29 July 2023 Ground Search at the Lee Site

I apologize for the late update, I’ve had a somewhat busy week. I spent Saturday on another ground search at the Lee site, this time working areas I had identified on the 22 July ground search. I had a string of “alcoves” to search in the alder grove along the path from the berm to the creek. Also, I identified a flat, grassy bank along the stream to grid out.

I started with the alcoves and worked those for about 3 hours. Much the same as before, it is a hands and knees search of the debris and the forest floor. The good news is that no additional ground hornet nests were located. When searching the alcoves, it is tricky to assign a outer bound to the search. I tend to pick a fallen tree, or other feature as a limit, just to ensure that I have time to search the areas I’ve identified.

After completing the search of the alcoves, I moved on to the grassy bank along Soda Fork Creek. I grid searched the open grassy areas, then detail searched the debris collections, and the two intermittent stream beds there.

I use my GPS track to ensure that I don’t double search the same ground and that I know what hasn’t been searched. The GPS tracks are invaluable for planning each search, and greatly aid during the day. I have color coded the July 8th (green), July 22nd (turquoise) and July 29th (blue) tracks to make it easier to see the overall progress. I am slowly filling in the area of the Lee Site, and I am hopeful each time that I go out there that this will be the search that ends with a call to the LCSO.