Tips For Surviving Field Camp
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
1. Use deer trails as often as possible. The deer aren't lost, even if you are, and all deer paths lead to water. Once you've found the river (represented by the blue line on your map) you're home free. Also, deer paths are flat and easy to walk on, especially if you are crossing steep terrane.
2. Make sure either the driver or shotgun is awake. This will cut down on incidents of off-ramp forging.
3. Ladies- don't let the men lead. They will take the hardest route for the least gain. Take the road and let the outcrop come to you. It's the sensible way to do fieldwork.
4. Don't sit on cacti.
5. Nothing gets accomplished in valleys except bug bites and poison ivy. Avoid them.
6. Always know where your hammer is, unless you like involuntary disembowlment.
7. If the instructor is looking, and you have no idea what to do, a. Hammer it. b. Put acid on it. c. Smell it. d. Take strike and dip on it, and squat-and-plot. No matter what it is. e. Write a lot about it in your notebook, and concentrate on pictures. Above all, never make eye-contact with the instructor.
8. Always take you raingear.
9. Long grass in the morning is just as wet as a downpour. Put your rainpants on.
10. Salty Gummi Bears are a good thing.
11. Always get to a high point for lunch. Not only is the view good, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that the rest of the day is basically downhill.
12. Fifteen passenger vans can go offroading. Just watch your head.
13. In case of medical emergencies of the leg, a sturdy walking stick is just the thing. Find one before you get hurt. Duct tape and cafeteria napkins make a nice padded handle for the stick.
14. Pack toilet paper when you are going out in the field. It is gentler than leaves, and just as biodegradable.
15. Hypothesizing is a must when trying to figure out the geology of a large area. You can do this hypothesizing standing on a steep slope and looking at an outcrop, but it can be just as easily done lying on your back beyond a shady ridge out of sight with your eyes closed.
16. If you can tell from far away what a rock is, you don't need to go over and make sure. Also, siting strike and dip data is a good thing, as you can always fudge it later to make it fit, but you still have a valid, legal data point to salve your conscience, because you sure as heck don't want to be climbing up there.
17. No one knows exactly what is under the surfave, even your instructors, though they like to believe they do. Creative geology is the way to go. If you can't figure out how to make your cross-section work, nobody said there couldn't be an intrusion just off your mapping area.
18. Drinking every night may make your evenings more fun, but it will make your mornings hell. Drink in moderation, especially if you are at a higher elevation than you are used to. However, drink you must, because this is the training ground for your career as a geologist, and this is a life skill.
2. Make sure either the driver or shotgun is awake. This will cut down on incidents of off-ramp forging.
3. Ladies- don't let the men lead. They will take the hardest route for the least gain. Take the road and let the outcrop come to you. It's the sensible way to do fieldwork.
4. Don't sit on cacti.
5. Nothing gets accomplished in valleys except bug bites and poison ivy. Avoid them.
6. Always know where your hammer is, unless you like involuntary disembowlment.
7. If the instructor is looking, and you have no idea what to do, a. Hammer it. b. Put acid on it. c. Smell it. d. Take strike and dip on it, and squat-and-plot. No matter what it is. e. Write a lot about it in your notebook, and concentrate on pictures. Above all, never make eye-contact with the instructor.
8. Always take you raingear.
9. Long grass in the morning is just as wet as a downpour. Put your rainpants on.
10. Salty Gummi Bears are a good thing.
11. Always get to a high point for lunch. Not only is the view good, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that the rest of the day is basically downhill.
12. Fifteen passenger vans can go offroading. Just watch your head.
13. In case of medical emergencies of the leg, a sturdy walking stick is just the thing. Find one before you get hurt. Duct tape and cafeteria napkins make a nice padded handle for the stick.
14. Pack toilet paper when you are going out in the field. It is gentler than leaves, and just as biodegradable.
15. Hypothesizing is a must when trying to figure out the geology of a large area. You can do this hypothesizing standing on a steep slope and looking at an outcrop, but it can be just as easily done lying on your back beyond a shady ridge out of sight with your eyes closed.
16. If you can tell from far away what a rock is, you don't need to go over and make sure. Also, siting strike and dip data is a good thing, as you can always fudge it later to make it fit, but you still have a valid, legal data point to salve your conscience, because you sure as heck don't want to be climbing up there.
17. No one knows exactly what is under the surfave, even your instructors, though they like to believe they do. Creative geology is the way to go. If you can't figure out how to make your cross-section work, nobody said there couldn't be an intrusion just off your mapping area.
18. Drinking every night may make your evenings more fun, but it will make your mornings hell. Drink in moderation, especially if you are at a higher elevation than you are used to. However, drink you must, because this is the training ground for your career as a geologist, and this is a life skill.
