Fieldwork is a lot of fun, but can be quite gruelling at times…long treks with heavy packs, sweltering heat, bugs and venomous snakes, deep snow and bitter cold….For newcomers on our project, visiting the crossing structures to check for animal use and the camera systems, it’s always a bit of surprise for them to find that a fair amount of fencing climbing is required. It’s always a bit tougher for the heavier staff to stay nimble and balanced while scaling the page wire fence…I’ve seen one of our heavier field assistants rip out the nails in the fence while climbing and come tumbling down on his bum. Also had a 60+ year old Canmore woman work with us who scaled the fence effortlessly! In winter, while climbing with gaiters, you often get the front shoelace hook snagged on page wire and you’re boot is pinned to the wire mesh! While out with my daughter yesterday checking some of the crossings, I thought interesting how different people scale the 2.4 m high fence and deal with wobbly fence mesh, cold steel gates and hand holds on the sturdy wooden posts. Here’s a series of portraits of how an 11-year old makes out. – “Judges, your scores…” ??
The Vermilion (underpass) Vault
The Buffalo (underpass) Backslide
The Morrison Coulee (underpass) 2-step
The Koala Kling-on (not Banff, obviously...)
This last one is an example of how in Australia they keep koalas from climbing fences by leaving the “top floppy” or unsecured. The Koala climbs towards the top of the fence, the fence material falls back on the Koala…and it drops back down to the ground! Ingenuous! Something like this could be tried in Banff, but I don’t think the fisherman would like it…
