Our 4th hitch began two days earlier than expected. We had one day of classroom training for our chainsaw work and one day of field training. Then we headed out on our first chainsaw hitch. We were lucky enough to be able to camp in a beautiful meadow surrounded by huge Cottonwood trees. This meadow is a part of Star Lazy R Ranch; which is a ranch owned by a lovely couple who we had the great fortune of meeting.
In all we had eight day of chainsaw work. We worked on a stretch of road, clearing trees to allow for a 40 foot corridor of space in the event of a fire. Mostly we removed small Junipers and Cottonwoods; many of which were already dead and posed a great fire hazard. As this was my first time working with chainsaws I was especially nervous. But I quickly gained confidence (and muscle) as the week went on.
We also had the opportunity to visit Sand Dunes National Park twice during our hitch. Though I thoroughly enjoyed our hard work, this was the highlight of the week. The dunes are an incredible natural phenomenon, surrounded by creeks that flow from snow melt off the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The mountain peaks jut up just behind the dunes, and on the other side grassy fields stretch into the horizon. Being able to walk barefoot through the sand after a hard day was a joy in and of itself.
On our last night we were invited to the home of the ranch owners, Wayne and Nancy. They treated us to locally raised Bison burgers and homemade potato salad. Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed that meal and the amazing company. One of the greatest joys of this job is the people we meet and the appreciation we receive. Our project partner was so pleased with our work he asked our director if we could return in September for another hitch. If we do so we would be able to see the dunes surrounded by fall colors in the Aspens and Cottonwoods.
I now have five days to rest before beginning our next hitch. It will be our first back country hitch and we will be using cross cut saws. I'm excited and nervous about the challenges ahead, but so far I have found the best solution is just to take it one moment at a time.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Hitch #3
My third hitch began Wednesday July 2. From the beginning I knew the next 10 days would be quite different from our previous work. Our crew, along with "Mountain" crew, took a 9 hour drive to Oak Creek Canyon outside Flagstaff, Arizona. Wednesday night we camped in Mesa Verde National Park, before continuing on to Arizona in the morning.
We spent the next 6 days stacking sandbags throughout different properties and businesses in the canyon. Due to a fire last month the area is highly susceptible to flash flooding. The soil is unable to soak in the majority of the rain and instead it sheets downhill, in most cases directly towards houses. And being the start of monsoon season, we had to finish the sandbag walls quickly.
During our time we had two large and fast moving afternoon monsoons, both creating hail, lightning, and flash flooding. These afternoons we had to stop work early and evacuate the canyon. Due to these storms we were able to witness our work in progress. We could go back the next day and see where our sandbag wall had diverted water away from homes.
The appreciation from the community and our project partners was amazing. Being able to see the people who live in the area we were working to protect made all the hard work worth every minute. And we did work very hard. We moved about 30,000 sandbags in 8 days, with 15 people for all but the last 2 days.
We left on Wednesday July 9 before lunch to begin our drive back to Salida. That afternoon we had the opportunity to visit Grand Canyon National Park. I could hardly fathom the enormity of it, even while standing on the edge looking out. Watching the sunset over the northern Arizona desert was also an incredible site. During our time our two crews bonded and worked as one. It was great to see how another crew functions and the leadership styles, while making some amazing new friends.
Our break between this hitch and our next is being cut short by two days for more chainsaw training. We will being working with saws on Wednesday July 16. This is what each of the members of our crew was brought here to do. I'm looking forward to the new challenges ahead of us.
We spent the next 6 days stacking sandbags throughout different properties and businesses in the canyon. Due to a fire last month the area is highly susceptible to flash flooding. The soil is unable to soak in the majority of the rain and instead it sheets downhill, in most cases directly towards houses. And being the start of monsoon season, we had to finish the sandbag walls quickly.
During our time we had two large and fast moving afternoon monsoons, both creating hail, lightning, and flash flooding. These afternoons we had to stop work early and evacuate the canyon. Due to these storms we were able to witness our work in progress. We could go back the next day and see where our sandbag wall had diverted water away from homes.
The appreciation from the community and our project partners was amazing. Being able to see the people who live in the area we were working to protect made all the hard work worth every minute. And we did work very hard. We moved about 30,000 sandbags in 8 days, with 15 people for all but the last 2 days.
We left on Wednesday July 9 before lunch to begin our drive back to Salida. That afternoon we had the opportunity to visit Grand Canyon National Park. I could hardly fathom the enormity of it, even while standing on the edge looking out. Watching the sunset over the northern Arizona desert was also an incredible site. During our time our two crews bonded and worked as one. It was great to see how another crew functions and the leadership styles, while making some amazing new friends.
Our break between this hitch and our next is being cut short by two days for more chainsaw training. We will being working with saws on Wednesday July 16. This is what each of the members of our crew was brought here to do. I'm looking forward to the new challenges ahead of us.
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