NOVA Annandale | Geology | Bentley | Sideling Hill planning essentials
GOL 135: Geology of Sideling Hill and Paw Paw Region, MD
meeting time and place

Gather at 8 a.m. in the parking lot behind the CT Building, Annandale Campus (red dot on map). If the weather is inclement, move to indoor stairwell. (Directions to the campus)
weather

Field trips go on the original planned date or on the rain date. The instructor will e-mail students at their NOVA e-mail accounts if he decides to postpone the trip until the rain date.

what to bring
Notepad and pen / pencil.
(I recommend Rite-In-The-Rain waterproof field notebooks, especially if you're planning on taking more geology field trips in the future. Buy them from the Rite-In-The-Rain website, or Amazon.)
Water or other beverage
A bag lunch. (Be sure to consider the durability of the lunch items before you stuff them into your daypack!)
Water or other beverage
Hat, rain gear, & shoes suitable for walking on slippery or rocky terrain.

Sunglasses & sunblock

Clothing appropriate for the expected temperatures in the region. If you are susceptible to poison ivy, be sure to wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt.

You may want a flashlight for the walk through the Paw Paw Tunnel, which is otherwise unlit (and 3000 feet long!).

A copy of your current medical insurance card.

* I recommend Rite-In-The-Rain waterproof field notebooks, especially if you're planning on taking more geology field trips in the future. Buy them from the Rite-In-The-Rain website, or Amazon.com.

travel

Student carpools (+ NOVA vans), organized at the meeting place. Note that it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive from Annandale to Sideling Hill.
extra fees

There shouldn't be any extra fees on this trip, but if you are riding in a private vehicle, contributing towards the cost of gas will be appreciated by the driver.
collecting Sideling Hill allows collecting of rock samples. The Paw Paw Tunnel is in C&O Canal National Historical Park, however, and that is a protected area with no sample collecting allowed there.
time of return About 7 p.m.
note The field trip is an open-air class. It involves moderately strenuous exercise and requires attention to a spoken commentary. Only registered students may attend. Do not bring pets, children or other companions.
withdrawing If you enroll in this class but then do not show up on the day of the trip for whatever reason, you should un-enroll from the class (by logging into MyNOVA and withdrawing) before midnight on the day of the trip. Unfortunately, if you do not withdraw before midnight on the day of the trip, the computer system will not let you withdraw at all -- attempting to do so will result in an automatic "F" being assigned as your grade by the computer. By signing up for this class, you take responsibility for withdrawing yourself in the event that circumstances prevent you from attending the trip.

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