MCLI Undergraduate Research Expedition: Collecting Surface Data from the Circlestone Ruin, Feb. 15-20 2006
MCLI Undergraduate Research Expedition: Collecting Surface Data from the Circlestone Ruin, Feb. 15-20 2006
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The Expedition Field Team:
Bruce Peterson, Jared McBride, Charles Miller, Dennis Wilson, Dan Hammeral and Jennifer Kaufman (from left to right).
Funded by a Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI) grant, Bruce Peterson and Dr. Dennis Wilson took four students from the Circlestone Project Team, made up of 12 Mesa Community College Students, 8 miles into the Superstition Wilderness Area to collect surface data for a GIS map of the mysterious Circlestone Ruin. The Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction of the Maricopa Community Colleges, is dedicated to supporting and advancing teaching and learning by working collaboratively with faculty, administrators, and district-wide groups to provide quality services, programs, and resources.
Dennis, a biologist, and Bruce, a historian and rhetoritian, are faculty at the Red Mountain campus of Mesa Community College, a campus dedicated to developing undergraduate research opportunities for its students. Jared is a Mathematics major, Charles a Geology major, Dan a Communication major, and Jennifer a biology major.
Packing Into Base Camp
On Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 15 & 16, Deputy Louie Puroll and Bruce Peterson, accompanied by Ron Hood, a filmmaker producing a documentary film on backcountry packing, packed in the expedition's base camp and equipment. Louie and Ron rode back out on Friday while Bruce finished setting up the base camp awaiting the arrival of Dennis Wilson and the project's expedition students.
Dennis and the students left MCC @ Red Mountain before sunrise, ariving at the Rodger's Trough Trailhead about 10:00 am, after replacing only one tire along the way. The group made the Base camp at Reavis Ranch Meadow early in the afternoon after an invigorating 5 1/2 mile hike.
Solstice Equinox Alignments
After an evening meal and a good night's rest, the team headed up to the Circlestone Ruin to begin work collecting data. Jennifer and Dennis concentrated on biological information, comparing the vegetation inside the ruin to the vegetation outside surrounding the ruin.
Dan, Charles and Jared, following Bruce's directions began the process of dividing the ruin into a staked and lined 10 meter grid. By the time Bruce ambled up to the ruin about 2:00, the team had its North/South and East/West baselines set up. (Bruce can be quite slow getting anywhere in the backcountry with his "mosey" mindset (He also seemed to rest a lot). The students finished staking the grid and Jennifer and Dennis were already mapping tree positions in the grid by the approaching sunset when the team headed back down the 2 1/2 miles to camp and dinner.
Louie's Stories
The next day, Sunday, the team finished mapping each quadrant, took azimuth degree readings of horizon points and collected the final biological data at the site.
After cleaning up the site so as to leave it undisturbed and returning to camp, they found Louie Puroll had returned with the pack string in order to pack the camp out the next day.
Everyone stayed up listening to Louie's colorful stories of African goldmines, wilderness rescues, border crossings and smuggling.
Charles getting to know all the animals as dinner simmered.
Dan and Charles set the grid and then took measurements and made drawings of each grid. Along with Dennis they identified the plant locations and species inside the ruin.
Jared looking at rock fall volumes in order to estimate original wall heights.
Packing Out
After everyone helped break down the camp and clean up the site, Louie and Bruce packed the mules and followed the team out to the trailhead.
Three times on the way out the mule team rodeoed because of hikers who didn't know that pack strings have the right-of-way in the wilderness, and hikers are required to get 100 feet off the trail when they see a pack string coming. The mules were still learning what those large colorful creatures are in the trail (People wearing packs). When you are in the backcountry, take your pack off and hide it when you see riders approaching.
The 2006 Circlestone Expedition was a wonderful success. The data the team collected will be posted here on this website as it is analyzed and interpreted. We don't expect to solve the Circlestone mystery, but this site should provide hikers, researchers, and those who can't visit the site a picture of this mysterious place deep in the heart of the Arizona wilderness.
Principle Investigator Bruce Peterson signing out of the Superstition Wilderness Area, Tonto National Forest.
This site is authorized and maintained by Bruce Peterson. It is not an official website of the Maricopa Community College District, and Maricopa is not responsible for the content of this site.
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