Remy and I returned early Saturday morning and started up on the next section of the grid. We are continuing the outside working in methodology, beginning at the lane adjacent to the last one finished the week before. This next section is a tangle of deadfall, fern and huckleberry, enough of a tangle that I didn’t even try to lay the grid across it.
Remy settled into a cool patch of bare earth from last week, and I turned on the GPS, added knee pads and gloves and began the day’s search. It was slow work in the tangle, clearing the ground and moving through the brush. I worked the tangle until it was complete and I had “broke through” to the ground cleared last Saturday. There was a raven vocalizing in the canopy above me, which was a nice accompaniment to the morning.
The area to the west of the tangle was more open, mostly box sorrel and fern for the ground cover. After the effort of getting around the tangle, this relative openness was deeply appreciated. I still went slow as I could see the center-point where Trooper, the HRD K9, had found odor of interest.
After reaching the deadfall, I paused the ground search. The deadfall formed two legs of a triangle heading back towards tangle. I took a few minutes to drink water and then limb off the trunks to make the next part easier.
This was the limit of the day’s progress. I am within 15 feet of the north-south centerline and about the same distance from the east-west centerline. I’m slowly finishing the northeast quadrant. I’m hoping to complete this quad and begin a new one next weekend.
The Search for Karen Jean Lee and Rodney L. Grissom 