I know that this is horrifically overdue. But, as it happens, I have two weeks left on the Eldorado National Forest and three weeks left in AmeriCorps overall. Time to reflect? Probably.
Pre-Good Weather
It took FOREVER for the weather to finally turn from constant winter (it snowed on June 1st!) to the constant summer that all east-coasters always associate with California. This delay in The Transition caused some frustration for all firefighters, not just for our team. Bad weather meant mostly shoveling snow all day around various locales that the Pacific Ranger District is responsible for...
...even the heliport!
We would also watch documentaries about wildland firefighting, tragedy fires and the Forest Service. We also watched a couple of other videos that focused on decision making and leadership. While the videos were informative, these days highlighted a simple fact – Pacific simply didn't need a team this early (March-April). The fire season in this part of California usually goes from June/July to October/November. We leave on the 13th of July – entirely unhelpful in terms of being considered a fire resource for this forest.
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| Thanks to Josh for this photo! |
So while the above picture became a joke in terms of fighting fire, our team has not been without meaningful project work since we've started seeing nicer weather.
Earlier in the project our supervisor, Fred, focused on having us obtain our “A Faller” certifications. After a few practice sessions, most of the team took the practical exam of felling three trees for a C faller (a very experienced, consistent and talented faller of large, complicated trees). So now I can fell small trees! Despite the fact that my card says I can only fell trees 8” in diameter, most of the trees that my teammates and I cut during our training and our exams were larger than that since we were in the presence of more experienced fallers.
With these certifications we cleaned up our practice area on Badger Hill and we also helped fell and buck a large number of diseased trees on Poho Ridge. We piled the tree remains for burning at Badger, but the treatment for diseased trees is just to scatter the branches and trunk rounds so they can rot without running the risk of spreading their illness.
Post-Bad Weather
If there were a C Faller equivalent for raking leaves and pine needles, Silver 5 would have those certs without a problem. We've raked up: Cleveland Corral for the wonderful Faye couple who maintain the property; the compound here at Pacific; the compound at the Crystal Basin Station (home of Engine 54 where Fred is the Assistant Fire Engine Operator); the compound of the Amador District Office; and we have also literally raked the forest floor in order to unearth previous fireline that had been cut a year or two ago.
Under a different supervisor, Karl, our team has had more project work cutting line. This is because Karl is the Fuels Technician attached to Engine 53 (the engine housed on the Pacific station) and he plans all of the prescribed burns for our home section of the Eldorado. By planning and executing prescribed burns we greatly decrease our odds of having our part of the forest being devastated by any large fire that were to rip through at any point. While cutting line is tiring work, it has been great getting to do some project work that will hopefully be meaningful in the near future (the plans to burn the areas we've put line around could potentially not come from fruition until 1 year or two from now).
Most recently our team has been clearing access roads of overgrowth (large shrubs, small trees and ridiculous amounts of manzanita and establishing a relationship with Engine 14 down in the Amador district of the Eldorado by PT-ing with them and getting to know their area of the forest.
In terms of PT, each member of our team has seen a significant improvement in our physical performance since arriving on the Eldorado in March. In addition to running Old Dirty Bastard we have added the following PT sessions to our repertoire:
Runs
The Flume.
It starts at Pacific and goes up the first part of ODB, but right before the paved section of ODB starts you mercifully take a left and run along a (flat!) trail right next to a flume that, eventually, delivers water to Sacramento. The run totals a little over 4 miles.
Hazel.
A seven mile run that utilizes Hazel Road and parts of The Flume. The parts that take place on Hazel are steeper than ODB, but the nice flat flume section in the middle provides a nice break.
Blair.
This run has us start by running out of the compound through The Boneyard (a masticated area where spare lumber, PVC pipe and metal roofing sections go to die) and out to a road that parallels highway 50. Eventually we hit a trail and it's a nice, gradual decent down towards the American River. The way back, therefore, is uphill but it's nothing compared to ODB. According to Fred, it's the tamest run that Pacific bothers to use; it's also the shortest.
Hikes
We hike with backpacks that contain a mix of rocks and weights that total about 45 pounds, so it's not the easiest hiking we've ever done. We also just wear regular running shoes, which was weird for everyone at first. My sneakers, which I just bought in late April, already look 10 months old.
With these packs we have hiked both Blair and ODB. We also have:
The Hole.
I wish I knew how to quantify the length and gradient of this hike. It usually takes me 13-14 minutes to climb the thing and, for the most part, it's incredibly steep. There are two routes out: the shorter route that we usually use the first time (again, 13-14 minutes to get out), and the longer route (about 18 minutes to get out) that we'll hike if/when we hike The Hole twice. Descending into The Hole was psychologically unsettling at first since it's steep; all of the trees and fauna make you feel like you're walking through the jungle; and the American River, which is running high and fast from all of the late-season precipitation, roars at you once you reach the bottom.
With any luck I'll get another entry or three up here before I leave that detail some of the adventures we've had...but I might not hold my breath =)
Cheers!
