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Watch out for wet clay layers at dig sites, learned this near Mesa Verde
Last month we were trenching a pueblo floor and hit what looked like a stable clay band, then the whole wall face slid 6 inches in about 20 seconds, nearly burying a volunteer's trowel and my boot. We stopped, shored it with wooden planks, and called the BLM rep before continuing, but has anyone else dealt with sudden slump from rain-soaked strata that looked dry on top?
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fiona_kim972mo ago
Wet clay is a liar, honestly. Dries on top and holds a shape, then you put weight near it and it just gives up. Seen a similar thing happen up near a canyon rim trail, where the whole edge looked solid until someone stepped on it. Good call on stopping and shoring it up, that's the only way to handle that kind of slump. Too many folks think a stable surface means stable ground underneath, and that's how people get hurt. Better to lose a day to planks than to lose a boot, or worse.
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