Hitch #7 White Lake State Park

For hitch #7 I returned to White Lake State Park, where I spent Spring hitch. This time our task was to re-route a section of the trail that goes around the lake. The problem with the current trail was that it edged a campsite and most hikers entered the campsite because they didn't see that the trail turned. So we closed out the old trail and built a new section of trail that was easily separated from the campsite. Our new section of trail ended up going through a fairly wet area and over a stream bed. So we knew that our main project would be to build a bridge and ramps over the stream.

(Bridge with foundations and sills)

(Bridge with stringers)

(Completed bridge)

Over the course of 6 full days we set the foundation for the bridge using 4 concrete blocks, notched and set 10 cedar logs as as sills (the supporting logs) , set our stringers (the logs that sit on the sills and hold the decking), built 2 ramps on either side of the bridge, set our decking and trip rails, and built 2 turnpikes on either end of the bridge that equaled 46 ft to raise the trail out of the wet area.

(36 ft turnpike)

(10 ft turnpike)

(Bridge side view. Bottom to top: Cedar stringers, pressure treated and cedar stringers, pressure treated decking, 2x4 trip rails)

In the end our bridge was a total of 41 ft. We brushed in 170 ft of old trail and built 156 ft of new trail. While the stream bed under our bridge was mostly dry except for a small bit of mud, we did get to see the area wet when we experienced a downpour of rain for nearly 24 hours. We worked that morning of the rainy day and watched the water under our nearly completed bridge rise from inches to several feet. By lunch we decided the possibly of flash flooding was too high for us to continue working. But we all agreed that it was nice to actually see water in the previously dry area and see the need for our bridge.

(White Lake Hitch #7 crew)

I now have one hitch left before my season here is complete. Then one week to close out the program and I'll be headed back south. The weather here has quickly changed from warm summer to chilly fall and I keep hoping that I'll see at least a few snowflakes before I leave.

Hitch #6 Bear Brook State Park aka Home

My latest hitch was originally planned to be at Kingston State Park, but due to funding issues that project was put on hold. So instead of driving to a new location we stayed at Bear Brook to do projects around camp. This environment has many benefits as far as hitch life goes. For instance, rather than packing our tents and setting up camp we just stay in our cabins with our beds and all our gear at our reach. While we still have a separate amount of hitch food and dishes, we use the camp kitchen, fridge, and dry storage area. We also have the luxury of showers, washer and dryer, bathrooms, and comfortable couches to relax on after work. All of these things are usually not even imagined while on hitch, often the only time we go indoors on hitch is if we drive to town to get food or wi-fi.

We had a variety of projects, most of which had to do with preparing the camp for next year. So we cleared trees along the road and parking lots to make more space for snow plowing and parking. Since we've seen how skinny the road becomes when the snow is continually packed alongside it for 4 months, I know our clearing will be very helpful for next year. We also split firewood for days and have a few sizable stacks. We did a few other odd projects, such as adding a ramp to a bog bridge and prepping an area for a satellite dish to be installed. We had a few days early on that were the hottest of the summer, but now the weather has cooled significantly. Today was the first day that felt like fall is in the air with the temperature barely getting above 60s.

Tomorrow we pack out for hitch #7. I will be co-leading the crew that is traveling to White Lake State Park, where we will be preparing material for a volunteer day and building a bridge. Quality over quantity will be the object of this hitch. I'm looking forward to doing more carpentry work and having plenty of time to do our highest quality of work. I'm also looking forward to being near the lake, even though one night is forecast to be in the 30s, I'm sure the days will be warm enough to take a dip.

With only 2 hitches left I'm beginning to feel the end edging closer. I'm starting to think about having to say goodbye to all the friends I've made here. Part of me is trying to avoid those thoughts and just focus on each day, because I know I'll tear up if I think about it too much. It's amazing to think that we've been here almost 9 months. I can hardly imagine leaving and suddenly not living here. The hard thing about falling in love with a program and a group of people is that it makes it that much harder in the end. But after our final hitches we will have about a week with everyone back together and I imagine that many more memories wait to be made during those days, as well as reliving of memories from the past year.

For now I should get to bed, staying up late will just make it that much harder to get used to waking up early again. I've got the morning off and pack out starts at 1 pm, so until then I'll start packing my gear and preparing paper work. Only one more pack out after tomorrow.

Hitch #5 White Mountain National Forest

For hitch 5 I went to Bunnell Notch Trail in the White Mountains National Forest. This trail leads to the summit of Mount Cabot, one of New Hampshire's 4,000 ft peaks. The hitch before us had started work on this trail and we returned to finish. Due to a large amount of rain in that part of the mountains, the trail becomes flooded for a good portion of the year. Our goal was to divert the water from the trail or raise the trail above the water. There are various ways to do this, most of them involving setting heavy rocks in the trail.

Overall in 10 days we set roughly 33 rock steps, 2 3 rock staircases, 8 rock waterbars, cleaned over 30 hand built drains, cleared 1 1/2 miles of corridor (cutting branches/vegetation to give width for the trail), and built 4 bog bridges of 20 ft each. We were very lucky to only have rain for our first day, which included our hike in, and for a couple hours 2 days after that. 

The night before our day off we hiked to a cabin near the summit of Mount Cabot and spent the night before taking our time hiking down another trail the next day. Between hiking the 1.5 miles from our campsite to the trail head multiple times, the roughly 9 miles on our time off, and the 6 miles on Mill Brook Trail to get to the site of the bog bridges, I estimate we hiked well over 30 miles.

My next hitch will be at Bear Brook, which is nice because I get to stay in my cabin and I have access to our facilities. The work will be various projects around the park, from trail work to chopping firewood for winter to clearing brush to make plowing easier. After that just 2 hitches until I'm finished here.

Hitch #4 Greenfield State Park

For hitch #5 I was at Greenfield State Park. We finished and painted the existing shelter and built a second shelter. The first shelter had been started during training and needed the last of the siding and trim put up. This hitch was relaxing due to the good cool weather, the fact that we all had enough knowledge of the work to complete the tasks with ease, and the lazy evenings hanging around camp. The campsite was close enough to walk to town and the local grocery store (which we did daily for snacks after work). We finished our pack out back at Bear Brook and began our 9 day summer break.

Many people left for break to go to various places, but a few of us stayed at camp and had very relaxing days. There were a few trips to town, family visitors, hours spent swimming and enjoying the rope swing, and many hours of couch potato-ing. There is now only a week left in August. Soon the weather will begin cooling down for good as Autumn approaches. Tomorrow we leave for hitch #5, and I will be headed to Bunnell Notch Trail in the White Mountains for a back country hitch. I am assured this hitch will be a good deal of hard work, from the two mile uphill hike to our campsite to moving and setting rocks each day. I hope for good weather and many good stories to tell.

Hitch #2 Wolfeboro and Hitch #3 Crawford Notch: Backcountry, Bears, Shelters and Bears

Since my last post I have completed two hitches, which pretty much is the extent of my July. Hitch #2 was on Whiteface Mountain in Wolfeboro. For this project my crew was building a trail from the base of the mountain to the summit. This meant each day our sawyers would cut down the larger trees and then we would follow through removing stumps, cutting out small brush, clearing the leaves and top layer of organic soil before building structures if they were necessary. The trail would be nearly a mile long and over the course of 11 days we made it more than halfway. A second crew went back to the site for hitch #3 to finish the trail.

Our campsite was about a 20 minute walk from our truck. But because we lacked a water source at camp and we knew that there were bears in the area (we did have three sightings) this became a backcountry hitch. That means that we hung our food in a bear hang each night and during the work day, we hiked and drove to a nearby water source before carrying 6 gallon jugs back to our site to filter the water, our campsite and kitchen site needed to be far enough apart that any nosy bears would not mistake our tents for food storage, and because we were working on a trail that grew each day we hiked further to work each morning. I can easily say it was the most tiring work I've done since arriving here. By the end of our supper each night (being approximately 7 pm), we would all retire to our tents until our 6 am breakfast rolled around again.

This hitch also marked the hottest and most humid weather I've experienced since arriving here. Due to a one day shortened hitch we did not have a day off. So after agreeing to work an hour extra one day we took off an hour early the following day in order to take some much deserved off time. We drove into Wolfeboro and found a beach on lake Winniepesaukee to go swimming. Afterwards we stopped for dinner and ice cream, which is always a nice treat on hitch. On our final day we hiked to the summit and picked blueberries.

Our shortened hitch came about due to an event called All Corps. This is when NH Corps, Adirondack Corps, and Massachusetts Corps all get together at one of our headquarters for a couple days of fun, service, and a not-so-friendly friendly competition. This year All Corps was held at Mass Corps home. So our entire crew, including our interpreters and CLC, came back from our respective locations throughout the state and drove south a few hours. I enjoyed getting to meet so many other corps members and have a few days of fun, including a dance party, ice cream, lazy day by the lake, talent show, and more ice cream. On our last morning in Mass we had our All Corps challenge where our three corps compete against each other in a series of mental and physical challenges for one of three trail tools: copper loppers, a silver swizzle stick, and a golden pick mattock. Despite being in a tie for first coming into the final event, we lost in the tug-o-war and came in second place. But over the course of the challenges we reconnected as a corps and while cheering for our crew we became a stronger community. It was a great sight to see our corps wearing our matching shirts, cheering loud enough to loose our voices, and seeing the pride on our staff's faces as they watched us encouraging each other.

After returning to Bear Brook and taking our much needed weekend off, we returned to begin hitch #3. This time I headed to Dry River Campground in Crawford Notch, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful parts of New Hampshire. The complete opposite of backcountry, we had a site within walking distance of running water and a bathroom with showers. Our project was to build two shelters in the campground. This may not sound like too much of a challenge until you realize that all other hitches that have been shelter building have been one shelter, and it still takes every bit of 10 days to complete the work. But we were tasked with two shelters and two shelters is what we finished.

We worked several 11 hour days. The hardest part was getting our foundation set, which took until our third day on site. We literally built from the ground up. We set the base of the shelter on the foundation, added floors, framing, siding, a tongue and groove roof followed by shingles, and by the final day at 7 pm in the rain we had two completed shelters. My favorite part was once we put up the bents, which are the main structure for the walls and roof, I was able to climb up and stand on top of the shelter. Even though it's only about 12 feet off the ground it still felt pretty cool to be using a nail gun to put on the tongue and grove boards.

Shelter #1 with foundation, floors, bents, and the beginning of roofing

Shelter #1 completed

Side view of Shelter #1

Shelter #2

We also had two bear sightings on this hitch. We were told by the park staff that there is a resident bear at the campground, and we saw it on one of our first days while working. On our last morning the bear returned to got into some of our food. I had decided I wanted to sleep in our completed shelter for my last night and surprisingly I wasn't awoken at 7 am when the bear was rummaging through our granola and butter roughly 10 feet from where I was sleeping. But no one was harmed and now it will be another story to share.

Notice the fire pit in the second picture of shelter #1 above, which will show you how close the bear was to where I was sleeping

Tomorrow is pack out for hitch #4. I will be headed to Greenfield State Park to build another shelter. Yes, just one this time. I'm excited to be working on another shelter because I now know what to expect, versus last hitch where I was being newly introduced to the entire process. After this hitch we will be halfway finished with our conservation season and will have our summer break. It's hard to believe that in 2 1/2 short months my time at Bear Brook will be finished. My plans after this are still up in the air, but I know that I don't want to rush my time here or spend a moment worrying about the future. I find that it has a way of working itself out.

Hitch #1 Nash Stream Forest and Bear Brook State Park

Last week we finished our first hitch of conservation season here with SCA NH Corps. Our hitches here are 11 days plus a half day to pack our gear. We have 1 day off in the middle of hitch to rest, hike or do whatever. There are 17 conservation crew members, divided into 3 crews per hitch. Each crew has 2 co-leaders who plan the meals, gear list, tool list and keep track of what is accomplished and the hours.

I was one of the co-leaders on hitch 1. Our team of 6 headed out on Monday June 22 for Nash Stream Forest, nearly a 4 hour drive north. We worked alongside our partner organization to do trout habitat restoration. The area we were working in used to be a lake but when the dam broke in the 80's the stream became the only habitat for the trout. So our job was to make deeper pockets of water for the trout. This was done by setting trees in the stream. We used our new rigging training to pull trees out of the ground, including the root ball. We would then drag the tree to it's new location and dig it into the bank to secure it. We also felled trees with a chainsaw. Overall we put around 55 logs in the stream, built 25 structures, and affected nearly 12,000 sq feet of stream.

Our Nash Stream campsite was in a beautiful field about 15 minutes from our work site. We were about an hour from cell service and the nearest town. We had a few rainy days early on but then the sun came out, as did the bugs. By the end of day 1 we all had wet boots from walking through the stream, and they didn't dry out until after we left and had our day off to set them in the sun. Overall this first part of the hitch was unlike any work I'd ever done and we all wish we could have stayed longer. The crew we worked with were extremely helpful in teaching us their ways and it's always fun to get to know new people.

On Friday June 26 we finished our work day before lunch and drove back to Bear Brook State Park to start the second half of our hitch. That day we packed away the tools we wouldn't need and took our new ones. Then we had a day off before returning to work on a rainy Sunday. Our project for this part of the hitch was to complete a re-route of an existing trail. We had to finish a turnpike (pictured below), clean-up the new trail, connect the ends of the new trail to the old trail and brush in the old trail so no one would try to use it again. The first 2 days was mostly crushing rocks into smaller rocks and digging a huge dirt pit. We used rigging again to set up a line for sending dirt down the hill.

On our final day, Thursday July 2, we worked for a few hours in the morning to put the finishing touches on the trail. Then we did our usual pack in at camp where we clean all the gear and tools we used and put everything back in it's place. We then have a final meeting to see a slideshow from the other teams and hear about what they did on their hitch, as well as share our own story. Then we have 2 1/2 days off before starting our next hitch.

Hitch #2 pack out begins today at 1 pm. I have a completely different crew of 6 and a brand new work site. I'll be going to Wolfeboro to build a new section of trail. I'm excited to see my new project and home for the next 11 days. We won't have a day off this week because we will be finishing a day early and packing up to go to Massachusetts for an event called All Corps. This is when several corps get together for a few days of fun and a bit of competition. I've been looking forward to this all year. It will be really cool to meet other corps and share our experiences.

For now I've got a few hours to relax before getting to work for the afternoon. This will be my basic schedule until I finish in late October, 8 hitches total.

Happy Independence Day

For the fourth year in a row I'm in different state for the 4th of July. I've had the opportunity to travel and meet a variety of people from various backgrounds. We've celebrated the 4th with fireworks and cookouts, and this year I'm fortunate to have the day off from work. But among the festivities it's important to remember the significance of July 4th. Freedom. It's the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It's the day our country became the United States of America.



I can't imagine living any else in the world. I believe in the American dream, that a person who works hard can make a life for themselves regardless of their background. I'm proud to have religious freedom and to not have to be afraid to speak my mind. I feel pride when I see an American flag freely waving. I feel my heart swell with pride and get teary eyed whenever I hear the National Anthem. I watch in awe whenever I see an eagle soaring through the sky. I'm extremely proud to honor those who fought for independence, and all those who have fought since and continue to today.



So as I sit here writing on this chilly July 4th morning, I'm thinking about all the reasons why I'm celebrating today. Those listed above are the most significant, but the list goes on. I plan to spend today with good friends, good food, and pride to be an American.

History In The Making

History is made every day. Yesterday history was made when a horse won the Triple Crown, a feat which has only ever been done 11 times and the last time was 37 years ago. Each day events happen around the world that will be forever documented for generations to look back on. In my nearly 2 1/2 decades of life I have witnessed many events that will not only be remembered but will likely be in history books due to their significance. Even in the midst of life changing events, it's difficult to imagine the impact it will have on the future.

Jamestown, the first English settlement was 408 years ago. Compared to world history, four centuries pales in comparison. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War. Our grandparents or great-grandparents may have heard stories from their grandparents, who were likely alive during the Civil War. These events are documented in history books and have been studied and retold countless times. While I know the information, I feel disconnected from those events due to the years since then and the fact that no person alive today was alive then. 

The Civilian Conservation Corps was established 82 years ago during the Great Depression. While it was disbanded after eight years, it set the foundation for most of the conservation agencies existing today. The programs that I have worked for over the past 2 years are directly descended from a time in history that I feel completely disconnected from. I live in buildings that were built by the CCC but it's still hard to fathom the significance of the places I see every day.

I've always been fascinated by history, especially the time between Jamestown and the Civil War. My parents were alive when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon, yet it seems so long ago to me that my mind just sets it in the context of events that happened long before my lifetime. It's hard to wrap my head around the fact that some of the events that I've witnessed in my lifetime are already history for the younger generation. Many of the things I do each day may be significant history in my life but it's sometimes hard to stop and realize the moments that will be remembered forever. I like to think that the trails I work on will still exist for generations to come. Just as I walk trails built by the CCC I hope my work is one way of leaving a lasting history.

Spring Hitch and Spring Break

Three weeks ago I was preparing for my first hitch of conservation season. I and five other crew members spent almost two weeks clearing campsites and preparing three different state parks for opening day Memorial weekend. We started at White Lake State Park, where we cleared nearly 200 sites.

From White Lake we could see Mount Chocorua (the peak on the right in the photo above), which we were told we had to hike. So on the Saturday of our hitch we took the day off to hike. The view from the top was absolutely incredible.

After our day off we worked for one more day at White Lake State Park before heading to Wentworth State Park. We worked there for one day and then spent three days at Ellacoya State Park on Lake Winnipesaukee. We were lucky to be working near or on three different lakes during our time.

We returned on Friday May 22 and once we completed our "pack in" day we were officially on spring break, which wraps up once we start work tomorrow morning. I, along with many of the other member, decided to go home for my break. I flew to Tennessee the first full day of break and was home for six days. Over the course of my time I was able to enjoy many of the parts of home that I had been missing. I got to see various family members and friends, had so much amazing food, listened to lots of country music and had the opportunity to recharge before heading back to NH.

My return trip to NH was probably the most adventure of the entire trip. After waking up at 7 am the Friday of my flight and making the 3 hour drive to Nashville I made my way North. With the exception of a very short layover in Detroit, my flights were uneventful. While I knew that my flight landed in Boston just after 11 pm and that I was meeting a friend there who flew in around midnight, neither of us had any idea how long our night would be. We had planned to take a bus just before 7 am that would drop us in Concord. But the 7 hours in between were sleepless and noisy and by the time the bus arrived I had been awake for nearly 24 hours straight. Needless to say once we finally arrived at Bear Brook around 10 am we both went to our cabins and slept the majority of the day.

Now after getting caught up on sleep I can relax for the rest of today and await the return of the rest of the members. Right now about 1/3 of the people have returned and most of them will come in today. Ahead of us we have training for a couple weeks before going into hitch one, which I am co-leading. I'm looking forward to the many adventures that are sure to come and working alongside my other crew members on various projects.

Living in the Moment

This week I began prepping for conservation season by spending two days in Bear Brook camping and doing Leave No Trace skills training. I also camped for two nights at Pawtuckaway State Park to do camp skills training and prepare for my first hitch next week. In the past six days I have had the opportunity to get to know my fellow crew members better and have begun spending the majority of my time outdoors. Each day I know that I am making memories and learning lessons that guide each new step in my life.

I've always been a supporter of living life to the fullest and being in the moment. We will never have yesterday back, no one knows what tomorrow will hold, we only ever have today, right now. While I do my best to be fully engaged in the moments as they're happening, it's usually hard to appreciate the moment without either stepping back and soaking it in or looking back on it once it's over. But maybe that's part of being in the moment; not having to think, just doing. This week I had various times when I was able to stop thinking about the past or the future and just be. I watched the full moon rise over the treetops in an astounding shade of orange while listening to frogs all around me. I swam across a clear yet chilly lake and lay air drying on warm rocks while listening to the wind create waves that lapped the shore. I sat on a huge boulder and watched the sun set over a lake while listening to loons. I lay in my tent and my hammock unable to sleep because I was staring up at the bright moon and stars in the clear sky. I was awed by the beauty of bright green leaves springing from buds on trees that have been bare all winter.

Now, more than ever, I want to take in every moment I can. I never want to leave words unsaid or put off doing something because I assume I can just do it another time. If there's one thing I've taken away from this week, it's that life is too short for us to wait to start living. The big lifelong goals are good, they give us something to work towards. But anytime I'm asked what I what to do with my life, I say that all I want is to wake up each day excited about what I'm doing. I think about what the future holds and I do my best to be prepared. But sometimes looking ahead two weeks, one week, even to tomorrow seems so far away. I can only live in the right now and when the tomorrow's become today's I will take each moment as it unfolds.

So take the time to sit and relax and just be. Stop waiting for someday, either make it today or accept that the "someday" is a long term goal. There are many moments that are worth focusing on now because they'll be over and gone before "someday" arrives. Appreciate the best things in life each moment you have them. Above all, appreciate the people in your life the moments shared with loved ones are the best moments of all.

Changing Seasons

As of two weeks ago I finished my final day working with my students. Our hard work on our projects ended with a beautiful mural and an awesome interpretative field day. We received many thank you cards and notes from our teachers and students. I already miss them so much I want to go back to school on my time off just to visit. After a few days to finish paperwork and give our final remarks we began the transition from education season to conservation season.

The day before yesterday we completed a 9 day WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course. We had three of the most incredible instructors to teach us. While the days were long and chilly (we even had snow one day), the class was fun and I'm constantly amazed by how much I can learn in such a short time. We had various scenarios to test our skills, including two longer scenarios which lasted two and three hours. The longer was a night scenario and finished about 10:30 pm. Needless to say that was the most tiring part of the course, not only the lack of sleep but working with a combative "patient" for three hours while trying to remember my training. On our last day we took our final exam and said goodbye to our instructors, whom we had grown fond of and didn't want to leave. Yesterday and today are our days off before beginning the rest of our training for the season.

While spring has officially been here for weeks, the days have been cooler than I expected. Although the upcoming days are forecast to be in the high 70's, which is a huge change. So far I'm not tired of the morning chill but needing to wear a jacket and be cuddled with a blanket indoors is getting old. I'm hoping that the long winter and cool spring will lead to a cooler and hopefully shorter summer. The days above 80 and especially above 90 are a bit too hot for me.

I've often based where I want to live one day off the desire for a cooler summer, but I've yet to find a place with cold but not frigid winters (I had no issues with my first New England winter and wanted more snow so that's not out of the question), warm but not too hot summers, all four seasons, decent snowfall, preferably a state bordering the ocean and close enough to home to visit on weekends. That last one seems to rule out most of the rest, especially the not too warm summers. As of now I know that my heart is on the East Coast. With all these factors I have determined that my ideal location is Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland or possibly Tennessee. But my requirement is that I want to be in the mountains to have a bit cooler weather, specifically the Great Smoky Mountains or the Blue Ridge Mountains.

So for now I've only just started applying for jobs but I'm keeping those locations in mind. While I'm still very much enjoying New England, I know my heart lies in the south surrounded by family, the home cooked food I know and love, and the mountains that still take my breath away.

Spring?

It's been awhile since my last blog post. Over the past month I've been crazy busy teaching lessons and working on school projects. This week is our final week in schools. In one of our schools we have been working on a mural and will be finishing that this week. In our 3rd grade classes we are planning a field day on April 17th. The preparation for this day has gone beyond my expectations. We have been putting in overtime in our classes to get them ready.

Aside from planning lessons and teaching, I have been working on preparations for Earth Day, which was yesterday. Our Earth Day Festival was at the Audubon center. We were lucky to have sunny warm weather, which brought out a large crowd. We volunteered at various stations throughout the day. I helped visitors build birdhouses and paint a mural on a large poster. Other stations included live animals, disc golf, an SCA table, animal pelts and skulls, a nature walk and many more. We invited all our students and teachers as well and were excited to see many of them.

Our weather has been very interesting over the past month. While there has been a warming trend we have also had cold snaps. On Wednesday we had nearly three inches of snow and today was 60 and sunny. We walked to one of our ponds today and sat in the sand for a few hours to enjoy the warmth. It finally feels like Spring and while I'm going to miss the snow I'm excited to see everything turning green.

Tomorrow is our teacher appreciation dinner and then we go into our final teaching week. Next week begins training for field season. I'm amazed that I have been at Bear Brook for over three months now and I can see how October will arrive before I know it.

It's beginning to feel a lot like spring

I can hardly believe I've been at Bear Brook for over two months. We just finished week four in our classrooms, so we're almost half way done with education season. Schools were out for the final week of February so instead of teaching we did training and had a few guest speakers. All in all it was good to have a break out of schools but I'm glad to be getting back into it.

I also am having trouble believing that winter is nearly over. While we still have over two feet of snow on the ground, it's quickly melting due to temperatures above freezing every day this week. I started off March by spending a weekend in Montreal, Canada. That was an amazing, yet fairly chilly experience. We spent Friday night at a friend's house in Vermont and then drove into Montreal Saturday. We spent the day exploring the city and waiting for the reason for our travel, the Nuit Blanche festival. In a nutshell this event incorporates art, music, games, food, and sight seeing into an all night adventure. Most of the activities stayed open til 3 am. I stayed up til nearly 2 am and then walked back to our hostel for the night. I look forward to seeing the city again when I'm not shivering every time I walk outside.

So back to the spring weather. While days here have been increasingly warm, the nights are still quite cold. This has been causing our roads to thaw during the day and re freeze overnight. It's a good thing we have a sander to keep our roads safe. It amazes me that I have yet to see any bit of the ground. The night before I arrived here a snow storm came through and there has been almost no melting since then. With the warmer temperatures also will come a thaw of our frozen ponds. Last week we measured the thickness of the ice at 22 inches, but I suspect that will rapidly decrease. While I'm looking forward to spring and slightly warmer temperatures, I'm not looking forward to a hot and humid summer. I'm sure soon enough I'll be wishing for single digits again so I'm cool enough to sleep by the fire.

For now that's all my updates. Right now I'm enjoying a lazy afternoon in the lodge. Some people are out in town and others are staying in camp. As per usual, I won't see everyone again until Monday morning. But sometimes the quiet is a nice change.

Snow, snow and wouldn't you know... more snow

Well there's only one week left in February. And winter has no intentions of slowing down. Every week I look ahead at the weather forecast and see another snowstorm headed our way. Right now my guess is that we have about three feet of existing snow on the ground. In areas where it's been piled it's at least five feet. For perspective that's about level with my shoulders. Now for everyone who listened to me talk about my expectations for this job, you know that I frequently mentioned wanting lots and lots of snow. While I'm quickly tiring of shoveling out vehicles, walkways, raking off roofs and the constant school delays or cancellations, I continue to be thrilled by the prospect of more snow. However the week ahead promises the threat of ice as well, due to warmer days and cold nights. Luckily schools are on break this week so we don't have too many places to go outside of camp.

Our first three weeks of teaching have been amazing and exhausting and a mixture of many other emotions. More and more I can see myself working in this sort of environment long term. It's quite a change for me from what I've done in the past. I distinctly remember all my years in school being terrified to speak in front of a class. I admit I was nervous before I got into the classrooms here, and I still am slightly nervous at times. But it quickly fades once I get into the lesson.

This is due largely to having a teaching partner that I can rely on. This was especially true for our past week. On Valentine's Day a large number of us volunteered at a winter festival on a farm a couple hours away. The wind chill for that night was -25 and the day wasn't much warmer. By the time we were headed home I knew that I was getting a cold. This cold turned out to be a week long illness. After resting for a couple days I felt well enough to teach on Tuesday, but realized when I returned home that I had pushed myself too quickly. I spent the next two days off work. My teaching partner stepped up and taught alone on Wednesday, but he too fell sick and our Thursday lesson had to be rescheduled. So now I'm finally almost 100% and looking forward to being more active.

I can already begin to see how fast education season is passing by. Mid April we finish teaching in schools and transition to conservation season, which will last until we finish in late October. We have our tentative schedule for the rest of the year and I'm excited to hear about the projects we'll be doing. One event I'm extremely excited about is called All Corps. This takes place in mid July in Massachusetts. Basically several corps including ours come together for a few days to meet and we have competitions. I'm assuming some of these will include things like fire building, races and survival skills. But the specifics haven't been shared with us just yet. One thing we do know is that last year NH Corps took home the silver hammer and we've all got gold in our sights. We are also in the process of designing our flag to take with us. Each cabin will be coming up with their own small design and we will have a large design for the corps as a whole.

For now that's it for the big news. Most likely I'll spend a good portion of my weekend indoors, watching movies or playing board games and possibly watching more snow fall tomorrow. If I get inspired to walk around in the cold I may add some photos later today or tomorrow. Take care.

It's February Already?

Where does the time go? It seems I'm always mentioning this in my blogs, but it's so true. I can hardly believe I've been at Bear Brook over a month. Already I have so many stories and new friends to talk about, I could go on for hours. Last week we received nearly two feet of new snow, another few inches throughout the week, and today through Monday we're due for at least another foot. It still amazes me that it's not just a foot of snow on the ground, it's a foot of new snow to add to everything that's been on the ground since the day before I arrived. So we'll be over three feet soon. And even if you don't like the cold, I can't express enough that what I see each day just sitting on my front porch is some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. Sure the negative temperatures at night and only a wood stove to heat our cabin has left us fairly cold in the morning, but when we're having a snowball fight or sliding around the ice on the frozen pond, it's hard to remember how cold it actually is.

Last week concluded our education training. We worked intensely with our teaching teams to create our first lesson and prepare for the upcoming week. Due to our snow days schools were canceled on the days we were supposed to observe classrooms, but we were all able to reschedule. Being able to meet the teachers and students ahead of time was a great advantage. My teaching team consists of me and one of my new friends Brandon. Together we teach three days a week, two lessons a day at two different schools, four 4th grade classrooms and two 3rd grade. We also have three after school programs, one each day that we are teaching. Monday is our usual community day in camp, we teach Tuesday through Thursday, and have Friday in camp to plan for the next week.

So far we've had very few challenges with our lesson planning and teaching. My initial nerves quickly disappeared and we were able to improve each time we taught our lesson. Our basic lesson plan for the next nine weeks will consist of New Hampshire animals, plants, habitats and ecosystems. Basically we could be teaching anything nature based. The purpose of us coming into the classrooms is to add a science lesson that some of the school may not be able to provide. We also do our best to get the kids outside, even if there is three feet of snow. At the end of our ten week program, which is mid April, we will be doing a Service Learning Project in each classroom/school. In the past this has been anything from and outdoor classroom to a mural in the school to a recycling program. It's an opportunity for us to leave a lasting project that the kids can see as they continue in school and it enhances the school program as well.

That's the basic overview of what I've been up to for the past two weeks. There is always something new happening and I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as best as I can. Which reminds me, Valentines Day is coming up next weekend. We drew names for a "secret valentine" who we will leave handmade gifts throughout this week up til Valentines Day. I've got a few good ideas up my sleeve. And Valentines Day we'll be headed to Prescott Farms for their annual Winter Festival, where we will be volunteering but also we will be able to participate in activities such as a sleigh ride, a bonfire, and other outdoor activities. As I said, there's always something going on. =)

Two Weeks

Today marks two weeks since I arrived at Bear Brook State Park. In this time I have met my leaders and fellow members (except for two who have yet to arrive) and begun to make amazing friendships. For the first week we mainly did orientation talks and activities. This week we began learning about what our education season will look like. We will have two more weeks of education training before heading into the schools. We have had guest speakers, many activities, and hours of basic knowledge.

Tomorrow is MLK Day, where we will be doing various service projects throughout the community. At the end of the day we will learn who our teaching partners are. We will be put in groups of two or three people, and these will be our partners through April. As teams we will be assigned certain schools where we will teach lessons related to NH environment and wildlife. I'm very excited to find out who I will be working with; we are assigned partners instead of choosing them for ourselves. The past two weeks have also been observation for our leader so she can decide who to pair together.

The natural environment surrounding our cabins is as beautiful as anything I've ever seen. So far everything has constantly been blanketed in several inches of snow. We've had a few days were more snow has fallen but so far very little has melted. Today is the warmest day we've had so far, with temperatures near 40. While it will be a nice change from negatives at night (or sometimes during the day) I don't want to see the snow disappear. I'm sure that we will receive plenty more as winter continues. I'm hoping for at least one big blizzard.

As has become routine for our weekends, we spent the last two nights staying up well past midnight and sleeping in. So far the weekends are ours to do what we want. I tend to choose the path that keeps my inside to rest and prepare for the week ahead. However in this gorgeous environment it's hard to stay inside for too long. Last night sometime after 10 we got a small group together and took a short hike to one of the larger ponds near our camp. The new moon gives an amazing opportunity to have a very dark night. We walked to the middle of the snow dusted frozen pond, turned off our lights and watched the night sky. The stars were incredible and luckily I've adjusted to the cold enough to not be freezing even in the single digit temperature.

After a bit of a turn around in direction we made it back to our cabin. In our cabin there are eight people, each with a twin bed in the form of four bunk beds. We have a wood stove as our only heat and when properly managed throughout the night, it keeps us very warm. Although most of us don't naturally wake up in the middle of the night to put more wood on and therefore we have had the problem of waking up to a very cold cabin. As has become routine, when we returned just after midnight last night the four of us who were there stayed up til nearly 2 am talking and sharing stories. Every cabin will say that they have the best cabin, but I wouldn't want to change any of my cabin mates.

It's hard to believe that two weeks has already passed. 1/20th of our time has passed. 10 months still seems a long way off, but we've been warned that once the end nears we'll look back and wonder where the time went. I know this feeling all too well. For now I'm doing my best to stay in the moment, but it's hard not to wonder about all the things that tomorrow holds, and this week, and so on. I hope to keep up this blog regularly, although it depends on our internet capabilities. For now, I look forward to a relaxing afternoon inside, watching the rain fall.

Catching Up

Welcome 2015! It's been a while since my last post. I was home in TN for two months between jobs. I am so thankful to have been able to spend the holidays with friends and family. I had a lot of time to relax, catch up on reading, catch up on sleep, and eat amazing food. But as usual, I came home with one foot already out the door.

New Year's day me and my parents packed up the car and headed north. On the 4th I began my new job with SCA NH Corps; which will last through October of this year. Since arriving it has been basically non-stop. The night before coming here the area received apx. four inches of snow, which quickly became ice. So all our packing, moving, site tours, etc have been through the crunch and slush. This week is supposed to be the coldest yet for this winter.

Throughout the afternoon yesterday my fellow corps members arrived. I along with a group of apx 10 others decided to go on a hike to try to find a pond. Throughout the two hours of walking we were unable to find the pond but we had a good time getting to know each other. That night we had our first supper together and spent the night in the main lodge. That in and of itself was an adventure. 26 virtual strangers in one room with a wide variation of board games. It took a while to decide how late everyone should stay awake but we eventually found ourselves in a comfortable sleeping arrangement. Just before falling asleep our 27th member arrived and now there are only two more to come.

Today we had a tour of the lodge and all the mechanics of how the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room work. Then we took tours of the five cabins and decided among ourselves who would be in which cabin. Then we moved in and started our first fire in our wood stove. We have yet to decided on a cabin name but probably will tonight. Tomorrow is another day of orientation; more time outside in the increasingly cold weather. By Thursday the high temperature is supposed to be 6 degrees with a wind chill of -20. I'm not yet sure how I'll respond to this but hopefully I can adjust quickly.

For now that's all the news I have. I'm enjoying getting to know everyone here and settling into a rhythm. Our two more crew members should arrive this week or next week.