Hello Jon - Well, Chris Waythomas certainly has very recent experience walking in wet ash, so I am inclined to believe his observations. There are no recent, easy-to-access ash beds in Alaska that I know about. (Kasatochi is pretty far out there!) But you could read the account of Griggs (National Geographics, 1913-1922, Martin, 1912, and a book by Griggs in 1922) of his multi-year experiences traversing a party through the 1912 Novarupta ash. Best wishes, Cheryl Cameron -------- Jon Boyd wrote: To Whom it may concern, I a adjunct faculty with the archaeology dept. a Pima Community College in Tucson AZ, and have been doing research on the 3.6 mya tracks left in tuff at Laetoli, Tanzania. I have been in contact with Chris Waythomas about how walking walking in wet ash might affect how humans walk in a group (his observation from Kasatochi in 2008 was no). Specifically, would it force them to walk in each other's footsteps for ease of travel, similar to what happens with deep snow? I am looking to determine whether wet ash might have been an environmental factor in how the Laetoli tracks were formed (now made by at least three individuals walking in direct register) or if some other behavior such as long distance foraging could be the cause. If you or any of your colleagues have more observations along those lines, it would be great to hear them. Also, is there an existing ash bed somewhere in AK (hopefully not TOO remote) that might be used for current observation of group movement? Thanks and Regards, --Jon Boyd Pima Community College Archaeology Centre Backup personal email: jonrboyd@aol.com -- Cheryl Cameron Geologist, Alaska Volcano Observatory Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys voice: 907-451-5012 fax: 907-451-5050