GEO 393 Field Participation

Thirty percent of your grade derives from the quality of your field participation. This is a somewhat subjective evaluation, as there are various specific objectives that student teams are trying to achieve. Much of your participation score is simply common sense, given the circumstances of group travel over long distances into unfamiliar places. The guidelines below clarify what I shall consider for this element of your course grade.

Excursions

I have planned, and you paid for, many major hiking trips at sites important to the course objectives. These are walking trips ranging from one to ten kilometers miles (use the links at left for maps). They also will occur in very diverse landscapes. Expect (for grade) that you shall 1) take all of these hikes (barring extraordinary personal circumstances), and 2) be prepared for them. See the itinerary for the mandatory major excursions.

Preparation includes many things. You must have appropriate clothing, provisions, and gear for conditions not only at departure, but also for any contingencies (e.g., weather changes, altitude, etc.) that are likely on our trail. You also must have your research needs in order, such as proper stowage and practice with instrumentation and data recording materials. Further, you should depart already familiar with your objectives, task assignments, and restrictions--attempting to gain such familiarity after departure is a recipe for oversight.

Another very important element of fieldwork is courtesy. Obviously you must cooperate with others in the party, but equally important is respect and compliance with the customs and requests of local hosts and other visitors. We might receive unusual privileges to visit places ordinarily closed to the public (e.g., private lands, Native American sacred sites). At such sites you will adhere to ALL host instructions, lest we lose future opportunity by reputation as desecrators.

Timeliness and communications are essential in group excursions. Although some flexibility is understandable, repeated individual tardiness impairs group objectives, and the party will quickly ostracize its slackers. While in the field it is also imperative that all persons remain in contact, not so much for the rare emergencies as rather for the likelihood of sharing interesting finds. You should plan to be prompt, and in communication with others, at all times on all hiking excursions.

The person who chronically sits behind with the vehicles, takes knowing and unnecessary risks, behaves rudely, or (once pried onto the trail) refuses to communicate or heed should expect an extreme decline in their grade, commensurate with fellow student impact. I have little sympathy for parking lot pariahs.

Camp Conduct

We shall communally camp most nights so as to keep your costs down. As a result, we must tend to ourselves on issues of sustenance, hygiene, and privacy. In a large group, cooperative sharing is a requirement, and we expect that you shall make your fair contribution to this.

You will manage your own food, but other camp chores are inevitable, and so too will be your turn at them. Regardless of conditions, we must all contribute to setting up, cleaning, tearing down, and stowing. Nobody should become the "standing" servant for any task. Onerous camp chores go faster, and thus leave everyone more time for another adventure, when we handle them jointly. No person should handle the same or every chore all the time; everyone should expect to take on the drudgery at a regular rotation. You will not receive easy acceptance as a shirker; plan to take your regular turn.

When it is your turn to handle water, you will ensure that you have washed thoroughly. Inside tents and on the campsite you will remove all trash, especially as it may attract wildlife visitors! Tentmates will not appreciate late night attention drawn by slob bunkies, but the critters do!

One or all of the "Dalton Gang" above raided our camp big-time just before dawn one morning, trying to get at some stove crumbs. "Evidence" indicated that at least one of these visitors was more than a tad incontinent--all over every pan or eating utensil that anyone carelessly left out overnight. I am personally not all that choosy about what spices up my oatmeal, but I draw the line at ~45 poopies per cm² piled on spoons and coffee cups. Other raiders might include rodents, coyotes, raccoons, or bear. Never leave any food, cookware, rubbish, or cosmetics in a tent (or on a camp stove)! Please store these items inside a vehicle, or in Park Service facilities. [BACK]

Some camp equipment requires special knowledge or training for proper use. If you do not have appropriate knowledge, do not use someone else's equipment (BUT, if you volunteer subordinate assistance you probably can learn...). After long days, please do not irritate the "duty crew" with unsolicited advise--your turn is coming.

Be considerate of others' gear. For example, heaving or jamming your untaped pack frame onto someone else's inflatable sleeping pad may generate some resentment from the fellow traveler facing nights of undeserved soreness, or it might produce damage claims from the vehicle owners. Always coordinate gear stowage with your peers, whether in tent or in vehicle.

Respect personal privacy whenever possible. In group camping this is a challenge. A co-ed expedition requires gender courtesy and discretion, but that usually is not a big problem. Medical, emotional, dependency, and financial circumstances also become potential privacy concerns at close quarters. You must always treat with confidence any such matters as a very personal trust, not open to further revelation unless a welfare impact upon others is imminent. Breaching such trust will destroy group cohesion faster than anything else. If you have another's confidence, maintain it. Gossip kills trips.

I do insist on one invasion of your personal privacy, however; but I also promise you that it will remain 100% confidential. Although I have advanced Red Cross and Search and Rescue training, I can do you no effective service if I find you passed out and treat for bee sting when in fact you have gone into diabetic shock, or I begin high-altitude hypoxia therapy when you actually are having an asthma attack, etc. YOU MUST INFORM ME OF ALL EXISTING MEDICAL CONDITIONS, AND THE LOCATION AND KIND OF YOUR MEDICATIONS.

Transit Conduct

Unavoidably (at least until Scottie's transporter room becomes available on university revenues), we shall have to endure two days van-bound each way. During this cramped time please observe some basic courtesies.

WEAR SEAT BELTS (the driver does not deserve your ticket; I will ensure that YOU will pay it)
USE HEADPHONES (it is possible your neighbors won't appreciate fourteen straight hours of Korn dueting Cornball Billy's harpsichord and bagpipe chamber ensemble to play "Ted Bundy Disemboweled Donner and Blitzen In The Jet Engine Test Plant". You get the picture...)
BRING OUR OWN ENTERTAINMENT DEVICE (avoid radio fights). I remove the knobs from van radios.
USE (AND SEAL) LITTERBAGS; do not landfill the back seat. However, DO store camp trash in vehicles, but dispose of it at first proper opportunity.
Refrain from any unsolicited advice to the driver.
Stow your SMALL personal coolers near you. Buddy-system with these, and CLEAN THEM regularly. There is still a toxic cooler in a Flagstaff dumpster from a 2001 student expedition.
NO OPEN ALCOHOL BEVERAGES AT ANYTIME! If you acquire our driver a citation, I am going to support their small-claims court restitution case.
Minimize aromatics (no tobacco, perfume, lutefisk, etc.). Do not open such items in a vehicle or tent.
KEEP THE FRS RADIO ON (for directions).
Synchronize your bladder with the whole group.
Keep your meal times reasonable (1 hour maximum).
Observe motel & campground courtesy.
Load out and load in promptly, and on time.
Advise driver/instructors immediately of defects.

Campus Conduct

There are six criteria affecting your participation score on the UWSP campus:

Attend ALL pre-departure meetings (also incl. drivers' meeting if applicable).
Advise me [privately] of all medications and their location.
Park NO vehicles on campus during the trip.
Clean all vehicle interiors before returning them.
Return all UWSP equipment on time and in form.
Attend the final post-trip meeting (see itinerary).

Please review Personal Conduct

OK, Folks. This I intend should be your trip. From my instructor's standpoint, that can be hard due to the variety of skills and personalities among us. Sometimes it's like clearing minefields with a pogo stick (or tap shoes). But please be forthright on all matters that affect your own experience, and be also considerate of any that might affect your teammates (which includes me). This attitude I hope will stand among many trips in your life, for a beginning or continuance of long friendships, and of awareness that your skill very much DOES matter.

Go there, know there; contribute.

Heywood [email] maintains this page, last updated 19MAR08. We monitor our cell phone from 6 to 8 PM CDT each day when in range. The number is (715) 340-1347.