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!

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.