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My first dig in Arizona was basically just me and a tiny trowel
Back in 2018, I spent a whole week on my knees at a site near Tucson, scraping dirt with a 4-inch trowel. Now I use a total station and photogrammetry software on my tablet to map everything before I even touch the ground. The change happened after my professor saw my 'careful' hand-drawn grid and just started laughing. Who knew you could spend more time setting up tech than actually digging? Anyone else have a field method that got totally flipped on them?
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sanchez.kelly25d ago
Honestly, that hand drawn grid was probably teaching you more. All that tech setup feels like a way to avoid getting your hands dirty. I've seen people spend a whole day fighting software glitches and drone batteries just to map a single test unit. Sometimes the trowel and your own eyes are the best tools you've got. You can't feel a subtle change in soil texture through a tablet screen.
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