St. Dorothy's Rest... and beyond

For the past few weeks, my team and I have been cutting trees and burning the brush.  This is all in effort to help the Redwood Forest become healthier, by clearing the non-Redwood trees.  This is primarily being performed on a hill with at least 60% grade.. with very unstable dirt... sure is fun!!!  However, last week, Dad you would have been proud of me!  I designed, fabricated, built, and installed a rear-window protector for the work truck.  It consisted of a metal grate with supports, which were bolted to the truck frame.  This was in effort to prevent the rear window from being busted out by logs being thrown into the bed of the truck... it happened to the last team that was here.. not ours, and hopefully never again!  The material costed about $60, and we borrowed a welder from a friend (for a 6-pack of beer), and about 2 days of work for me... compared to $300+ for buying an aftermarket one.. I'd say a job well done!

I just finished a meeting with Katie (the director of St. Dorothy's) and she wants me to kind of head a project which HAS to be done before the team leaves for Spring Break on Thursday.  There is a cabin on St. Dorothy's property, which used to be inhabited by squatters, who used the house as a weed growing greenhouse.  When we got here, the squatters had just moved out, so it was our job to do some demo and carpentry work to get the house back into livable conditions.  We were getting things done at a decent pace, while continuing work on the hill and fire.  The exterior and interior were primered and painted, floors torn up, and cabinets fixed and repainted.  However, after this meeting, I just found out the house is going to be lived in right after Easter.  So she looks to me to lead the project and make sure the following things get done (along with the help of Kevin - friend of Bens and part time employee at St. Dots):  demo ceiling in one room, remove baseboards, clean out all furniture etc., clean house to prep for floor, install floor, finish painting interior, install tub in new bathroom, help with construction of new bathroom, help with install of new shower in old bathroom... and a few other small stuff...  And we have to get it all done before, like I said, we leave on Thursday afternoon...  fun is!  Speaking of spring break, I'm going home for three days - well almost 4 - in hopes of meeting my niece who is due April 25!!!   I'm so excited!!!!!

Side note:  We found out where we are going for our 4th and final round of NCCC.  We will be stationed in Camptonville, CA, working in the Tahoe National Forest, with the US Forest Service.  Although Camptonville is not near Lake Tahoe, we could be on spike anywhere within the forest, or anywhere within our region really, if there is a big fire.  I'm really excited about the possibility of being sent on a wildfire with the US Forest Service!  Living conditions could change with the fire season, but in the beginning we will be staying in barracks (supposedly) at the Forest Service office.  This project will really be a great way to make contacts for life after AmeriCorps...

I just realized I haven't posted any pictures from St. Dorothy's or the area I'm currently... so check these albums out!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=610063516115&id=45404814&aid=2105297&l=015dcd3899

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=610065177785&id=45404814&aid=2105298&l=4a3167eeff

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?fbid=588983106425&id=45404814&aid=2103704&l=cf2eefe959

 

Camp Meeker Volunteer Fire Department

After talking with Ben, my site supervisor, about my past experience and training as a structural firefighter and EMT, he checked with his asst. chief on the Camp Meeker Fire Department to see if it was okay for me to sit in on drills, while I'm here!  So last night I went to my first CMFD drill:  Disaster Storm Preparedness.  Unsure of what to expect, I spent the latter part of the day trying to recall training and events which have revolved around disaster preparedness.

CMFD has one fire house, right next to the post office, located on Bohemian Highway.  They currently operate, running three rigs.  The first and most used, is a early-80s Type 3 Ford.  It has an open rear compartment, and will seat 6 men.  The next piece which is to roll is a recently acquired 1989 Type 1 pumper (reminds me of Eng 9).  The CMFD purchased it from a town nearby for $5000.  The last engine, which hasn't rolled in years, is another Type 1, but much older.  The fire house is one-bay, with all three engines packed in like sardines, and with wooden lockers to hold the firefighters gear behind the one engine.  There is a "day room"/ kitchen/ meeting room attached to the side of the bay.  It is also quite small, but does the job it is meant to do, very well.

CMFD currently has about 16 men and women on its roster.  And like any volunteer department, there are people who do a lot of work, and some who do none.  Last night, for drill, about 10 men showed up.  The day room was transformed into a meeting room, as folding chairs were setup for people to sit, and Tim, the Asst. Chief, stood next to the small white board.  The drill began with Tim displaying a piece of coax able he acquired from a crew of Comcast workers from that day.  [side note:  Yesterday was filled with really bad storms, which knocked the power out a few times, a couple times being a few hours long.  A Douglas Fir about 36 inches in diameter fell across a stream and knocked all the lines down in its path.]

So Tim was able to ask the Comcast workers if he could take the 3 foot piece of cable, with connector on it, to show the guys at the fire house.  I was surprised at many things about the cable; it was light - less than a few pounds; and it was unbelievably strong - none of us could even begin to bend it!  He then went into the different types of lines and wires Camp Meeker has running on it's poles, and different scenarios they could, and have, encountered.  Drill was very informal, but very informational.  I was reminded of the drills with EGFD, when we had Andy O. come in and talk about power lines and different hazards we could face.

Informational drill only lasted about half an hour, but we stayed and talked for a while.  The guys I met last night were great.  The group seemed to be a tight crew, but I'm sure they have their problems, just like any volunteer department.  It felt good to be in the atmosphere of a fire house again, and to be around a group of guys who are similar to me, in my interests and ways of life.  It seems that no matter where you go in this country, or at least what I've seen, most volunteer fire departments are the same.  They consist of a group of individuals who are determined to get the job done, in any way possible, while helping to serve the community in which they live.

St. Dorothy's Rest

Nestled in the woods of Camp Meeker, CA, there is a whole world of beauty, serenity, and solitude all in it's own.  During the summer months, St. Dorothy's Rest focuses it's functions on being a camp for critically ill children.  However, year round, it is also an Episcopal Church retreat.  I am proud to say I am Episcopalian, and it is becoming a more important part of my life, each day longer that I spend here!

St. Dorothy's Rest is built on a hill.  Consisting of more than 10 buildings, each of which can be used to house kids or retreat groups / individuals.  They range from small two bedroom cabins, to massive houses, overlooking a valley and the Coastal Redwood forest!  Our house, Lincoln House, is a two story mansion - compared to prior living arrangements!  The ten of us are spread out with no more than two or three people in each room!  Two bathrooms and one small kitchen, which is no big deal because we get ALL the left overs from the retreat and camp kitchen staff - which is enough to feed all 10 of us for a few days!!!

After we got here, settled in, and spent the first night, we woke up the next morning and were tasked to BE QUIET!  Our sponsor, Ben, asked us for 20 minutes of no talking.  He also asked us to go explore the forest and the surroundings in which we will be living in for the next 8 weeks!  I was excited, unsure of what to expect.  My excitement was well paid off.  After the twenty minutes, Ben rang the Chapel bell, which was a sign for all of us to make our way back to the Chapel.  After a few minutes of Ben talking, he asked us what we thought.  There was so much in my head, things I saw, things I heard, I had to go first!  This is something along the lines of what I said (maybe a little more detailed now that I can write my thoughts out); 

"As I first set out, I noticed the lack of noise - no cars, airplanes, or anything linking me to the civilized world.  As I rounded the corner, and stepped off the paved road onto a dirt path, my firefighting boots sunk into the mud a little bit, connecting me even more to the natural earth.  I noticed the sounds of birds chirping, and even noticed a blue bird perched in a Live Oak Tree.  As I continued down the path, the songs of birds chirping was overpowered by water!  The stream at the bottom of the valley I was walking down became very distinct to my ears.  I stopped and listened for a while, trying to see through all the trees, down the 50 foot incline to the bottom, where the stream would be.  And behold, a small stream, tumbling over fallen trees and mossy rocks.  As I stood there, in peace and solitude, I truly took in my surroundings.  An overwhelming sensation of chaos came over me!  The old growth Coastal Redwoods were being crammed by different types of Oaks and other deciduos trees.  There was an overwhelming number of fallen or downed trees, adding to the chaos.  There were vines choking at the trees, and bushes covering most of what would have been the baren forest floor.  However, in all of this chaos, came peace.  It is a hard sensation to describe, peace within a forest.  I felt that no matter how chaotic my surroundings may be, I can be at peace.  It is also maybe the fact that I realized my reasoning to be here.. to create a less chaotic forest, a more healthy forest, and less of a fire danger for this magnificant place...  and to quote a sign which hangs over a road in St. Dorothy's Rest;  "God Has Made This Place Of Rest."

Next round project

You're in luck!  Two posts in the same day!!!  I just realized I haven't posted anything about my next round project, which starts in one week from today!  My team and I will be leaving Sacramento, and travelling 60 miles north of San Francisco, to a small town called Camp Meeker.  There, is a summer camp for ill children and an Episcopal Church retreat (all wrapped in one).  It's called St. Dorothy's Rest.  Nestled in the Sequoia forest, and about 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean (YAY!), we will be staying at St. Dorothy's Rest for about 8 weeks.  Our work will consist of fuel reduction and trail maintenance/ building.  They recently acquired 300 new acres of land, so there will be plenty of work to do!  From everything I have heard about this place, the scenery is AMAZING, the people are AMAZING, and it's one of the best places we will go to!  I'll just wait and see!  Our living conditions will be pretty sweet too.  They have fully furnished houses for us to stay in, complete with beds, laundry and kitchens!

Anyway, I'll post more when I know more.  Here's the link to St. Dorothy's Rest:

http://www.stdorothysrest.org/index2.html

Yosemiteeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Last week, my team and I drove the 3ish hours down to Mariposa, CA, which is just outside of Yosemite National Park.  The roads were tight and winding.  The scenery went from city-scape, to flat farm land, to mountainous and forest-scape.  Talk about craziness!  California has it all!  Mariposa is a quaint town, nestled into the hills around Yosemite.  Happy Burger is apparently the place to be at, with the largest menu (in CA?).  We started working, however with a change of pace.  We were no longer cutting fuel break.  We were tasked to clear downed trees that were too large and difficult (due to slope, concept, and danger) for the parks and rec department.  Our area of work was on a BLM access road (which is open to the public in the springtime, for access to campgrounds).  The trees that fell over the road ranged from about 36 inches to 12 inches.  I got to tackle the big one!!!!  It was on a hill of probably 50-60 degrees in angle (very steep).  Here's a link to the photo album.  Some of my team mates took great pics too, so I'll post those up here when I see them.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103218&id=45404814&l=ad90660d8e

 

We worked on the road for two and a half days.  Then, we got to play!!  We took Friday off and drove into Yosemite!  We didn't even have to pay the entry fee, after some of my attempted sweet talking to the park ranger, he said he noticed our government plates, and that we could just go on in!  Words can't even describe the sheer magnitude and awe inspiring scenery in the park.  No wonder why so many men, like John Muir, fought to preserve the valley for future visitors!  As we drove through the valley, and Half Dome and El Capitan rose near vertically around us, I felt smaller and smaller.  Snow covered the ground, but the water falls were flowing magnificently!  One was actually turning to snow as it reached the bottom of the fall!  We decided to take a 3-mile round trip hike, to the bottom of this fall.  The hike consisted of about 60 switchbacks (zig-zags) up the mountain.  Tiring, yes, but definitely worth every step!  The views along the way were some of the coolest and breath taking I have ever seen!  Here's the link to my photo album from Yosemite-- enjoy living vicariously through me!!!!   ;-)

 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2103219&id=45404814&l=f91fb81674

 

More BLM!

The past two weeks have been more along the same line of work as stated in my last post.  Two weeks ago, we changed location by about 5 miles or so.  The view was supposed to be better, at our campsight, however our 15 passenger van and 2wd Ford F150 couldn't make it up the steep hills and muddy terrain.  So we camped at the bottom of the hill.  We still managed to have a lot of fun, of course!  We camped all week, and after buying groceries for the week on Monday, only went into "town" once on Wednesday to shower at a "campground".  I say "town" because Groveland, which was the closest town to our location, is a very small mountain town.  I would say the town lives off of tourism, so right now it's hurting, seeing that not too many tourists visit in the winter.  I say "campground" because it was a place for RVs to park, that had running hot water for showers and sinks.  Not my kind of camping!  I opted out of a full shower, and only rinsed my hair and washed my face... good enough for me!  We did visit the oldest continuously operated bar in California - The Iron Door Saloon.  The place was awesome, with a lot of history, and some really good beer!  Yum!  We had to turn our AmeriCorps uniform (if we had it on) inside out.  I turned my t-shirt inside out because we are not supposed to drink in it...  adapt and overcome!!

Here are some pics from that week:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102207&id=45404814&l=d068078d43

 

 

Last week, we didn't camp.  We stayed in Sacramento and travelled to El Dorado every day.  We worked on a fuel break line 15 minutes from the BLM office.  Not as exciting, but we all got a lot of chainsaw use.  My saw team, Zac and I, have become a very strong team.  We are quick, effective, and still safe.  As of right now, weare the strongest team.  We did get filmed this week!  I know, kind of random, yet very cool!  The BLM was shooting a Public Service Announcement for the area, to inform people about the need to clear brush and small trees away from their house up to 100 feet.  We all played small roles in the background of the film, to make it a little more interesting.  I was in the first clip making a fake fire line in the background, as they interviewed the local Fire Department.  The rest of the morning was a waste, as I stood around on "the set" (which was some person's back yard).  That afternoon we took a drive up to Lover's Leap, a lookout over a near 2,500 vertical drop.  AWESOME!  We were told that Lover's Leap is one of the best views on BLM land in the nation.  It was given a view rating of 2, where in perspective the Grand Canyon is a 1 (the lower, the better).

 

Here are some pics from that:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102388&id=45404814&l=16ffae9ae4

 

Not sure what the plan is for this week... We'll find out a few minutes before we leave!  Craziness!

 

Talk to you all soon!

Working with the BLM - Mother Lode Region

My team and I finally started working with the Bureau of Land Management last week.  Our first project was to work on clearing a fire line that was originally made during the Cold War.  The line has been maintained in pieces, since it's construction, but has never been completed in whole, back to it's original size.  The line stretches for over 12 miles, and maintains a 200 foot clearing, down to shrubs of less than 4 inches tall.  Our efforts will, hopefully, complete this fire line before the fire season starts up.

Using chainsaws, we cut down mostly brush and small trees.  Nothing big yet.  Most of my team has little to no experience with chainsaws, so I've been helping them out as much as I can.

The area we were in was awesome!  We were about 2-hours outside of Yosemite National Park, camping on the ridge of a mountain.  We couldn't have asked for better weather, too!  Mid 60's during the day, and upper 30's at night!  I woke up every morning to a sunrise through the trees, over looking the fog that settles into the Sacramento Valley (it looks like a sea of clouds from the mountains), and I went to bed after a sunset over the horizon and that sea of clouds... simply amazing!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2101713&id=45404814&l=4c59cc2cd5

 

This coming week our location is going to change, going closer to Yosemite, and camping out all week.  We were told that the scenery is even more impressive.. can't wait!

 

Talk to you all soon!