Although I am currently in the Philippines, I have to rectify my laziness about my blog and put up some info from the remainder of Arizona before I can talk about the Philippines. I know I have seen everyone recently and talked about the last couple months, thus this last post is more for myself than for you perhaps. I will however try to explain what it is like to work alone in the woods for as long as we did. I wrote some of this a bit ago...
(thunderstorm)So I haven't blogged for a long time and that is both my fault, and a result of our last work location being 1.5 hrs away from the nearest town. I suppose a lot has happened so I will cut it in sections :)
Since coming back from Vancouver for my visit in August I was picked up by the airport by Lou in Las Vegas and we made our way to the new work location which was at first by Jacob Lake, Northern Arizona and about a 10 minute drive from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. On our way back to the tent trailer, about 4 hrs away, we were listening to our favorite radio podcast - This American Life with Ira Glass on PRI (Public Radio International) and NPR (National Public Radio). The premise of the show is to pick a theme such as "Return to the scene of the crime" "The Fall Guy" "Pro se" "First Date" or serious ones such as "Arms Trader 2009" "Housing Crisis" etc. Anyways and then they bring us four acts or stories from totally different perspectives on the theme. Some are hilarious, some are totally random and bizarre or extremely informative issues about health insurance in America or why the housing crash happened but in general it passes an hour of driving pretty memorably.
(Quaking aspen)As we were driving past the town of Colorado City and Hurricane City which are border towns (one in Utah, one in Arizona) that are both very strict Mormon towns we were listening to an episode of This American Life. The episode was talking about Warren Jeffs who was the former president of Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the very strict Mormon following. Incidentally Warren Jeffs and his very large extended family (there are rumors he had up to 90 wives) live/lived in the town of Colorado City. It was talking about the city and the problems that were plaguing the town after Warren Jeffs was arrested for marrying a 13 year old girl to a much older man and I believe also possibly rape charges. Anyways, not to go into a great detail about it there was just one interesting point about the podcast as we drove by the town. We noticed that all of the houses were missing windows, didnt' have a roof or were just plywood houses that had no siding. It turns out that Warren Jeffs forecast Armageddon and the end of the world so often that people would never fix their houses, repair a window or spend money or day to day upkeep! I suppose it was just interesting to hear it explained as we drove past it. The liquor store serves a beer called Polygamous Porter "So Good Why Have Just One?".....
Oh and beer in Utah is only 3.2% alcohol.... all of it!
... I enjoyed this work location a lot more because there was variety in the work. Instead of working just in predominately pure Ponderosa Pine stands, we were now facing the challenge of a mixed conifer lineup. We had three firs (Douglas fir, White fir and Subalpine fir), two spruce (blue spruce and engelmann spruce), Ponderosa pine and quaking aspen. It provided an added challenge of identification (which often proved difficult) as well as we had to core every species on the plot, which took both more time and effort.
This work location was also sweet because technically our closest place for groceries was the north rim of the grand canyon.
We visited the north rim and were pleasantly surprised to find considerably less people than the south rim (definitely more our style). It is so nice to stand there and then you eerily can't stop thinking about falling in, or watching someone fall in. It never left my mind...
When moving to our new work location we had to say goodbye to Marley but still wanted to get involved with humane societies in the area. We were very happy to find that in Kanab, Utah (where we went to go get groceries) there was the largest animal sanctuary in the world. We of course went on the tour of the place and spent two very memorable afternoons volunteering with dogs, as well as, going to puppy class. Working with animals makes me feel better about my day whenever I get the chance. They constantly live in the moment and are very giving with their love. I think that dogs can make even the most uptight, fearful and angry person relax and give to the animal. It makes me happy that we have dogs at the home in White Rock because they are good for the soul.
And now to something i have been thinking about for awhile and I want to get it down so that I can remember how it felt before I commit myself to this job again:
(Sand Dunes State park)The problem is though, that there is no point in me even explaining this to you or anyone (and thus I dont' try) because unless you have worked in the bush you will not have a full understanding of what I'm really trying to say. In part I write this blog for myself but also I tend to find it easier to express myself in writing than in verbal communication. When I come back to the city and I see Sarah we talk briefly about being in the bush and then it's like we can't talk about it anymore. I know that she has seen things that are so ridiculous and unreal that there is no point in trying. It is so far removed from the city that it doesn't make sense to talk about it in that context. What i'm trying to say perhaps is that I have a different personality when i am out in the woods, just like the Sarah I know in the city is completely different in the bush.
(view of the grand canyon from a forest service road near our plots)Towards the end of working, and now in reflection, we were definitely getting a bit bushed( to say the least). To those who aren't used to working in forestry or the bush, it is a common term that gets thrown around. Urban dictionary defines it briefly as:
| Bushed: A person that has been isolated from mainstream society for a long period of time, and/or has never seen a major urban setting. A rural person that has never been to a big city. A bushed person will temporarily become shocked or claustrophobic in an urban setting. | ||
(ally at work)The majority of the population is not accustomed to living in the middle of nowhere, and working alone in the woods day in and day out. Most forestry jobs you don't even work alone, because for safety reasons you work in partners or as a small crew. This job we were alone for 8 or so hours a day and you can really spook yourself out. I also have an overactive and creative mind... so i would start to sketch myself out by imagining certain animals watching me. And the thing is, sometimes in the day, you just feel weirded out. Maybe the plot doesn't feel right, or you think something or someone is there but you can't quite see anyone or put your finger on it. I've had plots where I just totally am freaked out... so I run through the entire plot in a frenzy because I have convinced myself that there is a bear den in the cave 200 ft. from me. Sometimes all it would take is for me to see a mountain lion print that was fresh and that was it. I would spend a lot of my time constantly surveying the perimeter of my plot always. I got so good I could spot Lou working very far away from me just by seeing a movement of red. The thing is... that is not good to deal with all the time. I would also imagine people coming out of nowhere and play scenarios though my head. I would often walk with a big stick and I carried my knife at all times (Lou has his gun sometimes even).
(happy to be doing work...)Naturally, things start to happen. Maybe you talk to trees, or maybe you talk to yourself, or maybe you spend hours upon hours not thinking one thought, but regardless you lose touch with your concept of your self-identity as that has no prevalence in the woods. There is no point in being "Ally" or caring about anything that you do in the city: what you're doing that night, what you are wearing at the moment, what you look like, what music you like or any other anxiety ridden thought caused by being surrounded by other people doing those same things. You have to define yourself upon other things than that and mostly this comes out in a competitive form. For example, instead of caring what you are doing or what bus to catch, you are saying to yourself that you have to get to the top of the next hill without stopping or that you must finish this plot in 20 minutes ... or that if a guy popped out of nowhere that I would charge him and bash his head against a tree (hahaha seems bizarre to say out of context).
Another common one is dreaming of water. A pool, a shower, an oasis... it's almost like a person wandering in the desert thinking they see an oasis. Things get loopy. Lou and I definitely digressed into very childish humour and enjoying shadow puppets on the tent trailer ceiling. I don't know anyone else in the world I could do this kind of work with other than Lou- he has seen it all now and there is no going back!
Anyways, I don't feel like I did that justice, but I'm glad to get it out. In reflection of my last summer, I think there is a reason that only certain guys can do it. The guys we met in the beginning who had been doing this work alone for up to 10 years for some of them. Even in the beginning of the season I could tell it wouldn't be long before they were bushed a gain. This is why forestry workers drink so much, the city becomes very foreign and confusing. The best advice I have ever gotten related to this subject was from this guy mark who was my helicopter pilot on my last contract in Saskatchewan (when everyone was going loopy from needing a day off from work). Anyways, he said "don't spend too much time in your head today". It is simple, but if you don't think too much you'll be okay.
I'm proud of the work that Lou and I did this summer. We accomplished a lot, not just work. We also somehow became part of the communities too through working with humane societies- which is a difficult feat when you know no one in the town. Most importantly, we took a pretty solid relationship and made it unbreakable. I don't think many couples could withstand what we did this summer, and we came out the other end loving each other more.
At the end of working we had a disastrous vacation which included almost being struck by lightning and visiting Bryce Canyon during a tornado. But we got some cool pics and ran around in the rain looking at cool National parks which we were planning on doing back country overnight trips in. Oh well, another time...
(Bryce Canyon National Park, tornado warning!, Southern Utah)
(Vermillion Cliffs, Northern Arizona)
Zion National Park, UtahThat is it for now. I have lots to say about Philippines so far, so I will update as soon as I get my courses figured out!
