Post - AT Processing

I hope you are all recovering from the aches and pains associated with diving in to backpacking on the AT. I also hope that you have had some time to think about your experience and share it with someone else, as this sometimes helps to process.

For this blog entry, please simply write about your experience on the AT. Although I have a few various thoughts and questions that I would like you to consider and write about, please try to write your responses in a narrative format rather than using numbered and fragmented partial sentences. As you write, consider the following:

• What were your expectations before the trip?
• How did your actual experience compare?
• What can you learn from this difference or similarity between expectation and experience?
• Re-read your entry on EB, as well as the thoughts on the web pages used as resources.
• What are the actions you took to model good EB? What did you do that did not contribute to good EB? Comment on how incorporating these behaviors into your every-day routine could impact your life.
• How do you feel you performed physically?
• What factors contributed to your performance?
• What could you do to allow you to perform better next time?
• Describe how well you thought did with food planning. What were challenges you faced? Did you bring enough food? Too much food? The right kinds of food? What would you do different next time? What did you learn?
• Comment on how you thought you did with packing and loading your packs. Did you discover an efficient system? Did your packing become more efficient each time you packed? What did you learn?
• Comment on how comfortable you were during this experience. What were some strategies you learned and used to keep warm - both during the day and at night?
• Was there a moment (or moments) when you felt like you weren't having "fun"? Describe them and how you got through them.
• Finally, comment on how incorporating what you learned from this experience into your every-day routine could impact your life - both professionally and personally.

Please post your entry by 9:00 am on Friday, Nov. 21.

No Study Session Wednesday

Hi All,

I guess Stephanie has emailed you info about the test on Thursday already, so there will not be a study session Wednesday. There is, however, GPS class Wednesday evening as scheduled. FYI, I will be posting another blog for you tomorrow to respond to for this Friday morning's class. Get some rest and enjoy being back in the luxury of civilization. See you tomorrow.

Meet Tomorrow Morning at 7:30 at Rm 12

Hi All,

Let's all plan to meet at the Outdoor Adventure Center (rm 12) at 7:30 tomorrow morning. We'll load up and head up to Millinocket. We'll pick up Ben and Dana along the way. I would like to have Dana drive his Bronco, as we can use it for a vehicle drop (thanks, Dana). I will talk with the pilot one more time in the morning to see if anything will open up during the day and will be able to make a final decision in the morning. If we are not able to fly, we will plan on hiking the route from Cooper Brook to Gulf Hagas. Either way, we will have appropriate terrain, and each scenario promises great experiences.

If you have any questions or issues, feel free to email me (sfraser@wccc.me.edu) tonight before 11 pm.

See you in the morning - get to bed early!
Scott

No Flight Today

Good Morning,

After talking with Tim again this morning, flying in this afternoon is not likely. Therefore, we will wait until tomorrow to begin our expedition. I will talk with Tim again this evening after the 7 pm aviation forecast is posted and we will decide if tomorrow morning looks good enough to fly. Although currently it does not look likely that we will get a good window to fly, there is a possibility something could open up tomorrow. Regardless of tomorrow's aviation forecast, plan on going tomorrow morning. After reviewing some of our options, I've come up with an alternative route should we not be able to fly in. This new route begins at Cooper Brook and ends at Gulf Hagas - this is a new section of trail for me, and one that I think will be appropriate for our group - challenging, but within our range. Feel free to check out more about Gulf Hagas.

I will submit another post this evening before 8 pm to let you know what time we will be meeting in the morning, and what our plan will be. Enjoy the rest of your day today, and get things ready to go for the morning if you haven't already.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to email me today.

Until tonight,
Scott

No Flight in the Morning

Hi All,

After talking with pilot Tim Hodgkins from KT Aviation and looking at the aviation forecast for the morning, we have decided not to fly in the morning due to high winds, low visibility, and low cloud ceiling. I will contact Tim again in the morning after the 7 am forecast is posted and we will make a decision if it is possible to fly in the afternoon tomorrow. Currently, the forecast is calling for better conditions after 2 pm tomorrow. I will post this decision by 9 am, so check back in the morning. Thanks for your patience.

Have a good evening,
Scott

Post Mtn Biking and Pre AT Backpacking Blog

I hope you have been enjoying your 4-day weekend and have had some time to reflect on your mountain biking trail building workshop and think about our upcoming backpacking trip. This week's blog will be in two parts:

Part I

Reflect on our mountain biking workshop and identify what you learned from the experiences over the three days. Include the following components of the workshop:

• Introduction the first morning
• Working with the NBCC students
• Sustainable trail building techniques
• Mountain biking trail design concepts
• Riding techniques - uphill, downhill, gear shifting, balance, weight distribution
• Teaching techniques
• Progression of the workshop - the order in which topics were covered

Part II

As we prepare for our AT backpacking trip, keep yourself updated on the weather forecast for Millinocket at the NOAA website. Also reference the equipment checklist you have received for the backpacking trip (you may also download a copy).

After viewing these two pieces of information, address the following items in your blog:

1. Comment on the weather forecast for this weekend.
2. I would like to you to look specifically at the clothing requirements of the Personal Gear List section and list out the pieces of clothing that you are bringing with you, and identify which pieces of clothing you will need to acquire between now and Thursday afternoon. Also identify how, when, and where you will acquire these items before Thursday afternoon.
3. Visit the following web sites and comment on your menu for the trip:

• http://www.adventurealan.com/food_general.htm
• http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/402778
• http://gorp.away.com/gorp/food/swfood.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1av9VczJxk

4. Share your expectations for this trip. Comment on the following:

• What are your personal goals for the trip?
• How do you think you will perform?
• What are you most nervous about?
• Identify some strategies you will use to stay warm and dry
• Have you been training - did you follow the recommended training schedule?
• After our discussion on Friday, are you "prepared" ?

Finally, we will meet on Thursday at 11:00 in the classroom. You will need to bring with you your backpacks and all of the gear you will be taking with you on the trip. This is for two reasons: (1) I want to see your gear and be sure that you are prepared, and (2) we will conduct a packing lesson in which I want to make sure all of your gear and food will fit in your pack. Please be aware that if you do not have the gear listed on your equipment list by Thursday and do not bring it with you to class, you may not be allowed on the trip; as your participation in the expeditions is mandatory, you can see that this could have significant consequences. Please contact me before Thursday at 11:00 am if you have any questions or concerns about this.

As usual, I look forward to reading your posts.

Pyrofest Reflection

Congratulations to those of you who accomplished your goal of boiling one pint of water within one hour. Some of you did not achieve your goal, and I want us all to take a little time to consider this fact. The Pyrofest activity has (as all experiences do, I believe) given rise to an opportunity to reflect and learn. Whether you experienced success or "failure" I would like you to visit the following link, read the article posted there, and then consider and address the following questions regarding our experience:

http://lifecoachesblog.com/2006/06/07/nlp-101-there-is-no-failure-only-learning-experience/


1. What was the objective of the Pyrofest activity?
2. Was it accomplished?
3. What are three factors that prevented you from completing (or allowed you to complete) the task?
4. After reading the article, would you call not achieving your goal a "failure"? Why or Why not?
5. Explain your feelings about accomplishing or not accomplishing the goal of the assignment.
6. Were you ready for this task?
7. Was it too difficult? Explain.
8. While the objective of Pyrofest may have been to complete a specific objective, what is the primary goal of the entire program?
9. If you now consider the overriding goal of the program, was Pyrofest a "failure"? Why or why not?
10. Is it possible to actually complete an assigned task, but still fail? Explain.
11. Is it possible to not complete a task, but consider the effort worthwhile? Explain.
12. If you were to do this task over again, what would you do differently?
13. Identify another task in your life you have left unfinished.

This is due at the beginning of class (9:00) on Friday morning, Nov. 7. Please also remember that your take-home quiz on Chapters 2&3 is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, Nov. 5.