The "Tentative" Plan
Hi Field Campers!
I hope you are well and enjoying a bit of down time after the end of the semester. I am getting very excited for field camp.
1. First Week Schedule
Monday, 8 AM-5 PM, EWS 209: Day one of hydrology short course with Lance
Tuesday, 8 AM, location TBD: packing of Badger with student personal gear
Tuesday, ca. 9 AM - ?PM, EWS 209: Day two of hydrology short course with Lance
Wednesday, 7 AM, location TBD: departure of field camp for points west
Friday evening: arrival at first project camp: Saddlehorn Campground, Colorado National Monument, Fruita, CO
2. We will intersperse a few meetings and tasks with the workshop on Monday. Come prepared to help with packing and loading.
3. Packing. You need to pack your luggage in two bags (or sets of bags): One should be only the things you need for the ride out west, including your tent, sleeping bag and pad, headlamp, mug, bowl and utensils, and enough clothing for three days -- this goes in "Shallow Storage". The other should be everything else (additional clothes, etc.) -- this goes in "Deep Storage". The latter we will pack deep in The Badger and hopefully only need to access once we get west. The former we will pack shallowly in The Badger, enabling its easy access each night as we arrive to camp. There will be differently colored duct tape available at The Badger on Tuesday morning to appropriately label your bags. You can bring as many bags as you wish. Do not tie or lash bags together.
4. Departure. We will meet to depart for points west at 7 AM on Wednesday. Do not be late. Get a good night's sleep, especially if you are a driver. The night prior to departure is not the night to celebrate your completion of the semester. Set multiple alarms. You are each an essential part of a complex machine that does not move without all of its parts. Do not take this lightly.
5. The Drive. Recall that you will be responsible for purchasing fast food on our drive west (and back east, and on ~3 long travel days during the course). We will make every attempt to stop at areas with multiple options for you to choose from. Sometimes this is not possible in the more rural parts of our country, in which case your flexibility and optimism is essential. So that we can get a good, early start each morning we will provide simple breakfast foods and beverages at camp on Thursday and Friday morning to get us through to each day's first stop, usually 2-3 hours in. When possible and convenient we will provide simple lunch ingredients for you to make a sandwich, etc. if you choose, but we may not always have time for this, so please be prepared to buy fast food.
6. Essentials. Do not neglect to triple check that you have acquired everything required for the field course: consult prior emails and lecture slides for details, and let me know if you have questions. Some commonly forgotten or neglected yet essential items include clipboard, headlamp/flashlight, mug/bowl/utensils, winter hat and gloves, sunscreen, rain gear, sleeping pad. You may wish to acquire a ~disposable but reusable hard (e.g., Gladware) container to hold your lunch. Sandwiches, etc. don’t fare well in bags when in a backpack.
7a. Camp Life I. Field camp requires the efforts of all; students, staff, and faculty. Above all is a positive, flexible, collaborative and cooperative attitude; care for yourself and others; and respect for the institution. Failure in any of these can have far-reaching consequences. Please remember that field camp is so much larger than any one person. Indeed, it is larger than our group, larger than our department, larger than our university or even state. We are representing all of the above, plus our field as a whole. The continued existence of field camp is in your hands. Please make sure we are able to offer this transformative learning experience to those who follow you. Do not forget this. #biggerthanyou #biggerthanme
7b. Camp Life II. For us to succeed, we will each need to pitch in on various tasks, including: food preparation; clean-up; camp set-up and take-down; dealing with garbage, recycling and human waste; maintaining vehicles; food shopping. We will develop a quasi-rotating set of tasks while taking advantage of existing strengths and experience amongst the group. Come prepared to help out, and please don't wait to be asked to help if you see something needs doing.
8. Emergency Communications. Please let your loved ones know that there will be times that cell service will not be available. Most days we will have access to service at least for a part of the day. But most days we won't have 24/7 service. Some days we will have no cell service at all. I will do my best to alert you in advance of the days where we expect to have little service so you can let your loved ones know not to worry. However, we keep with us a satellite phone for emergency use. Should your loved ones have an emergency and need to get in touch with you, they are to call the following folks, who will provide them with the satellite phone number. Ask them to start with Emily, then Alexa, then Eric.
Yours,
Barbeau
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