Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

• Who do I contact with more questions?
  Please first read all of the hydro field camp web site pages very carefully. If you have remaining questions please do not hesitate to contact Professor E. Calvin Alexander Jr. at alexa001@umn.edu or call him at 612-624-3517.

• Does your hydrocamp involve any camping?
  No, despite its name, hydrocamp does not involve any camping. The 3-week "camp" is split into 1 week in Minneapolis (where out-of-area students stay in 1-bed dorm rooms) and 2 weeks at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve (where we all stay in dorm rooms - about 5 students per room that has 10 beds).

• Are there any prerequesites for this course?
  No, this course does not require any prerequesite courses even though it is a senior-level undergraduate (and 1st year graduate) field course. The reason for this is that students with very diverse backgrounds ranging from early undergraduate to graduate students and hydro(geo)logic professionals are interested in taking this course. It is impossible to expect a common knowledge base for such a varied group of students and professionals, but it is possible for hydrocamp participants to learn from each other (and from the instructors of course). Also, there is plenty of time (3 weeks of virtually all-day access to 3 or more instructors) to ask questions on topics you have difficulties with. We also disperse small lectures throughout hydrocamp to get everybody on about the same page and to new levels of understanding regarding hydro(geo)logy. So come on in (or out into the field) and have fun learning about, and playing with, ground and surface water.

• Is this course useful if I have already had a hydrogeology course?
  In most cases, yes! Hydrocamp is a very hands-on and applied laboratory and field methods course and chances are high that your more lecture-based hydrogeology course was more theoretical (even though it probably had some lab and/or field component). The hydrocamp home page contains a list of activities (under the heading "Overview") you will be doing during this intense 3-week course so you can get an idea of how much of this was covered in previous courses you may have taken. We also have the USGS drill a new monitoring well for us each year so students can observe this process in detail and ask the well driller lots of questions, something that is virtually impossible when commercial well drillers are busy getting the job done as quickly as possible. Finally, hydrocamp is taught by a large number of expert hydrogeologists (faculty from the University of Minnesota (UMN) and guest instructors from the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)) covering a wide range of research interests. So chances are high you'll learn lots of new things as well as new ways of looking at what you thought you already know.

• So, exactly how many instructors are teaching hydrocamp?
  This question is harder to answer than one might think because every year we have guest lecturers. Also, every once in a while a UMN (Univ. of MN) faculty member won't be able to teach for various reasons. So a good estimate of the number of instructors is: 2 to 4 UMN instructors (full time, i.e., for the whole 3 weeks) and 2 to 4 guest lecturers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS). The UMN instructors are faculty in various aspects of physical, chemical, numerical, and environmental hydro(geo)logy. Guest lecturers teach certain aspects of hydro(geo)logy they are experts in. As an example, during hydrocamp 2006, instructors included: Martin Saar (UMN, full time), Calvin Alexander (UMN, full time), Scott Alexander (UMN, full time), Olaf Pfannkuch (UMN, 1/3 time), Bob Tipping (MGS, 1/3 time), Don Rosenberry (USGS, 1 day), Dallas Hudson (USGS, 2 days). Consequently, the student to instructor ratio for a total of about 3 to 4 instructors at any given time and 15 to 25 students in a given year is very low (between about 3 and 5 students per instructor).

• Can I get credit for the hydrocamp?
  Yes, our hydrocamp is worth 4 undergraduate or 2 graduate credits. Most students are able to count them toward their undergraduate field camp requirement at their respective college but ask your particular college to make sure.

• Your hydrogeology field camp is 3 weeks long but I need 6 weeks of field camp. What can I do?
  Our own students at the University of Minnesota (UMN) also need 6 weeks of field camp to receive their Bachelor of Science degrees. We offer 2 to 3 field camps each year in the Department of Earth Sciences at UMN. Thus, our students take at least two of our three 3-week field camps before they graduate. You could take another one of our 3-week field camps (during the same year as they are non-overlapping or during different years) or you could take another field camp at a different university to fulfill your requirement of having completed 6 weeks of field camp. But double-check with your college to see if you are allowed to take two 3-week field camps rather than one 6-week field camp (it should be OK in most cases).

• Do I have to be at field camp the whole 3 weeks?
  Yes in most cases unless you have a very good reason why you have to skip a day or arrive a day later or leave a day earlier (leaving earlier is particularly difficult as we are coming back from north-central Minnesota on the last day of the field camp).

• Is it possible to make phone calls from Deep Portage where we are staying during weeks 2 and 3?
  Yes, you will need a phone card with a toll-free access number to use the Deep Portage phones.

• Is it possible to be called at Deep Portage
  Yes, on a limited basis, because the receptionist will have to take the call and find you in the huge Deep Portage building. But once in a while is OK. It's better though to call out with a phone card or use your cellular phone if it happens to work out there (see next question).

• Is there cellular phone coverage at Deep Portage and the field site?
  It depends. Deep Portage (where we stay) and our field site are both pretty much in the middle of nowhere with only small towns (e.g., Hackensack, Walker) nearby and thus cellular coverage is spotty at best. It also depends on your plan (Verizon seems to work somewhat OK).

• Will I have email and internet access during hydrocamp?
  Yes, both in Minneapolis and at Deep Portage. We will actually be setting up a wireless "hydrocamp" network with DSL connection at Deep Portage, so whenever you are at Deep Portage (mornings, evenings and some report writing/rest days) you will be able to check your emails and surf the net at a fairly decent speed. You can also hook up your laptop with an ethernet cable if you do not have wireless. We also provide laptops (2 students share these rented up-to-date laptops) which have wireless network cards. However, bringing your own laptop is highly recommended (see next item).

• Should I bring my personal laptop?
  Yes, if you have one. If not, no problem, we are also renting laptops so that 2 students share one. (See also "What to bring" below).

• Can I do laundry during weeks 2 and 3 at Deep Portage?
  Yes, there is a laundromat in Hackensack (15 minutes drive from Deep Portage) and we can arrange a laundry trip in about the middle of the 2 weeks we are staying at Deep Portage. So you can expect to be able to do laundry about once a week.

• Can I drive my own car from Minneapolis to Deep Portage after week 1?
  Yes, if you have to, but most students will ride in the vans we are providing.

• Can I hand in assignments late or even after the field camp is over?
  No, we are providing ample time to finish the assignments on time including whole write-up days in between field and lab days. There is also time during most evenings and sometimes even in the field (e.g., while you are waiting for some measurement). So there is no excuse for handing in material late. Also, the field camp ends with about 2 days that are reserved for data reduction and report writing (see a previous example schedule), so there should not be any need for extra write-up days after the camp. The reason why we want assignments handed in on time is so that we can provide detailed one-on-one feed-back on your work in form of a discussion in addition to comments written on the margins. Often explaining why something is (in)correct and how it is done correctly or differently provides the best opportunities for learning because you can ask follow-up questions.

Tips:

• Do not hesitate to bring items for extra-curricula activities such as: musical instruments, golf clubs, fishing rod, bike, climbing shoes (there is a climbing wall at Deep Portage where we are staying for 2 weeks), beach volleyball (there is also a beach volleyball field at Deep Portage), swim suits (there are lots of lakes - one a few yards away), cameras, star guide, binoculars or even a small telescope (the night sky is fabulous at Deep Portage - very little light polution), hacky sack, frisbee, soccer ball, football, ... (you get the idea).
  
  Also, Deep Portage lends out various items such as kayaks, volleyballs, and more and we usually bring a few things as well.

• You do NOT need to bring a whole lot of hydrogeology books (we take a small library of 40 books or so with us) unless you have a specific one you particularly like (chances are we have it though).

• Let us know if you are vegetarian, vegan, ..., so we can arrange appropriate meals with the cooks at Deep Portage.

What to Bring to Hydrocamp:

• For weeks 2 and 3 of the 3-week hydrocamp we will be staying at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve. You will stay in small bunk bed dorm rooms (about 5 students in one room). You will have to bring your own sheet, blanket, and pillow (typically students bring a fitted sheet + a sleeping bag + a pillow). Also bring a towel.

• Bring clothes for heat, rain, wind, and chilly temperatures in the evenings. Also bring sun screen!

• Bring lots of bug spray. Part of why we are having the field camp from mid-July to early August is because there are fewer mosquitos at that time than during the early-summer times and usually bugs are not a big problem anymore. However, particularly if it is a wet summer it can get quite bad with the mosquitos, so bring lots of bug spray just in case.

• Bring field clothes + equipment: hiking boots (usually the lighter kind is OK but heavy-duty ones can be better if it is raining a lot), rain gear, waders (if you have them) for our groundwater-lake interaction exercise, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, shorts, a hat, a water bottle, sun glasses, sun screen, a (digital) camera (if you have one), ...

• Bring your own laptop if you have one (if not, that's OK) even though we do provide laptops (two students share one). While we can't install some of the software we provide on our laptops, you can still use your own laptop for writing up assignments or doing some analyses using a spreadsheet program. We do provide a laser printer even where we stay during the north-central-Minnesota portion of the camp (at Deep Portage Conservation Reserve). We also set up our own wireless network with DSL internet access, so you can check emails and surf the internet.