Creek, some continue to work on their mapping, and some chat, watch chipmunks drink from a dripping water jug and start dinner early.  

One student said he was just trying to get through this experience. Another sat alone at a picnic table with her knees pulled to her chest and said she’d rather not talk about the day.  

Luke Duniven, a student from Ferndale, said today was one of the more challenging days.  

“It was really tough because the material was difficult. But it was especially grueling because of the heat. And I fell at one point. I watched somebody slip and fall on a steep slope right in front of me, and I tried not to repeat their mistake,” said Duniven. “Plus, I’m kind of a germophobe, and there’s not been a day for like a week that I haven’t had dirt all over my hands and had to eat anyway. But it’s getting easier — I’m still here, and that’s the important thing.” 

Noah Morris-Fry said he had a couple close encounters with rattlesnakes. After eating lunch on a rock with his mapping group and TA, he discovered there’d been a rattlesnake under their rock the whole time. And back at camp, he noticed a cord on the ground near several tents. As he reached for it, he saw a baby rattlesnake next to it.  

But for Morris-Fry and many other students and TAs at field camp this year, being outside is the whole point.  

“Just getting to spend a bunch of time outdoors chatting with other people who have similar interests in rocks — I just really enjoy that,” he said. 

Housen said the type of Geology Field Camp WWU offers is becoming increasingly rare at other institutions. Some universities like University of Washington have changed their courses and only run single-day fieldtrips, other institutions cannot offer their mapping courses every year and some do not offer these courses at all, so their students go to other universities, including Western, for field camp.  

“We have one of the best geology programs in the country for undergraduates, and our program is what it is because of our research and our commitment to field-mapping,” said Housen. “If we can serve that unmet need in our region, then we’re providing our students with a great opportunity, and we can also see how we might be able to offer our course to more outside students.” 

Many of the students and all the TAs in the field this summer say that it’s a valuable opportunity. It’s a requirement for undergrads who want the Bachelor of Science degree rather than the Bachelor of Arts. And there’s group consensus that mapping is important for professional geologists in industry and research.

Geology student Hannah Zeien landed a job at a geotechnical company in Monroe doing soil testing for construction sites. Field camp is her last requirement before she begins her career as a professional geologist. Housen said there are several good reasons for this requirement.

“It’s a good foundation for almost any kind of future. Our alumni who often hire our students say this is the one experience that they really need to see on the resume,” said Housen. “In the field, students learn to think in three dimensions, and then if you add in time, four dimensions. That’s some higher-level cognition. So, even if you go to work for Microsoft as a programmer, those are mental skills that are going to benefit you.” 

TA Ainsley Hogan said there are a few different reasons field camp is so important.  

“Field camp is what makes Western’s Geology Program one of the best. The classroom is an idealized thing. But this fieldwork is the real deal, and it’s a lot messier. When you learn how to deal with the mess, your work becomes a lot more valuable,” said Hogan.  

And for the students, field camp can help clarify their goals.  

Andrew Forrer is one of the only juniors at field camp this year. For the last three years, he’s been focused on metamorphic rocks, which is what his senior thesis project is centered around. But in the first week of field camp, his interests shifted, and now he’s considering pursuing glaciology in grad school.  

“I just didn't really have much glacier knowledge before last week. Seeing it in person was the best way to learn. Things don’t always click when you’re looking at a screen or hearing about it in a lecture,” said Forrer. “Now my horizons are broadening. It’s cool — kind of shakes things up, and you get interested in other stuff.”  

Back at Western for fall quarter, senior Morris-Fry took a little time to reflect on his summer. He said this field camp teaches you how to cultivate geology skills out in the field that are relevant in a number of jobs, from academic field research to U.S. Geological Survey work, and from working for a drilling company in Alaska to teaching future geology students. 

As for Morris-Fry, once he finishes his last quarter of classes, he, like several of his colleagues, plans to apply for local geotechnical firm positions. 

“We live on a lot of earth right? We have this planet. And whether we like it or not, the things happening on and under the surface do affect us,” said Morris-Fry. “Having people who know about that is important. Boy, I sure love it when our buildings don’t fall down!”

Learn more about Western’s Geology Department here.

Allie Spikes covers the WWU Graduate School and Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies for University Communications. Reach out to her with story ideas at spikesa@wwu.edu.