A Very Important Note about Group Endeavors...

You will perhaps think my demands are draconian, or Sergeant Yorkish a la good fairy, or whatever. Too bad. Twice now I have watched my parents bury their children, and I will not risk such an experience for your family, nor yourself. Plan on safety, plan on compliance. FIRST!

We are going to have to work in teams, and we fail in that purpose if we abandon any of our own. Sometimes this is not easy. Those having less experience may lag, or perhaps wish not to admit sub-Olympian skills. Others may feel that they pose a schedule impediment, even while they obtain "good stuff". More might feel that they have offended others beyond communication. It always amazes me how such perceptions almost always prove inaccurate. Every one of you brings a unique array of valuable skills to the class teams. Good teams adjust.

With 393 students, almost always I've seen good teams.

393 in many ways is as much a course in personal development as it is for academic accomplishment, and so it goes much beyond landscape experience and some sort of research agenda. Interpersonal bonding and the consequent intellectual growth--practice and acquisition of cooperative skills--has always been remarkable on these trips. You come along with us to gain that, too.

But if you come along, there are some conduct standards that I impose upon ALL of us. If you cannot accept these, please go with someone else; I can not compromise here.

Personal Conduct

ALCOHOL	TOBACCO & FIRE	FIREARMS
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES	HARASSMENT	NOISE
VEHICLES	CELL PHONE	MEDICATION
WATER	LODGING	PARTY SIZE
MEALS	LUGGAGE	FINANCE
DATA	INSUBORDINATION	SECURITY

Much of this is just common sense, but for the record, here are some conduct policies with which I expect that all trip participants must be familiar and comply:

ALCOHOL: Use discretion. I do not ban alcohol, but I will not tolerate drunkenness, nor will I tolerate any alcohol use in the backcountry; on-site it could jeopardize your teammates. Keep it at camp. At the end of a busy day, I like sipping a beer while sorting and cleaning gear just as much as the next person. But, no one can do a nightly twelve-pack without so affecting field work that a grade impact is avoidable. We WILL comply with local regulations (age limits, dry counties, etc.). Also, alcohol is a diuretic; it accelerates dehydration by about 1 hour for each 4 oz drink or 12 oz beer, even after consumption ceases. This can become quite dangerous to you and the rest of us at desert or high altitude sites.
TOBACCO: There is no tobacco use permissible at any time in any University vehicle. At most sites, indoor tobacco use bans are in effect, and common courtesy dictates that this applies to all restaurants and other public facilities. Because of fire hazard, there must be no tobacco use inside of any tent, and comply with all smoking bans on trails. Further, only two night stops (Lincoln NF and Fort Davis SP, and even these sometimes not) permit open flames, so do not plan to have campfires often--if at all.
FIREARMS: Sorry. This is not a hunting trip; we will not need to rob any banks; and nobody is going to attack us--you have no need for firearms. Leave your guns at home, you're going to be far too busy to hold any target practice.
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES: None acceptable; discussion over. Yes, we occasionally have encountered it, but never among 393 participants. I will personally turn any violators or evidence over to the gentle hands of the DEA or state police. And I won't care if your Mommy gets mad. DON'T DO IT!!!
NOISE: At motels and campgrounds, on guided tours, and in restaurants you WILL keep noise to reasonable levels. "Reasonable" means that no other visitors find us annoying. After 10 PM (and yes, we will have some arrivals after this hour) the management and our fellow occupants will not appreciate loud parties, undue cheering, tent stake hammering, engine revs, etc. It is reduction to your participation grade if I receive noise complaints.
HARASSMENT: I have absolutely NO tolerance for any form of racial, ethnic, gender, religious, linguistic, departmental, or other prejudice. We will be in close quarters for most of this trip, and we will encounter a wide variety of fellow travelers and local people. I do have recourse options to apply toward anyone I catch engaging in derogatory remarks or actions, and any transgressor will find these extremely costly in dollars and course grade.

You are legal adults. I cannot interfere with your interpersonal relationships, unless they pose risk or impediment to the class. Also, may I advise you that I am extremely partial to a person to whom I permanently committed "for better or for worse; in sickness and in health"; I am very unreceptive to any flirtation (although this never has been a problem). Expect none.

We have never had any occasion for concerns about harassment. Please don't you be a first.

VEHICLES: See the Transit and the Driver info (even if you will not drive) about my expectations. Please remember that the vans do not belong to us, and they should not receive excessive wear, nor should we convert them into roaming landfills. Vehicles SHOULD receive a thorough communal cleaning every three days or so, and drivers must inspect and report fluids, wipers, lights, and mechanical soundness daily. No one should ever remove any vehicle paperwork from a vehicle, except upon request of a law enforcement officer.

Vehicles are notoriously poor as safe deposit vaults; do NOT leave valuables unattended in a vehicle. No one should regard any part of any vehicle as personal "closet space"; keep your gear compact and with you at night. However, please always DO use vehicles as a secure overnight food/trash repository (but keep this in wrapped containers, please). We know who lurks in wait for the "dumb tourist"!

LUGGAGE: With a group of this size, "compact" will be the buzzword. Eliminate or secure all sharp edges that might damage another person's gear. Acquire small souvenirs; anything too large you shall have to ship at your own expense. Do not acquire or stow any kind of contraband! If Customs officers might object, it is contraband.
FINANCE: We know from experience that group procurement and record-keeping is simplest by using ONE instructor's corporate credit card. Accordingly, we ask that the entire group channel all mutual expenditures through a trip "banker". Aside from provisions, souvenirs, and personal phone calls, you should have rather few cash needs during this trip. Consult with the instructor and your classmates before making equipment purchases--we may already have it!

Obtain a pre-paid telephone calling card. Many phone booths in remote areas no longer accept coins, but nearly all can connect to call card sites. Cell phones, BTW, are notoriously unreliable.

Do not feel ashamed if you need to request cash. Your "banker" once was a student, too, and will be discrete. Obviously, this cannot become a regular habit, and you must repay at first ATM opportunity (there are severe legal limitations to student-staff transactions), but please do not miss an opportunity because of a crumby twenty bucks.

CELL PHONE: We will have my cell phone available (the number and monitor hours are at the bottom of every course web page), but you should minimize its use to urgent needs. Pizza deliveries and date arrangements are not "urgent"; family well-being and job prospects are. We will, however, travel outside of normal connection range areas. Below, if it is blue, I should have access. Should...

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MEDICATION: I have asked that you provide me a list of your health insurance, medical conditions, and all medications; please be accurate. However, I am neither nurse nor gossip. Unless in dire disability, I expect you to properly administer your own prescriptions. Please have these labeled and at a location where I can find them for you in any emergency. As we are in DEA priority areas, be sure that you have proper pharmaceutical labels on ALL prescription drugs. I, in turn, promise that I will NEVER reveal your medical data to anyone other than medical personnel, and that I promise to destroy my listings immediately upon our return to UWSP. That you all know, I am severely allergic to bee-sting; although unlikely in winter, dump any kind of antihistamine into me if I appear in shock, then rush to nearest first aid station for observation.
MEALS: This has been a big problem in years past, but it is not anymore. You are all adults, and you know what you need and like. IT IS SOLELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ACQUIRE AND MAINTAIN ALL YOUR FOOD AND INGESTIBLES. If you mis-plan, you will be stuck with whatever my "low cuisine" can spare. I forewarn you that I am the inventor of the peanut butter-and-mustard sandwich, the spaghetti-and-oatmeal omelet, and my always unpopular chocolate-covered habanera home fries (so test if I'm kidding, on some cold desert mountainside, where anything not putting up a convincing fight qualifies as a meal)! Seriously, if backcountry cooking is unfamiliar to you, see the provisions page for my recommendations. When we forage at Alpine you should plan to acquire YOUR eight days worth of provisions. There will be NO return trips, and the captive market prices at Rio Grande Village are of necessity gruesomely steep.

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WATER: We will be in desert and high-altitude country. You probably will not realize it, but the average adult human body can expend hourly some two liters of water to the climate even under winter conditions--and more if you are making strenuous exertions (like 10-kilometer walks across desert mountains). Always start the day by drinking a liter of water, carrying three liters of drinking liquids (NO alcohol, and electrolyte restoratives such as Gatorade are good additives), and down another liter upon return to camp. Do not "plan" to borrow water; your "lender" will have the same bodily needs as yourself.

At remote camps our water supplies (which we must carry in vehicles; there is no clean environmental water available) will be finite. We must apportion whatever we have for 1) drinking needs for the entire group, 2) cooking needs, and 3) cleaning (mostly of cookware-- forget body, laundry, or vehicle washes). For cleaning water I have a pretty good system to obtain hot water, if the daytime weather is sunny. However, for any use, please do NOT ask for more than your "ration", lest someone else go without and the whole group later suffer delays and impediments. I will deny most such requests. Your daily backcountry "ration" will be three gallons, inclusive.

Cleanliness is paramount. You will not enjoy food poisoning in the desert. Be aware that some Big Bend customs differ from ours, and be respectful of them. For example, most of us in Wisconsin use any facility that flushes for other purposes, but in the dry country some flushing is reserved for dishwashing only (note the sign in photo below). You will wear out your welcome making a midnight mistake!

TENTING: Most (12) nights we will sleep in tents. Some of these may be loaners, and if so we must be careful not to damage them. Of more immediate concern will be our tent occupancy; in cold weather (which we must expect) a tent is more heat efficient when we fully occupy it, but concurrently we must leave room for personal gear, and nothing must touch the tent walls (lest they leak). Winter camping requires extra gear, and therefore space. My own guideline is to divide the advertised tent occupancy rating in half, then add one person.
PARTY SIZES: In backcountry campsites there often cannot be more than eight occupants. Therefore, on some nights we may have to split the class to comply with this rule. The same applies along some trails. Anytime we have multiple parties in the field, your FRS radio monitoring must be continuous. Always have extra batteries.
DATA: All raw data (handouts, measurements, photographs, summarizations, etc.) are joint class property available to everyone, regardless of origin or condition. For this I will establish a departmental server repository.
INSUBORDINATION: Like it or not, the instructor of this course bears legal and moral responsibility for the safe conduct and academic performance of all participants. Therefore, any instructor's demand, on any matter during this trip, requires obligatory and immediate compliance. While I shall attempt to minimize exercise of this, when it does occur there is no exemption. There is recourse toward anyone disregarding my conduct instructions. Violators will find them very costly, in dollars and course grade. In many years of 393, I never have had occasion to exercise this option; let's keep it this way. Please!
SECURITY: In years past we had little reason for concern about this, other than the time I left the University credit card sitting at a cash register in Gallup NM (Diane got it back). However, times have changed. While the prospect for trouble is small, I must raise awareness several security issues.
- 1. Theft or "planted" contraband is a potential problem for unlocked vehicles, untended luggage, and visible valuables. Lock all vehicles and conceal luggage and valuables inside whenever none of our party is present, including backcountry stops. Label all of your personal items with permanent marker, and record serial numbers. For small items (cell phones, cameras, etc.) I have a lockable hidden cabinet in the baggage truck. KEEP ALL BANK CARDS, KEYS, MEDICATIONS, AND YOUR PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES! Never expose large amounts of cash, electronics, or jewelry.
- 2. ALWAYS use the "buddy system". Just like in the Scouts, always keep at least one other member of our party within voice range. For greater visibility, please wear "garish" colors, and one of your party must carry an FRS radio anytime you are away from our vehicles. If it is night, you and your "buddies" should EACH have a working illumination device (flashlight, glowstick, etc.). Advise me immediately of your location and situation should you observe any suspicious individual or behavior.
- 3. Comply IMMEDIATELY with any Border Patrol, Park Ranger or Host, military, or any other law enforcement officer. These people are present for our safety and benefit, and you should be certain that they will be observing us. For example, on one trip an unmarked Texas Ranger "tailed" us for over forty miles. A law officer's job is to ensure that legitimate visitors have safe and satisfying experiences, but they also must watch for narcotics or other security threats. That is no easy task. However, these armed officers know none of us personally, and may respond "forcefully" if they detect any dangerous or evasive actions.
- 4. If a law officer stops you, be courteous and compliant, ask them for official identity, and request permission to contact the course instructor. KEEP YOUR HANDS VISIBLE AT ALL TIMES! These folks have had altogether too many experiences with vicious miscreants, and understandably they are sensitive (they have lives and families, too). Remember, they are here for YOU. In all likelihood, an inquiring officer will assist and accommodate you, as it provides them an opportunity for acquainting with our entire party and our purpose. Should they direct us to leave a location, we will do so ASAP (it is likely for our own good). Never become uncooperative or offensive, lest you and/or all of us spend the night at a local "hospitality suite" (the kind with bars). Should that happen, I will personally place you onto the next available cut-rate transportation AT YOUR EXPENSE AND COURSE FAILURE.

Heywood [email] maintains this page, last updated 23NOV07. We monitor our cell phone from 6 to 8 PM CST when in range. That number is (715) 459-8181.