Week 7 ALREADY?!

Monday 05/13: We switched gears this week from field-heavy work to more lecture/lab based work in order to prepare to write our community ecology data reports. We started our Monday off lecture heavy learning about dynamics of marine communities and diversity. Among these lectures we learned that living in an intermittent upwelling area, we get a higher diversity of organisms than other places with persistent upwelling or downwelling.This is because upwelling brings up cold, nutrient rich waters and not being persistent gives the organisms that live in these areas a chance to take advantage of this abundance of food. Too much upwelling and too much downwelling can lead to very low diversity, so it is lucky that we get to study here in the Pacific Northwest where organisms are abundant and diverse! To better prepare us for our writing assignment for this section, our TA Zech went over statistical analysis and figure preparation before we took our last data from our experiment in the lab. After a full day spent in the classroom, we gathered in the lab to take our final data on our predator rate experiment. We counted the amount of eaten prey (mussels) and measured them, measured each predator, and fed the snails, sea stars, and crabs one last time before terminating the experiment and taking the animals back to their habitats in the rocky intertidal. Our special lecture for the day on kelp bed dynamics was unfortunately cancelled so that our lecturer, Sarah Hamilton, could go out on a research dive and do what marine scientists do best! Today we took in a lot of information but our sore limbs thanked us for a break from the field. Now we have the tools to start writing our data reports and use the data we worked so hard to collect!

Last round of data collection for our predation experiment.

Tuesday 05/14:  Today was much appreciated by us students because it was an “independent study” day that our professors so generously scheduled in. We had today to prepare our papers and oral presentations that were due Wednesday and Thursday respectively.  Groups gathered, scattered throughout the library and in various apartments to start hatching out their ideas about the data we collected in the field last week. This wasn’t our first rodeo, however, since this was our third oral presentation and one of many writing assignments. We finalized our presentations and eagerly awaited everyone’s oral reports at 1:00 PM tomorrow.

Wednesday 05/15: Judgement day...the day we presented our research to the class. Although presentations were at 1:00pm, we all woke up early to prepare for the daunting task ahead. Some groups walked to the library to get in some last minute details on their powerpoints, and others practiced their speeches. We entered the classroom, and although we have already done three presentations in this class, those nerves still crept in. For the next two hours were listened to our classmates give compelling hypotheses and observations with some great data analysis. Some presentation topics included sea star reproduction output, mobile predator diversity, and analyzing predation rates. Finally, the nerves were gone and the presentations were over. We went back to our favorite study places and worked diligently on our reports that were due the next day. A few students decided to have a peer review session later that night, which was immensely helpful for revising our papers and making sure they were ready to be graded by our TA Zech. After the session, we snuck in a few hours of studying for our final, and with that, the day had come to a quick end.

 

Everyone did amazing on their presentations; their hard work paid off.

Thursday 05/16: The last day of community ecology was upon us, and these two weeks went by in the blink of an eye. We woke up early to study for our exam at 2:00pm, reviewing Bruce’s lecture slides and going over concepts we learned together. We ate a quick lunch and took our final walk to class as community ecology students. We had two hours to take the exam, and then the rest of the day was devoted to finishing up our reports that were due later that night. However, it was the seventh week of spring term, and we needed a bit of a break. A few students sent out invites for a potluck, and everyone brought a different dish to share. Among the smorgasbord of food was shepards pie, mac and cheese, spaghetti, sweet potato horderves, cookies, apple fritters, chips, cupcakes, and so much more food that we aren’t able to list it all. It was a great way to finish the subject and have some family time with our classmates. The night rolled to an end, the last of the reports were turned in, and we prepared for the projects section that would begin the next day.

Everyone getting ready to take the final!

A nice night with friends, eating too much food.

Friday 05/17: A brand new day and a brand new section! Today we finally started the long awaited independent project section. We started bright and early at 8:30 AM and listened to our instructor, Dr. Sarah Henkel, tell us about what to expect in the upcoming weeks. We received instructions on how to write our project proposals and then we were released to write them in our groups. Teams were scattered across the Hatfield campus working diligently on writing their project proposals which were due at 5 PM this afternoon. Groups also took turns meeting with our three instructors and two TAs for this course to talk about their projects are work out the kinks of their ideas. Once everyone was finally done with their proposals we could finally breathe a sigh of relief as the end of a busy week came to a close and excitement came for next week’s activities.

Week 2 - Nudibranchs, and Molluscs, and Crabs, Oh My!

Monday, April 8

We started this week off by going out to several spots on the mud flats around the HMSC campus and helping Dr. Sylvia Yamada collect and record captured Carcinus maenas, and five other species of crabs including Cancer magister, Cancer antennarius, Cancer productus, Hemigrapsus nudus, and Hemigrapsus oregonensis. We collected eight traps by the pump house docks that had been placed over the weekend. After taking record of the species we found there, any C. maenas were kept for Marine Science Day and all other species were released. We then headed to the exposed mudflats near the aquarium where we collected about 20 traps of three different types. A couple of the traps had fish in them, and some had as many as eight C. maenas. The exciting find was a Cancer magister that had molted in one of our traps. The size difference between the crab and its molted exoskeleton was significant. The reason for this change in size is a process known as ecdysis, during which they form a new exoskeleton beneath their old one, absorb nutrients and minerals from their old exoskeleton, then back out of their old shell and then swell with water while their bodies are soft. This leaves them vulnerable until their carapace hardens. Lucky for this little guy, we found him and meant him no harm.

Tuesday, April 9

Unfortunately, our hike to Cascade Head was cancelled after being postponed due to inclement weather. Instead of this trip, we decided to get through our last two lectures on the Phyla Echinodermata and Chordata. We were then given the rest of the day to study for the upcoming finals and work on our “favorite marine invertebrate” papers and presentations.

Wednesday, April 10

First thing in the morning we had donuts and coffee with the staff, where we were able to purchase some awesome HMSC Student Organization swag. The rest of the day was available for work on our presentations for the evening meeting and wrapping up our other assignments. The presentations went great! Everyone had a great time feasting on cheesecake, cookies, and mussels, while enjoying marine invertebrate game shows and presentations. Some crowd favorites included Geoduck Jeopardy, Gumboot Chiton Bingo, and Blue Ringed Octopus Family Feud, with the last of these pictured below.

Thursday, April 11

On Thursday, we had multiple study sessions for both the lecture final and the lab practicum. Everyone then spent the rest of the day studying as hard as they could for the next day. Some even pulled late hours at the library, trying learn as much of the material as possible. Here we found Emily, Ashley, Hannah, and Megan all working incredibly hard and filling whiteboards with knowledge.

Friday, April 12

Today was the day of the final exam and lab practicum. We had all studied hard and it was amazing to see how far we had come in the last week. We learned the natural history of the Oregon coast, discovered the defining traits and anatomy of the invertebrate phyla, and memorized the scientific names of ~55 organisms we collected throughout the previous week. The lecture final exam began at 1pm and was followed by the practicum, so we had all morning to cram those last few scientific names into our brains. The exams were over by 4pm and after we cleaned up the lab for the next session we were ready to enjoy our weekend of freedom. The sun was even shining after two straight weeks of rain!

Saturday, April 14

Saturday was Marine Science Day at Hatfield, and the campus was full of people excited to learn about the center, marine science, and the programs offered at Hatfield. All of the labs and classrooms had been transformed into demonstrations for visitors. About six of us came out to volunteer in the wetlab, and it was a fun and rewarding experience to be able to teach the public some of the things we had learned in class and in the field. We had consolidated the organisms we collected into four tanks and released organisms that we had multiples of. The visitors were very interested in what we had to show them, and there were some very curious kids who were eager to see the organisms. We were able to show visitors how to identify different crab species, particularly the invasive green crab species we learned about earlier in the week with Sylvia Yamada. Other big hits were the nudibranchs, echinoderms, and skeleton shrimp. It was a fantastic way to wrap up the invertebrate unit and demonstrate how much we had learned, by teaching it to the public.

Week 9 - Group Research Projects Week 1

Monday, May 28

Memorial Day! No classes, but a few research groups started their research projects over the Memorial Day weekend.

Tuesday, May 29 through Friday, June 1

After a relaxing three-day weekend for most of the BI 450 students, group research projects commenced on a round-the-clock basis. Throughout the rest of the week, groups worked independently on various research projects. The projects were a little shaky at the start but the problems were ironed out as the week progressed. Most of the research projects involved research in the rocky intertidal region, the BI 450 laboratory, or in Yaquina Bay. Yaquina Bay, Oregon is a small drowned river estuary that contains various river channels, a slough, and tidelands. The main channel of the estuary is annually dredged starting between the jetties and continues toward the river mouth to a particular distance. Yaquina Bay experiences seasonal upwelling and downwelling events throughout the year.

Here is what all BI 450 students did throughout the week:

Andy and Nikki went out to various field sites looking for zonation patterns of Hemigrapsus nudus and Hemigrapsus oregonensis in the rocky intertidal region. In addition, they were comparing the two Hemigrapsus species to each other to observe if they compete with one another.

Nikki  in the rocky intertidal using a transect and quadrat
to look for zonation patterns of Hemigrapsus spp.

Hemigrapsus nudus perched on top of Mytilus californianus

Billie and Elizabeth conducted three temperature treatments on four species of coralline algae to determine how warming oceans affect turf algae in relation to ocean acidification.

Bleached Corallina vancouveriensis

Billie and Elizabeth's temperature treatments in the BI 450 lab

Alexa and Erica had many sleepless nights deploying and retrieving zooplankton light traps off of a dock in front of the Hatfield Marine Science Center. They were looking for a correlation between zooplankton diversity, tidal state, and the lunar cycle.

Erica holding up a zooplankton light trap on the dock in
front of the Hatfield Marine Science Center

Crab megalope larvae under a dissecting microscope

Andrew and Beth used Potassium Hydroxide to liquefy Nucella ostrina and Mytilus californianus in order to quantify the microplastics found within each species.

Beth and Andrew's experiment samples

Simone set up a feeding study to determine what Hermissenda crassicornis prefer to eat. While Alex ran a feeding study on Carcinus maenas to determine prey preference between whelks and Mytilus trossulus.

Alex's feeding experiment on Carcinus maenas in the BI 450 lab

Throughout the week, Kris and Caroline got up at the crack of dawn to conduct community surveys on fish species found in both the invasive eelgrass Zostera japonica and the native eelgrass Zostera marina.

Sydney and Milan looked at chaetognatha abundance at various locations along the West Coast using old NOAA trawl samples. While Bri and Lisa tested the aggression level of various crab species in response to the presence or absence of female pheromones.

Bri holding a male Cancer magister in Yaquina Bay, Oregon

Bucket full of Cancer magister and Cancer productus

By the end of the crazy and tiring week with many sleep deprived students, we had reached the mid-way point of the research projects and nearly all experiments were concluded.

Week 4

Monday: The week began with finishing our trawl reports and turning them in by 9:00. After that we had our final lectures and discussion for the fishes section. At 13:30 study time began and between working on lab notebooks and studying for the section final exam everyone was busily scurrying between the library and the lab.

Tuesday: In the morning there was some time for us to study before sitting down for the exam at 13:00. The general feeling in the room at 12:50 was that we were pretty well prepared yet chronically sleep-deprived. The test went well and afterward students headed to the lab for finishing touches on their lab notebooks due at 18:00

Wednesday: It was time to begin the section on marine macroalgae—after taking the morning off to catch some extra Zs, of course.  We met Allie Barner, the instructor for the section, who enthusiastically introduced us to the different phyla of marine macroalgae and presented their unique evolutionary history and plastid origins. The three phyla of algae evolved from three distinct endosymbiosis events.  The first (primary) endosymbiosis event produced the common ancestor to all eukaryotes.  The second of these events (a second primary endosymbiosis) caused this common ancestor to diverge producing the clade which contains chlorophytes (green algae), rhodophytes (red algae), and land plants. Finally, there was a secondary endosymbiosis event in which a eukaryotic cell engulfed a red algae cell forming the ochrophytes (brown algae).

After that we split into different teams, each tasked with a different set of algae, and prepared for going on a field trip the next morning.

Thursday: Most everyone seemed quite tired as we met up in the lab at 6:00 am to leave on our field trip.  We went to Boiler Bay where each team was tasked with finding a key species of algae and recording is distribution, as well as collecting samples. Upon returning to HMSC, we had a break for elevensies followed by an ID lab and some lectures.  In the lab we were introduced to both micro and macroscopic characteristics used to identify algae using a dichotomous key.  One of these lectures focused on the different life histories found in algae.  

 Identifying the red algae growing on a wall in Boiler Bay's protected intertidal zone.

There are three distinct life history strategies that are observed in algae.  Haplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic haploid gametophyte, whereas diplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic diploid sporophyte.  The gametophyte produces haploid gametes, and the sporophyte produces haploid spores.  Haplodiplontic life cycles alternate generations between a haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes.  Haploid stages are characterized by having a single copy of each chromosome, and diploid stages are characterized by having two copies of each chromosome.

After our lab and lectures, we learned to press algae for artistic purposes and to preserve specimens.

Friday: Once again we had to get up early in lab by 6:15.  From there we went to Tokatee Klootchman where we collected and took notes on at least two more species of algae in our group.  On this field trip we were shown examples of many of the important algae found in the intertidal.  The rest of the day consisted of one lecture followed by team meetings to design a field study.  These field studies will be conducted on Monday May 1st.

____________________________________________________________________

The three phyla of algae evolved from three distinct endosymbiosis events.  The first (primary) endosymbiosis event produced the common ancestor to all eukaryotes.  The second of these events (a second primary endosymbiosis) caused this common ancestor to diverge producing the clade which contains chlorophytes (green algae), rhodophytes (red algae), and land plants. Finally, there was a secondary endosymbiosis event in which a eukaryotic cell engulfed a red algae cell forming the ochrophytes (brown algae).

The finely branched rhodophyte Ptilota, found by a student at Boiler Bay.

Feather boa kelp (Egregia menziesii), an ochrophyte, found at Boiler Bay.

There are three distinct life history strategies that are observed in algae.  Haplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic haploid gametophyte, whereas diplontic life cycles consist of a macroscopic diploid sporophyte.  The gametophyte produces haploid gametes, and the sporophyte produces haploid spores.  Haplodiplontic life cycles alternate generations between a haploid gametophytes and diploid sporophytes.  Haploid stages are characterized by having a single copy of each chromosome, and diploid stages are characterized by having two copies of each chromosome.

SOMETHING'S FISHY...

After a brief break in both classes and coursework, a new week brings a new professor, a new TA, and a new subject: FISH!

Group photo from day one at Tokatee Klootchman

Monday:

We dipped our toes into the new subject right away, spending the morning sloshing through the tide pools at Tokatee Klootchman in search of intertidal fish. In our rainiest field trip yet, we scooped up sculpin and gathered gunnels, bringing the best specimens back to the lab. After a brief lecture on general anatomy, we tried our best to apply what we learned, attempting to identify a number of fish specimens.

Tuesday:

Paige and Nick wading through the water to do a beach seine.

Everybody loves a beach day! We spent the afternoon at an estuary beach, while a select few braved the water to drag seine nets and capture fish. We sorted, counted, measured, and identified a number of species, including pipefish, flatfish, and juvenile salmon. Our biggest catch of the week, with a TL of approximately 22cm, was Leptocottus armatus, the Pacific Staghorn Sculpin. This little excursion was followed by lecture on reproduction and life history, allowing us to better understand the journey of the young fish we had just caught.

Wednesday:

As everyone was beginning to tire, we fought the mid-week blues with break in the morning for coffee and donuts. This was followed by a guest lecture from Dr. Bob Cowen about kelp forests and rocky reef habitats. We managed to experience a number of other habitats while escaping the stormy weather with an afternoon adventure to the AQUARIUM. Naturally, everyone gravitated to the open ocean exhibit, where sharks and rays take center stage.

Enclosed in the Aquarium’s longest tunnel, the class relaxed into a state of admiration and awe at the wonders of the deep. Sketching and photography ensued, along with identification of species and discussion of anatomical differences. The “Open Sea” exhibit houses 5 species of shark, schools of mackerel and anchovies, and bat rays. The largest shark species on display was the Broadnose Sevengill shark, Notorhynchus cepedianus. This shark is common along the Oregon Coast and can be identified by its unusual number of seven gills. Because of their gill number, they are thought to be related to ancient sharks, as fossils from the Jurassic period also boast seven gills. This oddity gives them the Guinness Book of World Records title for most gills!

Thursday:

Elakha cruise group two posing as their favorite fish: the English sole!

Thursday was the most highly anticipated day of the week: we got to spend the morning out on the Elakha, beam trawling and sorting fish for our research project. The early morning crew fought rain and sleepy eyes, but managed to have a blast. The afternoon crew was a bit luckier with the weather, and had just as much fun measuring and identifying fish. After a much needed lunch break, the afternoon took a slower pace, with a lecture on swimming and schooling followed by analysis of the trawl data. A small group of students then assisted Su and Miram in deploying light traps off the Pump House dock.

Friday:

The final day of the week was all about the class room! We had the pleasure of two guest lectures, from Dr. Wayne Hoffman and Dr. Christian Breseño-Avena, about herring and plankton, respectively. Our lecture on plankton was immediately followed by a plankton identification lab. We used microscopes to identify species and count plankton, determining that in one light trap we had collected over 125,000 planktonic organisms!

This week was packed full of lectures, field adventures, and fish! The week went swimmingly, but there is still a lot more schooling to do before we finish up the section on fishes.

Week 2: Crabs and Presentations and Finals – Oh, My!By Julia Bingham and Kylee Enyart

Last Monday, we started off the week right with a good stroll down to Yaquina Bay. Our guest speaker and guide for the day, Dr. Sylvia Yamada, led the group out to collect the catch from crab traps set out the previous day. Dr. Yamada and the students recorded species, sex, and carapace size of each species of crab collected, including natives like the Red Rock Crab (Cancer productus) and the Dungeness Crab (Cancer magister), which were released back to their home. We also snagged some specimens of the invasive European Green Cab (Carcinus maeans), which were brought back to the lab.

Julia holding our prime catch of the day: an invasive Carcinus maeans specimen. (Photo credit to Issie Corvi)

Dr. Sylvia Yamada lead the group in a discussion of life history of the European Green Crab in the Pacific NW, and the impacts of invasive species. The species arrived with trading imports from Europe in San Francisco in the 1980’s. Following a series of warm-ocean and current shifting events, especially the El Niño event of 1997, the planktonic larvae of C. maeans made its way northward, establishing in Oregon and B.C. It’s been a pesky competitor to other crabs and a voracious predator of bivalves and disruptor of seagrass beds ever since.

Tuesday featured another guest speaker discussion with Dr. John Chapman on invasive species. This time, we learned about the invasive parasite Orthione griffinis, a blood-sucking isopod which lives tucked next to the gills of the blue mud shrimp (Upogebia pugettensis). The isopod is as widespread as the shrimp itself, from Alaska to southern California, and has wiped out most of the shrimps’ populations by effectively castrating the female shrimp it invades. Even in the relatively healthy population of Yaquina Bay, our own collection day last week found several infected U. pugettensis individuals.

That afternoon, we ventured to the Newport bay docks, collecting even MORE invertebrates. We hoped to find some Ctenophores, and Scyphozoans, but mostly just observed more smelly, mischievous sea lions instead.  We did end up finding two new species of Nudibrach, skeleton shrimp, and even some cool tunicates and bryozoans!

Side Note: Beware the dog poop

A near perfect specimen of Pisaster brevispinus, spotted on the docks.

On Wednesday, we held the 10^th Annual Group Extravaganza! Students chose their favorite invertebrate and wrote a paper about it as a part of the course. Wednesday’s event was for us to take what we learned from those reports and present our favorite creature to the class. Sharing fun facts lasted four hours, but cheesecake and comedy came along with some really entertaining and interactive presentations, so it went by in a flash.

David had a great chat with Red, the tube worm vibrant in both in color and character. Max told the heart-wrenching love story between the ocean queen and Chris (short for Crustacean - it's a family name), a tale to explain the creation of the beautiful floating blue hydra Velella velella. Julia presented on the gooseneck barnacle (Pollicipes polymerus), with a carapace for a hat.

On Thursday, the theme switched from learning to ingraining information. It was time to study our marine invertebrate friends. With much anticipation, the whole day was spent preparing for our final. This consisted of the invertebrates’ Latin names, Phylum and Genus, and Phylum-specific information, including body symmetry, body plan, tissue layers, sensory and feeding structures, along with many other important aspects. The students also completed their notebooks to turn in. Everyone had to create ten pages of drawings and descriptions of some of the species we have found during our field work. Here are some of David's as examples of what we were all working on:

On Friday, the sleep-deprived and over-caffeinated BI 450 group took their first much awaited exam and lab practicum. It actually went great, and the day ended with some bitter-sweet goodbyes and “until next times” with Dr. Hacker and Vanessa.

Many students spent the weekend relaxing at home to recover from the intensity of the previous couple of days. Those who stayed at Hatfield spent Saturday volunteering at Hatfield’s Marine Science Day. It was SO incredibly fun! The whole research center, along with NOAA, Oregon Fish and Wildlife, and a few other organizations opened up countless exhibits throughout the whole center and invited the public to come and learn. The campus filled with curious community members and enthusiastic children. BI 450 students opened up our lab to share our marine invertebrate specimens and new knowledge  to visitors.

The day ended with a beautiful walk on the beach, ready and waiting for the beginning of our next section of classes, starting Monday: it’s time to learn about fish!

Cascade Head

On Friday, April 3, 2015, the students of Bi450 braved the rain for a wet but beautiful hike up to Cascade Head. North of Lincoln City, Cascade Head Preserve is home to a diversity of flora and fauna including the rare Oregon Silverspot butterfly and its host flower, the early blue violet.

While the majority of our hike was through wooded forest, the trails peak opened up to exposed panoramic meadows and views of the Salmon River estuary, the Oregon coast, and vast expanses of deep blue ocean.

Here is a photo of this year’s class at the top!

Spring 2015 - First Week at Hatfield

Week 1: Welcome and Marine Invertebrates 

Saturday April 4, 2015

By Kaitlin Lebon and Issie Corvi 

Last weekend, after much anticipation, the new set of BI 450 students settled into their new homes.  Our first day consisted of a Hatfield crash course, including tours, orientations, and our first official lecture.  With the basics under our belts, we waited eagerly for our field and lab work to begin. 

Boiler Bay

Vanessa, Ari, and David identifying invertebrates at Boiler Bay

                  Despite the tides not being completely in our favor, we were able to venture out into the intertidal zones of Boiler Bay to explore its populations of invertebrates.  The class eagerly delved into the task of collecting specimens to bring back to our lab for further investigation and identification.  A class favorite was a large red chiton, Cryptochiton stelleri, fondly known as the wandering meatloaf because of its size and mottled color. Other species that were found included the purple sea urchin (Stronglyocentrotus purpuratus), the aggregating anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima), and the kelp crab (Pugettia producta). 

Kat looking for Sipunculids in the roots of seagrass at Boiler Bay  

Kaitlin recording her findings at Boiler Bay

Later that evening we gathered in the dining hall to discuss Oregon geology and to become more acquainted with one another.  We also we treated to pie courtesy of our instructor, Sally Hacker. 

Tokatee Klootchman

A purple Pisaster ochraceus at Tokatee Klootchman 

                  Our second field excursion took us out to Tokatee Klootchman, a site just south of Cape Perpetua.  We continued our task of collecting various intertidal invertebrates.  This site was a favorite for many in the class.  As with past BI 450 classes, we quickly discovered and fell in love with the various species of colorful nudibranchs.  We were also pleased to find that there was a significant population of healthy looking sea stars—encouraging news in wake of the sea star wasting sickness that has been prevalent along the Oregon Coast.

In lecture we learned about sponges, anemones, corals, and jellies. 

The population density at Tokatee Klootchman was incredible - countless Mytilus californianus (mussles), Balanus glandula (acorn barnacle), and Pollicipes polymerus (gooseneck barnacle) (among others) occupied the intertidal. 

Mud Flats of Yaquina Bay

                  Thursday morning we ventured our early in the morning to the local mudflats.  With some last minute words of advice from our instructor Sally Hacker, we were knee deep in mud before we knew it.  Some of us were able to navigate the sticky depths of mud better than others, but in the end we were all able to discover various shrimps and worms to bring back with us. 

Later in lecture we were told about the various types of worms, many of which we had collected that day.

The class after collecting on the Yaquina Bay mud flats. 

Cascade Head

                  By Friday, our good fortune with the weather had ran out.  Our hike up to Cascade Head to view coastal headlands and estuaries was a wet one.  The trail on the way up was very slick and muddy.  Upon arriving at the top of the trail, we quickly took a group photo, and clambered back down to the vans to escape the adverse weather.  Although it would have been better to have had more favorable weather, it was still an enjoyable hike.