care and feeding of graduate students (life as a professor)

Last weekend, I went with the scouts to pine mountain.  We did a loop I’d done before . I expected about a twelve mile loop based on an old GPS track I’d made. The new GPS gave 10.1!  We stayed at the new Jenkins Spring campsite which was excellent.  One the chief volunteers in the Pine Mountain Trail association came by and said that there were a lot of Eagle projects to be done on the trail (which is entirely built and maintained with volunteer labor).

What’s going on?

The new GPS uses both the Russian and US satellite systems as well as having a more sensitive antenna and thus simply more satellites.  Therefore the distances are more accurate – with less wobble. Also the two systems have different and less correlated systematic errors so that the estimated precision is more accurate with the combination than with either. Thus the ruler used to measure the distance was smaller than before.

On the surface this is sort of an “anti-fractal”. It’s well known, or at least should be, that as rulers get smaller the distances measured gets larger. One simply measures more of the little in and outs on the curve and hence arrives at a longer distance. With the GPS estimates, which depend on point measurements, the idea is a little different. Here there is a swarm of (we can pretend in the limit of large numbers) normally distributed points drawn around a true track. Hence the calculated distance includes the sum of a bunch of random “wobble vectors”. The spread of the wobble is smaller with the new system and so the distance is more accurate. So the fractal measure in this case is actually in the statistics of the sampling and not the curve being measured.

I’ve begun to think about what light-weight backpacking means.  This is partially because I’ve been helping to teach scouts about it, and partially to help myself understand what is special about it.  I’ve never been an especially ultra-light sort of backpacker – usually due to what I call “leader tax”, but have used many of the techniques and equipment quite successfully.

It occurs to me that light-weight is not the issue, in reality, but that it is a by-product of a different design process. Low-complexity implies that the kinds and numbers of things you bring are small.  If you bring fewer things then you automatically have lighter weight.  (well at least if you are vaguely careful.  One dutch oven is a highly multi-purpose item, but no one would ever consider one a part of light-weight backpacking (even if they were made in titanium)).

A good example that comes to my mind is the guy I teach backpacking with to scout leaders.  He’s a great guy, but a conventional backpacker.  His tent is light, only 3 lbs or so, has 2 layers, a complex pole system and so has a raw parts count of 14-15.  While he may be able to get away with leaving a few parts  behind, most of those are critical parts.  I use a trailstar or a luna solo (depending on whether I want space or need to worry about bugs).  So my parts count, including hiking sticks, is 7-8.  Here in the southeastern United States, my critical parts count is one (the tarp) as everything else can be improvised.  He carries very light weight camp shoes. I just loosen my hiking boots.  He has a neat stacking plastic bowl and lightweight cutlery.  I use the same titanium pot and plastic spoon to cook and eat. He has a crazy creek chair for his pad (2 parts). I have a small pad from my pack (1 part).  However we both carry very similar first aid kits because it’s hard to skimp on those.

The point behind this is that we’re both very comfortable in the woods.  I just bring fewer things, and therefore carry less, have a lighter footprint, and have fewer things to lose.

I was recently reading about vapour barriers (Andrew Skurka’s site and Section hiker). It sounded impressive.  The gear is not very expensive from Stevenson’s Warmlite (possibly the only R-rated outdoor gear catalogue in the world), so I ordered a shirt, gloves and socks. I’m nominally an XL, but L would probably fit better.

It wasn’t that cold over the weekend with temperatures into the low thirties, but I gave it a try. What seems to work is a wicking shirt like a polypro top, followed by a vapour barrier layer and then insulation.  It was surprisingly warm with even a thin outer layer.  Stevenson’s says it adds 15 degrees F when sealed up, and this seems realistic.

This got me thinking about cheaper ways to test out vapour barriers – I could have just worn my frogg toggs underneath and seen how that worked.  But then what would I have done for rain (if it rained?). I’m tempted to try using a bivy sack inside of a sleeping bag (well sleeping quilt) to see if that works before finding a real vapor barrier liner.

The persimmons are getting ripe again, and we have a bumper crop. They slowly ripen as the weather gets cold and as long as you beat the deer and raccoons to them. In the picture the one at the top is almost ripe. They should be extremely soft and ready to fall off the tree.

One big headache is removing the seeds and other non-edible stuff from the fruit. In the past, I would push them through a strainer – which was a lot of work and tended to break the strainers. There must be an easier way!

There is. Put the persimmons directly in an electric mixer and pulp them (I use the egg whisk on a 30 year old kitchen aid mixer that was a wedding present). Add the milk, sugar and spices required for the recipe and then whip the mixture. This can then be strained to remove the seeds – no fuss and a lot less mess than trying to strain the pulp directly. The mixture gets quite thick – almost like a pudding or milkshake – so I think it can be turned into a persimmon pudding without too much work, but I don’t have a recipe for that (yet).

Persimmon muffins.

Approximately 10 ripe American persimmons.
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
tablespoon cinnamon
teaspoon ginger
teaspoon salt (I like the “Lite” salt that is 75% KCl)
2 cups milk
pulp the persimmons and then add the rest of the above. Filter out the seeds using a strainer.
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
tablespoon baking powder.
Mix the above with the persimmon/milk mixture
add
2-3 cups plain flour (enough to make a stiff batter)

put into greased muffin tins and bake at 350F (180C) until done (about 15-20 minutes).

The muffins will be heavy, moist and delicious.

Last weekend I helped lead a backpacking trip for scouts from my son’s and my new troop (which is much better run than the old one – but that is the subject of a different post). This troop, being huge, splits up into patrol-based or crew-based activities occasionally and this was one of them.

The younger scouts and most of the adults base camped at the chief ladiga campground which sits astride the intersection of the chief ladiga bike trail and the pinhoti trail in north east alabama. Another crew (mostly the Moose patrol) went backpacking on the pinhoti.

We walked just about 6 miles (5.92 by the GPS) to a campsite by the Terrapin creek flood control lake. There is a big field for camping there – so that several crews could camp at once. Fortunately, since we had a scout injure himself with a knife, there is good road access in an emergency.

It is not an insignificant climb as is shown in the profile.

This hike is a good simalcrum of the trails in Philmont, although it is generally less rocky and a bit more of a single track. There is a fair bit of poison ivy and poison oak so some care is needed – though I wore shorts and didn’t get any so it isn’t too bad. There are a couple of places to pump water.

There were no bears, despite seeing plenty of “sign”, but we did see a yearling timber rattler perched on a small hickory.

As the next images demonstrate, used effectively the in-camera HDR of the Nikon D5100 works quite well.

Normal:

and HDR:

These show a high-contrast image of the Tyndale monument taken shortly before sundown. Without HDR almost no details are visible for the foreground.

A couple more fun strolls in the Cotswalds.

First the “Rock of Ages”. Apparently the rocks in Burrington Coombe (coombe is an Anglo-Saxon word for a valley) were the inspiration for a famous hymn. Pity that they’re clearly sedimentary and preserve fossils which sort of, maybe, make it clear that Adam and Eve are allegorical (at best). None the less there is a fun stroll there. We parked at the Burrington pub (a favourite for cavers) and walked up the down, then down the down.

England has, this year, been rather wet. So it was mucky.

That said, there are lots of caves, foxgloves, and a set of tumulus’s on the top.

Another longer hike is around Castle Coombe.

This path uses more roads than ideal, and even follows the old coach road for a bit. It also passes the site of a Roman Villa. Not much is visible, but we did see a couple of tile fragments – so the villa was there.

I left my GPS at my brother in laws. Hence the hand drawn maps.

1. Day 1
   
   

   Walk up Kinder Scout

   Approximately 12-13 miles (shoelace estimate). We started in the morning, ate lunch at Kinder falls and then dinner at the Sportsman’s pub. (Either it or the George are probably the best in town). Exhausted the teenagers.

2. Day 2
   

   Lantern Pike

   
   It rained most of the day – so we only had time for a short walk, 3-4 miles. Out the Seth Vally walk and up the hill. There is an unmarked stub that takes you up to the top. There is a monument to one of the founders of open trail access on the top.
3. Day 3
   

   Seth Valley Trail

   
   This is a good one for a rainy day. Walked to New Mills, then along the millennium bridge, up past the train station to the visitors centre. The millennium bridge is along the train embankment and quite impressive. There is an Archimedes Screw used to generate power nearby, which generates about 60KW of power as well as allows the trout and salmon to migrate. The visitor’s centre is well worth the visit (toilets, information and food – as well as friendly directions). Walked up to the post office which is next to a Sainsbury express. Picked up some cider and beer (to slow me down). About 6 miles total.
4. Day 4
   
   

   Hill to the south

   
   8 miles. Good practice walk for the next day. Beautiful views. We had hoped to find a pub/sit down place for food in New Mills for a snack, but missed them.
5. Day 5
   

   Walk to Edale

   
   12-13 miles. Walked up over the Edale pass then along by the southern edge of Kinder scout. This trail is a bit harder than it looks. It took about an hour to get to the pass, then 2 hours to do the same distance on the flat and downhill. The downhill was cute, a nice trail goes to the edge of what appears to be a cliff and then the trail goes down it. Stopped for lunch at the “Old Nags Head Pub”. Then headed to the train station. Unfortunately the trains are every 2 hours. (We’d planned to travel by train to New Mills and walk back from that). So we decided to follow the Pennine way back to Edale pass and then Hayfield. Jacob’s ladder was on the way and turned out to be a non-event. (steep but easy). Picked up fish and chips at the Village Chippy on the way back and a passable bottle of English wine across the street at the village store.

Visiting family in the UK. Had a nice 1.92 mile after dinner stroll on part of the Cotswald way.

The rainy weather has broken for the last two days so the paths are merely muddy. We drove up to Nibley after dinner and strolled up to the Tyndale monument. Tyndale is an important figure in the reformation – he risked his life to translate the bible into English (something even the Roman Catholics now (reluctantly) accept). The path from the road is a steep but short climb up some rather slippery mud and wood steps. After climbing the tower – and getting a bit dizzy on its spiral staircase – we wandered off through the woods to find Bracken Hill fort. The loop at the end of the trail follows one of its walls. (you can just see it in the picture). It is rather overgrown and would be hard to recognize, except it is being cleared and restored.

There are two approaches to English muck in summer. 1) wear wellies and try to keep your feet dry and 2) wear sandals and just get wet. I tend to like the second of these approaches – you cannot keep the feet dry because they will sweat if nothing else, but the feet dry quickly in sandals. It is the same idea as trail runners and works well as long as you have sandals that fit and give enough support (keens work for me but your mileage may be different)

Digital SLR bodies have reached that magic point where the quality of the image is limited by the lenses and where the price, although high, is not out of reach for a non-professional. This re-opens the option of using filters and lenses in a much more controlled manner – something that even with kits like the CHDK is very difficult. It is always better to optimise and control the signal rather than to try to reconstruct from flawed data.

The next few photos show some preliminary experiments and comparisons using the in-camera HDR on a Nikon D5100 with polariser and various coloured filters.

Polariser vs. Polariser with HDR on Landscapes

The polariser on its own brings out the clouds, but compared with polariser/HDR the level of detail and drama is weak.

Using both the polariser and HDR give the best results for landscapes.

Polariser vs. Polariser with HDR when there is less contrast

This photo of a Buddleia flower shows (in the original) good detail and contrast.

HDR tends to wash out the image when it doesn’t have a lot of contrast to start with.

Getting Good Black and White Images.

Back in the day one trick to get high quality black and white images was to use a coloured filter with the film and emphasise the red/yellow colours with respect to the blues.

Something similar can be done. The D5100 will convert from colour to “monochrome” and thus produce reasonable images.

The red filter produces a bizarre image.

Converting to black and white brings out the clouds but loses the details.

The details are still lost, even when correcting for the highlights with the Gimp. (the correction is simply to adjust the histogram of density values so that it fills the whole range, the black and white generated by the camera from this image does not produce white for the brightest pixels)

Yellow preserves more colour information.

[caption id="attachment_679" align="aligncenter" width="480" caption="Yellow Converted to B&W"][/caption]

However converting from yellow to black and white leaves a lot to be desired as well. (This looks a bit like old-fashioned Infrared film)

Using HDR with a yellow filter recovers features in the sky.

These features are preserved in the black and white image.

The yellow/b&w is not quite as contrasty as the red/b&w so this is a matter of taste.

HDR with the red filter is interesting.

The HDR/Red gives good results. Especially after correcting the highlights with the Gimp