SOOOO the results are in!!! Came in 2nd in the cooking contest last weekend...so jipped :/ but we did win candy bars. whooopppeeeee.... haha I'm not bitter or anything. AND I passed the employee drug test. We ended up having to get them done because of insurance purposes or something and I guess because the other saw crews had to get tested it had to be fair or something. We all passed though, so no harm done I suppose besides wasting a Friday afternoon.
Rendezvous was fun. Basically just chilled out at the lake..met some cool people from other crews... ate a lot of yummy dutch-oven food from the cook-off...and enjoyed some great talents around the campfire. Then there was the Pube Bomb... You may ask yourself, what exactly is a Pube Bomb?? Well the idea originated on the way back from a sunset hike in Buff Pass. How could we make our mark at the talent show?? What's something that would really grind some gears, but not have to potential to harm?? What's gross that we have a lot of?? Naturally, pubes came to mind (not my mind). Now the smell of burned hair is quite atrocious, but add the sweat and frumundacheese that happens to accumulate in the pubic area and that's a whole other story. The plan was to have the crew shave their pubes and collect them all into a paper bag and then throw it on the fire at Rendezvous, creating a memorable conclusion to an otherwise relatively wholesome campfire.
Although I did not personally contribute, most of my fellow crew members,along with the other Saw Crew, did. Needless to say, there was quite a pile. The delivery was carried out by my delightful 6' 7" dreaded friend Skeeter. Upon the apparent closure of the talent show/campfire, he raised his hand, signalling one final act. As he rose to his feet and approached the fire, he nonchalantly asked the audience if they had ever heard of a Pube Bomb...naturally, no one answered because that's RIDICULOUS!! As they sat in bewilderment, he simply tossed the tiny bag of wonders atop the flame. 10 seconds passed... then the smell. Those downwind were the first to witness the horrifying smell (myself included). People started to clear out of the circle whilst shouts of SAW CREW IS VICTORIOUS and TALENT SHOW WINNER echoed over the lake. It was definitely a success, reinforced by the talk around the water cooler the next morning. We made our mark for sure.
This past week was our last week at Independence Mountain, where we've been living for the past 5 weeks. We finished our thinning project on Monday and felled trees for the rest of the week. I'm definitely feeling more comfortable with a 40 foot tree looming overehead than I was earlier in the season.
Now we move to our new worksite/home for the final 2 weeks of work. It's right near where Rendezvous was at a place called Pearl Lake, which is about an hour outside of Steamboat Springs. We are hopefully going to be felling hazard trees and maybe planting baby trees for our final projects. Then, we are going to breakup the work weeks with a 4 day backpacking trip in Medicine Bow National Forest. I've had a blast this summer, and can't believe the season is practically over. I am ready to return to civilization I think, but I know as soon as I'm driving through 'gansett surrounded by New York and Connecticut license plates, I'm going to wish I was back in the woods...
xo
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Weeks 7 & 8: Whoa...sandals. Right on
OK. So a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. Let me think... So last week we were working on building a buck and rail fence, which was really fun actually. We utilized the wood we got from cutting down beetle kill trees and cut them into 5 foot long 'bucks'... then, at the work site, we used a jig to notch the bucks so they would fit together into Xs that we could use for the fence. The fence was built at North Sand Dunes Recreation Area...which is really awesome because you're in the middle of the mountains and then there's this big area of just sand. There used to be an inland sea there back in the day and then when the mountains formed the water evaporated and voila...SAND! The fence we built was put there to protect a plant that is suspected to be very endangered and is only found in this area...it's call the Boat Shaped Bug Seed...or something like that. A lot of the ATVers that use the sand dunes have been riding through the area that the plant occupies, so it was imperative that we establish a more distinct boundary with our fence. Now, hopefully the rogue riders will stick to the trails and this plant can be protected and studied securely.
This past week we did some more thinning... this next portion is also going to be posted on the RMYC website as our Saw 3 blog portion...but it explains moreso what we did.
We have spent 4 weeks up on Independence Mountain outside of Walden, CO. Our time has been occupied mostly by swatting away mosquitoes, but in our down time, we like to pick up a chainsaw or two and help out the BLM. One of the projects that we contributed to was tree thinning. The recent invasion of the pine beetle has left a great deal of Colorado forests in dismal condition. In an effort to prevent another influx of the devastating insect, we worked to make the trees more resilient. This new forest (planted back in the 60s& 70s) was pretty dense; therefore, the little trees that were trying to make it were battling it out in order to obtain the most resources. What we did was go in and cut down some of the trees in order to ensure that the dominant trees receive the highest amount of valuable resources and flourish. That way, if the beetles come around again, those dominant trees would be resilient enough to create enough sap to push out any unwanted visitors. We had about 27 acres allotted to us and worked on it for about 2 weeks. About 12 feet was to be left in between trees, give or take. The trees that we did cut down were then put into tipi-shaped slash piles, so they can be burned this coming winter. When you aren’t on the saw, you’re swamping- picking up the trees that didn’t make the cut. As a swamper, we developed some pretty exciting techniques when it came to getting tall trees up into a teepee shape. There’s the pole vautl; the heave ho; and the this is just too damn heavy. Buck it up!
The work site is about 15 minutes up the road from our marvelous campsite, which overlooks the Zirkle range. It also provides an awesome overlook to see storms a brewin. Stu, our resident weatherman, is never lost for words when it comes to predicting the projection of thunderheads or pressure systems. More often than not though, we just tug on Jake's ear and get a reading- it's a 50% chance of precipitation. Besides Lida’s breakfast song, one thing we on Saw 3 we like to remember daily is "Here on Independence Mountain, there aren't always mosquitoes ...sometimes it rains".
This past week we did some more thinning... this next portion is also going to be posted on the RMYC website as our Saw 3 blog portion...but it explains moreso what we did.
Saw 3: The GoodFellers
Tree Thinning: Atkins Ain't Got Nothing on Us
We have spent 4 weeks up on Independence Mountain outside of Walden, CO. Our time has been occupied mostly by swatting away mosquitoes, but in our down time, we like to pick up a chainsaw or two and help out the BLM. One of the projects that we contributed to was tree thinning. The recent invasion of the pine beetle has left a great deal of Colorado forests in dismal condition. In an effort to prevent another influx of the devastating insect, we worked to make the trees more resilient. This new forest (planted back in the 60s& 70s) was pretty dense; therefore, the little trees that were trying to make it were battling it out in order to obtain the most resources. What we did was go in and cut down some of the trees in order to ensure that the dominant trees receive the highest amount of valuable resources and flourish. That way, if the beetles come around again, those dominant trees would be resilient enough to create enough sap to push out any unwanted visitors. We had about 27 acres allotted to us and worked on it for about 2 weeks. About 12 feet was to be left in between trees, give or take. The trees that we did cut down were then put into tipi-shaped slash piles, so they can be burned this coming winter. When you aren’t on the saw, you’re swamping- picking up the trees that didn’t make the cut. As a swamper, we developed some pretty exciting techniques when it came to getting tall trees up into a teepee shape. There’s the pole vautl; the heave ho; and the this is just too damn heavy. Buck it up!
The work site is about 15 minutes up the road from our marvelous campsite, which overlooks the Zirkle range. It also provides an awesome overlook to see storms a brewin. Stu, our resident weatherman, is never lost for words when it comes to predicting the projection of thunderheads or pressure systems. More often than not though, we just tug on Jake's ear and get a reading- it's a 50% chance of precipitation. Besides Lida’s breakfast song, one thing we on Saw 3 we like to remember daily is "Here on Independence Mountain, there aren't always mosquitoes ...sometimes it rains".
______________________________________________________
This weekend is Rendezvous at Steamboat Lake. RMYC puts it together and it's basically a big gathering for all of the crews (11 i think all together) to mingle and participate in FUNTIVITIES and workshops. I'm hoping it's more like chill at the lake and less like Michael Scott's Beach Day (if it is shotty Team Voldemort)... which brings me to my next exciting news. HARRY POTTER 3D SUNDAY!!!! hopefully...unless my leader is a complete muggle about it :/... I'm trying to butter him up by going above and beyond the call of duty this weekend. Trying to rack up what I call Potter Points. So wish me luck!! Also, Stu and I are representing the GoodFellers in the cookoff this weekend. Gonna make Mushroom Risotto and Balsamic Pork Loin... hopefully the Iron Chef Chairman will do a back flip for us!
ooo and i have photos this week from Jake's camera!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Week 6: Half way through... wowzerrrss
Wow already half way through the summer. Some skills I've developed so far: 1) How to properly handle a chainsaw 2) How to hold my own amongst a plethura of male genitalia and bodily function humor 3) Knowing when i can change my underwear and still have a clean pair come laundry day 4) The exact angle my pants must be in vicinity to my ankles to NOT pee on them in the woods 5) How to kill 5 mosquitoes with a single fist 6) How to fall asleep without a TV showing playing on my laptop 7) How to deal with other people selecting the music for the car rides 8) How to avoid not being "it" in fart tag (just act like you don't care if anyone farts on you...then they don't :) ) 9) How to block out the odors that arise from showering but once a week and finally 10) How to deal with a viscious case of trailgoggles when you enter back into town (they're kind of like beergoggles). It helps you from checking out any guy with a pulse
But in all seriousness, I've learned a lot out here so far. I am definitely comfortable with using a chainsaw when before I left, my dad showed my for like 10 minutes on a log in our yard and i was very hesitant...freaked out even. I am able to go without constant sensory stimulation, when before I couldn't even walk to campus without my ipod. I am reading so many interesting books and learning lots just from the people i'm with 24/7. I split wood for our fire for the first time yesterday using only a hatchet. I do miss elements of my primary lifestyle, but I'm not desperately yearning them.
This past week we began cutting down hazard trees (dead trees that could potentially get blown over by wind into roads). These trees that we cut are going to be the material that we use in our buck and rail fence that we will begin building this week. Buck and rail has the x's with the post lying horzontally between them...?... I'll try to post pictures. I was pretty nervous to begin actually cutting down big trees this week because even though we learned the method and everything in our trainings, I was not that confident. Stu, my leader, stuck with Lida and I all week though and we are definitely improving. I went from cutting a tree probably 6 inches in diameter to a much larger one that was like 12 - 14 inches by the end of the week. It's actually really fun once you get over the fact that there's a 40 foot tree looming over your head.
This weekend we are staying local because it was a shorter weekend since we had Monday off for the 4th and had to work Friday. I'm in Steamboat Springs right now. It's a mobscene. There is a hotair balloon rodeo...?? IDK. Lots of vendors and like fleamarket type deal. But I'm going to go to see Evan from Outward Bound play in a Rugby tournament that's up by the ski area. Then it's back to camp tonight. Hopefully swimming in Lake John tomorrow. I definitely miss the beach, but mountain lakes aren't too bad either.
Skeeter and Jake finally shaved their facial hair today. They decided to do "Fu Man Chu" style..?? Fumanchu I think i'm gonna let mine grow out though. When in Rome right??
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer just as much as I am!! I always love hearing from people, so drop me a line or send me a singing telegram.
xo
The buck and rail fence is the second from the left
But in all seriousness, I've learned a lot out here so far. I am definitely comfortable with using a chainsaw when before I left, my dad showed my for like 10 minutes on a log in our yard and i was very hesitant...freaked out even. I am able to go without constant sensory stimulation, when before I couldn't even walk to campus without my ipod. I am reading so many interesting books and learning lots just from the people i'm with 24/7. I split wood for our fire for the first time yesterday using only a hatchet. I do miss elements of my primary lifestyle, but I'm not desperately yearning them.
This past week we began cutting down hazard trees (dead trees that could potentially get blown over by wind into roads). These trees that we cut are going to be the material that we use in our buck and rail fence that we will begin building this week. Buck and rail has the x's with the post lying horzontally between them...?... I'll try to post pictures. I was pretty nervous to begin actually cutting down big trees this week because even though we learned the method and everything in our trainings, I was not that confident. Stu, my leader, stuck with Lida and I all week though and we are definitely improving. I went from cutting a tree probably 6 inches in diameter to a much larger one that was like 12 - 14 inches by the end of the week. It's actually really fun once you get over the fact that there's a 40 foot tree looming over your head.
This weekend we are staying local because it was a shorter weekend since we had Monday off for the 4th and had to work Friday. I'm in Steamboat Springs right now. It's a mobscene. There is a hotair balloon rodeo...?? IDK. Lots of vendors and like fleamarket type deal. But I'm going to go to see Evan from Outward Bound play in a Rugby tournament that's up by the ski area. Then it's back to camp tonight. Hopefully swimming in Lake John tomorrow. I definitely miss the beach, but mountain lakes aren't too bad either.
Skeeter and Jake finally shaved their facial hair today. They decided to do "Fu Man Chu" style..?? Fumanchu I think i'm gonna let mine grow out though. When in Rome right??
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer just as much as I am!! I always love hearing from people, so drop me a line or send me a singing telegram.
xo
The buck and rail fence is the second from the left
Friday, July 1, 2011
Week 5: Starting to feel a little like the Griswolds
So this week, I'm comparing my experience on the "Goodfellers" to that of Clark W. Griswold in Christmas vacation. There's the obvious cutting down of the trees and having the sap remnants linger on my left middle finger, where a hole has been worn in my glove. At night, as I finger through the pages of my latest book (i'm reading more books than a procrastinating English major btw, which rocks) the lone sappy finger often catches the page. Luckily there's no Cousin Eddy equivalent on my crew (although i do wish someone rocked the dickie), however, the phrase "shitter was full" often comes to mind as someone realizes the trench for the poopchair has reached its capacity and has to dig a new one. Now we have a dog too!! My leader's German Shepard is with us for the weekend :) I'm so happy to have a doggy with us. He dribbles a basketball around with his snout...so cute! Makes me want another dog more and more.... oh mommmmm ;)
SO, recap of the week. We are camping outside of Walden, CO..which is like nothingtownville, USA, but our campsite is on a mountain with a view of the Zirkel mountain range (SO SICKKK). We have it all to ourselves, which also rocks. The only drawback are the bugs. I hate using DEET, but it's kind of necessary... eating lots of garlic...hopefully that'll keep them away too. (oh sidenote before i forget: confirmed that i will be able to see HP while i'm out here!! SIGH OF RELIEF!!!)
THis week we started a new project, which is up the mountain from our campsite about 10 minutes or so. The whole tree thinning thing i discussed last week. It wasn't bad at all! The only thing is Monday, I knicked my chaps (yep assless and everything). They are made of Kevlar (sp?) fibers to protect the chainsaw from gnawing into your legs. The saw was on idle and i had it resting on my right leg in order to put the chainbreak on, but the chain still moves kind of... it pivoted just right so that it got my left leg. BUT the chaps did what they were supposed to do and stopped my chain. Didn't even cut through my pants! So all is well. But it's policy that you have to "swamp" (move trees and limbs out of the way for the sawyers) for 3 days if you cut your chaps, so that's what i did for the rest of the week...yea my biceps are kind of a big deal now.
4th of july weekend: We are camping outside of Leadville, CO with another saw crew until Monday (we get the day off). Hopefully, if the weather holds up we are going to be hiking Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massif, which are the 2 tallest peaks in Colorado...(2nd and 3rd in the Continental US). That would be sick!!! We have to leave wicked early to do it though because at that altitude the storms get really bad in the afternoon... it's pretty much like clockwork. So we are waking up at like 430am tomorrow i think so we can summit by like 9 and be down by 11. Got my work cut out for me i think.
My crew keeps asking how much i write about them individually soooooooooo here goes. Jake, Skeeter, Alex, Peter, Stu, Sam, Colin, Lida. How's that for namedropping?!
Half way through the season... crazy thought.
Happy Birthday 'MURICAH
PUnmaster,
reveal yourself... I'm stumped (yea that just happened)
SO, recap of the week. We are camping outside of Walden, CO..which is like nothingtownville, USA, but our campsite is on a mountain with a view of the Zirkel mountain range (SO SICKKK). We have it all to ourselves, which also rocks. The only drawback are the bugs. I hate using DEET, but it's kind of necessary... eating lots of garlic...hopefully that'll keep them away too. (oh sidenote before i forget: confirmed that i will be able to see HP while i'm out here!! SIGH OF RELIEF!!!)
THis week we started a new project, which is up the mountain from our campsite about 10 minutes or so. The whole tree thinning thing i discussed last week. It wasn't bad at all! The only thing is Monday, I knicked my chaps (yep assless and everything). They are made of Kevlar (sp?) fibers to protect the chainsaw from gnawing into your legs. The saw was on idle and i had it resting on my right leg in order to put the chainbreak on, but the chain still moves kind of... it pivoted just right so that it got my left leg. BUT the chaps did what they were supposed to do and stopped my chain. Didn't even cut through my pants! So all is well. But it's policy that you have to "swamp" (move trees and limbs out of the way for the sawyers) for 3 days if you cut your chaps, so that's what i did for the rest of the week...yea my biceps are kind of a big deal now.
4th of july weekend: We are camping outside of Leadville, CO with another saw crew until Monday (we get the day off). Hopefully, if the weather holds up we are going to be hiking Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massif, which are the 2 tallest peaks in Colorado...(2nd and 3rd in the Continental US). That would be sick!!! We have to leave wicked early to do it though because at that altitude the storms get really bad in the afternoon... it's pretty much like clockwork. So we are waking up at like 430am tomorrow i think so we can summit by like 9 and be down by 11. Got my work cut out for me i think.
My crew keeps asking how much i write about them individually soooooooooo here goes. Jake, Skeeter, Alex, Peter, Stu, Sam, Colin, Lida. How's that for namedropping?!
Half way through the season... crazy thought.
Happy Birthday 'MURICAH
PUnmaster,
reveal yourself... I'm stumped (yea that just happened)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Week 5: I'm a 60 year old receptionist apparently...
So first injury of the summer! No loss of limbs here people...just carpal tunnel. My left hand has been feeling weird the past couple of weeks..like sporatic pins and needles throughout the day and then last week i noticed i had less feeling in my finger tips than normal, so i mentioned something to my leader and he suggested we go get it checked out. Thursday, we went to the Yampa Valley Medical Center to see the doc- just to make sure it wasn't anything serious or permanent. He asked me a few questions and knew right away what it was. Apparently the vibrations from holding the chainsaw for hours a day have caused the Median nerve in my wrist to get pinched...which is what causes Carpal Tunnel. He says i'm young so after i stop working with the chainsaws, it should go away. If not... surgery :/ but I don't think it'll get to that point.
Last week we finished up work at the same place we were working- Buffalo Pass. I'm glad to be out of there. The work was pretty monotonus-- cutting up trees and making slash piles. I made mushroom risotto for dinner last week, which was a big hit! We are thinking of making it in the cookoff against the other crews at "Rendezvous" which is like the end of July..where all the crews get together and hang out and do "FUNTIVITIES!!" (shotty team Gryffindor).
This week we are working on a forest thinning project in Wyoming. What that means is with new young forests, the trees are fighting for resources. So, we go in and cut down the trees in a cluster that aren't doing so hot, so that the dominant specimen gets access to more resources and therefore flourishes, making a healthier, more resilient forest. Those trees are able to produce more sap, which is more effective in defending against pine beetle infestation. So yay go us!
Finally got paid this week! Woot woot rolling in the dough! not really.. but it's a start. This past weekend we did our weekend rec in Vedauwoo (Vay-dah-voo), WY. It's this cool place with awesome rock formations. Not gonna lie... i vegged out yesterday. It was much needed though. Now, I will be well rested for the week ahead.
I'm in Laramie, WY right now. A friend that I met during my stint out in Utah (Outward Bound circa 2007..?) goes to school out here. So, I'm meeting up with him in a few minutes. It's been a while, so it'll be a nice blast from the past. Still going strong out here. The mosquitoes are starting to bug me (yea...that pun just happened..btw I met a guy from WI that can totally go head to head with me in terms of lame puns. It's been a nice challenge. Gotta step up my game a little bit)
tata for now! xo Joanna
Last week we finished up work at the same place we were working- Buffalo Pass. I'm glad to be out of there. The work was pretty monotonus-- cutting up trees and making slash piles. I made mushroom risotto for dinner last week, which was a big hit! We are thinking of making it in the cookoff against the other crews at "Rendezvous" which is like the end of July..where all the crews get together and hang out and do "FUNTIVITIES!!" (shotty team Gryffindor).
This week we are working on a forest thinning project in Wyoming. What that means is with new young forests, the trees are fighting for resources. So, we go in and cut down the trees in a cluster that aren't doing so hot, so that the dominant specimen gets access to more resources and therefore flourishes, making a healthier, more resilient forest. Those trees are able to produce more sap, which is more effective in defending against pine beetle infestation. So yay go us!
Finally got paid this week! Woot woot rolling in the dough! not really.. but it's a start. This past weekend we did our weekend rec in Vedauwoo (Vay-dah-voo), WY. It's this cool place with awesome rock formations. Not gonna lie... i vegged out yesterday. It was much needed though. Now, I will be well rested for the week ahead.
I'm in Laramie, WY right now. A friend that I met during my stint out in Utah (Outward Bound circa 2007..?) goes to school out here. So, I'm meeting up with him in a few minutes. It's been a while, so it'll be a nice blast from the past. Still going strong out here. The mosquitoes are starting to bug me (yea...that pun just happened..btw I met a guy from WI that can totally go head to head with me in terms of lame puns. It's been a nice challenge. Gotta step up my game a little bit)
tata for now! xo Joanna
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Week 3: So this is what manual labor feels like?
SOOOOOOO started up our first job with the chainsaws last week. It will be continuing into this week as well. Pretty much we've been working for this "wilderdude" on his private property up in Buffalo Pass outside of Steamboat Springs. The beetles got his land good, so we are basically bucking (cutting up) a lot of trees that had fallen and putting them into slash piles, so that come winter he can burn them and make room for grass and new trees to grow! We've cut down a few dead trees, but it's mostly been the bucking and limbing and dragging wood into these massive piles. I can already feel my body getting stronger. 9 hours of manual labor 4 days a week, then Friday we work for 4 hours. Along with not having drank alcohol in almost a month, I can def tell i'm healthier!
Basically, our routine is we get up at 6am...eat breakfast, then make our lunches for the day. Then we start work @ 7...break at 10:30...work...lunch @ 12... work... break @ 2:30...work... finish at 3:30... then we do saw cleaning/maintenance for the last half our of the day. All of our saws are named after Presidents. My personal favorites are James Madison (he's the small saw) and good ole' Millard Fillmore.
We also got a new crew member this week. From the beginning, my crew time has been adorned with a multitude of Hook references (starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman). Everynight before bed myself, and my friends Jake and Skeeter (yes like from Doug) yell 'Goodnight Neverland' regardless of the time. SOOO when we heard we were getting a new member, naturally we started calling him Peter. Come to find out his name is Chris and he is from the Cape! But we've just kept on calling him Peter anyways. He's a good sport about it.
Another new addition to the group is our "poop chair"...nothing like digging a hole and squatting in the woods, but it gets old after a while...sooooo we bought a canvas camping chair and cut out a nice little hole in the bottom- buttocks size appropriate of course- and duct taped the edges. Then we dug a deeeeeppp hole out in the woods and VOILA. The comfort of a cool mountain breeze on your bottom aint so bad. Just as long as a bear and her cubs don't come up behind you it's quite freeing!
This weekend we went to Dinosaur National Monument which is Colorado/utah Border. The place where they had all the bones was closed though for renovations, so that kind of blew... :( but getting out to the desert was nice! Our camping spot was SICKKKK. It overlook a canyon with the Yampa River at the bottom. Technically we were there illegally though because we didn't have a back country permit, so we got kicked out and had to drive to a random spot last night and didn't get in until late. I slept in the van because it was too dark to put up my tent. Today it's town time. So chillin on the internet.. prob go get a coffee.. a book.. do some laundry.. good shtufffff.
Still loving it out here! Missing everyone though. xo
Basically, our routine is we get up at 6am...eat breakfast, then make our lunches for the day. Then we start work @ 7...break at 10:30...work...lunch @ 12... work... break @ 2:30...work... finish at 3:30... then we do saw cleaning/maintenance for the last half our of the day. All of our saws are named after Presidents. My personal favorites are James Madison (he's the small saw) and good ole' Millard Fillmore.
We also got a new crew member this week. From the beginning, my crew time has been adorned with a multitude of Hook references (starring Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman). Everynight before bed myself, and my friends Jake and Skeeter (yes like from Doug) yell 'Goodnight Neverland' regardless of the time. SOOO when we heard we were getting a new member, naturally we started calling him Peter. Come to find out his name is Chris and he is from the Cape! But we've just kept on calling him Peter anyways. He's a good sport about it.
Another new addition to the group is our "poop chair"...nothing like digging a hole and squatting in the woods, but it gets old after a while...sooooo we bought a canvas camping chair and cut out a nice little hole in the bottom- buttocks size appropriate of course- and duct taped the edges. Then we dug a deeeeeppp hole out in the woods and VOILA. The comfort of a cool mountain breeze on your bottom aint so bad. Just as long as a bear and her cubs don't come up behind you it's quite freeing!
This weekend we went to Dinosaur National Monument which is Colorado/utah Border. The place where they had all the bones was closed though for renovations, so that kind of blew... :( but getting out to the desert was nice! Our camping spot was SICKKKK. It overlook a canyon with the Yampa River at the bottom. Technically we were there illegally though because we didn't have a back country permit, so we got kicked out and had to drive to a random spot last night and didn't get in until late. I slept in the van because it was too dark to put up my tent. Today it's town time. So chillin on the internet.. prob go get a coffee.. a book.. do some laundry.. good shtufffff.
Still loving it out here! Missing everyone though. xo
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Week 2: Let the chainsaws begin
SOOOOO this week we moved to a new location. It's called Officer's Gulch and it is in Silverthorne, CO. Sunday was a chillaxing day. Then Monday we began our S-212 wildfire chainsaw training. We are not going to be working around wild fires luckily, but the class was at the federal level so some pretty intense stuff.
The first day we learned about safety and maintenance and I was able to take a part a chainsaw and put it back together. THis is important in terms of maintenance and stuff. After pretty much every use you have to clean out the sawdust and sharpen the chain to ensure optimal performance. Day 2 was more of theoretical cutting and then days 3, 4, & 5 were field training. It was some tricky stuff, not gonna lie! But now I am a certified class A sawyer... with a few restrictions. I am still having trouble properly falling (cutting down) a tree. There is a lot of beetle kill up here, so part of our conservation work is cutting down the dead trees in order to mitigate the possibilty for forest fires. Last night we got to go to a firefighter BBQ on a lake with. There was pulled pork! Pretty soupt on that!
We just got back from a hike. That altitude is quite the bitch. 11,000 ft... the air got thinner and thinner. Tomorrow we are heading back to steamboat for our first project!
The first day we learned about safety and maintenance and I was able to take a part a chainsaw and put it back together. THis is important in terms of maintenance and stuff. After pretty much every use you have to clean out the sawdust and sharpen the chain to ensure optimal performance. Day 2 was more of theoretical cutting and then days 3, 4, & 5 were field training. It was some tricky stuff, not gonna lie! But now I am a certified class A sawyer... with a few restrictions. I am still having trouble properly falling (cutting down) a tree. There is a lot of beetle kill up here, so part of our conservation work is cutting down the dead trees in order to mitigate the possibilty for forest fires. Last night we got to go to a firefighter BBQ on a lake with. There was pulled pork! Pretty soupt on that!
We just got back from a hike. That altitude is quite the bitch. 11,000 ft... the air got thinner and thinner. Tomorrow we are heading back to steamboat for our first project!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
First week complete!
First week done! LOVING it so far :). my crew is awesomeeee. For the past week it's been me and 7 other guys, but today we got the final addition to the team. A burst of estrogen named Lida! She seems chill, so should be a good match. SO last week... Our crew was assigned to work in White River National Forest, which is between Minturn and Leadville, CO.. approximately 10,000 ft above sea level. I thought the altititude would mess with my breathing and such, but NOPE! Had a headache the first couple of days, but adjusted quite niceley after that. So we set up camp at kind of a barren campground, but we had it all to ourselves besides this one forest service dude. He was basically never there though. Lived in an RV with his cat and his wife that we only knew existed after 3 days of being there. We had memorial day off because the forest service doesn't work holidays, so we went into Leadville and did a bit of shopping and site seeing. Tuesday our work began! We built a fence at the campground we were at living at along with planting a bunch of trees. So it was hard work at the beginning of the week...10 hour days, but towards the end we finished a lot of our stuff early, so we got to chillax. I want to go back in 10 years to see the progress the trees have made!
We've been eating real well too. Lasagna, stir-fry, burritos, chili, BBQ Chicken (anj, if you say "we've created a monster" to yourself i'm roll my eyes at you through the computer) and lots and lots of PB&J. Today we relocated to Silverthorne, CO, which is near Breckenridge Ski Area. The campsite is kind of right off the highway, which kind of sucks, but my spot is right on a lake and pretty far back into the woods, so i"m just going to pretend that the highway is a raging river! We got to take showers today for the first time in a week. FELT STHOOOO GOOODDDD. We always have weekends off to shop for food and do recreational things, so that's nice. We'll probably do a day hike tomorrow. Then next week we start our chainsaw training. Loving it so far!! Send me things!!! Miss you all. And i'll probably post something every weekend so stay tuned :) xo
Shipping / Office Address:
Send food or fun things like puzzle books (I LOVE CROSSWORDS)
Joanna Falcone
c/o RMYC
1705 13th Street
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
Mailing Address: (Write me fun things about what you are up to!!)
Joanna Falcone
c/o RMYC
PO Box 775504
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
We've been eating real well too. Lasagna, stir-fry, burritos, chili, BBQ Chicken (anj, if you say "we've created a monster" to yourself i'm roll my eyes at you through the computer) and lots and lots of PB&J. Today we relocated to Silverthorne, CO, which is near Breckenridge Ski Area. The campsite is kind of right off the highway, which kind of sucks, but my spot is right on a lake and pretty far back into the woods, so i"m just going to pretend that the highway is a raging river! We got to take showers today for the first time in a week. FELT STHOOOO GOOODDDD. We always have weekends off to shop for food and do recreational things, so that's nice. We'll probably do a day hike tomorrow. Then next week we start our chainsaw training. Loving it so far!! Send me things!!! Miss you all. And i'll probably post something every weekend so stay tuned :) xo
Shipping / Office Address:
Send food or fun things like puzzle books (I LOVE CROSSWORDS)
Joanna Falcone
c/o RMYC
1705 13th Street
Steamboat Springs, CO 80487
Mailing Address: (Write me fun things about what you are up to!!)
Joanna Falcone
c/o RMYC
PO Box 775504
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
Sunday, May 22, 2011
getting ready
I leave Thursday! gahhh can't believe it. I'm trying to pack my whole life for the next several months into on backpack. Quite a switch from someone who occasionally has to pack an extra bag just for shoes. Well I am going to be rocking the very stylish Chippewa work boots this summer. woot wooottttt
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