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Project Update 4/2/24:
Project Update 4/2/24:
After more than a year of planning, weeks of fieldwork, and many months of data analysis and writing, the end is in sight.After chatting again with Jeff yesterday, we've decided that it's finally time for him to start doing some of the writing. I've done the Study Area, Results, and Discussion sections all by myself (painfully), but we both decided that having me take a real shot at the Literature Review wouldn't be productive for anyone. For one, Jeff has, hilariously, written almost all of the literature we will be reviewing, so it's only natural that he will have a much easier time with the writing. Plus, from an educational standpoint, I've already written a literature review last year, so I'm familiar with the process. Moving forward, we'll talk about how we want to split up the writing of the Introduction section, but I suspect it will also end up being mostly him. He's been concurrently writing a few papers on the same topic, and we both agreed that he'll probably have a much easier time writing an intro for our work. We'll see, but either way, I'm excited to be so close to finishing. If I had to guess, we're about a month from wrapping up!When we were talking yesterday, Jeff mentioned that he asked ChatGPT to write an introduction section for our paper, just to see what would happen. Unsurprisingly, it did, but the hysterical part is that Jeff could recognize his own writing style in the bot's response, most likely because he's written so much of the material it was using for information. The idea that he's written so much of the available literature that AI chatbots begin copying HIM is hilarious to me. To combat this, instead of an AI detector for human-generated text, I propose we start using a Jeff Marion detector for AI-generated text.
Project Update 3/20/24:
Project Update 3/20/24:
I'm alive! I took some time off writing to prioritize my survival (very busy at the moment :/), but I am back and ready to keep going on the final stretch. I finished a very rough draft of our Discussion section last week, it will undoubtedly be subject to lots of change but everything needs a starting point. At this point, we're focused on playing intricate "what if" games with our data to show how simple managerial changes can completely redefine wilderness landscapes. We may end up adding a formal table showing these in our discussion section, but more work is needed to find the optimal way to show everything. I'm meeting with Jeff later today to go over Study Area/Discussion and hopefully get some guidance to start on an Introduction! I'll need to start my final presentation soon, which should go pretty easily considering how much material I have to work with. Honestly, the only real problem should be keeping it within the time limit and not letting myself go into every little detail. After the life-changing experience of sitting through Jeff's 3-hour-long presentation to the Forest Service, I'll do everything to keep it engaging.
Project Update 1/13/24:
Project Update 1/13/24:
Life is good, I'm chugging along. Jeff and I met with Dustin and Kelly last week, we went over our results and got their feedback on recommendations to make in the paper. A copy of my slide deck for the meeting is on the right if anyone is interested. Considering they're due to update their management procedures very soon, this study came at a pretty perfect time. It was great catching up and getting their opinions, we all promised to Zoom again when our paper is finished and we have clear, articulated next steps for them to try. The full-circle feeling of having our recommendations actually make an impact on the management of these two lake basins would be incredible. We've all spent so much time on this study, I'd love to have something concrete come out of it past just a paper. I want to go back to Desolation over the coming summer and revisit our study areas, seeing the impacts of our work in action would be rewarding beyond words.In the meantime, I'll keep writing. The results and methods sections are pretty much finished, I just need to keep the momentum going :).
Project Update 1/9/24:
Project Update 1/9/24:
It's me again! I've been pretty busy with college applications, but I've been making tons of progress on this little project. Despite my busy life, Jeff and I have kept up our bi-weekly Zooms. My vendetta against Google Sheets functions has only festered, but, through the power of ChatGPT, I've been able to extract results from our monstrous spreadsheet. We've been in contact with our pals Dustin and Kelly from the Forest Service! Hopefully, we'll all be able to hop on a call soon and get their opinions on the preliminary results. Their support honestly might be the most important part of our entire study, a continuous supply of help with permits and questions has proven invaluable. While I've attempted to learn some GIS, Kelly's support with mapmaking has saved me tens of hours digging through wiki pages trying to make ArcGIS function.Speaking of, almost all of our figures are finished! After Jeff created the skeletons for our tables, I dedicated a few days to sifting through sheets and filling everything in. Our current (very rough) plan is to include a table for occupancy surveys, one for areal measures, one for indicators, and one for all of the permit data. We don't have the Rec.gov permits for 2023 yet, but as soon as our PCTA contacts send the data over we can quickly assemble everything.Looking forward, I'll be ramping up my writing in the weeks to come. I've started working on the results section, but I'm excited to start digging into the discussion soon. The catharsis of finally bringing all this work together will be incredibly satisfying. Jeff shares my excitement to submit to a journal, which we'll start talking about more as the paper begins taking shape. More to come!
Our campsite occupancy data table!
Project Update 10/12/23:
Project Update 10/12/23:
The project is moving along smoothly. I am currently drowning in the senior-year workload and college applications, but I'm still somehow finding the time to keep progress moving. After a meeting with Jeff last weekend, we are chugging forward with data analysis. At the moment, that means figuring out Google Sheets statistical functions and navigating online message boards from 2009 for guidance (I have developed a personal vendetta against the =AVERAGEIFS function). Our current plan is to create the relevant tables and figures for the paper first before diving into writing. The interesting part, however, is that we have an overwhelming amount of data. In total, we have:
- Pacific Crest Trail Association thru-hiker and long-distance hiker permits
- Lake Tahoe Basin permits
- Eldorado National Forest Recreation.gov permits (2019-2023)
- My field-collected campsite occupancy surveys (8/05, 8/12, 8/26, 9/03)
- My field-collected campsite assessments (Lake Aloha, Lake of the Woods)
- Kelly's campsite assessments with different indicators/data collected
Project Update 9/28/23:
Project Update 9/28/23:
There are a few things to update on! Jeff and I met on Zoom last week, we reviewed our campsite occupancy data and drafted an email to send off to our pals Dustin and Kelly at the Eldorado Forest Service. Thankfully, they are pleased with our preliminary results and eagerly await our publication. While the occupancy numbers for all 4 weekends aren't entirely consistent, they can be reasonably attributed to weather and other significant factors, meaning that I am officially done with the field data collection portion of our project. We asked Kelly if she could do one more round of counts for us, but due to a very timely nationwide event (our government running out of money and shutting down), she sadly will not be able to. To be honest, seeing as my mentor is primarily a United States Geological Survey research biologist and is just stationed at Virginia Tech, I'm not sure if he will be furloughed as well. This is my first exposure to the political side of science, and I have many thoughts. In the meantime, I have more than enough to do that won't be affected by the inevitable shutdown. I'm almost done with transcribing my field data sheets into a spreadsheet, once that's finished we can start discussing our plan for the graphs and tables we hope to assemble. There are many places we could go with the data, I am excited to consider the possibilities with Jeff. Once that's done, the only thing left to do is start writing :)
Project Update 9/5/23:
Project Update 9/5/23:
Wow. That was a trip. I'm going to do most of this entry as a series of bullet points because so many wild things happened.
- Saw that the weather report expected rain and thunderstorms, went anyways
- Got to the Echo Lakes parking lot, there was actually parking (looking back, terrible sign)
- Met a very nice Stanford student on the water taxi who ranted about how I should not go to Stanford (I won't get in, shouldn't be a problem)
- Started hiking, coincidentally it started drizzling
- Drizzle became a full-on downpour, us and our packs were soaked but we were still hiking so we didn't feel the cold
- Got to the site, the cold finally hit us and I began shivering unbearably while getting water from the lake
- Made ramen for lunch, ate it in our sleeping bags trying to conserve all the heat we could
- Visited by a chipmunk, he ran around the outside of our tent and poked his head out before scurrying around so I could get a photo when we got out of our tents (see right)
- Ventured back out after a while and somehow finished all of our campsite surveys (!!!)
- Hobbled back to our camp (I couldn't feel any fingers or toes) and went back into my sleeping bag while my dad made us tea
- Warmed up, did the occupancy surveying for Aloha, talked to a group of people who were sharing our campsite about how Iceland backpacking > France backpacking (I've done neither, but I trust them)
- Went to bed
- Woke up at a crisp 5:30 AM and hiked to LOTW before doing our occupancy survey there
- Skipped breakfast, hiked back to the boat (my earbuds broke so I couldn't listen to any music)
Aloha in all its glory
Our chipmunk friend (we named him Dustin)
A stunning picture of me in the tent when I was uncomfortably close to hypothermia
My dinner on Saturday night (ramen in a cup!)
More proof that I have the best MARC project ever
Project Update 8/28/23:
Project Update 8/28/23:
A third trip down. This was a really good one. After the perils of last time, I was pretty scared of hurting my ankle yet again, so I got a new pair of hiking boots that kept me safe and sprainless during our hikes. As for the hike, we made great time on the trip out, getting to our site at around 12:45. After setting up our camp, I began more campsite surveys along the coast of Lake Aloha. We did 21, which means we have around 40 left. Considering that only took us about an hour and I only stopped because I ran out of paper, it's conceivable that we could finish our data collection completely next trip. This is a very strategic move, as the water taxi across Lake Aloha that I use for both ways closes on Labor Day, which would add 2.8 miles to my hikes in and out. While it wouldn't be the end of the world, going back to hiking the whole way after using the boat for the duration of the project so far sounds incredibly unfun. Kelly, my forest service ranger contact, and I have been emailing and we've set up a meeting spot for this Sunday at noon. To be honest, I don't really need to see her again, but I might as well if she's out there. I got all of her campsite data points into a .gpx file on my phone so I can match them up to the 2018 data on my surveys. My vision is that we can just walk around and I can give her my size data for all the sites I have so far, and then I can start on the new ones after. Finishing them all on Sunday would be incredible, however, if I can't, then I can always go back to Aloha after my occupancy surveys at Lake of the Woods on Monday morning and wrap it all up. If all goes well, this upcoming weekend could be my final trip to Deso :).
Special thanks to Dustin from the Eldorado Forest Service for supplying us with administrative permits and guidance over the course of this entire project!
Special thanks to Dustin from the Eldorado Forest Service for supplying us with administrative permits and guidance over the course of this entire project!
Project Update 8/16/23:
Project Update 8/16/23:
Another trip down! This one was just my dad and I, sadly no research entourage in tow this time. An important note is that parking was expectedly brutal, we got there at ~8:45~ and snagged pretty much the last real spot in the Echo Lake parking lot. The Sno-Park has a lot, but it is about a mile's walk away. After taking the boat trip in and chatting with some snowboarders headed to the Fountain of Youth, we hiked in and set up our tents at the same site as last time before starting some campsite surveys on the peninsula of Lake Aloha. During that afternoon we knocked out about 12 sites, completing pretty much all of the peninsula section of Aloha. While Kelly wasn't there to help out and compare numbers, I kept an orderly system of labeling the waypoints on Avenza and numbering the survey sheets to keep track of which data corresponded to which site. After that, we went back to our camp and waited for sunset so that we could go conduct our Lake Aloha counts. In my infinite judgment, I did not bring a rainfly for my tent. To spite me, it began to dump rain for about an hour, soaking my tent completely. I shared a very cozy 1-person tent with my father that night (see right). After the rain subsided, we went and did our headcount before making dinner and going to bed. In the morning, we woke up at a crisp 5:15 before packing up camp and hiking over to Lake of the Woods for our second headcount. Once we were done with that, we made breakfast on the shore of LOTW before beginning our hike back. I like this approach of just packing everything up and not returning to Aloha, it saves on time and redundancy and lets us get a super early start to the hike back to the boat.During said hike back to the boat, I re-sprained my ankle! Considering this was my second in the span of a few months, it didn't feel great. I managed to hobble the 0.5 miles to the boat. The first item on the agenda is to buy some better boots for the next trips. Jeff said that most modern backpackers opt for a very trail running-esque shoe that prioritizes weight reduction, but most modern backpackers don't have an ankle that loves to roll itself and swells up to the size of a lacrosse ball. I have an appointment with a physical therapist in a week, hopefully she tells me that the best treatment going forward is hiking on steep, rocky terrain and doing a bunch of campsite occupancy surveys.
Enormous thanks to my dad for coming and MA Outings for supplying most of our gear!
Enormous thanks to my dad for coming and MA Outings for supplying most of our gear!
Me in my dad's 1-person tent after it rained (I conveniently forgot a rain fly for my own tent)
Proof that I have the best MARC project ever
My first time meeting Jeff in Sierra City
My portion of our presentation at the Ranger Station
Project Update 8/9/23:
Project Update 8/9/23:
Many things have happened! I've been incredibly hard at work for the past few months working to plan and coordinate my first research trip to Desolation, which finally came to fruition last weekend. My mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Marion, flew all the way out from Virginia to join me for our first round of field research to help develop procedures. As an avid backpacker who has section-hiked the Appalachian Trail and much of the Pacific Crest Trail, his presence was a relief for me (considering I hadn't backpacked in years). For this trip, I enlisted the help of Leslie and the MA Outings department to turn our trip into an official outing. To accompany us and make it an official outing, I brought along Anya Strum (MA math teacher) and Morgan Zimmerman (fellow student).We started our trip by picking up Jeff in Sierra City before spending the night at Fallen Leaf Campsite. The following day, we went to the Pacific Ranger Station and gave a concise presentation on the overall field of recreational ecology as well as our specific research to representatives from the Eldorado Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Pacific Crest Trail Association, and others. After this, we went back and spent another night in Fallen Leaf before departing for the wilderness on the following day. There, we met up with Kelly Bessem, a forest ranger for the El Dorado NF who has intimate knowledge of the area and the campsites we surveyed. Her assistance was invaluable and we may work with her in the future to develop GIS renderings of our results.
Anyways, after hiking in we first went to Lake of the Woods (our first survey site) to begin developing our procedures for our campsite sustainability assessments. We were able to coordinate these with Kelly, who was also doing very similar work and could aid us in locating campsites that weren't on our map. After this, we went to Lake Aloha (our second survey site) to eat dinner and set up our camp for the night. After this, Jeff and I completed the first round of campsite occupancy surveys (COS), which went splendidly. I marked our GPS "tracks" against a PDF overlay of both Desolation and the campsites we need to look for in an app called Avenza Maps. This will be crucial for future trips, as having a set path to follow for data collection will streamline my process immensely.After this, we all slept at our camp at Lake Aloha. The following morning, Jeff and I woke up at 5:30 and hiked down to Lake of the Woods to do a round of COS at the other survey site. It all went swimmingly, so we were able to hike back to our camp and eat our breakfast (instant oatmeal) quickly before hiking back to Lake of the Woods to finish our campsite sustainability assessments for the entire survey site! This was a massive milestone, and it will save us crucial time in the future to focus all our remaining efforts on Lake Aloha. Finally, we hiked back out before driving all the way back to Marin. Overall, I have zero complaints about our trip. It was a massive success, as we got the data we wanted in almost the exact timespan we were expecting. Months of planning and navigating the logistical hellscape of MA Outings somehow came together beautifully, and I could not be happier with the results.
All the thanks in the world to Jeff, Anya, Morgan, Leslie, Kelly, Dustin, and my weary parents for putting up with me and doing their crucial parts in making this trip happen.
All the thanks in the world to Jeff, Anya, Morgan, Leslie, Kelly, Dustin, and my weary parents for putting up with me and doing their crucial parts in making this trip happen.
Our outing group!
A "hard flick" of me gathering water to filter
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