Monday: Traveled from Denver, to Lake George, then to Black Mountain. I did not recognize the place without the 7 feet of snow. It is not as much a Black Hole of Despair that it was in March. Also the showers no longer spit poop at you.
Tuesday: We went to a prescribed burn. Only 50 acres this time. I got to light it though. It was physically difficult to wear the ~25lb pack, carry a drip torch and a tool while walking back and forth across a steep and densely wooded area. I lit for 4 hours before asking to switch with someone who was holding the line. After lighting I patrolled the perimeter of the burn, watching for spot fires. After the fire was lit we left.
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: We have been working with Alphonso’s seasonal crew cutting, piling and chipping trees on Black Mountain preparing the area for a prescribed burn they will do this fall. While working with Alphonso’s crew we played the “phonetic alphabet game” which consists of each person saying the next word in the phonetic alphabet down the line, over and over again, and doing pushups if you don’t know it. By then end of the day Brendan and I knew it.
Saturday: The team went to the Great Sand Dunes for a service learning trip. We learned about sand dunes, the different geological structures present in the area, as well as the surrounding grasslands, different ways the sand dunes are formed, and the effects of sand, wind and water on the environment. The wind was terrible. There were gusts up to 40mph. The winds blew sandy bullets at my legs rubbing my skin raw. Eventually I just walked along the nearby creek, where the sand was not able to sting me continuously.
Here is a poem I wrote:
Sand
Blowing in the wind
Not Blowing. Shooting.
Shooting tiny sandy bullets at my legs.
Ankles, Calves, Thighs.
My mind can see a body
Soon a skeleton scoured clean.
Scouring Sands
I fear my legs will soon be bones.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Team Highlights: Round 3
·Russ, our Fantastic supervisor
·Using chainsaws
·Excelling at face cuts when felling trees.
·The time Jeremy made a little girl cry.
·Getting to know our teammates better.
·Seeing beautiful Leadville, Colorado.
·Meeting friendly, welcoming people in small towns.
·Warm weather in Kansas.
·Running in Kansas, where the altitude is low and the land is flat!
·Seeing buffalo, farms, and deer in our yard!
·Finishing assorted projects such as clearing the tornado blowdown area, and clearing out the Tunnerville Work Center.
·Working with Alphonzo in Black Mountain!
·Doing PT with the seasonals in Woodland Park.
·Traveling to different project locations.
·Getting to see different amazing views.
·Relaxing at “home” in Lake George and Manitou Springs.
·Exploring and adventuring.
·Mountains and Lakes! We got to see so many amazing sights this round, including Crystal Lake, Leadville, Pike’s Peak and Black Mountain.
·Getting to light a prescribed fire.
·Seeing a lot of fire behavior (especially torching trees).
·The way Brendan’s shirt smells after two weeks of PT and work.
·Using chainsaws
·Excelling at face cuts when felling trees.
·The time Jeremy made a little girl cry.
·Getting to know our teammates better.
·Seeing beautiful Leadville, Colorado.
·Meeting friendly, welcoming people in small towns.
·Warm weather in Kansas.
·Running in Kansas, where the altitude is low and the land is flat!
·Seeing buffalo, farms, and deer in our yard!
·Finishing assorted projects such as clearing the tornado blowdown area, and clearing out the Tunnerville Work Center.
·Working with Alphonzo in Black Mountain!
·Doing PT with the seasonals in Woodland Park.
·Traveling to different project locations.
·Getting to see different amazing views.
·Relaxing at “home” in Lake George and Manitou Springs.
·Exploring and adventuring.
·Mountains and Lakes! We got to see so many amazing sights this round, including Crystal Lake, Leadville, Pike’s Peak and Black Mountain.
·Getting to light a prescribed fire.
·Seeing a lot of fire behavior (especially torching trees).
·The way Brendan’s shirt smells after two weeks of PT and work.
Team Accomplishments: Round 3
·All members of the team are certified as Class A sawyers.
·In Black Mountain the team spent time preparing an area for a prescribed burn.
·The team hand cut, limbed and piled a two mile, 20-30 foot wide stretch of line.
·The team chipped 90% of the cut materials.
·The team dug a quarter mile of hand line for the unit that is scheduled to burn this spring.
·The team also spent time in Black Mountain training.
·We learned how to make chain for a chainsaw, and how to use a grinder to sharpen the chain.
·We also refreshed our knowledge on maps and using compasses.
·In Woodland Park the team spent two weeks working with the fuels crew limbing and bucking 10 acres of tornado blowdown.
·We also constructed a barbed wire fence, by digging post holes, installing wooden and metal posts, stringing barbed wire around it, and constructing a gate.
·In the Cimarron National Grasslands the team spent two weeks landscaping at the Tunnerville Work Center eliminating fire hazards and improving the aesthetics of the area.
·In Leadville, Co the team cut, limbed and scattered an 18 acre unit, thinning the materials and providing firewood for members of the community.
·The team participated in a 100 acre prescribed burn by lighting, holding the line and mopping up.
·In Black Mountain the team spent time preparing an area for a prescribed burn.
·The team hand cut, limbed and piled a two mile, 20-30 foot wide stretch of line.
·The team chipped 90% of the cut materials.
·The team dug a quarter mile of hand line for the unit that is scheduled to burn this spring.
·The team also spent time in Black Mountain training.
·We learned how to make chain for a chainsaw, and how to use a grinder to sharpen the chain.
·We also refreshed our knowledge on maps and using compasses.
·In Woodland Park the team spent two weeks working with the fuels crew limbing and bucking 10 acres of tornado blowdown.
·We also constructed a barbed wire fence, by digging post holes, installing wooden and metal posts, stringing barbed wire around it, and constructing a gate.
·In the Cimarron National Grasslands the team spent two weeks landscaping at the Tunnerville Work Center eliminating fire hazards and improving the aesthetics of the area.
·In Leadville, Co the team cut, limbed and scattered an 18 acre unit, thinning the materials and providing firewood for members of the community.
·The team participated in a 100 acre prescribed burn by lighting, holding the line and mopping up.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Reflections on Round 3: Haiku
BLACK MOUNTAIN BEAUTY
COLD SNOW UP TO MY EYEBALLS
ISOLATED LIFE
MUDDY AND STEEP SLOPES
HIGH FASHION- CHAINSAWS AND CHAPS
CUTTING AND CHIPPING
DESOLATE HOUSING
PLUMBING MALFUNCTION LEADS TO
POOP IN OUR SHOWER
BACK TO WOODLAND PARK
THE SNOW IS GONE. WE ARE HOME.
STILL CHAINSAWS AND CHAPS
KANSAS TUMBLEWEEDS.
WE MOVE AND PILE THEM ALL DAY.
I HATE TUMBLEWEEDS.
KANSAS OXYGEN
I CAN RUN FAR AND BREATHE WELL.
KANSAS: SUNSHINE, WARMTH
BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT!
BIKE RIDE TO OKLAHOMA.
ONLY SEVEN MILES...
A DRIVE TO LEADVILLE
BUT A WEEK LEFT OF THE ROUND
BEAUTY ALL AROUND
LODGEPOLE PINE TREES MUST
DIE. THE TREE GODS HAVE CHOSEN.
I STRIKE THE DEATH BLOW.
AWAKEN EARLY
RUN TILL IT HURTS. SO PUSHUPS.
WORK MUSCLES ALL DAY.
COLD SNOW UP TO MY EYEBALLS
ISOLATED LIFE
MUDDY AND STEEP SLOPES
HIGH FASHION- CHAINSAWS AND CHAPS
CUTTING AND CHIPPING
DESOLATE HOUSING
PLUMBING MALFUNCTION LEADS TO
POOP IN OUR SHOWER
BACK TO WOODLAND PARK
THE SNOW IS GONE. WE ARE HOME.
STILL CHAINSAWS AND CHAPS
KANSAS TUMBLEWEEDS.
WE MOVE AND PILE THEM ALL DAY.
I HATE TUMBLEWEEDS.
KANSAS OXYGEN
I CAN RUN FAR AND BREATHE WELL.
KANSAS: SUNSHINE, WARMTH
BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT!
BIKE RIDE TO OKLAHOMA.
ONLY SEVEN MILES...
A DRIVE TO LEADVILLE
BUT A WEEK LEFT OF THE ROUND
BEAUTY ALL AROUND
LODGEPOLE PINE TREES MUST
DIE. THE TREE GODS HAVE CHOSEN.
I STRIKE THE DEATH BLOW.
AWAKEN EARLY
RUN TILL IT HURTS. SO PUSHUPS.
WORK MUSCLES ALL DAY.
Fire
4/9/2010
Yesterday we traveled back to Denver for Transition Week. I got sunburned walking to the library.
Friday our team participated in a prescribed burn. Brendan, Ayla and Noel got to help light the 100 acres using driptorches. The rest of us held the line, and watched for spot fires. There was a spot fire near me when an old punky log caught fire. We were on the east side of the burn, and the wind was blowing the smoke e right at us the whole time. After the east line burned to black we mopped up by moving burning logs a chain (66feet) into the area, spraying water on flames too close to the edge, and mixing the water, and spreading the embers to put out the smoking embers too close to the edge. When we finally went home we were soo exhausted!
After a week spent in Leadville it was amaxing to return to my bed in Lake George! The “girls cabin” in Leadville was an unfinished cabin that had little more than a bathroom. The beds were rickety bunkbeds that were nailed together out of driftwood. Needless to say the ricketyness forced Noel and I to move the mattresses onto the floor, and have a slumber party. Our room looked like we broke into the cabin and were squatting in our room. We had our backpacks half unpacked, computers plugged into the wall so we could take care of paperwork and watch movies. The mattressed felt like they were made of cement, and encased dead bodied. We didn’t really get a good nights sleep that whole week, so I am psyched to sleep in a bed!
In Leadville we spent the week cutting down lodgepole pine trees to fight the mountain pine beetle infestation. Brendan and I had a good time Thursday, putting targets where we wanted to drop our trees, and making as many pairs of legs as possible. We made the legs out of trees with school marms (one base, which then splits into two trunks), and chopped off the trunks and stump the base.
Yesterday we traveled back to Denver for Transition Week. I got sunburned walking to the library.
Friday our team participated in a prescribed burn. Brendan, Ayla and Noel got to help light the 100 acres using driptorches. The rest of us held the line, and watched for spot fires. There was a spot fire near me when an old punky log caught fire. We were on the east side of the burn, and the wind was blowing the smoke e right at us the whole time. After the east line burned to black we mopped up by moving burning logs a chain (66feet) into the area, spraying water on flames too close to the edge, and mixing the water, and spreading the embers to put out the smoking embers too close to the edge. When we finally went home we were soo exhausted!
After a week spent in Leadville it was amaxing to return to my bed in Lake George! The “girls cabin” in Leadville was an unfinished cabin that had little more than a bathroom. The beds were rickety bunkbeds that were nailed together out of driftwood. Needless to say the ricketyness forced Noel and I to move the mattresses onto the floor, and have a slumber party. Our room looked like we broke into the cabin and were squatting in our room. We had our backpacks half unpacked, computers plugged into the wall so we could take care of paperwork and watch movies. The mattressed felt like they were made of cement, and encased dead bodied. We didn’t really get a good nights sleep that whole week, so I am psyched to sleep in a bed!
In Leadville we spent the week cutting down lodgepole pine trees to fight the mountain pine beetle infestation. Brendan and I had a good time Thursday, putting targets where we wanted to drop our trees, and making as many pairs of legs as possible. We made the legs out of trees with school marms (one base, which then splits into two trunks), and chopped off the trunks and stump the base.
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