Amanda Godbold

After my last post on getting out and hammering, a few people asked what I actually carry on my phone and in my pack. So this is the start of a short series on the apps and tools I use in the field. First up is the three I use every single field day: a Garmin inReach, Avenza Maps, and the FieldMove Clino app. Why these two work well together They do different jobs, and that is exactly why I use them as a pair. Garmin inReach is my safety and communication line. It connects to the Iridium...

There are many skills that can be learned by reading, but being a field scientist is learned almost exclusively by doing. Reading and coursework give us a strong foundation and help develop the associative pathways that connect what we’ve learned to what’s in front of us. But they don’t prepare us for all the uncertainty and messiness of real-world situations. I remember my first field course. I had read all the textbooks twice over, and I was an outdoor enthusiast. In the van on the way to...