Mazon Creek Pit 11 Collecting report 5/29/2017- Torino Hill

Mazon Creek Collecting Report #3

I’ve made a few shorter trips to collect Pit 11 so far this summer, technically this would be my 6th or 7th trip to the area, but I reserve this blog for the big and noteworthy ones, which is why this is report #3. It is a special trip, which you will soon find out reading below.

The Terrain

At the time of this trip, in late May, Pit 11 was getting extremely overgrown. At the time of writing this post in late June, I am sure the area is almost unsearchable until the fall.

Braidwood lake contains the only massive exception, Torino Hill. The towering spoil pile is visible for miles, and it is a real treat to be able to collect it. It is virtually barren of the obstructive overgrowth, and has some of the best collecting pit 11 has to offer.

Because of Braidwood Lake’s oftentimes unpredictable weather, they only allow motorized boats. Until this year, we had limited access to a qualified boat, but Joe found a deal on Craigslist on a good sized 4-person john boat, and I had helped him source a motor. Under normal conditions, the motor worked great. However on our return trip, the winds picked up, and the boat chugged along back to the ramp just as whitecaps began to form.

The Crew

On this trip, Joe, Johnny, Wildman, and I boarded the Rock Raider for her maiden voyage. It was the moment of truth as we tested it’s float-ability on some risky waters, but it was a success!

The Collecting

This towering spoil pile comes from shaft mines, as opposed to the strip mine material we are normally used to collecting. While there are extraordinary fossils waiting to be found, they are few and far between. In addition, the concretions from these shaft mines, are much more fragile than others, and the fossil-to-dud ratio is much higher. In my trip last year, I did not find a single fossil in the 2 gallons of concretions collected. This trip was much more promsing, and I found several ‘pre-opened’ nodules that had some nice material. I even found an elusive tully! Incomplete, and only the 2nd to my collection, but they are out here… This is an extremely rare find, and made my day. Illinois’ state fossil is perhaps one of the most elusive, and this is one of very few ways to find one. It will remain a permanent resident of my collection, from a very fun day.

The hiking up and down the hill is quite demanding, but it is worth the view, it is the highest point for miles across the Midwest landscape. At the top, many seasons ago, somebody planted an American flag, that is now very worn. We plan to replace it, with another flag, or an idea we mentioned was a custom flag, with a design inspired by the hill and joy of this collecting adventure.

We all went home with quite a haul, below are a few other field finds. One is a nice leaf from a 300 million year old presumably pecopteris fern, the other is a nodule, as encountered ‘in-situ’. I put that in quotes because these were not in-situ, but rather dug up from many meters below, many decades ago. But that photo is what you look for. As of now, that nodule is sitting in my freezer, trying to be freeze-thawed open.
Alas, it is time to leave. As I mentioned, the boat ride home was rather turbulent, but the Rock Raider held up. Glad we did not agree to go to a 2nd site, that would have been quite a ride home, we were getting tossed around like a toy boat in the 500 meters or so we had to travel as the wake and winds picked up on the lake.

At home and cleaned up, here are the pre-opened finds in full. Some nice Jellyfish and plant material, and of course, the Tully Monster.
Johnny also found this spectacular worm that came opened through a freeze-thaw.

Until next time! Thank you for reading. We are open to guest posts, if you are open to sharing your adventure from other parts of the country. Let’s connect via email Americanfossilhunt(at)gmail.com.