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Join the amazing Professor (and former astronaut!) Reisman for a spooky overnight Halloween trip to the abandoned mining town of Cerro Gordo! We will be driving early Saturday morning to the ghost town to camp, hike the nearby hills, and explore the local silver mines and buildings of the town. On Saturday night, we will enjoy the moonless sky to bask in the Milky Way, use a telescope to observe Jupiter and Saturn, and take a star tour through the visible constellations (do your weather dance for no clouds!). On Sunday we will continue to explore the town, do some more hikes, and head back to campus by that night!
NOTE TO DRIVERS! Accessing the town will require driving on a 8 mile unpaved utility road. High clearance and/or 4WD is preferred, but not required. The drive can be done on a 2WD car, according to google reviews - just be advised.
PACKING LIST:
WARM LAYERS! (It might get into the 30s at night!)
MORE WARM LAYERS!! I know you. You won’t bring enough layers with just one bullet point. So here is a second bullet to drive the point home.
H2O — 2-3 full liters per person! hydration is cool
Solid hiking shoes
Flashlight
Mess kit (plate/bowl/utensils)
Toothbrush & general life items
Sunglasses, sunscreen, hat
Sleeping bag + pad (if you have one)
WAIVERS !!
WE WILL PROVIDE:
Saturday Lunch + Dinner
Sunday Breakfast + Lunch
Sleeping bag/pad (if you don’t have it)
Tent (if you don’t have it)
Amazing vibes!
PROFESSOR: GARRETT REISMAN
DEPARTMENT: Astronautical Engineering
As a former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman is truly an ~out of this world~ professor. Dr. Reisman flew on all three Space Shuttles, spending a cumulative 107 days in space, including 3 spacewalks. After leaving NASA in 2011, he joined Elon Musk at SpaceX where he served as the Director of Space Operations. In 2018, he stepped down from his full time position at SpaceX to teach astronautical engineering at USC but continues to support SpaceX as a Senior Advisor. He is also the Technical Consultant for the Apple TV+ series, "For All Mankind", an alternate-history sci fi series available for streaming now and he consists of half of the '2 Funny Astronauts' podcast with Astronaut Mike Massimino, a popular podcast featuring behind the scenes true stories about flying in space.
You can read more about Dr. Reisman at his website https://www.garrettreisman.com/ !
PEAK: Cerro Gordo Ghost Town
DIFFICULTY: 3/5
SCENERY: See the beautiful Sierras from this rocky ghost town!
FUN FACT: Probably not haunted. Probably.
