Well, I'm sitting at the airport, waiting to get on the plane. My flight ended up being delayed about two hours. It doesn't really bother me, though. I think my break made me a little homesick. I didn't realize how much I miss being here. I like just being around my parents. Sure, my area may be incredibly suburban and overdeveloped and the traffic is awful most of the time. But I love where I live. I've been here my whole life and I know the area like the back of my hand. It's the best. So ... yeah. The apron strings seem to work in both ways a bit, I've discovered. I miss everything already. I didn't even get to hang out with anyone besides Alan and my parents. My brother was working most of the time. But I just like existing there. Never has being in one's element felt more true.
That's really all I have to say. I think it might be time to get on the plane.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
"Home, home again. I like to be here when I can ..."
I'm home! I flew in on Saturday from Denver. It turns out that all of the homework I did on the bus schedules was for naught, but in a good way. On Friday, after work, the remainder of Earth 4 offered to let me and M Squared stay overnight at their house in Boulder and then get dropped off at the airport the next morning when they dropped off Jared, a member of their team. So it worked out well. I had to get up at 4:30 am (so I could have flown out much earlier, but oh well), and I had to wait an hour before I could check in and check my bag. But it's okay, it was free after all.
Right after my parents picked me up from the airport, we went to dinner at (where else?) Tortillas. Jenna, Jamie and Anna were working, and Roberto was in the kitchen so I got to say hi to the gang. I also got to sleep in my own bed on Saturday night. On Sunday, I woke up early and drove to Jersey to visit Surf. It was fun, I got to see a bunch of people and catch up a little. I also got hours for helping out while I was there, so that was nice. I was going to go anyway, it's cool that it could count toward something. I also got sunburned.
On Monday, I did a little grocery shopping and made some pasta salad to go with dinner. I went for a run and got my hair cut on Tuesday. What's the plan for today? Hm. I think we're going out to dinner. I did a bike ride, laundry and baked cookies today. Other than that, I've just been enjoying being home.
After the brief tease of a possible fire dispatch on Tuesday, we went to Open Spaces on Wednesday. Our project for the day was swamping at a state park trail. We swamped all day. We had to load stumps into a trailer and then move the rest close to the trail so that they could be loaded. We also fed the chipper all day. It was intense work, the hills were steep and the slash was heavy. Thankfully, there were nineteen of us so we could all help each other. Paul managed to find a lone antler among some of the slash, so that was cool.
On Thursday, it was cold and there was the potential for rain, so we took some drives with the Forest Service to different work centers in the area in order to become more familiar with the operations of the region. We also took a trip to a ranger station way up on Mount Squaw at about 11,400 feet. In order to get there, we drove up a trail with a bunch of switchbacks. Never before did we appreciate the use of ground guides. On the way back to our work center, we drove through a hail storm. Along the way, I got texts from my mom asking me if we had come across any tornados. When we got back, I saw on the news that tornados had touched down in Colorado. They weren't near us though.
During work on Friday I dropped my first tree. I cut the stump off and packed it in my suitcase to bring it home. It wasn't a bad cut, actually. Earth 4 and 5 were split up into small groups to weed out some beetle-kill trees at a campsite. Nick, one of the Forest Service guys, was in charge of me, Crystal, M Squared and Chris. Crystal actually got to take down two trees while M Squared and I both did one each. We then limbed and bucked them. More swamping, of course. It flurried on and off for a bit. After work, I loaded up into one of Earth 4's trucks and headed into Boulder.
And now I'm here. I am so glad to be home. I didn't realize how much I missed it. And it's mostly the little, familiar things that I really appreciate. I missed my dog and cats tons, I'm just glad to have them around. Spike has resumed sitting on my lap whenever I'm at my desk or on the couch. Gidget still doesn't like to be picked up. I've had to resist the urge to vacuum. I miss the way my house smells. I like being able to go to the fridge and just grab something. I love how everything is green and in bloom. It's great to have the windows open and breeze blowing in. The weather has been great, it's so gorgeous out. I really miss weather like this, I thrive in this kind of warmth. But mostly I just love seeing all the green with everything that has come back to life.
We're supposed to spend the day down the shore tomorrow. I'm definitely looking foward to that. I kind of had my seasons out of order this year with going to Texas in March. I went from snow to temperatures in the sixties and seventies and a beach half an hour away. Then I had to go back to Colorado, where it could and did still snow every now and then. I don't even need the beach, I'd just like for it to be a little warmer. Though I suppose I should be thankful that it has stayed cool because our uniforms are going to get pretty hot once things finally start warming up.
So yeah, I'm glad to be home. This break is way too short. But there will be another one. Time already flew up to this point. It's kind of weird to only have a little bit more than five months left.
Right after my parents picked me up from the airport, we went to dinner at (where else?) Tortillas. Jenna, Jamie and Anna were working, and Roberto was in the kitchen so I got to say hi to the gang. I also got to sleep in my own bed on Saturday night. On Sunday, I woke up early and drove to Jersey to visit Surf. It was fun, I got to see a bunch of people and catch up a little. I also got hours for helping out while I was there, so that was nice. I was going to go anyway, it's cool that it could count toward something. I also got sunburned.
On Monday, I did a little grocery shopping and made some pasta salad to go with dinner. I went for a run and got my hair cut on Tuesday. What's the plan for today? Hm. I think we're going out to dinner. I did a bike ride, laundry and baked cookies today. Other than that, I've just been enjoying being home.
After the brief tease of a possible fire dispatch on Tuesday, we went to Open Spaces on Wednesday. Our project for the day was swamping at a state park trail. We swamped all day. We had to load stumps into a trailer and then move the rest close to the trail so that they could be loaded. We also fed the chipper all day. It was intense work, the hills were steep and the slash was heavy. Thankfully, there were nineteen of us so we could all help each other. Paul managed to find a lone antler among some of the slash, so that was cool.
On Thursday, it was cold and there was the potential for rain, so we took some drives with the Forest Service to different work centers in the area in order to become more familiar with the operations of the region. We also took a trip to a ranger station way up on Mount Squaw at about 11,400 feet. In order to get there, we drove up a trail with a bunch of switchbacks. Never before did we appreciate the use of ground guides. On the way back to our work center, we drove through a hail storm. Along the way, I got texts from my mom asking me if we had come across any tornados. When we got back, I saw on the news that tornados had touched down in Colorado. They weren't near us though.
During work on Friday I dropped my first tree. I cut the stump off and packed it in my suitcase to bring it home. It wasn't a bad cut, actually. Earth 4 and 5 were split up into small groups to weed out some beetle-kill trees at a campsite. Nick, one of the Forest Service guys, was in charge of me, Crystal, M Squared and Chris. Crystal actually got to take down two trees while M Squared and I both did one each. We then limbed and bucked them. More swamping, of course. It flurried on and off for a bit. After work, I loaded up into one of Earth 4's trucks and headed into Boulder.
And now I'm here. I am so glad to be home. I didn't realize how much I missed it. And it's mostly the little, familiar things that I really appreciate. I missed my dog and cats tons, I'm just glad to have them around. Spike has resumed sitting on my lap whenever I'm at my desk or on the couch. Gidget still doesn't like to be picked up. I've had to resist the urge to vacuum. I miss the way my house smells. I like being able to go to the fridge and just grab something. I love how everything is green and in bloom. It's great to have the windows open and breeze blowing in. The weather has been great, it's so gorgeous out. I really miss weather like this, I thrive in this kind of warmth. But mostly I just love seeing all the green with everything that has come back to life.
We're supposed to spend the day down the shore tomorrow. I'm definitely looking foward to that. I kind of had my seasons out of order this year with going to Texas in March. I went from snow to temperatures in the sixties and seventies and a beach half an hour away. Then I had to go back to Colorado, where it could and did still snow every now and then. I don't even need the beach, I'd just like for it to be a little warmer. Though I suppose I should be thankful that it has stayed cool because our uniforms are going to get pretty hot once things finally start warming up.
So yeah, I'm glad to be home. This break is way too short. But there will be another one. Time already flew up to this point. It's kind of weird to only have a little bit more than five months left.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
What a tease ...
Jeeze, the past twenty-four hours have been a little crazy. It all started, well … let’s start with Saturday. Saturday was my last day on call. I was in Boulder for a good part of the day. I ate lunch at a little deli on the main mall and got online for a bit. After we got back from Boulder, I went down to a pub in Ned in order to buy my plane tickets. I’m officially going home for break. I’ll be taking a string of buses to the airport. My flight is at 10:55 am on Saturday. Weee!
On Sunday, we tried a Sam’s Club for grocery shopping. Lo and behold, we got a ton of food and we spent $317. Two dollars over budget. I guess we know where we’re getting our food from now on.
Yesterday was just spent at a campsite, bucking and chipping a bunch of felled trees. Around 10:00 pm last night, everyone had settled in for the night. I was texting someone on Keenan’s team, all of whom had recently gotten dispatched. They asked how things were going with us and I responded, "Things have been quiet here. Chainsaw trainings, swamping campsites, fireline drills … stuff like that." Not fifteen minutes later, Ervin grabbed Travis and John and sent them up to the bunkhouse because a call had come in for a fire. They left and then promptly returned, only to have just John go out again. Then I remember waking up at 11:30 … or, I suppose I remember being woken up at 11:30 by Adrienne. Everyone had to get dressed and get their gear, the whole team was being called in. John was already out on an engine scouting the fire. Earth 4 was already on their way to the work center from Boulder. Despite being really jittery from anxiety, I managed to get dressed and we all walked up to the work center and started the waiting game.
We waited around for about an hour with some of the Forest Service people and Earth 4. Finally, Chad told us that the fire, which was originally estimated to be about one to two acres, was more like an out of control campfire measuring 50x100 feet. So he told us to all go back to the bunkhouse and we’d leave at 8:30 am the next morning to mop up. So Earth 4 came back to our bunkhouse and slept in the living room. When we woke up the next morning, John was still out with the engine from the night before.
So we gathered up at the work center and eventually found out that there just wasn’t enough damage at the site for all of us to spend the day mopping up. So we weren’t going. We returned to our original plan for the day, which started with a PT hike. We hiked in our Nomax, with our packs on and tools. Everyone carried a chainsaw for a part of the hike as well. We hiked for about an hour. My pack weighs about 37 lbs. And when I say "hike," I mean "power hike." We purposely went faster than we would on a fireline hike. It was more to work out and, in doing it faster, a line hike won’t feel so challenging. Words fail me. Intense doesn’t begin to cover it.
After we finished the hike, we loaded up the trucks and went to check on some campsites that apparently had been the hosts of some high school parties the night before. So I guess they wanted to make sure that all of the campfires were out? I don’t know. After that, we went to a park to see what trees needed to be felled. We ate lunch around that time and then waited for a while to see what the plan was. The plan ended up taking us back to the work center because … well, I’m not sure why. There weren’t any trees to take down or they were B-level or something? Not sure. So that was the day. While we were hanging out back at the work center, John finally came back from his little adventure. We’re still hearing bits and pieces.
So yeah. My legs are killing me, but I’m surprisingly not very tired. My arms hurt a little too. But things are good. I’ll be honest, I hated the hike while I was on it, but I just kept going. I felt better about it after it was over.
Tomorrow will be a day with Open Spaces. I have a few things on my mind, things to do before leaving after work on Friday. I want to do my laundry, repack everything. Hm. I thought I had more to do. I guess that’s it. Oh! Bake a birthday cake for Levi and maybe Travis. Levi’s birthday is on Friday and Travis’s is on Monday, so I’ll be missing them. But I can bake the cake tomorrow and have it for Thursday’s dinner. That should be fun and that way all the teammates going on first break will still be able to celebrate with them.
On Sunday, we tried a Sam’s Club for grocery shopping. Lo and behold, we got a ton of food and we spent $317. Two dollars over budget. I guess we know where we’re getting our food from now on.
Yesterday was just spent at a campsite, bucking and chipping a bunch of felled trees. Around 10:00 pm last night, everyone had settled in for the night. I was texting someone on Keenan’s team, all of whom had recently gotten dispatched. They asked how things were going with us and I responded, "Things have been quiet here. Chainsaw trainings, swamping campsites, fireline drills … stuff like that." Not fifteen minutes later, Ervin grabbed Travis and John and sent them up to the bunkhouse because a call had come in for a fire. They left and then promptly returned, only to have just John go out again. Then I remember waking up at 11:30 … or, I suppose I remember being woken up at 11:30 by Adrienne. Everyone had to get dressed and get their gear, the whole team was being called in. John was already out on an engine scouting the fire. Earth 4 was already on their way to the work center from Boulder. Despite being really jittery from anxiety, I managed to get dressed and we all walked up to the work center and started the waiting game.
We waited around for about an hour with some of the Forest Service people and Earth 4. Finally, Chad told us that the fire, which was originally estimated to be about one to two acres, was more like an out of control campfire measuring 50x100 feet. So he told us to all go back to the bunkhouse and we’d leave at 8:30 am the next morning to mop up. So Earth 4 came back to our bunkhouse and slept in the living room. When we woke up the next morning, John was still out with the engine from the night before.
So we gathered up at the work center and eventually found out that there just wasn’t enough damage at the site for all of us to spend the day mopping up. So we weren’t going. We returned to our original plan for the day, which started with a PT hike. We hiked in our Nomax, with our packs on and tools. Everyone carried a chainsaw for a part of the hike as well. We hiked for about an hour. My pack weighs about 37 lbs. And when I say "hike," I mean "power hike." We purposely went faster than we would on a fireline hike. It was more to work out and, in doing it faster, a line hike won’t feel so challenging. Words fail me. Intense doesn’t begin to cover it.
After we finished the hike, we loaded up the trucks and went to check on some campsites that apparently had been the hosts of some high school parties the night before. So I guess they wanted to make sure that all of the campfires were out? I don’t know. After that, we went to a park to see what trees needed to be felled. We ate lunch around that time and then waited for a while to see what the plan was. The plan ended up taking us back to the work center because … well, I’m not sure why. There weren’t any trees to take down or they were B-level or something? Not sure. So that was the day. While we were hanging out back at the work center, John finally came back from his little adventure. We’re still hearing bits and pieces.
So yeah. My legs are killing me, but I’m surprisingly not very tired. My arms hurt a little too. But things are good. I’ll be honest, I hated the hike while I was on it, but I just kept going. I felt better about it after it was over.
Tomorrow will be a day with Open Spaces. I have a few things on my mind, things to do before leaving after work on Friday. I want to do my laundry, repack everything. Hm. I thought I had more to do. I guess that’s it. Oh! Bake a birthday cake for Levi and maybe Travis. Levi’s birthday is on Friday and Travis’s is on Monday, so I’ll be missing them. But I can bake the cake tomorrow and have it for Thursday’s dinner. That should be fun and that way all the teammates going on first break will still be able to celebrate with them.
Friday, May 16, 2008
The Real Pack Test
Believe it or not, I’m sitting in a bar right now. Every business in Nederland, it seems, has wifi. Even the bars. And then, when we were here for Frozen Dead Guy Festival, I heard that even the coffee shops serve beer. Heh.
Today was our official field day. I know that I said we had one last week, but today was the one that we were supposed to have back in March. We treated today like a real fire, it was essentially a drill. So we gathered up around 8:30 and got "briefed" on the fire situation we had facing us. We skipped PT and went right to the area where we were going to dig line. It was about a forty-five minute drive from the work center. We were actually digging line for a purpose, though – there’s a prescribed burn planned for that area on Sunday.
So anyway, we got out of the trucks, briefed again on our plan of attack and we started digging. We had been split up into three separate squads, but we all started out digging the line together. To dig a line means to dig up the ground until you reach mineral soil, something that won’t burn. We used a variety of tools, all of which you should google because I’m not going to explain them. I used a scraper and a Pulaski before lunch. After lunch I was on a combi for the rest of the line we dug. We started the line up hill and then went across the hill, moving the dirt up the hill. Then we went down on the other side. Going down was actually just as difficult as going up because you had to watch your footing even more. After that, the squads broke up and cleared the green from the area that is going to be burned (the "black"). This means that we took a lot of the still-green slash (branches, limbs, etc) out of the black and moved it to the "green" (the area that will remain unburned). At one point, Chad circled us up and reminded us that, should we run a fire-shelter deployment drill, don’t actually deploy your real fire shelter. I had a feeling he was telling us this for a reason, so I was just waiting for it to happen.
They kept calling out fake weather reports and fire behavior changes over the radio all day. Emily was about to have us "grid out" an area (sweep it in a line like a search party) to check for hot spots (spots where the ground is still smoldering) but we were called on the radio to meet up with another squad and pretend to dig a line around some spot fires that had cropped up. That brought us right up to lunch time. We broke for lunch where we were on the hill and it was nice to get the packs off. I found out a few days ago that my pack weighs about thirty-seven pounds. I have no idea how it could be so heavy. I think it’s the MREs and the batteries that add the extra weight. We have to have six quarts of water in the pack, which makes for a lot of the weight. But it didn’t feel this heavy before. Oh well. Once I got the pack off, my back stopped hurting. And it wasn’t so bad for most of the day. My shoulders seemed to take the brunt of it, which I prefer to having my lower back carry it all. So it’s fine (for now, heh … today was just Day 1).
Anyway, after lunch Chad (our main supervisor) circled us up and told us that the groups who are doing the burn on Sunday were hesitant about the lines we had dug. They were good, but he said that they wanted a line down the middle, just in case they didn’t want to burn it all right away. So we dug another line uphill. I was toward the end of the line and, by the time I got up the hill, I was the last person because the people behind me had stayed down at the bottom for some reason. Once I made it to the top, the decision was made to head back down and improve the line, to get all of the "duff" out of it (the small burnable material like pine needles and dead grass).
So we were about halfway back down the hill when they called for us to just stop what we were doing and get down the hill. The fire behavior was apparently beyond our control so we had to head to our escape route. We had only gone a few yards when they called for RTO, Reverse Tool Order – aka, turn around. Our escape route had been "cut off" and we had to run to our deployment site. So the order was called to drop packs, meaning take our line gear off. When you have to do a fire shelter deployment, you take your fire shelter out of your pack, a bottle of water and your tool and you just go, you leave everything else. So everyone was scrambling to grab everything we needed. Running with all of that is pretty awkward, I dropped my shelter once and my water bottle twice. We ran about a quarter of a mile and then Chad pointed to where our deployment site was. People were already lying down in the grass, so I joined them. It was pretty exhilarating. We treated it like a real deployment, talking to each other to make sure everyone was accounted for. We had lost two people – they had been held back as a test to make sure we were all paying attention to our numbers. Everyone also had to hold up their shelter, water and tool to prove they had it.
After that was all over, we walked back to where we dropped our packs and repacked our things. Then we loaded up and headed back to the trucks where we sharpened tools for a while. We did an AAR (After Action Report … the government sure loves their acronyms), where we circled up and discussed what happened that day, and then headed back to the work center.
It was a great day. I’m not gonna lie, it was rough. Digging line tires you out real quick and there isn’t much chance for recovery, you just have to keep going. Everyone was huffing and puffing, which made me feel a bit better about my own shortness of breath. And the fact that I'm a klutz really seems to come through in this line of work. The packs don’t help, but I know I’ll get used to it. My feet feel decent, surprisingly. Everyone was warning us about how today was going to prove that our boots weren’t broken in but I think I’ll be okay. I don’t have any blisters and I didn’t really feel any sustained hot spots. The ankle bracelet that I made will have to come off, though. It’s sad, but I can’t wear it with a boot that laces halfway up my calf. What I noticed more was that my sports bra straps had started to irritate me after a while because of all the pressure from the pack. I think I may have to find sports bras with wider straps or something. We’ll see how it goes the next time.
Today was definitely challenging, but I don’t think I questioned it. I just tried to keep going. My ability to stay positive has actually surprised me in the past few months. Even when things get crappy, I’m still not reconsidering my commitment to NCCC, which is good. I think Surf taught me that; after three seasons, I came to realize that even on my worst days, there’s no where else I’d rather be than on a field in the middle of who-knows-where, getting yelled at by Matt Hurley. I think the same goes for wildfire. At the end of all of this, I’ll look back and see how far I’ve come and how glad I am that I stuck it out.
Today was our official field day. I know that I said we had one last week, but today was the one that we were supposed to have back in March. We treated today like a real fire, it was essentially a drill. So we gathered up around 8:30 and got "briefed" on the fire situation we had facing us. We skipped PT and went right to the area where we were going to dig line. It was about a forty-five minute drive from the work center. We were actually digging line for a purpose, though – there’s a prescribed burn planned for that area on Sunday.
So anyway, we got out of the trucks, briefed again on our plan of attack and we started digging. We had been split up into three separate squads, but we all started out digging the line together. To dig a line means to dig up the ground until you reach mineral soil, something that won’t burn. We used a variety of tools, all of which you should google because I’m not going to explain them. I used a scraper and a Pulaski before lunch. After lunch I was on a combi for the rest of the line we dug. We started the line up hill and then went across the hill, moving the dirt up the hill. Then we went down on the other side. Going down was actually just as difficult as going up because you had to watch your footing even more. After that, the squads broke up and cleared the green from the area that is going to be burned (the "black"). This means that we took a lot of the still-green slash (branches, limbs, etc) out of the black and moved it to the "green" (the area that will remain unburned). At one point, Chad circled us up and reminded us that, should we run a fire-shelter deployment drill, don’t actually deploy your real fire shelter. I had a feeling he was telling us this for a reason, so I was just waiting for it to happen.
They kept calling out fake weather reports and fire behavior changes over the radio all day. Emily was about to have us "grid out" an area (sweep it in a line like a search party) to check for hot spots (spots where the ground is still smoldering) but we were called on the radio to meet up with another squad and pretend to dig a line around some spot fires that had cropped up. That brought us right up to lunch time. We broke for lunch where we were on the hill and it was nice to get the packs off. I found out a few days ago that my pack weighs about thirty-seven pounds. I have no idea how it could be so heavy. I think it’s the MREs and the batteries that add the extra weight. We have to have six quarts of water in the pack, which makes for a lot of the weight. But it didn’t feel this heavy before. Oh well. Once I got the pack off, my back stopped hurting. And it wasn’t so bad for most of the day. My shoulders seemed to take the brunt of it, which I prefer to having my lower back carry it all. So it’s fine (for now, heh … today was just Day 1).
Anyway, after lunch Chad (our main supervisor) circled us up and told us that the groups who are doing the burn on Sunday were hesitant about the lines we had dug. They were good, but he said that they wanted a line down the middle, just in case they didn’t want to burn it all right away. So we dug another line uphill. I was toward the end of the line and, by the time I got up the hill, I was the last person because the people behind me had stayed down at the bottom for some reason. Once I made it to the top, the decision was made to head back down and improve the line, to get all of the "duff" out of it (the small burnable material like pine needles and dead grass).
So we were about halfway back down the hill when they called for us to just stop what we were doing and get down the hill. The fire behavior was apparently beyond our control so we had to head to our escape route. We had only gone a few yards when they called for RTO, Reverse Tool Order – aka, turn around. Our escape route had been "cut off" and we had to run to our deployment site. So the order was called to drop packs, meaning take our line gear off. When you have to do a fire shelter deployment, you take your fire shelter out of your pack, a bottle of water and your tool and you just go, you leave everything else. So everyone was scrambling to grab everything we needed. Running with all of that is pretty awkward, I dropped my shelter once and my water bottle twice. We ran about a quarter of a mile and then Chad pointed to where our deployment site was. People were already lying down in the grass, so I joined them. It was pretty exhilarating. We treated it like a real deployment, talking to each other to make sure everyone was accounted for. We had lost two people – they had been held back as a test to make sure we were all paying attention to our numbers. Everyone also had to hold up their shelter, water and tool to prove they had it.
After that was all over, we walked back to where we dropped our packs and repacked our things. Then we loaded up and headed back to the trucks where we sharpened tools for a while. We did an AAR (After Action Report … the government sure loves their acronyms), where we circled up and discussed what happened that day, and then headed back to the work center.
It was a great day. I’m not gonna lie, it was rough. Digging line tires you out real quick and there isn’t much chance for recovery, you just have to keep going. Everyone was huffing and puffing, which made me feel a bit better about my own shortness of breath. And the fact that I'm a klutz really seems to come through in this line of work. The packs don’t help, but I know I’ll get used to it. My feet feel decent, surprisingly. Everyone was warning us about how today was going to prove that our boots weren’t broken in but I think I’ll be okay. I don’t have any blisters and I didn’t really feel any sustained hot spots. The ankle bracelet that I made will have to come off, though. It’s sad, but I can’t wear it with a boot that laces halfway up my calf. What I noticed more was that my sports bra straps had started to irritate me after a while because of all the pressure from the pack. I think I may have to find sports bras with wider straps or something. We’ll see how it goes the next time.
Today was definitely challenging, but I don’t think I questioned it. I just tried to keep going. My ability to stay positive has actually surprised me in the past few months. Even when things get crappy, I’m still not reconsidering my commitment to NCCC, which is good. I think Surf taught me that; after three seasons, I came to realize that even on my worst days, there’s no where else I’d rather be than on a field in the middle of who-knows-where, getting yelled at by Matt Hurley. I think the same goes for wildfire. At the end of all of this, I’ll look back and see how far I’ve come and how glad I am that I stuck it out.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Field Trips!
We had our first field day on Friday. We divided both teams up into smaller groups and each went off with an instructor to start applying what we learned over the previous two days. My group went with Emily, who happens to be Ervin’s older sister. She felled a tree and then we practiced limbing and bucking. Felling or falling a tree is essentially cutting it down. Limbing is when you remove the braches and bucking is when you cut the trunk into smaller pieces that can be carried away. So we did that for one tree, and Emily had us size up another tree. Then she hung a tree by accident, so we had to get some extra help from some other instructors to try and bring it down. It was a mistake and miscalculation on Emily’s part, but it was also a really good learning experience to see how to deal with situations like that. So it wasn’t really a problem. It did take up a little of our field time. Adrienne was the only one who got to fall a tree with the time that we had left. But that’s okay. It was cool to see her in action. The rest of us at least had a chance to practice our cuts on stumps. Mine was pretty awful. Well, Emily said it wasn’t that bad. My face cut was decent for a first try, but when I came in with my back cut, I was way too low and I ended up cutting underneath my face cut. Whoops. Oh well. Now I know what not to do.
On Saturday, the team joined Earth 4 at UC Boulder to help out with an MS walk for an ISP. After that, some of us stayed in Boulder and walked around for a bit, got lunch, etc. I wandered into a leftist co-op bookstore at one point and it was pretty cool. I want to go back and get a few things that looked like they would make interesting reads.
On Sunday, the team gathered up and drove back to Denver. We spent Monday at Red Rocks to help kick off AmeriCorps Week with the other wildfire teams, the local team and some AmeriCorps VISTA and state/local members. We spent the day pulling out two invasive species from the fields around Red Rocks and getting sunburned. After lunch, there was a ceremony to honor some CCC alumni, as well as some AmeriCorps alumni and members. Keenan, the one wildfire TL, was among the group. They had the comedian Josh Blue as entertainment.
After all that, we went grocery shopping and then headed back to the bunkhouse. This week was better food-wise, but we also went about $120 over budget. Apparently, though, we’re not the only wildfire team having an issue with the cost of food. So I guess we’ll see what happens.
On Tuesday morning, we awoke to six inches of snow on the ground and more falling. We did PT in the weight room that day, something called House of Pain. You take a deck of cards and flip through them, each card representing a different exercise. So all Jacks were twenty crunches, all 2s were wall-sits for 30 seconds, etc. It was interesting. Because there was snow everywhere, we couldn’t work outside. So we spent the whole day doing JHAs – Job Hazard Analysis paperwork. It was really boring. JHAs are basically forms that you have to read and sign concerning any and every little job hazard that could possibly exist. Working for the Forest Service presents a few obvious ones that wouldn’t ordinarily exist in normal jobs. However, there was one JHA that explained hazards of office work and how to remedy or prevent things like paper cuts, strained eyes and sitting too long. Really terrible.
Today was a little different. Apparently for this round, on Wednesdays we’ll be working with Open Spaces in Boulder. They’re an organization that preserves … well … open space in Boulder. Today, we went to an area near a park and cleared brush that was obscuring a fence, pulled old fence posts and cleaned up garbage.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the work center. Not sure if we’ll have another field day. The snow has melted some. We’ll see.
On Saturday, the team joined Earth 4 at UC Boulder to help out with an MS walk for an ISP. After that, some of us stayed in Boulder and walked around for a bit, got lunch, etc. I wandered into a leftist co-op bookstore at one point and it was pretty cool. I want to go back and get a few things that looked like they would make interesting reads.
On Sunday, the team gathered up and drove back to Denver. We spent Monday at Red Rocks to help kick off AmeriCorps Week with the other wildfire teams, the local team and some AmeriCorps VISTA and state/local members. We spent the day pulling out two invasive species from the fields around Red Rocks and getting sunburned. After lunch, there was a ceremony to honor some CCC alumni, as well as some AmeriCorps alumni and members. Keenan, the one wildfire TL, was among the group. They had the comedian Josh Blue as entertainment.
After all that, we went grocery shopping and then headed back to the bunkhouse. This week was better food-wise, but we also went about $120 over budget. Apparently, though, we’re not the only wildfire team having an issue with the cost of food. So I guess we’ll see what happens.
On Tuesday morning, we awoke to six inches of snow on the ground and more falling. We did PT in the weight room that day, something called House of Pain. You take a deck of cards and flip through them, each card representing a different exercise. So all Jacks were twenty crunches, all 2s were wall-sits for 30 seconds, etc. It was interesting. Because there was snow everywhere, we couldn’t work outside. So we spent the whole day doing JHAs – Job Hazard Analysis paperwork. It was really boring. JHAs are basically forms that you have to read and sign concerning any and every little job hazard that could possibly exist. Working for the Forest Service presents a few obvious ones that wouldn’t ordinarily exist in normal jobs. However, there was one JHA that explained hazards of office work and how to remedy or prevent things like paper cuts, strained eyes and sitting too long. Really terrible.
Today was a little different. Apparently for this round, on Wednesdays we’ll be working with Open Spaces in Boulder. They’re an organization that preserves … well … open space in Boulder. Today, we went to an area near a park and cleared brush that was obscuring a fence, pulled old fence posts and cleaned up garbage.
Tomorrow, it’s back to the work center. Not sure if we’ll have another field day. The snow has melted some. We’ll see.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Rrrrrrrr!
Wooo!! Chainsaws! So after some abridged PT this morning (allegedly – that run seemed just as long as it was yesterday and I sucked today), we spent the first half of the day in a class on chainsaws. Our packet for the class is about an inch thick, it’s crazy. I could not stay awake either, it was awful. I’ve been getting plenty of sleep but I just want to conk out every five seconds sitting in the work center. And there was so much information. I feel like I can’t remember any of it. Well, I remember some of the most important parts like don’t use the chainsaw over your head, make sure to look for overhead hazards, clear the area, have a safe zone, watch your kerf while cutting … but there was so much more than that. After lunch, we spent a little more time talking and then we got to play around with some actual professional chainsaws. All of the chainsaws have names – Sasha, Otis, FSU, Monique, Mr. Orange, Tyler Durden. No one was allowed to take Tyler Durden. I seem to recall Ervin telling me something about that particular chainsaw but it escapes me now. I took Otis, which I found out was Ervin’s chainsaw last year.
So we each got to take the bar apart, see all the vitals, take out the air filter, take out off the flywheel cover. It was pretty cool, I enjoyed that far more than sitting around. I remember a lot more too, but then I’m a visual person. Then we got to start chainsaws and see what they felt like. I went to start mine and it just would not go. I kept yanking on the cord and I got nothing. Ervin was egging me on and I finally just gave in and told him to do it. Well, it wasn’t just me – it was flooded. So Ervin and one of the Forest Service guys had to work at it for a while. Eventually, they got it started but they found out that the idle needed to be fixed because it would just cut off after you started it unless your finger was on the trigger. So we learned two methods to starting a chainsaw. I finally got it started on my turn. It felt pretty cool. They’re heavy, but they’re not as heavy as I thought they would be.
After work, we found out how the break situation is gonna work. Half of the teams are going to take break during the scheduled AmeriCorps break, which is June 27th to July 6th. The other half would take a break from May 23rd to 31st, pending Kevin’s approval. I’m currently in the May break group, but I might be able to switch to the June/July break. We’ll see. I feel like the May break is poor scheduling. It’s so last minute. We would find out if the May break is official on Tuesday, which would give me roughly a week to buy tickets and arrange transportation. Meanwhile, the June/July people have more time to figure out how to get home, what tickets to buy, etc. I dunno, we’ll see what happens. I might end up being able to switch with someone and go home in June. I’d like that because it would give my mom a chance to take off from work for the time that I would be home.
Meanwhile, this morning is the second morning that my MP3 player hasn’t worked, so I’ve had to run without music. Boo. I need a rhythm. I can run without it, but I’m gonna call Sandisk’s tech support and see if I can fix it. I really enjoy running with a tempo, with instrumental and lyrical motivation.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Be careful what you wish for ...
Well, this morning was a change. I woke up around 7:00 am to give myself a little time to eat breakfast and get ready without rushing. We reported to the work center a 8:30 to begin with PT. We ended up having to wait around until 9:00 am for the other team to show up. They commute from Boulder, so it’s hard to say whether it was traffic or a miscommunication about report time. Anyway, once they got there, Chad (one of our Forest Service supervisors) led us on a run, about two miles. It was mostly uphill, about 65% trails and 35% road. The weather was nice, sunny and a bit cool. I was usually trailing behind the front group in the pack but I was most focused on maintaining a steady pace for the entire run.
After the run, we circled back up at the work center and did a bunch of calisthenics from the Navy Seal work out. We did a lot of push-ups and crunches. We also did a variety of pull-ups. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who needed a spotter to hold my feet and give me a bit of a boost on the pull-up bar. I have only ever successfully done one pull-up in my entire life. So one of my goals is to definitely be able to do a series of pull-ups without a spotter.
After PT was done, we changed into our uniform and gathered up to take an inane exam on NIMS, the National Incident Management System, a bunch of hierarchical guidelines put into place after 9/11 for disaster response and so forth. So dumb. So we took the exam, and then sat around for a while and talked some more about policies and what we can expect. It was kind of a slow day today and we got out early again. Tomorrow, we have a class on chain saws and … other things that I can’t remember right now.
So after we arrived yesterday, we unloaded our stuff and settled in a bit. Earth 4, the team we’ll be working with (that is living where we were supposed to be in Boulder), met us there and we got issued some extra gear that we didn’t have. As an ATL, I get the added privilege of carrying an extra box of batteries and some flagging tape. Work finished early because we didn’t have a whole lot other than going over some logistics. So we came back to the bunkhouse and got more comfortable.
I went grocery shopping right after work and it was really a slap in the face. The cost of living in Colorado is much higher than where we were living in Texas, and the cost of living in Boulder is even higher than in Denver. So, even at a Safeway supermarket where I could use my mom’s phone number to get the club card deals, and even with the tax exemption, we were still about $30 over the weekly food budget. It sucked. And I know that I didn’t buy nearly as much food as I did in Texas. I keep trying to remind myself that the first week is always tough because you have to buy everything, there’s no food base. But still … I think we’re going to have to find another option. We’re going to be eating a whole lot more than we normally do just because of the work we’ll be doing and how much more our bodies will need. I know I can only work with what I’m given and no one on my team is going to starve. But I don’t like knowing that people won’t be full. I guess we’ll see what happens next week. The plan might be to go shopping at a Wal-Mart supercenter in Denver while we’re there from Sunday into Monday for the kick off of AmeriCorps Week. Unfortunately, even if we save money there it won’t matter – the budget doesn’t roll over. We get $315 for ten people every week, regardless of how much we’ve spent the previous week. It’s a big pain, especially when we could use the extra. We saved a ton of money while we were on our first spike in Texas. But ultimately, we saved AmeriCorps money as an organization. We don’t get to be frugal only to splurge later. It’s annoying.
Once we got back from the grocery store, everyone unloaded the groceries while I got to unpack my stuff and settle into my room. I’m pretty organized, there’s room for just about everything. Living in the bunkhouse for seven weeks should be pretty comfy.
So after work today, a few of us went into town for about an hour. I went to the library to get online and do a little Googling, check my email. The Nederland public library is a little big bigger than a Subway. I’m not kidding. But it has free wifi, so that’s really all that matters. I need to take some pictures of around the bunkhouse, work center and Ned. It’s beautiful. Every time I turn around the view just seems too good to be true. How can sights like this exist?
Okay, I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. Got another long day tomorrow.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
In Transition
So here we are, the night before our second round starts. We got back to Denver on Wednesday afternoon. Only a few people ended up going to the Rockies game. I was one of those who decided to stay on campus. I was tired! I took my time unpacking and settling in. Nikki and I walked to a Tokyo Joe’s in Englewood for dinner. That was a treat, I hadn’t had sushi in a long time.
It was a little strange at first to regroup. There was a steady stream of returning teams throughout Wednesday and Thursday. I kind of felt a little aloof and removed at first. People I knew were returning but I didn’t feel an immediate draw to see anyone. I think I really felt the absence of my team – we had gone from spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together to not knowing where or what each of them was doing at any given time. It was odd. I also missed the presence of Wolf 4; during our last night together, someone made the point that our two teams had probably gotten to know each other better than anyone we had met during CTI. Both CTI and our first rounds were both about four weeks long, but our two teams had spent much more time together. So yeah, the return was a little strange for me at first, especially since most of my team was excited to see other Denver people and I was just kind of there. The week gradually got better, though. I fell back into place and got to hang out with people I hadn’t seen since CTI. I also got to spend time with people whom I hadn’t even had the chance to meet during CTI.
Ervin told us that transition weeks were designed to allow teams to decompress, but that wasn’t really the case with me. There were a few times where I had some moments to myself. But I had to go to ATL (Assistant Team Leader … yes, I’m an ATL now) and Peer Helper trainings. Bleh. Oh well. I’m not gonna lie, I used the time to make a ton of friendship bracelets.
Speaking of … I’m going to take this moment to ask for some help. When I was younger, I made friendship bracelets like a machine. I could do all sorts of patterns, too – stripes, zig zags, diamonds. But every single stripe bracelet I’ve started lately has turned out the same way: it curls up as soon as I get a few rows done. I’ve tried tightening the knots, loosening them … nothing seems to remedy the curling. If anyone knows the secret, I’d be forever thankful.
In other news, we found out at the project briefing for our second round where we’ll be living for this wildfire spike. Well … sort of. At our briefing, we were told that our team would be living in Boulder and commuting to the work center in Nederland. The house sounded pretty sweet … until we found out two days later that plans had changed and now we’re going to actually be living at the work center in Ned (technically, it’s about a two mile walk from the actual town). The work center has bunkhouses for the seasonal Forest Service firefighters. Apparently we managed to arrange to have one just for our team. It’s got five bedrooms, each with two beds and its own bathroom. There are two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two stoves, two washers and two dryers. There’s satellite tv and big couches. I’m pretty excited, that will be a sweet retreat at the end of the workday. And it will be nice to not have to wake up extra early to commute to work. I will probably roll out of bed on more than one occasion for this next round. The only drawbacks are no cell service (so I’ve heard) and the closest access to internet is two miles down into town to the public library. But the bunkhouse has a landline and I have a calling card. Besides, during CTI I spent every Sunday walking down to Mile High Café in Englewood. So I’m used to walking for my email at this point.
Another perk is that we’ll be getting our “red cards,” which apparently prove that we’re wildland firefighters and give us free public transportation. Buses run from Ned to Boulder and from Boulder to Denver all the time, so that will be great as well. I’ll definitely put that to use, I really want to explore Boulder!
So that’s it. I should probably get to bed, tomorrow’s a big day. We’re going to wake up early, eat breakfast, drive to the work center, drop our stuff off at the bunkhouse and then get to work. I think we’re supposed to have a field day tomorrow so it’ll be a little different than a normal workday. After work is over, I get to go down to Boulder to go grocery shopping for the week (*cue apathetic “woo!”*) and then hopefully unpack. I’m not sure how I feel, I don’t think the reality of what I’ll be doing has set in yet. My red bag is packed and ready for dispatch. My line bag is as packed as it can be without all of the stuff they’ll assign for us. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m not, at least not yet. I’m not really jumping-jacks excited either, though. But it’ll probably kick in tomorrow. We’ll see. I think I’m just ready to get into it. I know I’ll make mistakes and I know that I’ll forget things more often than I’ll remember them at first. But I really just wanna have someone kick my butt into gear, I miss having my boundaries pushed.
It was a little strange at first to regroup. There was a steady stream of returning teams throughout Wednesday and Thursday. I kind of felt a little aloof and removed at first. People I knew were returning but I didn’t feel an immediate draw to see anyone. I think I really felt the absence of my team – we had gone from spending every waking (and sleeping) moment together to not knowing where or what each of them was doing at any given time. It was odd. I also missed the presence of Wolf 4; during our last night together, someone made the point that our two teams had probably gotten to know each other better than anyone we had met during CTI. Both CTI and our first rounds were both about four weeks long, but our two teams had spent much more time together. So yeah, the return was a little strange for me at first, especially since most of my team was excited to see other Denver people and I was just kind of there. The week gradually got better, though. I fell back into place and got to hang out with people I hadn’t seen since CTI. I also got to spend time with people whom I hadn’t even had the chance to meet during CTI.
Ervin told us that transition weeks were designed to allow teams to decompress, but that wasn’t really the case with me. There were a few times where I had some moments to myself. But I had to go to ATL (Assistant Team Leader … yes, I’m an ATL now) and Peer Helper trainings. Bleh. Oh well. I’m not gonna lie, I used the time to make a ton of friendship bracelets.
Speaking of … I’m going to take this moment to ask for some help. When I was younger, I made friendship bracelets like a machine. I could do all sorts of patterns, too – stripes, zig zags, diamonds. But every single stripe bracelet I’ve started lately has turned out the same way: it curls up as soon as I get a few rows done. I’ve tried tightening the knots, loosening them … nothing seems to remedy the curling. If anyone knows the secret, I’d be forever thankful.
In other news, we found out at the project briefing for our second round where we’ll be living for this wildfire spike. Well … sort of. At our briefing, we were told that our team would be living in Boulder and commuting to the work center in Nederland. The house sounded pretty sweet … until we found out two days later that plans had changed and now we’re going to actually be living at the work center in Ned (technically, it’s about a two mile walk from the actual town). The work center has bunkhouses for the seasonal Forest Service firefighters. Apparently we managed to arrange to have one just for our team. It’s got five bedrooms, each with two beds and its own bathroom. There are two refrigerators, two dishwashers, two stoves, two washers and two dryers. There’s satellite tv and big couches. I’m pretty excited, that will be a sweet retreat at the end of the workday. And it will be nice to not have to wake up extra early to commute to work. I will probably roll out of bed on more than one occasion for this next round. The only drawbacks are no cell service (so I’ve heard) and the closest access to internet is two miles down into town to the public library. But the bunkhouse has a landline and I have a calling card. Besides, during CTI I spent every Sunday walking down to Mile High Café in Englewood. So I’m used to walking for my email at this point.
Another perk is that we’ll be getting our “red cards,” which apparently prove that we’re wildland firefighters and give us free public transportation. Buses run from Ned to Boulder and from Boulder to Denver all the time, so that will be great as well. I’ll definitely put that to use, I really want to explore Boulder!
So that’s it. I should probably get to bed, tomorrow’s a big day. We’re going to wake up early, eat breakfast, drive to the work center, drop our stuff off at the bunkhouse and then get to work. I think we’re supposed to have a field day tomorrow so it’ll be a little different than a normal workday. After work is over, I get to go down to Boulder to go grocery shopping for the week (*cue apathetic “woo!”*) and then hopefully unpack. I’m not sure how I feel, I don’t think the reality of what I’ll be doing has set in yet. My red bag is packed and ready for dispatch. My line bag is as packed as it can be without all of the stuff they’ll assign for us. I feel like I should be nervous, but I’m not, at least not yet. I’m not really jumping-jacks excited either, though. But it’ll probably kick in tomorrow. We’ll see. I think I’m just ready to get into it. I know I’ll make mistakes and I know that I’ll forget things more often than I’ll remember them at first. But I really just wanna have someone kick my butt into gear, I miss having my boundaries pushed.
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