On July 13, 2001 I visited the world famous Burgess Shales to see the site of the discovery of the soft-bodied phyllopods described by Stephen J. Gould in his book "Wonderful Life." We met at Field at 8 am and drove to Takakkaw Falls to begin our 11 km ascent past Yoho Lake. The weather was overcast and we had some light rain on the way up. By the time that we got to the Walcott Quarry it was clear and sunny. We only had about one hour to spend at the quarry before we had to begin our return. It was a long and gruelling hike for an old guy but I'm very glad to have seen this famous site. There are better displays of Burgess fossils but if you are interested in the history of life as I am then this is the place to begin.

Burgess Shale Links

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