Well, since this blog has so much of a theme anyway, I figured I would just share something that I often rant about to my friends and family to... A topic near and dear to my heart.... outdoor gear. I am starting a review site. That is how much I actually care about it. I mean I love being outside... and I don't want my choice of shitty gear to deter from my experience outdoors. So I reserach the shit out of things before I buy it. Anyway...
I aspire to spend some time outside in some serious cold. I mean Alaskan winters. Winter camping. Ice climbing. Mixed climbing. 8000 meter peak climbing. As such, I spent a fair bit of time researching how to stay warm. There are numerous options in mensware to achieve this. In months of research, I turned up three options for a women's extreme cold belay parka; the Rab Neutrino Endurance, the Patagonia Fitz Roy, and the Mountain Hardware Phantom jacket. All three options are less warm than the warmest men's jackets available. Additionally, there are no options for a women's summit down suit. I guess only men need those. Cause ya know, women never do cool shit. Or get cold.
I have found this extreme lack of available women's wear in many elite outdoor gear categories. A women's full zip hardshell pant does not exist. Nor does a women's puffy pant. To name a few. Because really, when I am climbing a 8000 meter mountain, I want to be worried about the crotch of my men's pants hanging half way down to my knees. Cause that's how men's pants usually fit me.
I actually contacted Mountain Hardware (MH) regarding my frustration. They sent me a kind reply back saying I am not the only person who shares this sentiment. They alluded to possible future products that would be developed to keep women warm on the mountain. This was great. Until now. The afore mentioned Phantom Jacket is apparently not being made anymore. Nor is it being replaced with a comparable cold weather-geared jacket as far as I can tell. Apparently women are just supposed to buy the men's jackets from MH now if they want to be warm. Which is great and all, but I am not shaped like a dude. I would love to actually be wearing gear that is cut for a woman. So that when I move I don't get shit bunched up where I don't want it. Maybe they have something bigger and better planned. Maybe. That would be neat.
Anyway, the point, PLEASE outdoor brands, get with it! There are movements all over encouraging women to get out and do things. Skiing, climbing, mountaineering.... and it is working. Myself and the amazing women I spend that majority of my time outdoors with would appreciate it if we actually had some options when selecting gear for extreme weather trips.
Friday, March 11, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
Power
People are fascinating. Sometimes in a frustrating way, but fascinating nevertheless. I am going to talk about one of the frustrating, yet amusing, things about people; power and perception.
I will say that I believe very few people are truly powerful. Titles are a dime a dozen. For my purposes, I will classify someone as "powerful" if they are respected by most people, hated by a few (some people are always going to hate people that have influence), and are thus capable of influencing a group of people. Scale is not necessarily important. This could be a world leader or just someone in a group of friends. I will mention that power can kind of be obtained through fear. However, I don't believe that is "true" power. As I see it, true power is influencing people because they want to do it, not because they have to. Ok, definition done.
I meet and deal with a lot of people. So many of them seem to feel the need to express their superiority over others. "Oh, I went to college", or "I have been doing this for 30 years", or "my dad did this awesome thing", or "I have this fancy title", or "I make so much money", etc, therefore, I am better than you. I hate this attitude. I really can't stand it. I have met people who have treated me like shit because they thought I was stupid because they thought I didn't go to college. They then found out that I did and their complete attitude about me changed. All the sudden, they started talking to me like I was intelligent and we were BFFs. I wish I was kidding, but i'm not. They completely judged me as a person and assumed they were better than me and I was not worth their time based off of some piece of paper that some people at an institution thought I deserved. Having been to college, I base little value on degrees. But that is another discussion for another day. Yes, college is important, no, going to it does not make you better than anyone. The people who I am willing to follow and who I choose to have in my life are the people who avoid this kind of bullshit.
I have absolutely no desire to listen to (or really be around) someone simply because their title is "higher ranking than mine". It is a completely arbitrary system that humans made to give themselves perceived power over others. I mean, in certain situations I don't really have much of a choice, but I am not going to be happy doing what someone says, or stay in a position for long where I have to, because they have a title. To be happy following someone, I have to respect them. I need to have a basic idea of their values, means, goal, and purpose to truly follow someone.
The part that blows me away is how many people don't seem to get that. Yes, you are my superior in this situation because someone else said you were, so it is in my best interest to do what you say, but I don't like your values and I think your end goal is stupid. If I do what you tell me, it is only because I really want to keep doing whatever it is you are in charge of, not because I actually believe in what you are doing or have any respect for you. Try not to get your ego too worked up about your power over me. I am doing this because I want to, not because you are better than me.
The too common attitude that so many people seem to have that makes them compare themselves to others based on superficial things is ridiculous. You can feel it and sense it when someone judges you based off of something dumb. It shouldn't be about you compared to those around you, its about you compared to what you can be. Really, we all have different talents. We then make our choices. We can choose to develop or skills and talents and be the best we can or we can choose to be lazy. I won't say that I don't judge people, I do. I know it's not my place to, but we all do it regardless of if we should or not. But when I judge someone, its only based on them. On their choices and who they are, not on some arbitrary, man made system designed to give us the false perception that we are better than someone else.
I believe people are truly powerful and deserving of respect when they have an attitude along the line of "I am awesome because I am me" and just leave it at that. It isn't about what makes you better than others. It's about what makes you good in and of itself. That is how I try to live, and I find that people respond really well to it. Most people I meet are eventually willing to listen to what I have to say. Not because I went to college, not because someone decided I was in charge of a project, not because of whatever perceived superficial thing, but because of who I am and my confidence in that.
So I guess what I am saying is, power comes from respect. Respect comes from being the best you can be, regardless of what is around you.
I will say that I believe very few people are truly powerful. Titles are a dime a dozen. For my purposes, I will classify someone as "powerful" if they are respected by most people, hated by a few (some people are always going to hate people that have influence), and are thus capable of influencing a group of people. Scale is not necessarily important. This could be a world leader or just someone in a group of friends. I will mention that power can kind of be obtained through fear. However, I don't believe that is "true" power. As I see it, true power is influencing people because they want to do it, not because they have to. Ok, definition done.
I meet and deal with a lot of people. So many of them seem to feel the need to express their superiority over others. "Oh, I went to college", or "I have been doing this for 30 years", or "my dad did this awesome thing", or "I have this fancy title", or "I make so much money", etc, therefore, I am better than you. I hate this attitude. I really can't stand it. I have met people who have treated me like shit because they thought I was stupid because they thought I didn't go to college. They then found out that I did and their complete attitude about me changed. All the sudden, they started talking to me like I was intelligent and we were BFFs. I wish I was kidding, but i'm not. They completely judged me as a person and assumed they were better than me and I was not worth their time based off of some piece of paper that some people at an institution thought I deserved. Having been to college, I base little value on degrees. But that is another discussion for another day. Yes, college is important, no, going to it does not make you better than anyone. The people who I am willing to follow and who I choose to have in my life are the people who avoid this kind of bullshit.
I have absolutely no desire to listen to (or really be around) someone simply because their title is "higher ranking than mine". It is a completely arbitrary system that humans made to give themselves perceived power over others. I mean, in certain situations I don't really have much of a choice, but I am not going to be happy doing what someone says, or stay in a position for long where I have to, because they have a title. To be happy following someone, I have to respect them. I need to have a basic idea of their values, means, goal, and purpose to truly follow someone.
The part that blows me away is how many people don't seem to get that. Yes, you are my superior in this situation because someone else said you were, so it is in my best interest to do what you say, but I don't like your values and I think your end goal is stupid. If I do what you tell me, it is only because I really want to keep doing whatever it is you are in charge of, not because I actually believe in what you are doing or have any respect for you. Try not to get your ego too worked up about your power over me. I am doing this because I want to, not because you are better than me.
The too common attitude that so many people seem to have that makes them compare themselves to others based on superficial things is ridiculous. You can feel it and sense it when someone judges you based off of something dumb. It shouldn't be about you compared to those around you, its about you compared to what you can be. Really, we all have different talents. We then make our choices. We can choose to develop or skills and talents and be the best we can or we can choose to be lazy. I won't say that I don't judge people, I do. I know it's not my place to, but we all do it regardless of if we should or not. But when I judge someone, its only based on them. On their choices and who they are, not on some arbitrary, man made system designed to give us the false perception that we are better than someone else.
I believe people are truly powerful and deserving of respect when they have an attitude along the line of "I am awesome because I am me" and just leave it at that. It isn't about what makes you better than others. It's about what makes you good in and of itself. That is how I try to live, and I find that people respond really well to it. Most people I meet are eventually willing to listen to what I have to say. Not because I went to college, not because someone decided I was in charge of a project, not because of whatever perceived superficial thing, but because of who I am and my confidence in that.
So I guess what I am saying is, power comes from respect. Respect comes from being the best you can be, regardless of what is around you.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Sometimes I just have to wonder... how did I end up here...
I found this post in my drafts....I wrote it months ago and just found it in my drafts folder and decided to finally post it....
So I apparently have a lot of friends with birthdays this weekend. As is appropriate, there was some birthday partying tonight. Being a good friend, I attended and bought the birthday boy and girl some shots. And made my other birthday friend a cake. This post won't have any pictures that are really relevant. So I will post some random ones from my life recently. Anyway, getting to the point, I was talking to one of my friends tonight when she said, as she often does, something to the effect of how insanely lucky she is to have such an awesome family, friends, career, etc. and how she never could have planned it any better if she had tried.
Naturally, this statement always makes me think. She also went a little further and talked about some things happening at work that it was just interesting how all the pieces had fallen into place to bring her to where she is now. I won't go into the details of her story, but I will go into some with mine.
That said, I totally agree with what she is saying. I mean, I am at a slightly different place in my life than she is but I am happy. Almost too happy. It is kind of a weird feeling. I mean, of course I have bad days, but they pass. And they really aren't that bad. Something dumb happens and it annoys me and I get over it. The part that interests me so much is how I got here. Because I sure didn't plan it. Looking back, it is a random series of events that has brought me to this point. If you had told me who I would be and what I would be doing and who I would be doing it with two years ago, I probably would have laughed at you. If you had told me that 5 years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed you. 8 years ago... well, there is no way i would have believed that that would be me in the future.
Anyway, so 8 years ago I was in highschool, living in Alabama and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. (not that I know that now...) I was in band and played soccer and had some friends and that was my life. Oh, I had my first job, as a lifeguard. Not a career but I was making money. My life plan was to graduate and go to college, probably down in the South with all my friends. Anyway, along came life and things outside of my control changed my perfect little plan. 6 years ago, I end up in Alaska, still in highschool. The soccer team sucks, the band is good but just isn't the same, and I have no friends. I manage to find a job working in retail. Good experience but still not a career... at least I am making money. Seeing a pattern here??? All I want to do is go back to what I know. I am completely opposed to change and terribly unhappy with life in general. My perfect little plan has been ruined!
Anyway, fast forward a little more. I go to college, graduate, and things start to get better. I meet people, I get progressively better jobs, I start to find new things that I love to do. I learn to ski, dirt bike, weld, etc. My network of friends starts to grow. I meet people who know people that I know. I actually start to find some really good friends. Anyway, enough of my life story. Just for the background of where this is all coming from.
Anyway, to the topic. I was thinking on my drive home from the bar (I wasn't drinking. I don't drink and drive) how I got here. I am happy with who I am and honestly don't care what other people think. If they don't like me, that's their problem. I will seriously inform someone I just met "oh, I am pretty cool. We should be friends". And if they don't want to be then whatever. My self esteem is frighteningly high. I push my limits outside of my comfort zone because I like to. It is challenging and fun. I used to be too scared to do that. I just wonder where this came from. 2 years ago, I was not like this at all. I was worried about why so and so didn't like me. In general, I was just worried about the wrong things.
I like to think about things like this. So I thought about this for a while. What happened to me? Well there was this crazy series of events that happened. I learned things, I met people, I experienced things. And I made decisions based off of what happened to me. I let them change me for the better. (I think) I stopped being so worried about my plan and my destination and started looking at the journey and even looking for the side tracks that may not take me where I planed to go when I planned to go but might still get me somewhere worth going. I started looking for and even making opportunities that were not part of my plan at all.
I mean, I have always been very career and money oriented my whole life. I don't think that money is the most important thing in life but I have come to the conclusion that the lack of money causes a lot of problems. Therefore, a career and money making means have always been very important to me. So what did I do when I graduate from college? I took a low paying job that I like waking up and going to more days than not and allowed me to travel (and go way into debt) for three months. I packed up my truck and took a 13,000 mile road trip. Oh, by myself. Totally not planned. I mean I could have graduated and looked for and possibly gotten a much higher paying career fast track job. If you had told me I was going to do that two years ago I would have laughed at you and told you no way in hell am I doing that. It was scary. Really scary. But I am sure glad I did it.
Anyway, just some more random, slightly disconnected thoughts from my brain :)
So I apparently have a lot of friends with birthdays this weekend. As is appropriate, there was some birthday partying tonight. Being a good friend, I attended and bought the birthday boy and girl some shots. And made my other birthday friend a cake. This post won't have any pictures that are really relevant. So I will post some random ones from my life recently. Anyway, getting to the point, I was talking to one of my friends tonight when she said, as she often does, something to the effect of how insanely lucky she is to have such an awesome family, friends, career, etc. and how she never could have planned it any better if she had tried.
 | ||||
| Pokemon cake!! It was absolutely 105% properly appreciated by the recipient :D |
That said, I totally agree with what she is saying. I mean, I am at a slightly different place in my life than she is but I am happy. Almost too happy. It is kind of a weird feeling. I mean, of course I have bad days, but they pass. And they really aren't that bad. Something dumb happens and it annoys me and I get over it. The part that interests me so much is how I got here. Because I sure didn't plan it. Looking back, it is a random series of events that has brought me to this point. If you had told me who I would be and what I would be doing and who I would be doing it with two years ago, I probably would have laughed at you. If you had told me that 5 years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed you. 8 years ago... well, there is no way i would have believed that that would be me in the future.
Anyway, so 8 years ago I was in highschool, living in Alabama and had no idea what I was going to do with my life. (not that I know that now...) I was in band and played soccer and had some friends and that was my life. Oh, I had my first job, as a lifeguard. Not a career but I was making money. My life plan was to graduate and go to college, probably down in the South with all my friends. Anyway, along came life and things outside of my control changed my perfect little plan. 6 years ago, I end up in Alaska, still in highschool. The soccer team sucks, the band is good but just isn't the same, and I have no friends. I manage to find a job working in retail. Good experience but still not a career... at least I am making money. Seeing a pattern here??? All I want to do is go back to what I know. I am completely opposed to change and terribly unhappy with life in general. My perfect little plan has been ruined!
Anyway, fast forward a little more. I go to college, graduate, and things start to get better. I meet people, I get progressively better jobs, I start to find new things that I love to do. I learn to ski, dirt bike, weld, etc. My network of friends starts to grow. I meet people who know people that I know. I actually start to find some really good friends. Anyway, enough of my life story. Just for the background of where this is all coming from.
Anyway, to the topic. I was thinking on my drive home from the bar (I wasn't drinking. I don't drink and drive) how I got here. I am happy with who I am and honestly don't care what other people think. If they don't like me, that's their problem. I will seriously inform someone I just met "oh, I am pretty cool. We should be friends". And if they don't want to be then whatever. My self esteem is frighteningly high. I push my limits outside of my comfort zone because I like to. It is challenging and fun. I used to be too scared to do that. I just wonder where this came from. 2 years ago, I was not like this at all. I was worried about why so and so didn't like me. In general, I was just worried about the wrong things.
I like to think about things like this. So I thought about this for a while. What happened to me? Well there was this crazy series of events that happened. I learned things, I met people, I experienced things. And I made decisions based off of what happened to me. I let them change me for the better. (I think) I stopped being so worried about my plan and my destination and started looking at the journey and even looking for the side tracks that may not take me where I planed to go when I planned to go but might still get me somewhere worth going. I started looking for and even making opportunities that were not part of my plan at all.
I mean, I have always been very career and money oriented my whole life. I don't think that money is the most important thing in life but I have come to the conclusion that the lack of money causes a lot of problems. Therefore, a career and money making means have always been very important to me. So what did I do when I graduate from college? I took a low paying job that I like waking up and going to more days than not and allowed me to travel (and go way into debt) for three months. I packed up my truck and took a 13,000 mile road trip. Oh, by myself. Totally not planned. I mean I could have graduated and looked for and possibly gotten a much higher paying career fast track job. If you had told me I was going to do that two years ago I would have laughed at you and told you no way in hell am I doing that. It was scary. Really scary. But I am sure glad I did it.
Anyway, just some more random, slightly disconnected thoughts from my brain :)
Still in Cooper Landing.. drilling... not so much
Don't worry. The fun hasn't stopped yet! We have at least a month of this!
-Don't leave your gloves sitting on the heater too long... they will melt
-Of the four people working on this project, apparently I was the only that brought a knife or a gun
-The drill can be used in many creative ways. For instance, it can be used to lift and turn a couple ton air compressor.
-Bonfires make everyone more enjoyable to work with.
-The propane torch/weed whacker is a great way to start a fire
-Don't leave plastic things like buckets or water bottles close to the fire... they melt.
-Apparently we have melted quite a few things on this project.
-Some dirt is really hard on equipment. We destroyed two shoes for the sampler in 15 feet of drilling...
-If anything gets destroyed, it is always my fault. Even though I am the only one that doesn't actually touch the equipment.
-Winching a drill rig and air compressor up a bumpy hill can be bad.... and result in the cable snapping and a project delay
-As soon as the winch is fixed and the rig moved to the next site, one of the hydraulic jacks busts. Bolts broke, fittings sheared off, hydraulic fluid everywhere....
-3 days later waiting for it to get fix, I find out the solid 4 inch diameter ram of the jack is also bent....
-Apparently the drillers only have problems with hydraulics on the rig when they are on projects with me. (they blew something on the last hole when we were in Chignik Bay.....). That some how makes it my fault. ha.
-Chainsaws are still fun. Even though at this point, only one is remotely sharp enough to safely use. And the ex-lumberjack/tree cutting expert gets to use it. The rest of us just move the downed trees. And when I say us I mostly mean the other drillers. And me when I can do it without getting in the way too much.
-Don't put your revolver in your backpack and then toss it on the ground at the work site. While the trigger is safely covered by the holster and the safety mechanisms of the gun keep it from firing, you can still break off the rear sight. Now how am I supposed to aim it at the pissed off I-just-woke up bear?
-Plastic bottles can be lit on fire
-Frozen dirt is a bitch to clean off of equipment... especially 150 feet of rod .
-After torching the shit out of a split spoon (to dry the dirt so I can brush it off... since carrying water to the site is really impractical), it is hot. And should not be touched for a while.
-For some reason the drillers don't like the idea of welding without a welding hood... the hammer needs to be rebuilt and all the hoods have disappeared back to Anchorage....
-When shit gets stuck together, torch the shit out of it and then whack it with a hammer. Fixes the problem almost every time.
-sometimes it takes over a week to do what should take a few days. Shit likes to break.
So there will probably be at least one more of these. If you are still interested. :) Probably.
-Don't leave your gloves sitting on the heater too long... they will melt
-Of the four people working on this project, apparently I was the only that brought a knife or a gun
-The drill can be used in many creative ways. For instance, it can be used to lift and turn a couple ton air compressor.
-Bonfires make everyone more enjoyable to work with.
-The propane torch/weed whacker is a great way to start a fire
-Don't leave plastic things like buckets or water bottles close to the fire... they melt.
-Apparently we have melted quite a few things on this project.
-Some dirt is really hard on equipment. We destroyed two shoes for the sampler in 15 feet of drilling...
-If anything gets destroyed, it is always my fault. Even though I am the only one that doesn't actually touch the equipment.
-Winching a drill rig and air compressor up a bumpy hill can be bad.... and result in the cable snapping and a project delay
-As soon as the winch is fixed and the rig moved to the next site, one of the hydraulic jacks busts. Bolts broke, fittings sheared off, hydraulic fluid everywhere....
-3 days later waiting for it to get fix, I find out the solid 4 inch diameter ram of the jack is also bent....
-Apparently the drillers only have problems with hydraulics on the rig when they are on projects with me. (they blew something on the last hole when we were in Chignik Bay.....). That some how makes it my fault. ha.
-Chainsaws are still fun. Even though at this point, only one is remotely sharp enough to safely use. And the ex-lumberjack/tree cutting expert gets to use it. The rest of us just move the downed trees. And when I say us I mostly mean the other drillers. And me when I can do it without getting in the way too much.
-Don't put your revolver in your backpack and then toss it on the ground at the work site. While the trigger is safely covered by the holster and the safety mechanisms of the gun keep it from firing, you can still break off the rear sight. Now how am I supposed to aim it at the pissed off I-just-woke up bear?
-Plastic bottles can be lit on fire
-Frozen dirt is a bitch to clean off of equipment... especially 150 feet of rod .
-After torching the shit out of a split spoon (to dry the dirt so I can brush it off... since carrying water to the site is really impractical), it is hot. And should not be touched for a while.
-For some reason the drillers don't like the idea of welding without a welding hood... the hammer needs to be rebuilt and all the hoods have disappeared back to Anchorage....
-When shit gets stuck together, torch the shit out of it and then whack it with a hammer. Fixes the problem almost every time.
-sometimes it takes over a week to do what should take a few days. Shit likes to break.
So there will probably be at least one more of these. If you are still interested. :) Probably.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Adventure is taking inappropriate gear to out of the way places... AKA my skiing adventures in Cooper Landing
So if you know me you know that I don't like sitting around. If I am out on a job, there is a really good chance I will go wander around wherever I am working in my off time. I generally try to be relatively safe and not do anything too dumb and by myself. This entry is going to be kind of random and probably pointless. Though, it sould be somewhat entertaining.
Anyway, Cooper Landing is full of fun stuff to do when the weather is nice. In the past two years, they have started grooming two of the camp grounds for cross country skiing, which I have taken up this winter and am pretty excited about. There is also a surplus of hiking trails (most of which I will not attempt by myself in the winter... ya know, no phone reception, avalanche danger, exposure danger, wild animal danger, etc....), a few of which are tame enough that I will attempt on my own. And it is fucking gorgeous. I am pretty much in a valley surrounded by mountains and the Kenai River which is BLUE. And I love blue. Lots of amazing photo opportunities. Anyway, enough about Cooper Landing, it's awesome, you should visit. This post is about me so let's get onto that....
I decided to have my first skiing adventure at the Russian River Campground. I've been here in the summer a few times. Never to actually camp, mind you. I must say, I like what they have done with the place. I spent a while looking for the trail map online before I went. It's not online anywhere as far as I know. But, it's posted at the entrance to the campground and is pretty simple; one road in, follow it back out. Also, I have posted it below if you are really curious. (for google if anyone is looking Russian River Ski Trail... I think that google picks these up) Also, grooming reports can be found here if you are using this as a guide for your own ski adventure.... It is done by volunteers and seems to take about 24 to 48 hours after a snowfall to get groomed.
So the first day I decide to go ski, it has just snowed a few inches and the trail is ungroomed. I am skating (I kind of hate classic skiing... but I will get to that in a bit) along happily. The snow isn't deep enough to really be an issue. There are maybe two other peoples' tracks on the trail... so it is quite serene... I look down and find these:
Ohhh shitttt. Those are some big ass paw prints. My hands really aren't that small. Pretty normal size actually. Anyway, so I see these and am like.... what?!?! wolves?!?! There are danger signs about avalanches and bears (all of which are hibernating at the moment) all over and nothing about wolves. I really haven't even heard of them being a big issue on the Kenai Peninsula in general, hence my lack of preparation and shock. Needless to say, I turn around and get the hell out of there in a hurry. It didn't stop snowing until late the night before... so those tracks are probably from within the last 12 hours. I go back to the cabin I am staying in and do some research on the local wildlife. Yup, wolves. Though they are rarely seen apparently. Needless to say, I didn't really want to run into one. Especially not unarmed at dusk. I concluded probably fighting off a wolf with a ski pole would place me amongst the most badass people alive. However, the alternative of failure in that endeavour was not particularly appealing.
The next time I went out, I decided I should go snowshoeing while it was still snowing. This turned out to be a rather unpleasant experience. Relatively speaking of course. Being outside is almost always awesome. But I have placed snowshoeing at the top of my "least favorite things to do outside" list. I have concluded I like it less than classic skiing and bicycling, both of which I have an unreasonable dislike of. No particular reason why I don't like them, I just don't like the motion they require me to do. And I don't like it any better the more I practice. I have concluded that snowshoeing is unreasonably slow and annoying and I would rather classic ski if I have a choice. I feel so strongly that I asked for my classic skis back from my friend that I let borrow them a year ago.
Anyway, I snowshoe out on the Russian lakes trail. The trail head is off the Russian river campground road. It's about 3 miles to Russian Lake falls, which was my goal. Well, about an hour and a half in, I still see no falls. I don't think I hike that slow and it is going to be dark in about another hour and a half. And with the wolves around and my mild fear of the dark and the whole being alone in the Alaskan wilderness in the cold anddd the chance of someone else coming along this trail tonight being little to none, I decide I really don't want to be out that late and the falls must not be THAT cool. So I turn around and hike back to the truck. It wasn't a bad hike but I really did not enjoy the snowshoeing. And there was very little elevation change. I really like hikes that require some sort of rock scrambling. Not that that would be a good idea in the winter... but just so you know where I am coming from. There were a bunch of trees and no view. There probably would have been a cool one if I had found the falls, but clearly I did not. Anyway, I now have my classic skies and and going to attempt this one again on those.
I have been to the ski trails a few more times and they are nice. If you do all the loops and such it is about 6 miles. According to the map at least. The views are great and it is kind of fun making first tracks on the freshly groomed trails. Though it is concerning when there are no signs of skiiers and there are animal tracks all over. Oh well, at least most of them are little :)
So my final notable skiing adventure happened up bean creek trail. FYI, this trail is not groomed. Or appropriate for skate skiing really. But that's all I had so that's what I used. I show up in the parking lot and there is a group getting ready to do ressurection pass. (bean creek is a safer winter trail to use for the first part of t resurrection) I ask them what the trail is like and if it is wide enough for skating. It is. For a ways. Well, I plan to take the trail to where it intersection Resurrection Trail so I have a great idea: strap the snowshoes to my backpack and ski as far as I can and then switch. Brilliant! So I load up my backpack with my gun, extra clothes, some water, some food, and of course my medical kit (I like to be prepared or somthing). I also shove my shoes in there. I don't think that snowshoes and ski boots will be that great. Then I attempt to figure out how to strap my snowshoes on to the backpack. I have two straps used to compress the bag that I manage to loop around the straps on the snowshoes. Well, they are gonna flop around but they won't go anywhere!
So I head out. The trail is ok for skating... It has been packed pretty well by snowmachines. However, I quickly realize why people who are skiing with gear always pull it in a sled. The backpack is on pretty tight but is still flopping around. With the snowshoes, it is making me incredibly unbalanced. (on the up side, I now ski much better without the extra weight...) I almost fall multiple times. Anyway, I stop to take off some layers and the guys I saw in the parking lot catch up. This is signifigant because a short while later, the trail narrows. A lot. I really don't want to use my snowshoes if I don't have to. (as mentioned before they are so painfully slow that I can't deal with them. I know it is about the journey and all but I like to journey quickly and stop to enjoy things as I please. Not go slow and look at everything. Ya know, it isnt fun until I am soaked in sweat... Just my style ya know)
Anyway, so I skate down the narrow trail maybe about 100 yards before running my ski tip into the snow on the side of the trail. For anyone that has done that, you know what happened next.... I immediate face plant. Litterally, face plant. Face to snow. And then my snowshoes flip over my back pack and whack me on the head. Ow. Ok snowshoes. You win. I will use you. Oh, and I had an audience for this. Possibly the only other people to use this trail all day.....
So I take off my skies and switch over to the snowshoes. I stash my skis, poles, and boots under a tree. Chances are that people are not coming up here looking for ski gear to steal... and I won't be completely heartbroken if it does dissappers. Maybe just slightly dissapointed in humanity. Anyway, I continue down the trail on my snowshoes. My pack feels amazingly light now that I am wearing the shoes and snowshoes that were in/on it. I make it to resurection pass trail and turn around. Nothing too specacular but there are some nice mountain views.
Anyway, Cooper Landing is full of fun stuff to do when the weather is nice. In the past two years, they have started grooming two of the camp grounds for cross country skiing, which I have taken up this winter and am pretty excited about. There is also a surplus of hiking trails (most of which I will not attempt by myself in the winter... ya know, no phone reception, avalanche danger, exposure danger, wild animal danger, etc....), a few of which are tame enough that I will attempt on my own. And it is fucking gorgeous. I am pretty much in a valley surrounded by mountains and the Kenai River which is BLUE. And I love blue. Lots of amazing photo opportunities. Anyway, enough about Cooper Landing, it's awesome, you should visit. This post is about me so let's get onto that....
I decided to have my first skiing adventure at the Russian River Campground. I've been here in the summer a few times. Never to actually camp, mind you. I must say, I like what they have done with the place. I spent a while looking for the trail map online before I went. It's not online anywhere as far as I know. But, it's posted at the entrance to the campground and is pretty simple; one road in, follow it back out. Also, I have posted it below if you are really curious. (for google if anyone is looking Russian River Ski Trail... I think that google picks these up) Also, grooming reports can be found here if you are using this as a guide for your own ski adventure.... It is done by volunteers and seems to take about 24 to 48 hours after a snowfall to get groomed.
So the first day I decide to go ski, it has just snowed a few inches and the trail is ungroomed. I am skating (I kind of hate classic skiing... but I will get to that in a bit) along happily. The snow isn't deep enough to really be an issue. There are maybe two other peoples' tracks on the trail... so it is quite serene... I look down and find these:
Ohhh shitttt. Those are some big ass paw prints. My hands really aren't that small. Pretty normal size actually. Anyway, so I see these and am like.... what?!?! wolves?!?! There are danger signs about avalanches and bears (all of which are hibernating at the moment) all over and nothing about wolves. I really haven't even heard of them being a big issue on the Kenai Peninsula in general, hence my lack of preparation and shock. Needless to say, I turn around and get the hell out of there in a hurry. It didn't stop snowing until late the night before... so those tracks are probably from within the last 12 hours. I go back to the cabin I am staying in and do some research on the local wildlife. Yup, wolves. Though they are rarely seen apparently. Needless to say, I didn't really want to run into one. Especially not unarmed at dusk. I concluded probably fighting off a wolf with a ski pole would place me amongst the most badass people alive. However, the alternative of failure in that endeavour was not particularly appealing.
The next time I went out, I decided I should go snowshoeing while it was still snowing. This turned out to be a rather unpleasant experience. Relatively speaking of course. Being outside is almost always awesome. But I have placed snowshoeing at the top of my "least favorite things to do outside" list. I have concluded I like it less than classic skiing and bicycling, both of which I have an unreasonable dislike of. No particular reason why I don't like them, I just don't like the motion they require me to do. And I don't like it any better the more I practice. I have concluded that snowshoeing is unreasonably slow and annoying and I would rather classic ski if I have a choice. I feel so strongly that I asked for my classic skis back from my friend that I let borrow them a year ago.
Anyway, I snowshoe out on the Russian lakes trail. The trail head is off the Russian river campground road. It's about 3 miles to Russian Lake falls, which was my goal. Well, about an hour and a half in, I still see no falls. I don't think I hike that slow and it is going to be dark in about another hour and a half. And with the wolves around and my mild fear of the dark and the whole being alone in the Alaskan wilderness in the cold anddd the chance of someone else coming along this trail tonight being little to none, I decide I really don't want to be out that late and the falls must not be THAT cool. So I turn around and hike back to the truck. It wasn't a bad hike but I really did not enjoy the snowshoeing. And there was very little elevation change. I really like hikes that require some sort of rock scrambling. Not that that would be a good idea in the winter... but just so you know where I am coming from. There were a bunch of trees and no view. There probably would have been a cool one if I had found the falls, but clearly I did not. Anyway, I now have my classic skies and and going to attempt this one again on those.
I have been to the ski trails a few more times and they are nice. If you do all the loops and such it is about 6 miles. According to the map at least. The views are great and it is kind of fun making first tracks on the freshly groomed trails. Though it is concerning when there are no signs of skiiers and there are animal tracks all over. Oh well, at least most of them are little :)
So my final notable skiing adventure happened up bean creek trail. FYI, this trail is not groomed. Or appropriate for skate skiing really. But that's all I had so that's what I used. I show up in the parking lot and there is a group getting ready to do ressurection pass. (bean creek is a safer winter trail to use for the first part of t resurrection) I ask them what the trail is like and if it is wide enough for skating. It is. For a ways. Well, I plan to take the trail to where it intersection Resurrection Trail so I have a great idea: strap the snowshoes to my backpack and ski as far as I can and then switch. Brilliant! So I load up my backpack with my gun, extra clothes, some water, some food, and of course my medical kit (I like to be prepared or somthing). I also shove my shoes in there. I don't think that snowshoes and ski boots will be that great. Then I attempt to figure out how to strap my snowshoes on to the backpack. I have two straps used to compress the bag that I manage to loop around the straps on the snowshoes. Well, they are gonna flop around but they won't go anywhere!
So I head out. The trail is ok for skating... It has been packed pretty well by snowmachines. However, I quickly realize why people who are skiing with gear always pull it in a sled. The backpack is on pretty tight but is still flopping around. With the snowshoes, it is making me incredibly unbalanced. (on the up side, I now ski much better without the extra weight...) I almost fall multiple times. Anyway, I stop to take off some layers and the guys I saw in the parking lot catch up. This is signifigant because a short while later, the trail narrows. A lot. I really don't want to use my snowshoes if I don't have to. (as mentioned before they are so painfully slow that I can't deal with them. I know it is about the journey and all but I like to journey quickly and stop to enjoy things as I please. Not go slow and look at everything. Ya know, it isnt fun until I am soaked in sweat... Just my style ya know)
Anyway, so I skate down the narrow trail maybe about 100 yards before running my ski tip into the snow on the side of the trail. For anyone that has done that, you know what happened next.... I immediate face plant. Litterally, face plant. Face to snow. And then my snowshoes flip over my back pack and whack me on the head. Ow. Ok snowshoes. You win. I will use you. Oh, and I had an audience for this. Possibly the only other people to use this trail all day.....
So I take off my skies and switch over to the snowshoes. I stash my skis, poles, and boots under a tree. Chances are that people are not coming up here looking for ski gear to steal... and I won't be completely heartbroken if it does dissappers. Maybe just slightly dissapointed in humanity. Anyway, I continue down the trail on my snowshoes. My pack feels amazingly light now that I am wearing the shoes and snowshoes that were in/on it. I make it to resurection pass trail and turn around. Nothing too specacular but there are some nice mountain views.
The end! Oh, and no one stole my skis. I got back and put them back on and skiied back to the truck :D
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The Rules of my Life
The cabin I am staying in has the 10 commandments hanging on the wall. I was looking at them one morning and then went out into the field to do some work. I then started talking to the drillers about something which lead me to saying something along the lines of "ya I always act this way". Which is a weird statement for me to make because I don't really live by absolutes. I kind of believe that there is an exception to every rule and what is right or wrong in one situation might be completely different in another. I then started thinking about ways that I pretty much always act in all situations....
Anyway, I decided to compile a list of my "life rules". Not really like the 10 commandments, so I don't really know how that ties in.... Just things that I always try to keep in mind when making choices and getting through life.
1) Don't argue unless you are pretty sure you are right, and it is worth arguing about.
Personally, I am not a fan of arguing. Once in a while I will argue over something dumb just to remind someone that I am not a push over. Or because they are talking about something that I happen to know a lot about and they are wrong. Or because someone manages to strike a nerve. But usually, I just don't argue unless it is important.
2) Don't agree to things unless you know what you are agreeing to.
If anyone comes up to me and says "ya wanna do me a favor", my response is always something along the lines of "most likely", "probably", "maybe", or "probably not but what is it" depending on who is asking and what their history of favors is. This might come from my fear of commitment, but I adopted this attitude after blindly agreeing to do some things that I really didn't want to. (Not like bad things, but more like, you lazy ass hole... you just didn't want to deal with your own shit and now I am in it too) Call me old fashioned, but if I tell someone I am going to do something then I am damn well going to do it. If I don't then probably something is wrong, or I am experiencing a human moment and genuinely just forgot or something dumb like that. I try to keep that to a minimum though. Since I do what I say, I try to be pretty damned careful what I agree to.
3) If you tell someone you will do something, then do it.
I am more than willing to overlook all sorts of slightly annoying traits in my friends if they have this quality. I mean I totally understand that sometimes you just can't, but I have known some flaky people. Make plans and then the day of the plans, not only do they forget, but I can't even get a hold of them. That gets old... I can't tell you how much I appreciate people who consistently do what they say they will. Or, at the very least let me know as soon as they know something has changed. Reliability, it seems like a dying idea these days where everyone is full of excuses.....
4) Don't make excuses.
We all do it. But honestly, rarely does anyone want to hear it. If I am late or feel the need to make excuses, I try to just keep my mouth shut, or just go with "Sorry about that, I will do my best not to let it happen again." Ok, I still make a lot of excuses. It's hard not to. Sometimes you just want people to know that there actually is a reason you completely sucked at whatever. However, I find that a lot of the time, your actions can completely make up for one bad performance... sans excuses.
5) Don't be a whiny bitch.
Chances are, it could be much worse. You could be starving and dying of some awful disease in the middle of nowhere. Oh, also caught in a downpour. We all lose perspective and get tired of our lives, but really, for most of us, shit ain't that bad. Vent if you have to, then be done with it and move on.
6) Never let your fear decide your fate.
Ok, I stole that one from an Awolnation song. Good song by the way. But it is the most poetic way I have had heard that concept said. And when I say this, I don't mean stupid things like "there is a bear over there that I am scared of so I should overcome my fear and walk towards it". Not like that. What I mean is don't not do something because it is new or unknown or scary. A lot of fears are not rooted in any real danger. It is just a "this bad thing might happen". Well, chances are you are more likely to die in a car crash driving to work than from doing whatever awesome thing you are scared to do. For me (and most people I would assume) doing new things is scary since it's unknown. I spent a lot of my life in my "comfort zone". Now that I have gotten out of it, I enjoy life a hell of a lot more.
7) Don't worry what other people think. You can't change it anyway.
When I finally was able to do this, it seriously changed my life in a really good way. My self confidence went through the roof and I became a lot happier in general. I used to spend a lot of time wondering why so and so didn't like me. Then I realized it didn't matter. I haven't done anything to them and if they want to not like me, that's their problem. And ya know what happened when I started thinking this way? I'm pretty sure that a lot fewer people disliked me for dumb reasons.
8) If you make a mistake, admit it, accept the consequences, and move on.
Chances are if you try to cover it up, its just gonna fuck shit up a lot more. And everyone is going to know anyway. Usually if you own up to it, you can still keep peoples' respect. And fix the problem in a timely manner.
9) Treat others with respect.
I don't care who someone is, I am going to treat them with respect. I run into a entitled superior attitude a lot with people. I am blah blah blah so that makes me better than you. No, not really. Or, you are here to serve me. (Like at a restaurant... or supermarket... work situations) Ok, it might be someone's job to help you but you don't have to treat them like shit. Really, we are all people here trying to make our way through life the best we can. Everyone deserves respect. Well, at least until if and when they do something really shitty to lose it. I feel like this attitude is my small way of giving back to people. People I meet in passing I am always polite to and always try to give a smile. Who knows, maybe they were having a shitty day and something just being nice to them made it a little bit better.
10) Make your choices wisely. They define who you are.
Everyone has to make choices. Inaction is also a choice. I believe in two things that govern our lives as humans: choice and balance. Our choices should lead us towards living a more balanced life. Yes, some people are born really fucking lucky. They have a lot of good things going for them. I was pretty lucky. My life hasn't been perfect, but overall, I had a damn good start. Anyway, that affects my point of view on the matter. But at the end of the day, EVERYONE has a choice. Even when things outside of your control happen, you have the choice of how you react to them. I don't mean what you do necessarily, but how you think. NO ONE can control that but you. You can always choose how you react to a situation, how you let it change you, if you view yourself as a helpless victim, etc.. You can choose to think positively or negatively about a situation. I know this from experience. It works. Even when shit sucks, you have the choice to be positive. And it is amazing what making that choice can do. It isn't easy, but it's worth it.
Everyone has things happen to them in their lives. And everyone has to choose how they react to them. End of story.
11) It's about value and balance.
My uncle said this a fair bit when I was a child. Usually in what I thought a joking matter. However, we did get into a pretty intense conversation about the power of this statement. At this point in my life, this IS the governing idea in my life. Finding balance. Usually, there are two choices, paths, whatever. Most of the time, neither one is entirely right. It's more about finding the right balance between to. I mean if you look at the qualities people have, no one person can exhibit all "good" qualities at one time.
Let me explain via example. I value both strength and compassion in a person. Most people would argue that to be strong, you don't show compassion and to show compassion is a weakness. Well, I would argue that a good person has both qualities. It isn't about one or the other, it is about knowing when to be strong when to be compassionate. Finding that balance between the two. There are countless examples of the this concept.
I believe that balance is the key to everything. Life is about finding that right spot between two extremes. It sure isnt easy to do and takes a lot of trial and error. But hey, where is the fun in easy things?
Anyway, those are my thoughts. And the super abbreviated explanation of what I think. If you didn't know me, or know me well, or thought you knew be but really don't, now you do. :)
Anyway, I decided to compile a list of my "life rules". Not really like the 10 commandments, so I don't really know how that ties in.... Just things that I always try to keep in mind when making choices and getting through life.
1) Don't argue unless you are pretty sure you are right, and it is worth arguing about.
Personally, I am not a fan of arguing. Once in a while I will argue over something dumb just to remind someone that I am not a push over. Or because they are talking about something that I happen to know a lot about and they are wrong. Or because someone manages to strike a nerve. But usually, I just don't argue unless it is important.
2) Don't agree to things unless you know what you are agreeing to.
If anyone comes up to me and says "ya wanna do me a favor", my response is always something along the lines of "most likely", "probably", "maybe", or "probably not but what is it" depending on who is asking and what their history of favors is. This might come from my fear of commitment, but I adopted this attitude after blindly agreeing to do some things that I really didn't want to. (Not like bad things, but more like, you lazy ass hole... you just didn't want to deal with your own shit and now I am in it too) Call me old fashioned, but if I tell someone I am going to do something then I am damn well going to do it. If I don't then probably something is wrong, or I am experiencing a human moment and genuinely just forgot or something dumb like that. I try to keep that to a minimum though. Since I do what I say, I try to be pretty damned careful what I agree to.
3) If you tell someone you will do something, then do it.
I am more than willing to overlook all sorts of slightly annoying traits in my friends if they have this quality. I mean I totally understand that sometimes you just can't, but I have known some flaky people. Make plans and then the day of the plans, not only do they forget, but I can't even get a hold of them. That gets old... I can't tell you how much I appreciate people who consistently do what they say they will. Or, at the very least let me know as soon as they know something has changed. Reliability, it seems like a dying idea these days where everyone is full of excuses.....
4) Don't make excuses.
We all do it. But honestly, rarely does anyone want to hear it. If I am late or feel the need to make excuses, I try to just keep my mouth shut, or just go with "Sorry about that, I will do my best not to let it happen again." Ok, I still make a lot of excuses. It's hard not to. Sometimes you just want people to know that there actually is a reason you completely sucked at whatever. However, I find that a lot of the time, your actions can completely make up for one bad performance... sans excuses.
5) Don't be a whiny bitch.
Chances are, it could be much worse. You could be starving and dying of some awful disease in the middle of nowhere. Oh, also caught in a downpour. We all lose perspective and get tired of our lives, but really, for most of us, shit ain't that bad. Vent if you have to, then be done with it and move on.
6) Never let your fear decide your fate.
Ok, I stole that one from an Awolnation song. Good song by the way. But it is the most poetic way I have had heard that concept said. And when I say this, I don't mean stupid things like "there is a bear over there that I am scared of so I should overcome my fear and walk towards it". Not like that. What I mean is don't not do something because it is new or unknown or scary. A lot of fears are not rooted in any real danger. It is just a "this bad thing might happen". Well, chances are you are more likely to die in a car crash driving to work than from doing whatever awesome thing you are scared to do. For me (and most people I would assume) doing new things is scary since it's unknown. I spent a lot of my life in my "comfort zone". Now that I have gotten out of it, I enjoy life a hell of a lot more.
7) Don't worry what other people think. You can't change it anyway.
When I finally was able to do this, it seriously changed my life in a really good way. My self confidence went through the roof and I became a lot happier in general. I used to spend a lot of time wondering why so and so didn't like me. Then I realized it didn't matter. I haven't done anything to them and if they want to not like me, that's their problem. And ya know what happened when I started thinking this way? I'm pretty sure that a lot fewer people disliked me for dumb reasons.
8) If you make a mistake, admit it, accept the consequences, and move on.
Chances are if you try to cover it up, its just gonna fuck shit up a lot more. And everyone is going to know anyway. Usually if you own up to it, you can still keep peoples' respect. And fix the problem in a timely manner.
9) Treat others with respect.
I don't care who someone is, I am going to treat them with respect. I run into a entitled superior attitude a lot with people. I am blah blah blah so that makes me better than you. No, not really. Or, you are here to serve me. (Like at a restaurant... or supermarket... work situations) Ok, it might be someone's job to help you but you don't have to treat them like shit. Really, we are all people here trying to make our way through life the best we can. Everyone deserves respect. Well, at least until if and when they do something really shitty to lose it. I feel like this attitude is my small way of giving back to people. People I meet in passing I am always polite to and always try to give a smile. Who knows, maybe they were having a shitty day and something just being nice to them made it a little bit better.
10) Make your choices wisely. They define who you are.
Everyone has to make choices. Inaction is also a choice. I believe in two things that govern our lives as humans: choice and balance. Our choices should lead us towards living a more balanced life. Yes, some people are born really fucking lucky. They have a lot of good things going for them. I was pretty lucky. My life hasn't been perfect, but overall, I had a damn good start. Anyway, that affects my point of view on the matter. But at the end of the day, EVERYONE has a choice. Even when things outside of your control happen, you have the choice of how you react to them. I don't mean what you do necessarily, but how you think. NO ONE can control that but you. You can always choose how you react to a situation, how you let it change you, if you view yourself as a helpless victim, etc.. You can choose to think positively or negatively about a situation. I know this from experience. It works. Even when shit sucks, you have the choice to be positive. And it is amazing what making that choice can do. It isn't easy, but it's worth it.
Everyone has things happen to them in their lives. And everyone has to choose how they react to them. End of story.
11) It's about value and balance.
My uncle said this a fair bit when I was a child. Usually in what I thought a joking matter. However, we did get into a pretty intense conversation about the power of this statement. At this point in my life, this IS the governing idea in my life. Finding balance. Usually, there are two choices, paths, whatever. Most of the time, neither one is entirely right. It's more about finding the right balance between to. I mean if you look at the qualities people have, no one person can exhibit all "good" qualities at one time.
Let me explain via example. I value both strength and compassion in a person. Most people would argue that to be strong, you don't show compassion and to show compassion is a weakness. Well, I would argue that a good person has both qualities. It isn't about one or the other, it is about knowing when to be strong when to be compassionate. Finding that balance between the two. There are countless examples of the this concept.
I believe that balance is the key to everything. Life is about finding that right spot between two extremes. It sure isnt easy to do and takes a lot of trial and error. But hey, where is the fun in easy things?
Anyway, those are my thoughts. And the super abbreviated explanation of what I think. If you didn't know me, or know me well, or thought you knew be but really don't, now you do. :)
More Cooper Landing fun!
As the Cooper Landing project goes on, I learn ever more exciting things about work, traveling, gear choice, myself, and life in general....
-Xtratuffs make poor hiking shoes. Something about a lack of tread and ankle support....
-Properly torquing the rod is important; a 5 hour delay may occur otherwise which involves pulling all equipment out of the hole and re-drilling it.
-I need more warm socks. I brought all 5 I own to my month long job... Socks should probably be changed more often than that. (ew??? Im not trying to impress anyone here though...)
-when typing the word "experience" make sure you don't accidentally type "sexperience" and post is on an online forum. You will get made fun of. (not related to this project but it happened during this time...)
-When driving down an icy hill with huge bumps at the bottom, go EXTRA SLOW. Brakes don't work well on ice and the work truck isn't set up with long travel suspension...
-riding a 4 wheeler 1-handed and bringing coffee to a site is easy. Riding a snowmachine 1-handed down a super rutted trail is a huge pain in the ass. And is probably dangerous.
-Attempting the above bullet results in a 50% loss of coffee and a 10% increase in the wetness of my clothing....
-When putting the snowmachine key in your pocket, make sure it actually goes in your pocket. The ground is not a good place to keep the key.
-I am horrible at picking locks. However, I locked myself out of my cabin and somehow magically jiggled the lock open with my knife in about 5 seconds. After grabbing the key and trying it again, I was completely unsuccessful.
-Apparently this is the only field job going on right now and office people are bored. In one week, I have had 4 visitors to the side.
-Don't leave your hardhat unattended upside down under a snowy tree. It won't be empty when you get back
-HWT casing makes a really melodic tone when whacked repeatedly with a hammer
-When post holing through waist deep snow, Xtra tuffs keep the snow out a lot better if they are not folded down...
-The bear proof trash can is easier to figure out when its not dark, you're not in your pajamas, and you aren't freezing your ass off
-Make sure you know which gas cans have gas and which ones have diesel. When in doubt, ask the person that filled them up
-Have more than one color of flagging with you. Sometimes, other people have been in the middle of no where forest with flagging the same color as yours. It confuses people. Multiple colors is best. If you must only have one color, orange is a poor choice since everyone else seems to use it too.
-Cell phone reception is awesome at the site. Somehow. I even get internet.
Don't worry... there will be more :D
-Xtratuffs make poor hiking shoes. Something about a lack of tread and ankle support....
-Properly torquing the rod is important; a 5 hour delay may occur otherwise which involves pulling all equipment out of the hole and re-drilling it.
-I need more warm socks. I brought all 5 I own to my month long job... Socks should probably be changed more often than that. (ew??? Im not trying to impress anyone here though...)
-when typing the word "experience" make sure you don't accidentally type "sexperience" and post is on an online forum. You will get made fun of. (not related to this project but it happened during this time...)
-When driving down an icy hill with huge bumps at the bottom, go EXTRA SLOW. Brakes don't work well on ice and the work truck isn't set up with long travel suspension...
-riding a 4 wheeler 1-handed and bringing coffee to a site is easy. Riding a snowmachine 1-handed down a super rutted trail is a huge pain in the ass. And is probably dangerous.
-Attempting the above bullet results in a 50% loss of coffee and a 10% increase in the wetness of my clothing....
-When putting the snowmachine key in your pocket, make sure it actually goes in your pocket. The ground is not a good place to keep the key.
-I am horrible at picking locks. However, I locked myself out of my cabin and somehow magically jiggled the lock open with my knife in about 5 seconds. After grabbing the key and trying it again, I was completely unsuccessful.
-Apparently this is the only field job going on right now and office people are bored. In one week, I have had 4 visitors to the side.
-Don't leave your hardhat unattended upside down under a snowy tree. It won't be empty when you get back
-HWT casing makes a really melodic tone when whacked repeatedly with a hammer
-When post holing through waist deep snow, Xtra tuffs keep the snow out a lot better if they are not folded down...
-The bear proof trash can is easier to figure out when its not dark, you're not in your pajamas, and you aren't freezing your ass off
-Make sure you know which gas cans have gas and which ones have diesel. When in doubt, ask the person that filled them up
-Have more than one color of flagging with you. Sometimes, other people have been in the middle of no where forest with flagging the same color as yours. It confuses people. Multiple colors is best. If you must only have one color, orange is a poor choice since everyone else seems to use it too.
-Cell phone reception is awesome at the site. Somehow. I even get internet.
Don't worry... there will be more :D
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