Since my last update we have continued the same basic work. This past week we burned around 150 acres of wilderness in controlled underburns with the Forest Service. For this I have cut line, gophered fuel down the line, set up hose lays, used those hose lays to mop up the fires, and even put down lines of fire in a progressive burn pattern (just a fancy term for marching in a staggered row through the woods with a drip torch, a can that drips a gasoline/diesel mix, behind you). I'm continuing to love the work, even when we do 12 hour days or longer, because of how stinking cool it is. I get to see amazing things that most people never see on a daily basis. And when we're not working ourselves stupid on the line we're playing basketball or catch or reading and telling stories while we wait.
On Tuesday I was pushed to the breaking point while burning. For the first few hours that morning we were tasked with holding the line as the forest burned. Our job was to watch the fire and the green zone behind it to make sure that it didn't jump the line or start any spot fires across it. Myself and Anthony did a little extra work digging line around a snag (dead tree) to make sure fire didn't weaken it, making it a danger to us. Other than that we just stood on the line, watching the fire burn slowly across the prescribed area without much excitement. Eventually we began to be used for other purposes as the fire demanded, and myself and Ron were called off the line for another assignment.
We were tasked with burning using drip torches after we tied in with a few of the hot shots. We each grabbed a torch and linked up with three hot shots who were already burning. We had basically no training on what we were doing (besides the general idea which we received in basic training months ago), and were thrown into things right away. It was awesome. We started burning up and down the hillsides like this:
^^^^^^^(Fire)^^^^^^^^^^
---------------------------------x (Lead Burner)
^^^^^^^(Fire)^^^^^
--------------------------x (Me)
^^^^^^^^^^^
-------------------x (Steve - Hot Shot)
^^^^^^^^
---------------x (Ron)
^^^^^
----------x (Carissa - Hot Shot and previous Americorps NCCC member)
What this did was to create a large fire behind where we were burning without putting us in danger of being caught by it. We hiked back and forth across the area to be burned for five hours straight. It was the most demanding thing I've done in months. My pack had extra water in it because of the work and the low humidity that day, so it weighed somewhere around 35-50 lbs, the drip torch about 15-20 lbs. This made hiking back and forth through thick brush, steep slopes and uneven terrain very difficult, and I began to feel it early on. By the 4th hour my legs had lost all feeling as well as my arms and shoulders, and I was having a great time. While fueling up after a run we turned around to see a 35 foot fire whirl, which looked something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbwfNSLshW8 It was no more than 50 feet from us and we had to quickly pick up all our fuel and get away in case it turned and came towards us. We saw huge flames engulf everything behind us as we marched through dense foliage that caught us and tripped us and did everything in it's power to knock us down while we lit. This was much more intense than anything we had done before because we were within the burning area. We were no longer sitting on the outside watching while things burned, we were walking alongside the flames in land that would within seconds be consumed by fire and turned from lush green to black ash. It was a great day, and one I wont soon forget.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
FIRE! REAL, HOT, DEADLY FIRE!
Finally!
After months of training, classes and practice working in the outdoors and with chainsaws we've arrived. This is the first opportunity I've had to communicate with the outside world for the past two weeks (besides the occasional text message... sorry Dad...) because I have been deep in the mountains along the northeastern portion of California. I am currently working with the National Forest Service out of Challenge, CA doing exciting things like prescribed burns, pile burns, line cutting and other activities. Here we aren't thought of as Americorps members, we are a temporary fire crew working closely with the engine captains and other higher ups that deal with fire in the Forest Service.
This job is (insert colloquialism for phenomenal)! There isn't any busy work, everything we do has a definite purpose and if there isn't anything to do, there isn't anything to do. We go from hanging out and sharing stories with the other firefighters to cutting line up and down hills for 2-4 hours straight (sure to increase as the fire season nears). On Monday we burned 5 acres and saw wildfire-like conditions that forced us to dig line around the whole area. On Tuesday and Wednesday it rained so we learned about how to pack hoses for use on the line and learned about fire engines. On Thursday we dug line for 4 or 5 hours and then saw the sights, and on Friday (technically a day off) a few of us participated in another burn where we used drip torches to light giant bonfires all over the woods.
We have three day weekends that we use to hike and adventure around the area (we're in a national park, so there are many sights to see, including Feather Falls, a 650 foot waterfall just down the road from us) or volunteer for other organizations (like this weekend where we worked with Habitat for Humanity - hopefully in the weeks to come we'll come to lead the projects, at least that's what the site supervisor wants from us). After work we usually hang out and watch playoff hockey or read or go outside and play catch.
Our housing is nestled in the woods and on average a total of 10 cars go by in a given day. We run, hike and use the workout room at Challenge for PT, and I can already tell a difference in my physical fitness in just a few weeks with limited activity (i.e. days when we don't do anything due to weather or other variables). Doing all activities with 40-50 lbs of gear on builds strength quickly...
We have seen a foot of snow, hot sunny days, rain, hail and sleet in the past two weeks, a good opportunity to see all of the faces of the forest. As the weather starts to heat up we will be able to take advantage of the reservoir that is just a half mile or more hike from our barracks. Camp outs, barbecues, sports, swims and hikes will almost certainly become second nature to us very soon.
I could say more, but my time is up for a while. Until next time!
-J
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Goodbye, So Long, Farewell...
It may be some time before I post anything here again. For the next 4 months I will be in the Plumas National Forest in northern California in an area that has neither internet nor cell phone reception. We will be largely isolated from society from what I can tell, but this is something I look forward to. We will be working alongside wildland firefighters doing prescribed burns, fuels reductions, and also will be on call for any forest fires that may occur.
I plan to write in my journal and continue to read and learn new things. I'll try to update this if I'm ever in the position to do so, but it may be a while. Thanks for reading my random musings and updates, it's been fun!
-J
I plan to write in my journal and continue to read and learn new things. I'll try to update this if I'm ever in the position to do so, but it may be a while. Thanks for reading my random musings and updates, it's been fun!
-J
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
And now for something completely different...
This is an entry I found in an old journal. It's about love and relationships and a general philosophy surrounding life. I'll let it speak for itself:
If I were a tree you'd be the rain pouring down my leaves. I'd hang heavy from the weight of your cold, thunderous droplets and turn myself from the wind made that much more unbearable by your chilling touch. You would roll over me with such force as to tear leaves from my brittle, knobby stems and send them plummeting to the earth, useless and laughing as they fell. But your form of harshness, of cold and ravaging power would pass. And you would become the liquid that filled my roots and trunk and branches and blooming stems.
You would be the catalyst for my growth.
And in that you would never leave me, but become a part of me. A part of me that winced when the wind blew and the clouds rolled overhead. That shivered when the morning dew condensed upon my leaves in respect of your memory. But that was eternally grateful for what you gave in your moment of ferocity and grandeur and the path it led me to.
If I were a tree and you were the rain.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Reflections, Ideas
These are some of my thoughts in certain areas. They reflect incomplete and continuing thought and research on the subjects and are in no way my definitive opinions, only a glimpse at my current beliefs. As Kahlil Gibran says in The Prophet, "For self is a sea boundless and measureless. Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'"
Giving and Money
We live in a society where the act of giving seems to be contained within certain holidays. We see giving illustrated as a good deed during Thanksgiving and Christmas in the United States. These are occasions that we prepare for, that we look forward to every year. We give to our family members, to our friends, to those within our circle of acceptance.
There are different kinds of giving though, and these differences are what make the things we give important. When you give someone cash, you aren't just giving them money to spend on anything that interests them, you're giving them a piece of your life. Every transfer of money or goods is the transfer of that time spent earning it. If I were to make ten dollars an hour at my job, and give you twenty dollars, I would be giving you two (not accounting for time not working...) general hours of my life. These are hours that I did not sit down in dedication to you specifically, but rather are hours from the bank of hours in my life that you may have. However when one creates something for an individual, though it may cost little, the time they put into the thought and creation of that good or service is direct time spent for that person. This time is invaluable in my opinion. It shows that on top of the time I'm willing to spend with you in person, I spend part of my life thinking of you for no other reason than that you mean something more than our day to day lives show. I agree with Gibran when he says "you give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
Let me take a moment to expand on the concept of money as a form of time. If we take for granted this concept that money is equivalent to a certain amount of time spent earning it, then spending that money takes on another meaning. When you go to McDonalds, you aren't getting a hamburger for a just dollar, you're trading a segment of your life and your hard work for it. When you go to Wal-Mart you are being enticed to spend small segments of your life. You are being nickel-and-dimed to death by products you don't need. We create false need through the comforts of our lives, things that resemble need very closely yet aren't. Because of these false needs we work harder and for longer to satisfy ourselves. We trade life for trinkets and watch hours that could have gone towards the growth of a cause fade with rust and dust and decomposition. We could have spent those hours fighting for a cause or building a movement or discovering something or creating beauty. Instead we spend them on material objects that simply de-value in time. They say buying a car is one of the worst investments you can make. The second you drive it off the lot it begins to devalue at an astonishing rate. I say that nearly all material objects (save art and books and music etc.) are a poor investment, they all deteriorate in time. Giving of yourself however, that is something that grows with time. That is something that makes a lasting impact. Spending 5 hours with an underprivileged youth every week is an investment that can create a more stable and loving person. And the world can use all the loving people it can get.
-J
P.S. If this doesn't make any sense that's cool, it was kind of a stream-of-thought kind of thing more than a specific topic. I'd still like to know what you think though! Comments, questions, disagreements?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Thoughts concerning life after Americorps...
Over the past couple of months I have been thinking hard about my options after Americorps NCCC. Many ideas have come through my mind and I have had a hard time deciding. I have run through all of the following as possibilities:
Graduate School - Focusing on a major that deals with one of the following subject areas: Public Policy, International Affairs, Non-Profit Operations, Community Development, etc.
Portland, Oregon - A progressive city that focuses on environmental awareness as well as other things I am interested in. I have only heard good things about it and I believe it would be a good place to find a job with a non-profit or other organization.
Peace Corps - A chance to live with the people I've been reading about in the books I've been reading. A chance to understand the daily struggle of individuals in 3rd world countries and get experience with ways to improve their lives. Get real experience as a leader of a community to help develop and educate those with less opportunity. My main reservation is the 27 month commitment away from friends and family and everything I'm familiar with.
Being a transient bum - Always the "or I could..." at the end of a long research session on one of the above mentioned choices.
I could, and I'm thinking of this right now as I type, feasibly take a year after Americorps and study for the GRE while working at home and becoming fluent in Spanish, then get into graduate school at Marquette and have it paid for through their fellowship and get a degree in International Affairs, Political Science, or some other related field. Then during that apply for the Peace Corps and spend two years implementing what I learned in graduate school and Americorps. With that plan I would have a B.A. in Mass Communication, a M.A. in something related to community service or international affairs, a year of state-side Americorps NCCC experience and two years of international service from Peace Corps, as well as Spanish as a secondary language (and perhaps another if I'm sent somewhere that speaks another language by the Peace Corps). I would be able to get life experience in a lot of different areas, from undergraduate life to U.S. service life to graduate life to international service. Also I'd get some time in between Americorps and graduate school to reflect and prepare for everything... Hmmm...
Well, if you've read this entire thing and haven't moved on to watching videos of people getting beaned in the crotch yet, I apologize. I didn't intend to let you in on my internal ramblings, but, there you go!
-J
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
NEW PROJECT! And the rest...
In the past few weeks much has happened:
We commuted daily to our project on another campsite where we played a hilarious game called "pick-up sticks" in which we picked up sticks, and set them down in a neat pile. It would have been even more fun if it had been for longer than 8 hours a day for a week on 30 acres of clear-cut land! However our fun was cut short when we were given the task of "planting" trees, a foreign concept for many of our team members. We ended up shoving over 5,000 of the little bastards into the ground and in a turn-around that would make the Lord chuckle (God, if you weren't aware, is a HUGE fan of irony as a form of humor) have spent this week chopping their elders down. Such are the ways of nature.
Another fun and exciting event involved our Unit Leader Ben "The Hawk" Richey arriving for a little visit. It was a time filled with dinner, talking, sleeping, talking, waking, talking and generally conversing about the nature of Ben Richey's detailed auto-biographical discussions of his early childhood. I use 'discussions' quite loosely if you can't or won't pick up on my sarcasm.
I have been to Seattle a few times now, and it never fails to provide a new adventure. The stories from that place will be with me forever. That's a fact darnit, they'll be with me and me alone, so don't ask about them!
Finally, the newest and most important development in the world of Joey: Future SPIKE knowledge!
I will be spending the next TWO spikes in and around the Plumas National Forest working with the National Parks Service. We will be active firefighters and first responders, and will work and live within the parks during our time there. I don't know much else, but I'll be sure to relay information as I recieve it. We will hopefully weather permitting be on a few prescribed burns, and hopefully some active fires. We will be with this project for the rest of Americorps, which should be a good and bad thing at the same time.
That is all! Thank's for checking in kids, check you next time...
-J
We commuted daily to our project on another campsite where we played a hilarious game called "pick-up sticks" in which we picked up sticks, and set them down in a neat pile. It would have been even more fun if it had been for longer than 8 hours a day for a week on 30 acres of clear-cut land! However our fun was cut short when we were given the task of "planting" trees, a foreign concept for many of our team members. We ended up shoving over 5,000 of the little bastards into the ground and in a turn-around that would make the Lord chuckle (God, if you weren't aware, is a HUGE fan of irony as a form of humor) have spent this week chopping their elders down. Such are the ways of nature.
Another fun and exciting event involved our Unit Leader Ben "The Hawk" Richey arriving for a little visit. It was a time filled with dinner, talking, sleeping, talking, waking, talking and generally conversing about the nature of Ben Richey's detailed auto-biographical discussions of his early childhood. I use 'discussions' quite loosely if you can't or won't pick up on my sarcasm.
I have been to Seattle a few times now, and it never fails to provide a new adventure. The stories from that place will be with me forever. That's a fact darnit, they'll be with me and me alone, so don't ask about them!
Finally, the newest and most important development in the world of Joey: Future SPIKE knowledge!
I will be spending the next TWO spikes in and around the Plumas National Forest working with the National Parks Service. We will be active firefighters and first responders, and will work and live within the parks during our time there. I don't know much else, but I'll be sure to relay information as I recieve it. We will hopefully weather permitting be on a few prescribed burns, and hopefully some active fires. We will be with this project for the rest of Americorps, which should be a good and bad thing at the same time.
That is all! Thank's for checking in kids, check you next time...
-J
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sunshine, Downtime and Townside
The sun is shining in Washington in February. Crazy I know.
For the past few days it has been sunny and warm outside, a gift to us for our hard work. We have spent the week clearing brush and trees behind buildings around camp, as well as along the roads. Work has been extremely physically demanding, amounting to 8 hours of strenuous physical labor including splitting firewood, bucking logs with chainsaws, clearing brush with chainsaws, axes and loppers, felling trees and loading it onto the truck for removal. On top of that every night we have an hour of physical training that usually involves running around 3.5 miles up a hill in the dark. In comparison to where we all were when we became a team in October we are hardened athletes, fit in all senses of the word.
We've also had a lot of fun on our off time. Watching movies, going in to town to watch a movie, and going to Seattle... to watch a movie... Now that I think about it, it's mostly been watching movies...
Actually that's not true, last weekend a group of us went to Seattle and had quite an adventure. We took the ferry into town and met a nice crazy guy that showed us how to get to downtown Seattle. He told us all about how everyone on Vashon Island was on heroin and cocaine and that there was "a huge party" at someone's house and if we wanted to go to just "ask around" and we could go if we were "chill enough". When we got to Seattle we went to the Flagship REI and perused their goods for a bit. Most of us have headlamps now because of how dark it gets while moving between cabins and lodges and the like. Then Ron, Ben and I went on a journey for food, and wandered for a good 20 blocks before we found somewhere to eat. After that we went to H&M and purchased some fancy clothes. We also went to the Pike Place Market and wandered about looking at all the shops. Then a homeless man cursed us to hell, and we got back on the bus to go home. The lady on the bus told two of our team mates Warith and Finley that they should have 8 children because they would be beautiful and that they could sell their embryos at any price. She then proceeded to tell us about how she purchased her son (who was mentally handicapped) in embryo form knowing "there was something a little bit wrong with him". She was quite a bizarre lady, as was her adult son, dressed as a girl scout that sat next to me. We rode the ferry back, all in all a good day.
Next time on the adventures of Joey in the corps:
Island swimming
Zombies!
The Others...
-J
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Vash-on-island
I write this post from my island home located deep within the Puget Sound. It rains daily, it's damp always, but the view of the water and adjacent islands looks like something out of a Monet painting.
There are times in life where a person must decide to do silly and unnecessary things. This is one of those times.
I have decided to attempt to spend the entire two months on the rainy, 40-50 degree island in a tent in the woods. Of course, I will continue to work and socialize with my team on a daily basis, and really will only sleep and read at the tent, but it's a start. This is a good opportunity for me to live one of my desires (or at lease live part of it). I want to live with nothing so I may appreciate everything. Perhaps this time in the woods will help me appreciate a warm, soft bed and consistent heat.
Today we used chainsaws to cut down a fair amount of shrubs and trees to hold off nature from overrunning the camp. Tomorrow much of the same. The day before we were given a tour of the camp and also the nearby town.
This is HIPPIE ISLAND. Everyone's a hippie and there are more books on "gemstone healing" than there are grains of sand on the beach. Everything is small and quaint and the people are all old hippies that I expect grow a lot of drugs in their backyards.
There aren't any chain stores that I'm aware of; the community is vehemently opposed to big business and any kind of non-weirdness on the island. In fact, they're so "pro-strange" that the island's slogan (which can be purchased in various forms) is "Keep Vashon Weird".
I don't think the project sponsors here are ready for our kind of intensity. They seem very relaxed and laid back, and our "out-produce everyone" philosophy seems to be a bit out of order with their own style. Hopefully we can come to a happy middle ground and get a lot of work done (and maybe chill out a bit more too).
Until next time, stay awesome everyone. Also COMMENT OR I'LL DISOWN YOU! Comments are the only way I judge whether or not people value my life, which is the only way I judge how much to value my own. If you get my drift. Low comments = possible death.
Do you really want that on your conscience?
-J
Thursday, January 28, 2010
TREE!
Today I fell my first tree. It was a huge 75-85 foot pine that the teacher estimated weighed over 600 lbs at least. It was much more difficult than the instructors made it look, using a chainsaw precisely is very difficult when it weighs so much. I sized up the tree, decided where I wanted to put it, and made my first cut. It was at that point that I realized based on the way the tree was leaning it would fall slightly more to the right, so I adjusted accordingly and made my 45 degree pie cut (I have the piece as a souvineer). Then I came around the backside and made my cut a few inches above my pie cut, causing the tree to topple over exactly where I had aimed it. I had some trouble initially with my 45 degree angle cut because I overshot it slightly, and adjusting it afterwards was very difficult because holding the chainsaw in that manner was very tiring on my arm and difficult to wield. However, it was FREAKING AWESOME! And I can't wait to do it again...
The whole process of sizing up the tree, noting where it leans, where the branches are distributed, where you can put it down, how it's going to fall, etc is really cool. It's was kind of like an art form because it's not exact, but up to some interpretation.
Don't worry, the tree had to come down in order to save other trees, so you hippies don't have to worry, I was cutting it down for the good of the others! Also, it looked sweet.
-J
The whole process of sizing up the tree, noting where it leans, where the branches are distributed, where you can put it down, how it's going to fall, etc is really cool. It's was kind of like an art form because it's not exact, but up to some interpretation.
Don't worry, the tree had to come down in order to save other trees, so you hippies don't have to worry, I was cutting it down for the good of the others! Also, it looked sweet.
-J
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Er, Things, Stuff, Otherwise
Hello all. I have been remiss in updating this (yet again) because I am both very busy and very tired on a regular basis. Also, typing things is boring and I have many books to read. I apologize, but here's a post so get excited.
I'm now pretty much a chainsaw professional. After two days in a classroom learning about them and a day in the field cutting down bushes (trees tomorrow) the federal government is finally cool with letting me chop on stuff. I can now:
Cut down big ass trees (in theory)
Cut down small ass trees (in practice)
Cut down bushes (in all likelihood)
Cut things that are already on the ground (harder than it sounds)
NOT cut my legs (again, in theory)
Repair a busted chain
Sharpen a chain
Perform maintenence on a chainsaw
Start a chainsaw
Turn off a chainsaw
Yeah that's pretty much it. It sounds impressive but it mostly consists of, "put the chain break on all the time when you're not chopping stuff" and "don't cut rocks or the dirt." What I have realized however is that big ass 450 cc chainsaws are quite heavy and the blade is about 2/3 my height. Also, you hold all the weight with your left arm, leading sawyers (the guy with the chainsaw on the fireline) to get bizzarre huge left arms and small right ones like the guy from "Lady in the Water".
On another note I bought a nice Fender acoustic guitar this past weekend so I wouldn't have to go without music and so that I could learn to play while I'm here. Figured it'd be a good skill to have, as playing the piano to pick up the ladies only works when there's a piano present. Plus it'd be good for team morale or something, I don't know. Send me your song suggestions in the form of a comment and I might learn it and play it when I end up seeing you next. Or just give me some good songs to learn that aren't "Wonderwall" or "Hey There Delilah" or other "I want to get laid with the least amount of work possible" songs. Thanks!
-J
P.S. The zoo was fun last week too.
I'm now pretty much a chainsaw professional. After two days in a classroom learning about them and a day in the field cutting down bushes (trees tomorrow) the federal government is finally cool with letting me chop on stuff. I can now:
Cut down big ass trees (in theory)
Cut down small ass trees (in practice)
Cut down bushes (in all likelihood)
Cut things that are already on the ground (harder than it sounds)
NOT cut my legs (again, in theory)
Repair a busted chain
Sharpen a chain
Perform maintenence on a chainsaw
Start a chainsaw
Turn off a chainsaw
Yeah that's pretty much it. It sounds impressive but it mostly consists of, "put the chain break on all the time when you're not chopping stuff" and "don't cut rocks or the dirt." What I have realized however is that big ass 450 cc chainsaws are quite heavy and the blade is about 2/3 my height. Also, you hold all the weight with your left arm, leading sawyers (the guy with the chainsaw on the fireline) to get bizzarre huge left arms and small right ones like the guy from "Lady in the Water".
On another note I bought a nice Fender acoustic guitar this past weekend so I wouldn't have to go without music and so that I could learn to play while I'm here. Figured it'd be a good skill to have, as playing the piano to pick up the ladies only works when there's a piano present. Plus it'd be good for team morale or something, I don't know. Send me your song suggestions in the form of a comment and I might learn it and play it when I end up seeing you next. Or just give me some good songs to learn that aren't "Wonderwall" or "Hey There Delilah" or other "I want to get laid with the least amount of work possible" songs. Thanks!
-J
P.S. The zoo was fun last week too.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Joey The Firefighter
I am now a certified Type 2 Wildland Firefighter. Boom.
This week I went through training to get certification and it was a blast. We learned all about fire activity, weather and it's effects on fire, topography as well as tactics and strategies for fighting the good fight. We also spent a day in the field, cutting line and practicing various methods of fire line construction as well as practicing with our fire shelters. It was completely exhausting but a blast. The instructors were very cool and down to earth but when we actually got in the field they drilled in a militaristic manner. We hiked up and down a mountain all day and I exhausted myself by volunteering for the lead polaski (basically an axe with a hoe on the other side), breaking ground for the line. I also carried a 35-40 lb backpack all day while working that didn't really fit like it should which didn't help with my tiredness.
At the end of the day after lunch we went back down the mountain and started cutting line again as a part of a realistic simulation. We made good time and ended up attaching two sections of line that were quite a distance apart. This was the third time we'd cut line that day and swinging the heaviest tool on the line was starting to wear me down considerably. During this we kept getting radio updates from our spotter and the IC (Incident Commander) about the behavior of the fire and the weather. The conditions worsened as we worked and a few spot fires were flaring up below us (a bad sign, as fire travels uphill quickly and we were in the path of it). We were advised to make our way up to a safer location. We did this, and moved almost completely back up the mountain for the 3rd time at a quick pace. It was at this point that the spotter told us that air support had subdued the fire enough for us to continue working, so we went back down the hill once more to continue building line. 10 to 15 minutes later they radioed that air support was no longer going to be able to contain the fire, and that it was moving quickly up the mountain. We hustled again up the mountain.
It was at this point that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. I was exhausted and dehydrated as I had pushed myself extremely hard in order to test my limits. Suddenly, our crew boss (an ex-military man) yelled "EVERYONE, PACKS OFF, GET TO THE SAFETY ZONE, MOVE MOVE MOVE!" The 'fire' was running up the hill behind us and we had to run the last 150 yards up the 45 degree slop after dropping our packs (one girl from another team had an asthma attack while hiking up the last time and had to receive oxygen, many people couldn't run the final portion and a few people are considering transferring teams if possible). At the top of the hill we were instructed to deploy our emergency shelters as we had trained.
Let me take the time to tell you what these things look like. The real things look basically like a giant baked potato or burrito wrapper. It's tin foil with a layer of protective material inside to help absorb heat. The training ones basically look like a body bag without a zipper. The only thing I could really think of when dropping down into this thing was "I'm laying down to die in an organized place so they can find my body more easily later." The other thing that was going through my mind was "I can't feel my legs (from running up the mountain) and I just might puke."
As we deployed our shelters the trainers turned on the sirens of nearby trucks, revved the engines, yelled like crazy and ran around shaking our shelters to try to simulate the amount of noise you would hear during a burnover (when the fire hits your shelter and goes past you). It was a pretty cool experience and they did an excellent job simulating it because the combination of exhaustion, dehydration, intensity and noise definitely rattled me.
It was definitely the coolest thing I've done in Americorps and one of the cooler things I've ever done. I can't remember the last time I was so exhausted mentally and physically. It was great.
Next up is a week at the Sacramento Zoo. Then CHAINSAW TRAINING!
Oh and if you didn't already know, for my next spike I'm going to a little place called Vashon Island, Washington to live in a camp by Puget Sound on a beach surrounded by 400 acres of woods. I'll be sure to update everyone as to what I'll be doing there next time, but for now, stay awesome readers.
-J
This week I went through training to get certification and it was a blast. We learned all about fire activity, weather and it's effects on fire, topography as well as tactics and strategies for fighting the good fight. We also spent a day in the field, cutting line and practicing various methods of fire line construction as well as practicing with our fire shelters. It was completely exhausting but a blast. The instructors were very cool and down to earth but when we actually got in the field they drilled in a militaristic manner. We hiked up and down a mountain all day and I exhausted myself by volunteering for the lead polaski (basically an axe with a hoe on the other side), breaking ground for the line. I also carried a 35-40 lb backpack all day while working that didn't really fit like it should which didn't help with my tiredness.
At the end of the day after lunch we went back down the mountain and started cutting line again as a part of a realistic simulation. We made good time and ended up attaching two sections of line that were quite a distance apart. This was the third time we'd cut line that day and swinging the heaviest tool on the line was starting to wear me down considerably. During this we kept getting radio updates from our spotter and the IC (Incident Commander) about the behavior of the fire and the weather. The conditions worsened as we worked and a few spot fires were flaring up below us (a bad sign, as fire travels uphill quickly and we were in the path of it). We were advised to make our way up to a safer location. We did this, and moved almost completely back up the mountain for the 3rd time at a quick pace. It was at this point that the spotter told us that air support had subdued the fire enough for us to continue working, so we went back down the hill once more to continue building line. 10 to 15 minutes later they radioed that air support was no longer going to be able to contain the fire, and that it was moving quickly up the mountain. We hustled again up the mountain.
It was at this point that I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. I was exhausted and dehydrated as I had pushed myself extremely hard in order to test my limits. Suddenly, our crew boss (an ex-military man) yelled "EVERYONE, PACKS OFF, GET TO THE SAFETY ZONE, MOVE MOVE MOVE!" The 'fire' was running up the hill behind us and we had to run the last 150 yards up the 45 degree slop after dropping our packs (one girl from another team had an asthma attack while hiking up the last time and had to receive oxygen, many people couldn't run the final portion and a few people are considering transferring teams if possible). At the top of the hill we were instructed to deploy our emergency shelters as we had trained.
Let me take the time to tell you what these things look like. The real things look basically like a giant baked potato or burrito wrapper. It's tin foil with a layer of protective material inside to help absorb heat. The training ones basically look like a body bag without a zipper. The only thing I could really think of when dropping down into this thing was "I'm laying down to die in an organized place so they can find my body more easily later." The other thing that was going through my mind was "I can't feel my legs (from running up the mountain) and I just might puke."
As we deployed our shelters the trainers turned on the sirens of nearby trucks, revved the engines, yelled like crazy and ran around shaking our shelters to try to simulate the amount of noise you would hear during a burnover (when the fire hits your shelter and goes past you). It was a pretty cool experience and they did an excellent job simulating it because the combination of exhaustion, dehydration, intensity and noise definitely rattled me.
It was definitely the coolest thing I've done in Americorps and one of the cooler things I've ever done. I can't remember the last time I was so exhausted mentally and physically. It was great.
Next up is a week at the Sacramento Zoo. Then CHAINSAW TRAINING!
Oh and if you didn't already know, for my next spike I'm going to a little place called Vashon Island, Washington to live in a camp by Puget Sound on a beach surrounded by 400 acres of woods. I'll be sure to update everyone as to what I'll be doing there next time, but for now, stay awesome readers.
-J
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Familiar Future
First I want to thank everybody for their hospitality, generosity and love during my brief but relaxing time in Tulsa. Especially my parents who were kind enough to not only fly me back, but support my shiftless video-gaming extravaganza with heat, power, food (amazing food by the way) and a bed to sleep in, thanks folks! Also Kevin, Cameron, Amber, Naomi, Summer, Tyler, Granddad, Grandma Cheryl, Grandma Beth and everyone else I saw or interacted with over the break. Thanks for playing video games, making cookies, watching movies, going to hockey games, sitting and talking about life or just plain hanging out with me, you guys are the reason I can work 12 hours a day here in Americorps.
That being said, this is a new beginning for the blog. I have been lax in updating it due to my computer-less situation in Salt Lake City. However that will change at least for the next month as I train for wildland firefighting in Sacramento.
I returned to the Sacramento campus around 1 am local time and didn’t actually get to bed until around 3. Work with the Sacramento Zoo started at 7:30 the next morning so I woke up at 6 in order to eat breakfast and make the 30 minute commute. I was tired :( as was everyone else, but that didn’t stop us from working hard.
We were split into two groups, one of which did animal care, the other worked with maintenance. I was in the latter of the two. Our first project was digging a two foot wide by one foot deep trench around a section inside the flamingo exhibit in order to create a nesting ground for them to mate. This was arduous labor that involved pick axing the solid ground and then shoveling the loose dirt. It was not unlike the work we are expecting to do with wildland firefighting creating fire lines.
After that we cut down and pulled cattails out of the pond to create an area where visitors could more easily see the flamingos. This was done with rain boots in 2 feet of mud and muck and freezing cold water, chopping solid hunks of cattail roots from the mud to keep them from growing back. Needless to say it was awesome.
That night we got a surprise when we were issued our WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING BOOTS! Top of the line 260$ handmade fireproof boots. They are tight.
On day two myself and Finley created a fence for the Bongo exhibit so they wouldn’t destroy newly planted trees, and half the group worked on the tortoise exhibit clearing stones and preparing the soil for sod as well as transporting 4 tons of boulders to the pen to fence in the tortoises. Then we had PT, which I have decided to increase in intensity to better prepare us for the physical labor that awaits us after training. We ran 45 minutes straight with 100 yard sprints every ½ mile. All in all we averaged about 6 miles.
Today Finley and I: dug a 200 foot trench and laid ground wire, dug fence posts in the Bongo exhibit and put up part of the fence for the trees, planted various plants in the “pregnant tiger room”, watched an anteater physical (they discovered it was pregnant) and toured more of the zoo. The other part of the maintenance team moved boulders, laid sod and planted bushes for the tortoise exhibit which is now done and ready for shell-mania. PT was 2 20 minute ab routines that were extremely intense.
Tomorrow:
SILVER TWO IS ISSUED ALL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT!
Read more about it next time!
I will update this with some of my own feelings and perspective on the project later, (Sac Zoo is the coolest place to work ever) but I thought I’d give you a general rundown of our days today and fill in the observational part later.
Stay classy, and comment or I’ll never call you again.
-J
That being said, this is a new beginning for the blog. I have been lax in updating it due to my computer-less situation in Salt Lake City. However that will change at least for the next month as I train for wildland firefighting in Sacramento.
I returned to the Sacramento campus around 1 am local time and didn’t actually get to bed until around 3. Work with the Sacramento Zoo started at 7:30 the next morning so I woke up at 6 in order to eat breakfast and make the 30 minute commute. I was tired :( as was everyone else, but that didn’t stop us from working hard.
We were split into two groups, one of which did animal care, the other worked with maintenance. I was in the latter of the two. Our first project was digging a two foot wide by one foot deep trench around a section inside the flamingo exhibit in order to create a nesting ground for them to mate. This was arduous labor that involved pick axing the solid ground and then shoveling the loose dirt. It was not unlike the work we are expecting to do with wildland firefighting creating fire lines.
After that we cut down and pulled cattails out of the pond to create an area where visitors could more easily see the flamingos. This was done with rain boots in 2 feet of mud and muck and freezing cold water, chopping solid hunks of cattail roots from the mud to keep them from growing back. Needless to say it was awesome.
That night we got a surprise when we were issued our WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING BOOTS! Top of the line 260$ handmade fireproof boots. They are tight.
On day two myself and Finley created a fence for the Bongo exhibit so they wouldn’t destroy newly planted trees, and half the group worked on the tortoise exhibit clearing stones and preparing the soil for sod as well as transporting 4 tons of boulders to the pen to fence in the tortoises. Then we had PT, which I have decided to increase in intensity to better prepare us for the physical labor that awaits us after training. We ran 45 minutes straight with 100 yard sprints every ½ mile. All in all we averaged about 6 miles.
Today Finley and I: dug a 200 foot trench and laid ground wire, dug fence posts in the Bongo exhibit and put up part of the fence for the trees, planted various plants in the “pregnant tiger room”, watched an anteater physical (they discovered it was pregnant) and toured more of the zoo. The other part of the maintenance team moved boulders, laid sod and planted bushes for the tortoise exhibit which is now done and ready for shell-mania. PT was 2 20 minute ab routines that were extremely intense.
Tomorrow:
SILVER TWO IS ISSUED ALL WILDLAND FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT!
Read more about it next time!
I will update this with some of my own feelings and perspective on the project later, (Sac Zoo is the coolest place to work ever) but I thought I’d give you a general rundown of our days today and fill in the observational part later.
Stay classy, and comment or I’ll never call you again.
-J
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