Over Spring Break, the seven students of Dan Cochran’s Geology 110 class hiked in eight major national or state parks, through-out Utah and Arizona. The students were able to take their classroom outdoors, and experience over one billion years of geology, hands-on. The scenery in the American South-west wasn’t too bad either.

The innovative structure of Geology 110, a four credit-hour science class, was particularly appealing to students whose strengths do not lay in the traditional lab setting. Meeting once a week, for approximately 90 minutes, the classroom portion focused on introducing students to geologic terms, formations, and samples. By Spring Break, an abstract understanding of geologic forces crafting the American Southwest had developed. Next came the 10-day long lab to see these forces in action. In the process of hiking to famous landmarks (often taking several hours), geology students had the opportunity to see their science in motion. In just one day the class traveled from Coral Pink Sand Dunes (state park), where the remains of eroding mountains were in the process of becoming sandstone (by way of becoming sand dunes). Only a few hours later the group was in Bryce Canyon, an area being actively eroded by over 200 frost/thaws per year. Bryce canyon was literally being reshaped before students eyes,as 60 million year old rocks and sediments were visibly displaced by the thawing of ice during the warmest part of the day.

Though hotels were provided each night, good physical condition was still a requirement for the course. After a particularly long hike Isaac Ruiz noted, “You know it was a long hike when you lay down on a bumpy rock and think it’s comfortable enough to sleep on.”

At the Grand Canyon, Mr. Cochran offered an optional challenge to the students: hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and back up, in one day. This concluding hike would cover 17 miles in trails, and 5,000 feet in elevation change. Those not opting to hike the entire Canyon instead spent the day touring the upper rim with Jim Weber, an HCC faculty member who accompanied the class trip.

Beth Silvestrucci, one of the two students that exercised the option to hike the Grand Canyon said, “That hike was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but my trip would have been incomplete without it.” She went on to say, “The entire trip was just so much fun.”

Submitted by: Geology 110 student, Luke Brunner