This is a response to the following assignment:
Rank the top 5 activities with the best one listed first. Why did you pick these and why did you rank them in this manner? How did they relate to limnology and aquatic ecology?
Rank the top 5 activities with the best one listed first. Why did you pick these and why did you rank them in this manner? How did they relate to limnology and aquatic ecology?
If I have to pick just five activities:
1. Boeri Lake hike
2. Boiling Lake hike
3. Victoria Falls
4. Kalinago Territory
5. Emerald Pool
1. The hike to Boeri Lake gave me a real taste for the hiking that we would be doing throughout our stay. It was sometimes difficult to keep up with Dr. Hains, the mountain goat, but I knew it was the only way I was going to get to our destination. I am not good at pacing myself; I preferred going quickly, straining myself, pushing myself to keep going to the next hilltop and then taking a quick break to wait for the others to catch up. Climbing over the boulders to slip into the chilly waters at Boeri Lake, it was a great way to cool off. Had I dared to take my snorkel gear out of my pack, it would have been interesting to see what sorts of life have made it up that far. We did find a crab hiding in the shade of some rocks, so there must have been other life for it to feed on. I found it amazing that we didn't see many insects on that trip.
2. On the hike to Boiling Lake, I understood a lot more about different forestation systems and how the geography affects other attributes. We went through several different types of forestation including rain forest, montane, and elfin. The elfin woodland really stood out when we approached the top of a mountain and I saw a palm tree shrunken down to about 3 feet tall. The hike up the Hill of Death wasn't too horrible; there were places where it levelled off a bit and you could take a quick break. After struggling through the natural wind tunnel and crab-crawling (sometimes scooting) down the slope, the Valley of Desolation was breath-taking. In my mind, I was picturing a dark, eerie swamp with fog, twisting jungle trees, and red-eyed crows. However, this valley was a light at the end of a tunnel (literally, the wind tunnel). It was bright and, although void of animal habitation, it was neither swamp nor desert. Around the boiling springs creating streams through the valley, there were deposits of calcium, sulfur and iron making the ground patchy with white, yellow, and orange. Some light gray mud made a great face mask. When we went to a stream to add water to the mud, it was already fairly cool despite the boiling springs. There must have been some sort of algae growing around there, and small plants not too far away. I saw some patches of light green among the white and yellow, but I don't know if it was algae or some other mineral deposit.
3. The hike to Victoria Falls was certainly different from the rest. We waded through the river several times, stumbled over boulders, and climbed up stacks of rocks. My favorite part of the hike was a little bit of rock climbing where I made some contortionist moves to get my foot almost level with my head a few feet to the left to raise up to the top of the boulder. When others were nervous about shimmying across a ledge with jutting boulders on one side and a nice rocky 15 foot drop on the other, I felt confident that I could make it after rock-climbing and seeing Dr. Hains do it. I just got in touch with my Native American side (some could say ninja, but I'm not into martial arts) and felt it was a rite of passage, literally. The pool under Victoria Falls was a little chilly, but not bad. The waves and spray made it difficult to get close to the falls, but it was exhilerating as I swam hard just to stay in one place 20-30 feet from the falls. Had I gone back to get my snorkel gear, it would have been interesting to see what forms of life have made it back to the waterfall pool after a flood pushed everything back last year.
4. I have always been entranced by Native American lifestyle, ever since watching Pocahantas as a kid. Thus, visiting the Kalinago Territory was very interesting. It was amazing seeing the views and fishing bay of the Kalinago people, although that aquatic ecosystem was more marine. There was a freshwater stream running down to the bay, which turned out to be one of the most scientifically notable water sources we found. (I will leave it at that unless I get permission to release research information.) The repurposed fishing net was a great idea, making it into a giant hammock. I believe I enjoyed this excursion as the most tourist-like thing we did just because it didn't quite coincide with our normal activities. It was great being able to see the textbook come to life, though. The best part for me was going to the Kalinago basket shops and finding prices a third, even a fourth of that in Charleston, and with many more choices and endless variety. They made great gifts for people back home.
5. Emerald Pool was our first outdoor excursion, and therefore it has a special place. An easy walk led us to a typical mountain stream with smoothed boulders and the water flowing easily around them and plants growing nearby. We continued down to the Emerald Pool with crystal jade-colored waters, with which I instantly fell in love. The hallowed-out cave area behind the waterfall was so cool and lizards scurried all about. As with most of the water features we went to, I enjoyed being able to see my feet in the water, but this was definitely the clearest. We could see little fish like gobies and freshwater shrimp with our snorkel masks, but no snails. There were also a good many river crabs on the rocky slopes by the shallower pool. I liked that Emerald Pool was an easy trail so it was a good way to relax, but the most amazing part was that the first time we went down there, the lighting was perfect and we had the pool to ourselves the entire time. The cool water spectacular!
1. Boeri Lake hike
2. Boiling Lake hike
3. Victoria Falls
4. Kalinago Territory
5. Emerald Pool
1. The hike to Boeri Lake gave me a real taste for the hiking that we would be doing throughout our stay. It was sometimes difficult to keep up with Dr. Hains, the mountain goat, but I knew it was the only way I was going to get to our destination. I am not good at pacing myself; I preferred going quickly, straining myself, pushing myself to keep going to the next hilltop and then taking a quick break to wait for the others to catch up. Climbing over the boulders to slip into the chilly waters at Boeri Lake, it was a great way to cool off. Had I dared to take my snorkel gear out of my pack, it would have been interesting to see what sorts of life have made it up that far. We did find a crab hiding in the shade of some rocks, so there must have been other life for it to feed on. I found it amazing that we didn't see many insects on that trip.
2. On the hike to Boiling Lake, I understood a lot more about different forestation systems and how the geography affects other attributes. We went through several different types of forestation including rain forest, montane, and elfin. The elfin woodland really stood out when we approached the top of a mountain and I saw a palm tree shrunken down to about 3 feet tall. The hike up the Hill of Death wasn't too horrible; there were places where it levelled off a bit and you could take a quick break. After struggling through the natural wind tunnel and crab-crawling (sometimes scooting) down the slope, the Valley of Desolation was breath-taking. In my mind, I was picturing a dark, eerie swamp with fog, twisting jungle trees, and red-eyed crows. However, this valley was a light at the end of a tunnel (literally, the wind tunnel). It was bright and, although void of animal habitation, it was neither swamp nor desert. Around the boiling springs creating streams through the valley, there were deposits of calcium, sulfur and iron making the ground patchy with white, yellow, and orange. Some light gray mud made a great face mask. When we went to a stream to add water to the mud, it was already fairly cool despite the boiling springs. There must have been some sort of algae growing around there, and small plants not too far away. I saw some patches of light green among the white and yellow, but I don't know if it was algae or some other mineral deposit.
3. The hike to Victoria Falls was certainly different from the rest. We waded through the river several times, stumbled over boulders, and climbed up stacks of rocks. My favorite part of the hike was a little bit of rock climbing where I made some contortionist moves to get my foot almost level with my head a few feet to the left to raise up to the top of the boulder. When others were nervous about shimmying across a ledge with jutting boulders on one side and a nice rocky 15 foot drop on the other, I felt confident that I could make it after rock-climbing and seeing Dr. Hains do it. I just got in touch with my Native American side (some could say ninja, but I'm not into martial arts) and felt it was a rite of passage, literally. The pool under Victoria Falls was a little chilly, but not bad. The waves and spray made it difficult to get close to the falls, but it was exhilerating as I swam hard just to stay in one place 20-30 feet from the falls. Had I gone back to get my snorkel gear, it would have been interesting to see what forms of life have made it back to the waterfall pool after a flood pushed everything back last year.
4. I have always been entranced by Native American lifestyle, ever since watching Pocahantas as a kid. Thus, visiting the Kalinago Territory was very interesting. It was amazing seeing the views and fishing bay of the Kalinago people, although that aquatic ecosystem was more marine. There was a freshwater stream running down to the bay, which turned out to be one of the most scientifically notable water sources we found. (I will leave it at that unless I get permission to release research information.) The repurposed fishing net was a great idea, making it into a giant hammock. I believe I enjoyed this excursion as the most tourist-like thing we did just because it didn't quite coincide with our normal activities. It was great being able to see the textbook come to life, though. The best part for me was going to the Kalinago basket shops and finding prices a third, even a fourth of that in Charleston, and with many more choices and endless variety. They made great gifts for people back home.
5. Emerald Pool was our first outdoor excursion, and therefore it has a special place. An easy walk led us to a typical mountain stream with smoothed boulders and the water flowing easily around them and plants growing nearby. We continued down to the Emerald Pool with crystal jade-colored waters, with which I instantly fell in love. The hallowed-out cave area behind the waterfall was so cool and lizards scurried all about. As with most of the water features we went to, I enjoyed being able to see my feet in the water, but this was definitely the clearest. We could see little fish like gobies and freshwater shrimp with our snorkel masks, but no snails. There were also a good many river crabs on the rocky slopes by the shallower pool. I liked that Emerald Pool was an easy trail so it was a good way to relax, but the most amazing part was that the first time we went down there, the lighting was perfect and we had the pool to ourselves the entire time. The cool water spectacular!
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