I’ve just recently returned from my first* field season, and I can’t wait for next year. Being at remote field stations for a month was far, far outside of my comfort zone and brought out a part of me that I was unaware existed. I call this alter ego “Field-Tatum.” Field-Tatum plans a little less and improvises a little more, but seems to be just as effective as Lab-Tatum (who plans to the point of detriment sometimes). Over the course of 33 days, my field assistant and I traveled to six remote field stations across California, driving over 1,300 miles, and sampled approximately 35 ponds, lakes, and streams for the presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus, Bd (read more here). Our travels took us to places as diverse as the base of Unicorn Peak in the Eastern Sierra at 10,000ft elevation, all the way to grasslands and coast live oak forests on the rocky shorelines of the Central Coast. We swabbed amphibians, captured insects, sampled water, collected soil, and obtained “decaying organic material” - usually cow poop - for the microscopic nematodes living in it. Now that I am back in the lab, we are beginning to process these samples to see if Bd is living and reproducing in something other than its amphibian host. Naturally, the planner that I am, I agonized over my packing list for weeks. I was convinced that I was over-prepared, bringing too much, and that I would regret lugging my frivolous things all over California. Thankfully, when it came to research supplies I was very well equipped (+1 for Lab-Tatum). Personally, however, mistakes were made. Here is the list of what I wish I brought, and why I didn’t, so you can avoid/laugh at my mistakes: More socks: I read a blog post from an REU student doing her first field season, and her biggest packing suggestion was to bring way more socks than you think you’ll need. Ignoring her advice, I decided that I only needed five pairs of hiking socks. I didn’t believe it but it’s true, you never have enough socks - I am sorry to report I wore dirty socks on a few occasions when there wasn’t a laundry machine available at the field station. Why I didn’t: Hiking socks are so expensive! I only owned two pairs at the time. To purchase the 10-odd pairs I really needed would have been a tiny fortune. What I learned: For foot comfort, spare no expense. More pants: I owned no hiking clothes prior to this expedition. In undergrad I had gotten away with wearing my gym clothes in the field, which consisted entirely of shorts and tank tops. In the insect-and-poison-oak-covered wilds I now found myself in, pants were the only thing to wear. Sadly, I had only brought one (1) pair. Why I didn’t: I thought I’d prefer to wear shorts, as I did in undergrad. I severely underestimated how much poison oak there would be (read: wanted to play fast and loose with my natural immunity), and thought it would be too hot for pants. I was completely naive to the wonders of a good pair of hiking pants. What I learned: Pants always, no matter how immune to poison oak you are or how hot it is. Movies: The most obvious thing I didn’t think of - visual entertainment. When we finished our work I was too tired to do much else, and all I wanted to do was enjoy a movie. Why I didn’t: I thought I’d have internet and would be able to stream everywhere. Did you know that some remote field stations don’t have streaming? Shocking. What I learned: Don’t assume a remote field station has enough bandwidth to stream Netflix. Beauty products: Perhaps the most unusual thing I found myself wanting was nail polish. I don’t paint my nails very often at home, but when you are sunburnt, dirty, and possibly covered in poison oak, a little pampering sounds really nice. Why I didn’t: It seemed like a silly thing to bring; who needs painted toenails in the field? What I learned: I need painted toenails in the field. My yoga mat: I was planning to bring my mat and do yoga in some of the most beautiful and remote places I’ve ever been. Sounds lovely, right? This was a critical piece of personal equipment that was abandoned in packing anxiety the day I left. Why I didn’t: I thought there wasn’t room for it in the car, and that it wouldn’t get a lot of use (there was, and it would have (especially at the field station that had no mattresses)) What I learned: There is always room in the car for important things. Let’s hope that next field season I’ll remember to prepare for a lack of Netflix before heading out. --- * By first field season, I mean that my only other field experience came from short, 3-hour long stints into the wilds of urban Los Angeles to swab slender salamanders for Bd and Bsal. This was my first field season spending a month away from home and sampling nearly every single day in conditions I had never before experienced (outhouses with wasp infestations, poison oak higher than your head, four-foot-high snowdrifts underneath an 80 degree sunny sky…but more on these later). |
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