hiking

Reading Reflection: Tim Kaine’s Walk Ride Paddle

mccricksLeave a comment

What an awesome birthday–to celebrate, Lisa took me to hear Senator Tim Kaine talk at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke about his new book, Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside. As he approached his 60th birthday, Senator Kaine sought to accomplish his own version of the Virginia triple crown by hiking all of the Appalachian Trail miles in Virginia, biking all of the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Parkways in Virginia, and paddling the length of the James River in Virginia. He did this over several years, during long weekends and breaks from his Senate duties. He journaled about this journey, and assembled these pieces into a book.

I’ve read all of the hiking portion of his book. He mixes stories about the trials and tribulations on the trail with stories about life, family, and his time in politics. I’ve read a lot of thru hiker books but not as many by section hikers like Tim Kaine–it’s a different type of planning and experience trying to squeeze in hikes with life responsibilities rather than set things aside for 4-5 months. Senator Kaine appreciates the disconnection from the world that hiking provides, though he acknowledges he missed a great picture of a bear encounter because his phone was turned off and in his pack! I’d be remiss if I didn’t share a quote about his technology use and (dis)connection from the outside world:

I carry an iPhone with my Guthook trail app installed. I also carry a small solar-chargeable battery. But I keep the phone off during the day, stashed in a small dry bag in my backpack. I use the phone sparingly to save the battery. If I see a great view, I turn on the phone and take a picture. If I feel like I am lost or not sure how long it is until the next water source or overnight stop I turn the phone on and check the trail app. Maybe twice a day, when I get reception, I turn the phone on and send a message to Anne and my staff, letting them know where I am and maybe forwarding a picture. I will check emails once a day just to see if there is any emergency needing my attention–staff knows to keep emails to pressing priorities while I am hiking. Finally, I type a few trail notes at the end of the day about the miles I have covered and any events of note. All told, the iPhone may be on about thirty minutes a day.

I was able to talk to Senator Kaine after his talk and was able to share a bit about my trail research. He acknowledges the pull that technology has and takes steps to avoid it, though he relies on digital maps (over paper maps) and takes advantage of the ability to connect with others while on the trail.

Lisa and I got to engage with Senator Tim Kaine during a book signing event for ‘Walk Ride Paddle: A Life Outside’ at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke.

Master’s thesis: Jaitun Patel’s Digital Conservation on the AT

mccricksLeave a comment

Jaitun Patel came to Virginia Tech without much hiking and outdoor experience, but she jumped right in with OCVT (the Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech) on a spring break trip and subsequent maintenance trips along the Appalachian Trail. She got a hands-on view of what trail maintainers and hikers need, and she parlayed the interest and knowledge into a Master’s thesis–a tool for promoting collaboration and understanding between visitors to trails and the network of people who support those visits.

Jaitun’s research examined the role of information and communication technologies in promoting collaboration between trail agencies (like OCVT, RATC, and other 3-4 letter groups) and the hikers and other visitors that these agencies seek to support. Jaitun conducted social media analysis, interviews, and a design workshop toward crafting and testing a prototype online discussion platform called SmarTrail Board, which “centralized direct communication and streamlined information can support trail management on the AT”. Check out her thesis at http://hdl.handle.net/10919/116284

Jaitun was a big part of our group for two years, helping out with a great many projects and joining us on lots of adventures. Jaitun continues her outdoor research work as a Data Scientist at Washington State University, working with their AgWeatherNet group.

Workshop Wrapup: Technology on the Trail Day 2

mccricks1 Comment

The second day of the Technology on the Trail workshop at Virginia Tech consisted of a pair of work sessions and a workshop wrapup.

The first work session, led by Nicholas Polys and featuring John Munsell and John Jelesko, looked at science on the trail. It delved into the challenges of taking technology outdoors, balanced with the opportunities that it provides. Of particular concern are problems of cleaning up “dirty data” from erroneous readings. It’s great to get more people involved in data collection, but without knowledge, training, and high-quality equipment, we run the risk of collecting erroneous data.

The second work session, led by the project research associate Grace Fields, focused on her cultural probes. We got to try out some of her “would you rather” probe questions, e.g., would you rather hike on a rainy 60 degree day or a sunny 30 degree day. It was noted that these aren’t opposites (they aren’t meant to be!) and often the answer is “both”. Other probes and, importantly, some early probe results were presented. The results really drove some interesting conversations, and also highlighted the need for follow-up interviews or focus groups to delve deeper into the “why” behind the responses. Alan Dix noted that probes are better at putting forth questions rather than answering them, making it important to discover the key questions that emerge from looking at the probes.

The wrapup sought to both look back as well as look forward. There were great ideas shared about possible partnerships, follow-up events, opportunities for funding, and venues for writing. At this stage of the initiative, it is important to cast a wide net and to work in directions that meet real needs for people and organizations that care about trails and that see value in technology. All are encouraged to share ideas and help out!

2017-03-04 10.03.37.jpg
The Cascades (a bit frosty around the edges)

2017-03-04-10-17-17
Chewbacca (Norm) and Yoda (Scott) staying warm

2017-03-04 10.06.56.jpg
Steve Harrison offering date and fig cake to Alan Dix and the masses

As a quick addendum and final photos: Day 3 saw us match our efforts to our talk, as we hit the trail for a hike to the Cascades. Ten of us made the 4-mile walk in below freezing temperatures to view the iconic waterfall and continue our conversations.

Workshop Wrapup: Technology on the Trail Day 1

mccricksLeave a comment

Today we kicked off the Technology on the Trail workshop at Virginia Tech.

The morning started with talks by our four invited guests: Allison Druin from the National Park Service, Alan Dix from Birmingham University (UK), Ellie Harmon from Encountering Tech, and Norman Su of Indiana University. The talks were very different, but all touched on the self-discovery that takes place when people go out on trails, and the evolving and sometimes contentious role that technology has with it.

2017-03-02-14-56-04
Scott McCrickard’s giant selfie looms over Alan Dix during a discussion of the phenomenology of selfies.

The afternoon consisted of work sessions, when we delved into topics of interest. Steve Harrison led the first session, titled “Spectacle vs Experience”. Groups talked about the nature and phenomenology of the selfie, the mediation that takes place in technology on the trail, and the roles taken on in traversing trails. Michael Horning led the second session. It focused on seamfulness in nature, looking at different types (and subtypes) of trail users that exist. For example, hikers’ goals on the trail differ from hunters, and day hikers differ from thru-hikers.

The evening will feature a community reception in the lobby of the Moss Arts Center.  There will be posters about ongoing projects, exhibits of artifacts from a cultural probe on hiking, and a demo of a multi-person blog analysis tool applied to hiking blogs.

We will post the talks and the full findings from the work sessions in follow-up posts on this blog. You can tweet or follow tweets about the event at #VTechTrail.