LEAD STORY
A TRIP TO THE BURGESS SHALE BY DAVID MOORE
The trail to the Burgess Shale is frosty this early on a clear mid-summer morning. Deceptively delicate flowers are covered with fine frost at this hour. Gathering near Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, our journey begins at 1500m elevation. We will hike about 11km and gain 800m in elevation as we make our way to the Walcott Quarry. It is a well-used trail; this route has been worn by hikers, horses and paleontologists for well over 100 years. Most people walk right by the quarry and if it were not for the abundant signage warning them that it is a closed area, most would not even know it was there. The scenery is stunning. Even in July, snow-capped mountains surround us, and glaciers are visible on several of the nearby peaks. A series of switchbacks makes short work of the elevation gain while the air still has an early morning chill. Stopping only for a quick break at a pristine alpine lake, the anticipation builds. For some, this is a beautiful walk in a gorgeous setting, but for many it is a pilgrimage. This is the journey to the place most associated with the origins of complex animal life and ultimately the origins of life like us. For many people, making the pilgrimage to the Burgess Shale is a once in a lifetime, bucket list adventure. Our destination is the site of one of the most important and famous fossil discoveries in the world. The Burgess Shale, currently understood
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OUTCROP | February 2021
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Vol. 70, No. 2 | www.rmag.org
