To Heal an Achilles...

My fire season was pretty much over before it started, and I've tried really hard to just roll with the punches but I'm just flat out frustrated, sad, angry and desperate with this darned injury!

I'm not exactly sure why my achilles got injured - I had been running consistently before the fire academy all winter, usually around 3-5 miles, around 4 times a week. Sometimes I'd thrown in a slightly longer run; most of it was on hilly pavement to help get ready for running on pavement at the Academy this past April. I rehabbed my other achilles (left one) last fall, 2-3 months of physical therapy to finally fix an old injury from high school 10 years ago. I didn't know enough to stop running on it at the time; as a result, I had an definite nodule of scar tissue on my left achilles. Some years it would bother me more than others. I ran a lot in 2004 doing fire in Montana; I ran a couple races in Estes in 2007 and 2008...it was manageable but occasionally flared up. I had a definite "injury boundary" - too much, too fast or too far and my achilles would let me know. I pushed that boundary in the summer of 2009 training for a half marathon that I wanted to run in Portland with my friend Kim. Fortunately I had Colorado State University health insurance, and time between classes, so I took care of it once and for all. So far, it's been pain free.

I got that taken care of and what happens? Sharp sudden pain while sprinting in my RIGHT achilles. This was April, at the academy. Long story short, we tried self-treatment - rest, ice, motrin, less running - but I couldn't stop running 100% because it was part of fitness testing. After the academy, I took off 3 weeks from running and hiking. Then we starting our daily physical training at work. The crew runs faster than me, and the route is steeper than what I normally ran. In sum, I ran too much, too fast and too far, on an already compromised achilles. I iced it; my boss let me take off a couple weeks from running; it just wouldn't get better. Some days were better than others so as long as I could still run and hike - even though it was painful - I continued to do so, because it's my job. I HAVE to do those things. I'm a wildland firefighter!

It got worse. I was compensating for my injury by walking and running funny. I ended up pulling my left calf and knew that was it; time to get real treatment, because at this rate I'd be lucky to be on 2 feet by the end of the season!

At this point, I've been on light duty 6 weeks. Due to slow paperwork with worker's comp, I am JUST NOW starting physical therapy. Two of those weeks, I wore a walking boot to immobilize my calf and achilles, as I did for my left one. I tried many of the same things I learned for my left achilles, on my right one. It STILL hurts, despite no running, no hiking and minimal walking. Every morning is the worst, can barely put any weight on my right achilles. It does feel better as it warms up during the day, but going up stairs, on tip toes, or if I even just push off too hard makes it hurt. I've been setting at a desk for those six weeks, pretty much miserable. Not only the ADHD makes me fidgety and uncomfortable, but being indoors is giving me cabin fever, so to speak. I can't even enjoy my favorite hobbies on my days off! It is rough keeping my chin up about the whole ordeal right now.

MRI was Tuesday; waiting for the doc to look at it, but the techs said they still saw inflammation. Physical therapist today dropped a bomb on me - it will probably be at least 2 months before I am even starting to run again. It is THAT bad. I figured it was stubborn but didn't think I'd be out for a total of over 3 months. If I would have just sucked it up and went to the doctor early, I'd probably have a shorter recovery time. But I could still run, and still hike!! And I was brand new to the job, I wanted to make a good impression. My feet are my livelihood. Bad bad BAD if you can't run or hike!!

Anyway, contributing factors to my injury may include: just sprinting in itself, since I never sprint and the increased intensity is just a lot of stress on an achilles anyway; he does think the fact I have taken Cipro many times over my life (including recently before the injury; Cipro has been linked to achilles injuries and ruptures) may have made my tendons more brittle; biomechanics of the way I walk and run; and I have short tendons. Throw the uphill running on gravel roads and hiking with heavy weight onto the injury and it was just too much.

Ultrasound and painful "massage" with these nasty metal tools, and taping up my arch were on today's menu. I will be going back 2x a week.

What on earth am I going to do at work? I've been able to keep busy so far, but 2 months is a very very long time. At least it is a slow season so I have no missed out on a single fire or OT opportunity yet; but I really really need the extra money. Unless fire season runs late this year, I might be SOL!

First camping trip of the year!

A couple weekends ago I was feeling particularly cooped up, since I've been on light duty for a month and stuck in the office at work. No running, no hiking... no fun. :(  My achilles injury - which I originally hurt at the Academy in April, but got worse and worse with all the physical training we do at work - is putting a huge damper on not only on work, but also my fun! I decided to hit the road in my new truck (yep, new truck...will hopefully post at some point about "life" updates, but this is a travelogue) and just drive where ever my whim took me. I must admit, not having a camper shell is inconvenient - I kept all of my car camping gear in the back of my old truck and topper and didn't have to worry about it being stolen, or exposed to the elements. I keep my trusty "Action Packer" full of things like matches, firestarters, hatchet, blanket, water, 2 burner stove and fuel, hand warmers, cooking kit, and other random things. You know, just in case of a last minute spontaneous camping trip. ;)  I also grabbed my tent, sleeping bag, etc... and the dog of course. I was feeling proud at all the random, "never know when you'll need it" crap I carefully selected for permanent storage in my truck.

I decided to drive East over Hwy 4. I really didn't know where I wanted to go. It really didn't matter! I was happy to be on the road, on my own, nobody to answer to and no reason to plan. Felt so good to just do whatever I want! This was the first time I'd gone camping alone since I started dating Tim, almost exactly 4 years ago, and this solo camping trip was my proclamation of liberation!!


Which means there had to be a few... hiccups. I'm out of practice doing things totally alone! And, dating a trail worker had the perk of him owning lots of awesome gear, so I could just use his stuff and didn't own my own! But I'm jumping ahead...

 From Hwy 4 I headed southeast to Bridgeport and stopped at a sporting goods store to buy a California Atlas/Gazetteer. This was the 5th attempt at buying my beloved Gazetteer, as apparently Californians don't know what a Gazetteer is! I stopped for food and sat on the patio with Logan, examining my options. I saw sweet looking, jagged mountains to my West; I saw lots of lakes on the atlas; I knew one of those drainages would be my home for the night. But, since I can't hike, it had to be accessible by truck. I also didn't want to see ANY people! It couldn't be in wilderness though, because the ranger station was closed and said you must get wilderness permit in person.  I opted to NOT go to Twin Lakes/Mono Village, because it looked so easily accessible it just HAD to be busy. I chose Virginia Lakes, a little bit south of Twin Lakes. It's the blue dot on the map:

View My Saved Places in a larger map

This spot was in the Toiyabe National Forest, Bridgeport District. I first drove to Virginia Lakes, hoping to find some jeep trail I could camp off of for free. As beautiful as that area is, the only areas accessible by vehicle are either private property or pay campgrounds. I couldn't even really see the lakes themselves, because it would take a hike (albeit a short one) to get there. So, I turned around and went down some "020" road. This is also known as Dunderberg Meadow Rd. The road skirted along the foothills of some tall mountains and went through thick pockets of aspen. There were plenty of places to pull aside and tuck back into a grove of trees. I kept driving until I reached a faint road that headed up the grass and shrubland toward the mountains a little bit; it followed an agricultural ditch that supported a nice barrier of lodgepole and alder trees. The road ended a few hundred feet up and that's where I decided to camp...and where I discovered I neglected one of the most important parts of a camping trip - the tent!

Oh, I had a tent with me. I thought I was so cool. I pull it out, and realize it doesn't look like how I remembered it. The thing is, I've never used this tent. Tim had really nice tents, so we always took his. I acquired this tent a few years ago, but apparently it's not the tent that I THOUGHT I owned. But once I brought it home, since I THOUGHT it was the nice tent, I never bothered to check. Somewhere, something went awry and here I was, not with a full sized tent for Logan and I...but a single person tent, just slightly larger than a bivy sack. It would be great for lightweight backpacking, but since I was car camping and had Logan, I was expecting something...bigger, and more luxurious! SURPRISE!!

Ok, no problem. I see the thing only has 2 poles. I start to worry that I'm missing poles. I look at this weird little tangle of fabric, 2 poles, and a lot of string. I start to think, maybe it's SUPPOSED to be this way...I slip the 2 poles through the head and foot, like a collapsed caterpillar. I realize it's not a freestanding tent, like a typical dome-style... it relies on string and stakes, opposing forces on all the corners to keep the structure upright. (This link is for the nearly identical Eureka tent and clearly shows my dilemma). No problem right?

THERE AREN'T ANY STAKES.

That's when I finally felt really stupid. I packed everything under the sun in case of snowstorm, flood, zombies or apocalypse... but no freaking tent stakes.

Setting up the smallest, simplest "tent" took a ridiculous amount of time as I pulled off hooked branches to use as stakes, or wrapped the string around rocks. But, it worked! I had shelter!

But Logan... what to do with Logan?

Really, he could fit at the head of the tent, but he'd almost be my pillow. Logan doesn't snuggle. And, it was a tight fit. He freaked and wouldn't go back in. I tried to let him sleep outside on the ground, but after taking off after 2 very large jackrabbits, I was scared he'd run off in the middle of the night and get lost in the wilderness - he's not the smartest shepherd I've ever met - so I made him sleep in the truck bed. In the middle of the night, he whined so I let him out. He came over and "apologized" and whined and nuzzled me and stayed put next to the tent for the rest of the night. :)

From Toiyabe Nat Forest, July 2010

Before bed, I read my Sierra Nevada naturalist guide and studied maps of cool looking areas. Although it wasn't a full moon, not long after sunset it was so bright, it seemed the sun came back up! And one perk to the tent is that the entire body is mesh, so I could see the sky clearly...without having to worry about mosquitoes, scorpions or other buggers crawling on me at night. Although it had been quite warm everywhere else, it got nice and cold at night, probably around 44 degrees. Perfect!

There was no campfires, there was no cooking. I didn't have a campfire permit (think they were banned anyway) so I just brought leftovers. In the morning Logan and I walked around identifying wildflowers and watching mule deer; packed up and drove up a rugged 4x4 road towards the site of the Dunderberg Mill.

It was the inaugural voyage of my new Tacoma, and there were certain spots where the rocks or ruts tested my judgement of my ground clearance. One shallow water crossing added to the fun! In the end, the shrubs and trees left a few scratches as souvenirs, which is fine by me! A coworker gave me crap for scratching my brand new truck... but why buy a 4x4 truck if I'm not gonna USE it like a truck?!

It would have been a nicer spot to camp than the spot I had selected, with denser clumps of trees and a small waterfall near the site of the old Mill. All that remained of Dunderberg was some gnarley iron and metal, some rocks, and a layer of red dust in a bare patch among the sagebrush and rabbit brush. Apparently there are some cabins that are still standing but I didn't see them. This would be a beautiful area in the fall, with so many aspen coating the foothills!

I continued on my drive back down to Dunderberg Meadow Road and eventually to Green Creek Road, the next drainage to the north. Here too, the road ends before the lakes, required a short hike that, if it weren't for my stupid achilles, I would have taken Logan and the fishing rod and spent some time there. Instead, we stopped at Dynamo Pond, where I was shocked to see signs of beaver! As dumb as it may sound, I didn't realize there were beaver in California. I also learned they reintroduced antelope in the area as well (they were extirpated). Dynamo pond was the first hydroelectric project in the eastern Sierras, and the first time the electricity was transmitted and used away from the source. It's hard to tell that there was ever a dam on this small pond now.

I drove back to Bridgeport and just had to take the extra 12 mile drive to Twin Lakes - the jagged-edged "Sawtooth Ridge" looked quite dramatic from town. As I had expected, though, the lakes were surrounded by developed RV campgrounds, condos, and marinas. Not gaudy or overdone and looked like a blast to take a family with kids, rent a boat or some jet skis... but not my cup of tea. It looked like there would be some sweet hikes up into the mountains. If only my stupid achilles would heal...!!

From Toiyabe Nat Forest, July 2010

It was more driving and less hiking than Logan would have liked and I felt bad for him. We left Twin Lakes and took Hwy 108 back - which is the road that runs through the southern half of Stanislaus National Forest. I'm sorry to say, but I think I'm on the less-dramatic district of the forest - wow! There are plenty of wide open views, waterfalls, stunning mountain peaks... on my side, it's thickly forested and good views are not easy to find. This part of the Stanislaus is directly adjacent to Yosemite National Park. We didn't stop and hike, just took pictures and drove the loop down to Sonora and back up to Hwy 4.

And that was my first camping trip of the summer - saw a lot of land, drove a lot of miles, and learned that I need a bigger tent. ;)

"My First Summer in the Sierra"

I pulled that book out of storage and intend on rereading it at some point. It's a book by my hero, John Muir; I read it in college for an American Wilderness and Literature class. At the time I remember sometimes getting lost in Muir's flowery, overly descriptive and long-winded abstractions of natural features. That was about 10 years ago, and I too have become more long-winded and overly descriptive as I have grown older! ;) I also remember how much I liked John Muir for hating SHEEP. He thinks sheep are the stupidest creatures ever, as he discovered while herding a flock across the mountains or something. Anyway, I need to reread it now that I live here and may be able to appreciate it a little more.

Yes you will notice I added a little Amazon.com thingy. If you buy something off my page I think I get like 2 cents or something. I'm broke, this will help pay the bills. HA HA HA! I crack myself up.

Today, my "first summer in the Sierra" included a trip to the popular swimming hole called Candy Rock, on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River. I knew of this place all summer, but it is very popular. I like to relax and avoid loud crowds when it's just me and Logan so I've gone out of my way to find other places to swim. After reading an intriguing description of Candy Rock to a visitor at the ranger station last week, though, I gave in and had to see for myself.

It was awesome.

A drive on a dirt road into the canyon, thick with brush and baked-hot by the sun. The road ends at a parking area, where eroded steps lead down to the river. There was one truck there but the owner was nowhere to be found. The entire stretch of river is strewn with huge boulders, forming relatively deep, clear pools and connected by slickrock waterslides and cascades. Neat, perfect circles from water and erosion form pockets both above and below water; the rock was so slick that Logan fell into one above the river. It was deep enough I had to pull him out of the mucky-water trap, which left him a little nervous while on the river banks. He stirred up a tiny little frog, with black stripes along its eyes. I'll have to look it up later.

For a while, we had the entire place to ourselves, which I'm sure was a sight to see - me pulling and pushing Logan up and down the slick rock, laughing at him, and then falling in myself. I think it was a wise idea to leave my shorts on over my bikini, because there was a lot of sliding around on my butt. Logan seemed to enjoy the waterslide as much as I did, which swept you from one pool to another. It was so much fun, and so refreshing! Another group of people eventually showed up and were cracking up as they saw Logan and I swimming/being swept by the current, and laughing even harder when Logan started crying because he couldn't get OUT of the water on the slickrock! Those folks traveled downriver so we still had the solitude I wanted. After swimming, I laid out on the smooth rock and read a Backpacker magazine until I was dry. On the hike out, we passed 2 groups of high school boys; on the drive out, I passed 5 cars full of people! We left at the right time, around 2:00. The key might be to arrive early - before noon - and avoid people on a Thursday??

So now I'm at the local coffee shop in Arnold, it's been a while since I've engaged in my "hobby" of sitting at a coffee shop with the dog, writing in my blog. Nothing beats Kind Coffee in Estes Park of course, but it's a nice day to sit outside. I even made a new friend! A blue and white pit mix puppy took up shop under my seat.

Other swimming holes I have found include one down the road from my house, which lacks the large unique boulders of Candy Rock but is nice and deep and I've never run into anybody there. Then of course there is Lake Alpine and Spicer, both of which are quite busy but Alpine was nice and warm. If I ever pick up my kayak from Tim's place, there are so many lakes to paddle! I need to figure out a way to float Logan with me though, kayak isn't built for a 110 lb dog.

Logan on the waterslide

Bad raccoon karma

My happy little "family" is enjoy a relaxing afternoon on our large deck, shadowed by the looming pine and hemlock. And by family, of course I mean Log Dog and two chickens. Because that's totally normal, right? ;)

Sadly, those two chickens aren't the same two I started with. Alas, I was a bad chicken momma and I take full responsibility for the murder of my Easter Egger, Nugget. Even worse is that I forgot which one was Nugget, and which one was Peeps, and was calling them by the wrong names. Oops.

Nugget was taken just before she was reaching young hen-hood; 4 months old, and probably would start laying in the next few weeks. But selfish me went to hang out with friends and got home after dark, carelessly leaving the coop open. Prime time for the masked marauders of the forest - raccoons. Although the coop is fenced with chicken wire, it's NOT raccoon proof. Within that 45 minutes to an hour past dark, I'm pretty sure a fat momma took my little hen away to her kiddos - I've heard them screeching and squealing in the tree lot next door. I'll admit, I cried. I raised them from 2 day old chicks and am totally responsible for what happened. I pulled up and saw my Silver Laced Wyandotte Peeps looking spooked in the coop and Nugget was nowhere to be found. I searched for an hour, hoping she was wiley enough to escape under the house. The next morning I heard the raccoons going nuts at daybreak as I searched then, too. There were barely any feathers in the pen and no blood. %^$#@%$#@%$&^%$&^

You'd think I'd have better raccoon karma after rehabbing orphaned babies during my internship at the wildlife rehab center. Then again, even with their eyes barely opened, those little velcro-clawed demons were already hissing and snapping at people and their own litter mates! I sure don't own the raccoon kingdom any more favors, that's for sure.

The next day I improved the fence, but it's still not raccoon proof. While I was rebuilding, the neighborhood nuisance dog ran up and tried to eat Peeps! Logan ran down from the deck and literally pinned the dog, saving my confused chicken. She was pretty distressed, as chickens are social and don't like to be alone. Logan loves his girls though and protected her, I was impressed. But I now had the task of finding a new gal pal for Peeps, who seems like she may be getting ready to lay eggs in the next few weeks. I was happy Peeps considers Logan and I as part of her "flock" and got over her stress quickly. She figured out how to escape the pen so whenever I come home from work and call her, she comes running or flying to greet me at the steps! Just like a dog. She'll even climb the 15-20' of steps up to my deck, just to hang out.

So here I am now, with a 4-5 week old "Nugget 2". I'm not sure if that's what I call her... but it's gotta be food related! ;)  She's a Rhode Island Red and will be large hen, probably about 8 lbs like my Wyandotte. I could have gotten another Easter Egger, but they were only 2-3 weeks old and very small still; didn't want to have to worry about it escaping through the chicken wire. I was worried about getting an "older" chick since it hasn't been handled much, but the new gal is pretty mellow. Sometimes, when introducing a new chicken, the old chickens will peck it to literally establish pecking order. So far, Peeps has been pretty good. Little chicken is getting used to her new home and the two gals are roaming the deck, devouring random specs of who-knows-what. My little dinosaurs!

My friend Kim just wrote me with chicken name ideas. Marsala!! She's a genius.

I went into the cigar shop in Angel's Camp today and the owner was awesome, so I have a great cigar to go with my beer while I hang out. Extra relaxed!!

And so continue the adventures of a Detroit city-girl and her backyard chickens! Maybe at some point I'll write more about other things...you know, like the job... and the area... and Life Beyond the Chickens... But I'm so relaxed, I'm done writing. ;)

Eyes on the prize, eyes on the prize...

Sorry, I think that's a funny expression, "Keep your eyes on the prize!" I say that to people because I think it's funny; to them hopefully it almost sounds like encouragement or something. ;)

In any case, I made it through the Basic Academy without failing my grad school classes! At least, not yet... just over one week of classes left for me to blow it. Just kidding, mostly. I definitely bit off more than I could chew but I know my grades aren't the A+s that I'm so used to. Just kidding again, mostly. For some reason, I'm particularly sarcastic today. Perhaps it's the stress of watching the Red Wings blow their lead in a game that is now going into overtime; comedy is my coping mechanism?? Sure, sounds good to me!

Academy was a lot more fun than I anticipated before I got there. Sure, my ADHD makes me freak out from sitting still for too long, but I mostly kept it together with caffeine or something like that. They let us hamsters out of their cage often enough to keep us from eating eachother, in the form of such field exercises like: Maps and Navigation (I played squad boss and well, I didn't lose anybody so that's a good sign); Fire Shelter deployment; Followership to Leadership crew cohesion "problems; PT (working out); and our grand finale, the Field Day. So what exactly do you teach 90+ budding young firefighting apprentices??

• Nutrition and Wellness
• Communications and Radio Use
• Fire Prevention and Investigation
• L-280 Followership to Leadership
• Weather Observations
• Tactical Decision Making
• Map and Compass
• S-260 Interagency Incident Business Management
• I-200 Basic ICS
• S-131 Advanced Firefighter
• Fire shelters
• Wildland Fire Skills Field Day

I have to say, Business Management aka Paperwork from Hell was by far the hardest to deal with. We didn't get any fun field days except PT that entire week. Our fire shelter instruction was unique compared to past experiences...we review how to use them, then deploy them once and call it good. This involved sprinting and crawling under an obstacle course until we were winded, then randomly telling us to deploy while a high powered fan blew our tarp-like shelters. The instructors were also kind enough to rip them from our hands; don't worry, I held on because I'm stubborn. ;)  We did something comparable to team building "problems" for our leadership class; in small squads, you are given unique tasks and have a time limit to come up with a process and a solution. Such as leading blindfolded team members across an obstacle course or getting people from one side of a web of rope to the other, without touching the sides and each member staying on the other side once they are across - making the task tough for the last person left.

By far the "capstone" experience was the field day. Each person took turns being a squad boss and leading our crews - formed on the 1st day of the academy - through simulations of common tasks asked of firefighters. Digging line and finding spot "fires" (no real fire for this academy); construction line downhill, with a simulated fire blowup that forces us to run up the hill (my achilles was shot from our fitness test, so I only made it halfway before I voluntarily "died") and deploy our shelters; getting helicopter loads ready; managing a dozer; using the engine for mobile attack and then a progressive hose lay; and setting up pumps and laying hose around small spot fires. Some of these tasks were unfamiliar to us (helicopters and dozers) but showed that with the right references and some leadership and delegation, we could still succeed. Although my darling Purple crewmembers forgot to buy me a cigar, our crew boss dished one out and probably 8 of us out of 17 donned fat stogies and corn cob pipes. Because we rule. ;)


Despite working out less than I had been before the academy started, I did improve in everything...except pull ups, but that might have been a function of the order in which we tested this time around, and doing more sit ups and push ups. Sit ups: 101; Push ups: 36; Pull ups: 2 (grrr); 1.5 mile run: 11:54. Still not as fast as I'd like but A. I'm built for comfort, not speed and B. I ended up with a killer leg cramp on top of my inflamed achilles. I'd like to thank the Guinness I drank the night before for my increase in strength and speed because it certainly wasn't from working out more!

Of course I met lots of awesome folks from all over the western states and "networked" a lot over brews at the Lion's Gate and at Harvey's. At some point, even got the coordinator and a couple crew bosses to sing karaoke. I broke out my Folsom Prison, dedicated to my last hazy karaoke night with Kim. We were warned about how sketchy the local dive bar could be, but I had really good experiences the 3 times I went. Now, the hookah bar/VIP lounge... definitely won't be going back there anytime soon. Run by Russians, whispers that the bellydancers were prostitutes, the excessive attention I received from some dudes... I'll stick to Fat Tire and Juke Box at Harvey's, or Sierra Nevada, Guiness, hockey games and good pizza at Lions Gate. I'm relieved that the next time I go back in January - for the Advanced Academy - I won't have to worry about finishing homework before I get a beer buzz!

One Sunday, I jetted out to Point Reyes to enjoy the ocean and get a little alone time. Didn't hike much because of my achilles but it's gorgeous and dogs are allowed in certain areas; will have to go back at some point. I was only able to drive down and see Logan, Peeps and Nugget at Tim's place once, since it is a 4 hour drive from the academy; I meant to pick them up this weekend but with my last couple weeks of school left, I was stressing out and Tim offered to keep them one more week. The girls were so big, and still growing! They finally lost their baby "peeping" and now cluck and coo like real chickens. Their tails were longer and fuller, but their combs were still light pink and little. Tim put together the simple coop kit I ordered and just moved them outside this week. With the lack of daytime predators and the scent of Logan and Neota around the house, we decided to let them free-range around the property. I'm sure they won't be happy when they are forced to be caged and cooped up here at my mountain home, but they don't roam very far anyway and I'll let them out when I'm outside with them. It may be illegal to let them run around uncaged here so I don't want to bring unwanted attention to my chickens.

My first real day of work on Engine 22 was Monday and met my crew. We are short on qualifications for 7 day coverage, so we will be running 5 day coverage with 6 people. If our Engineer gets his Engine Boss signed off, we can go to 7 day coverage and hire a seasonal, but I'm not sure how likely that is. As it stands,if the engine goes out, 1 person will be left behind. Looks like I will have Tuesday and Wednesday off after Memorial day; even stranger is that I won't start work until like 9 or 9:30 am! As it stands now, starting at 8 am is weird enough - without Logan here to walk and play catch with, I have all this time in the morning and don't know what to do with it! I'm used to working four, ten hour days from 7-5:30. My first two days of work were spent rolling hose, washing trucks, paperwork, and taking a driving test to get my government driver's license. Because having a CDL-B isn't apparently enough to prove I can drive a standard pick up truck, ha ha. I think it's going to be a good summer and I'm excited to learn a lot. Even more excited for my days off to explore the mountains, lakes, caves and vineyards surrounding me!

Well the Wings blew it big time so I could use another Moose Drool beer. $#@^%$^&#&$#@!$ Next time I write, I'll hopefully have my master's degree as well as my dog and chickens back from Tim!

When I think "Apprentice", I think of Mickey Mouse and walking brooms

One week down, three more to go!

Thursday before the academy, I decided to take some time from writing my term paper and take Logan to Yosemite. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get in the Park; the weather was cold with sporadic rain or snow but I needed to relax. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that you can bring dogs on the extensive paved paths throughout the valley, and I picked a short 3 mile round trip walk to Mirror Lake. Walking with a big-ass German Shepherd prompts a lot of comments and looks - 99% good with a couple sour-pusses despite how well-heeled, calm and pretty much oblivious Logan is to other people. In the past, foreigners have even taken their photos with my dog! On the hike down, a park truck passed me. They stopped, and a scruffy-bearded guy popped his head out the window. I had to do a double take when he said "Hey, how's it going?" I had to ask, "Do I know you??" Well it was a coworker from Rocky, Dave from trails. Didn't recognize him with his beard and in a random location, such as a pedestrian trail in California. As always, small world in the federal government!

I dropped the "kids" (dog and chickens) off at Tim's last weekend and arrived at McClellan last Sunday. McClellan was once an Air Force base but has been converted to...well, not really sure what all is on site. It's generally surrounded by a metal fence and the buildings inside the fence are significantly nicer than anything outside the fence. We were warned early that the area outside the base is pretty sketchy. Lots of car break-ins; pickpockets and people with knives; don't go anywhere alone! Apparently this is typical for the area surrounding military bases??  Obviously the Forest Service has staked claim to a number of buildings; the SCA operates out of it as well. There's the Lions Gate hotel, which has the only public wi-fi on the base. Which means to do homework, I find myself at the over-priced bar/restaurant, drinking Sierra Nevada and trying to concentrate while everyone else is socializing. Just 4 more weeks and I'll be done, assuming I pass my classes!!

There are about 93 apprentices in my Academy, 53; Academies 51 and 52 were overlapping their 4 week programs with ours by a week or two, each with between 90-100 people; as well as the Engine Operator academy, FireHire meeting, some safety meeting and who knows what else, with plenty of big fish from D.C. running around. Some folks got in trouble for cussing in front of a high-level civic rights human resources person...yeah, pretty much the worst person you could get caught by!

Quick run down of what it's like; we were broken up into crews; my crew is Purple. Hard to sound cool when you are "purple", so we go by the "purps" because that sounds so much better (sarcasm). Our crew has 16 folks, a crew boss and an assistant. 98% of the people here are with the Forest Service; of those, 98% of them are from California.  There are a handful of BLM. Some people are from Nevada, a couple from Wyoming (including a guy that works for the engine boss that originally worked/trained with me in Montana), a couple from Montana, maybe Oregon and Washington?? I am quickly learning that California does things differently than pretty much any other state, and any other agency. Those of us from outside Cali - even people that had been in the Forest Service before - have to ask questions at times.

We wear our uniforms and do need to keep them looking pressed, but thankfully don't need to wear that silly tie until next year at the advanced academy. We have different classes each day, which involves way more sitting and paying attention than I am capable of, but between coffee, Red Bull in the vending machine, and my ADD medicine, I think I can make it through! That's probably the hardest part of the entire ordeal! Unlike what previous academy attendees told me, we don't PT (work out) every day. We don't work out at 5 am. In fact, we work out maybe 2-3 times a week for 1 1/2 hours. Some people are going to the gym to make up for it; other people say, "They should pay me to PT like they are supposed to every day". During our paid PTs, we do things like bump runs (everybody runs; person on the end sprints to front, when he gets there the next person on the end sprints to the front, etc) and about 100+ push ups (or at least, I try to do that many... yikes) and so many lunges and squats that my butt was screaming at me! Good stuff.

I didn't wow the academy with my incredible fitness, but I did better than I had hoped and better than a lot of men and women. Ran 1.5 miles in 12:09; 35 push ups, 3 pull ups and 53 sit ups. Was pretty disappointed with the sit ups but it was the last test after all those other things. It will be neat to see how much I can improve in 4 weeks!

I do sleep in a dorm, but they aren't bunk beds. My roommate is a cool gal that also works on the Stanislaus; we both don't really stay in the room except to sleep, so I don't see her that much. The twin beds are ok but I just haven't slept that well; often the sound of police and ambulance sirens from off the base echo through the night. We have to keep our rooms neat and clean for the random inspections and I despise making my bed but I can suck it up for a month. ;) 

I'd say networking after work is as important as going to class, and I've met a lot of cool people. The vast majority of people here not only work in California, but they are originally from Cali. This is in stark contrast to Rocky Mountain, where very few people were actually from Colorado. Of course firefighters like to work hard, so they also play hard... Drinking a lot every night and staying up really late. I've been pretty good so far but when people keep buying pitcher after pitcher, it's easy to get caught up in it!

Such is the day in the life! I still think it's weird that I'm a permanent wildland firefighter with the forest service. It wasn't where I thought I'd be; but, things happen for a reason and I think this is going to be a good adventure! And hopefully will lead me to a paid move to Alaska in a couple years. ;)  But one step at a time.

I do miss my dog and even my psycho chickens; but it was nice to go home to my cabin for the weekend and do homework outside of the bar! I better get going back to the academy, a 2+hr drive and another winter storm is on its way.

1 Week to the Wildfire Academy!

My to-do list even strikes myself as odd. 1 week to tie up lose ends and saddle up for the month of April. April will bring my current, fairly casual daily schedule of homework, exercise and "tending to the homestead" (dog and chickens) into a chaotic overdose of physical and mental stimulation. This includes finishing 3 online grad school classes; plus the classes and physical fitness of the Academy; while trying to find time for things like showering and relaxing in between.

To-Do:

• Fitness: Running, sit-ups, push-ups and pull ups; but not too much.  Fitness test the first couple days at the Academy!
• Scholarly endeavors: Complete a term paper.
• Homework.
• Homework.
• Homework. Yeah, I'm a little behind; even if I wasn't, I'd still be up to my ears in California tiger salamanders, rangeland management, prairie dogs, cattle and plant responses to defoliation.
• Eat local: Use up my latest produce box from Outer Aisle Foods CSA. New adventures in cooking: rutabaga, green garlic, more leeks, artichokes and braised greens! What the heck are braised greens!?
• Move the "funny farm": dog and the chickens to the ex boyfriend's house. That in itself just sounds weird. It is.
  
  
  
• Put together a chicken coop: Since I don't have tools or ambition to construct something myself, I ordered a small, portable coop from GardenEggs.com. It probably won't arrive before the Academy but when it does arrive, I need to drive 3 hours to Tim's to put it together. Contrary to what the chicken lady at the feed shop told me, the chickens ARE ready to go outside after 2 months old.
• Little Suzie Homemaker: The worst chore - not only laundry, but I have to IRON MY UNIFORM! GAG!! I'm anti-ironing as it is. The fact that I have to wear a fake clip-on green tie also... At least I got some very cute shoes.
• Oil fire boots.
• Be prepared! Fire gear, that is. Red bag and line gear, with all the firefighting essentials. Nice, shiny, obnoxiously new gear. Kindof want to roll in the mud, just to tone down the screaming bright yellow!

Plus, April is  my birth month! I was supposed to go to a Punch Brothers (Chris Thile) show in San Fran with Tim but since the break-up, who knows if we'll be speaking or if he already gave the ticket away. I don't usually speak so candidly about my relationships on my blog but oh well, life goes on. I'm just lucky he's still taking the "kids" (Logan, Peeps and Nugget) while I'm stuck in a dorm for the month.

As always, I'm way behind on my journal; I hope to reinvigorate it with stories of excitement, adventure and travel now but, then again, I'm on an apparently slow fire district and probably won't get out much. The best chance is filling in on the fire use module that is also based up here on the Calaveras District.

I never did write about Tim's puppy as promised. But after he didn't even mention to his friends the fact that I moved to Cali, yet alone that I had moved in with him... but talked at length about "his" puppy (that I cared for and he barely saw while he worked overtime for 2 weeks straight) and his career and all that was new and important to him... leaving me out totally - well, a girl can take a hint! So, not much to say except Neota is a very smart, very good dog with a lot of potential as long as her owner provides positive reinforcement, training, and adequate physical and mental stimulation! She isn't always given as much credit as she deserves; guess he's used to Logan being such a good dog, he forgets that Log is an adult and she is only a puppy!!

The Funny Farm - Meet the Chicks

Since we moved to our quaint little mobile home surrounded by well-manicured acres of raised-bed agricultural fields and have only carrots for neighbors, it seems fitting that we have cultivated our own little Funny Farm in the mere 6 weeks that I have been here.

I kept telling Tim I wanted chickens. But I didn't know much about chickens. His coworker, who keeps about 40, raved about how simple it was. In fact, many of his coworkers have chickens. It's no big deal; it's like having dogs or cats - totally normal. Remember, I am from Detroit. Chickens have NEVER been a normal part of my life. Though, at least I did own numerous birds - cockatiels, canaries, budgies, and zebra finches - so it can't be that different, right??

Tim wasn't as enthusiastic as I was. He never said no, though he would be the one to care for my girls while I am at the Academy and away on fires. So once he brought home a Murray McMurray catalog and I started looking at all these crazy looking chickens, I felt inspired. I asked the lady at the feed shop about them. I realized that these babies were going to live indoors for probably 2-3 months before they were even moved outside; once outside, if I come up with a clever coop design, I wouldn't even have to "tuck them in" and close the coop at night. Feed and water bowls hold food for a few days. If they were totally fenced in, I wouldn't have to worry about predators.

So when I saw the "Baby chicks have arrived" sign at the feed shop, I stopped. Not totally impulsively - I went ahead and bought a heat lamp and chicken feed, "just in case". I went into the feed shop alone and came out... a farmer?? Or, at least, as a momma hen. :)  All for less than $38 - $8 for feed, $2.25 per chick, and the rest was for a cheap thermometer and the infrared heating lamp. You can even apparently just use a regular light bulb (Tim's boss just keeps a candle lit in a mason jar) but I figure they wouldn't want bright light 24-7.

In the feed shop was a low round metal bin with a large heat lamp and uncountable numbers of fluffy chicken nuggets. Most were not all yellow - some were reddish, some were all black, some had black and grey stripes, some had yellow and black stripes, and some had reddish and black stripes. I thought the ones with racing stripes looked pretty cool, so I grabbed two feisty chicks that were eating heartily and peeping loudly. Alas, as they had all just arrived from Arizona, some chicks were fading fast and on their way to the big barnyard in the sky. Mine seemed tough and spunky. The shop employee had no idea what type they were. That's ok, I like surprises... as long as they are female and make me breakfast!

The 30 minute drive home actually seemed to stress them - they need to be at around 95 degrees heat their first week. Each subsequent week, you reduce the heat by 5 degrees (more or less; just watch the chicks, they will be obviously hot or cold and it's pretty intuitive). So they were a little chilled despite cranking the heat so high that Logan and I were both panting.

I set them up in a cardboard box with pine shavings and one peanut butter jar lid of water, one pickle lid full of food. They peeped loudly. Apparently loud peeping means chicks aren't happy. Eventually we worked out the height of the heat lamp and bought a better waterer that keeps the water cleaner. At a good temperature they make chickee noises but not loud peeping. Plus, they got used to being away from their 100+ fellow chicks.

Day 2

Day 3

The first night, I was nervous. Nugget (the reddish/black racing stripe one) seemed listless and fading. She was laying down but putting her head on the ground. Um, birds aren't supposed to do that right? I didn't think she'd make it, but I resisted the urge to stress her more by messing with her. I saw her eat and drink, all I could do is hope that she could recover. I was so happy to see her scratching about the next morning! And ever since, these babies just keep growing and growing!

When I got them, they didn't have "real" wing feathers, just fluffy down. Then, real feathers started popping out. Soon, they had beautiful patterned primary and secondary feathers - like what you collected when you were a kid, "real" feathers - that helped me figure out what breed they might be. Peeps - Wyandotte. Nugget - Ameraucana, aka the Easter Egger.  They quickly started acting like real chickens - scratching, pecking, preening. They are messy eaters and instead of pecking, they peck at the food and then toss it right out of the lid. They eat constantly. I went from one handful of food the first day or two, to two handfuls of feed... now it's like 3-4 or more.

Day 7??

Then, their nubby tails started sprouting something almost resembling feathers. Ugly spires with little feathery strands here and there. They are beginning to look better. Every day, more down is lost and more feathers sprout up. Their feet are huge! (Picture is of 1st appearance of feathers on the chicken butts)

Best of all, Logan LOVES them. He watches them. He sniffs them. He wants to check on them with me when I go into the other room. It is the cutest thing ever!

So as of today, they are approximately 11 days old and at least doubled in size. They now can perch on my finger and flap their wings. I don't know how much longer I can get away with a cardboard box. Feed store lady keeps her chicks in a dog cage until they are old enough to go outside. Other people use cardboard boxes the entire time. They poop a lot but if it gets too dirty, cardboard boxes are free. Maybe when they are 5 months old, they will start popping out eggs!

I'm sure more people are excited about the puppy... yes, I love puppy. But, I didn't want to go out of order. This is how funny farm started. Logan, then our two chicks. This whole time, we kept watching petfinder.com and visiting the shelter...

 

Tim and his little girl, in the next entry!

Racking up the miles on the ol' truck...

I have now been in California for just over a month... and this is the first journal entry I am writing? LAME.

It's probably not even worth it, but here's a reader's digest version of the past 2 months.

I MOVED TO CALI.

Now if you care to indulge in more details, read on. Which at this point the only people who would want to trudge through the details are my mom, my sisters, and maybe Bruce and Kerry. ;)  December was a stressful blur of final exams, term papers, packing, moving and truck repairs. Somehow I made it through and had a little work get-together at the Rock one night, which was as close to a going away party as I needed or had time for! I was so happy my friend Kim and her boyfriend were in town to visit from Portland literally during my last few days in Estes. Although I was up to my @ss in alligators (homework, packing, broken truck), Kim always cheers me up and helps me relax and have fun! This included an awesome night at Jerry's cabin for the most unique White Elephant exchange I have ever seen and too many margaritas at Ed's, and of course hanging out at the Rock. I ended up leaving a day later than I had hoped (which was a week later than I originally planned... stupid final exam schedule), with Kind Coffee in my mug and after a big hug from Kim. I walked around in the snow, looking at the Rocky Mountains and enjoying the high altitude air... Really really miss it there, 5 years in Estes! Miss the town, miss my friends, miss Bruce and Kerry and the Rock where so many good times were had... But, time to move on to the next stage in life ya know?!

I left Estes and drove not West, but East... all the way to Detroit to see the family for the holidays. This would be the last time I was within semi-reasonable driving distance from my family, so I wanted to bring Logan, have a car to drive during the day (otherwise I'd be stuck at their house!) and be able to bring some things to my family, as well as take home x-mas presents. I was incredibly busy visiting family and friends, as well as taking plenty of time to decompress from the whirlwind month of December. Stephanie (friend from Estes) was on a road trip of her own, from Texas to the east coast to Niagara Falls, through Detroit and up to Wisconsin, and she and her boyfriend stopped by for a night. Neat to see a Colorado friend in Detroit, that's never happened before! It was good to be apart of our huge 50+ person family X-mas eve party, gotta love it when the families all get together to exchange dollar store gifts, eat lots of Polish food and cheese fondue, drink Kahlua mudslides and tease each other. It just was not the same without my 29 yr old cousin Greg, who died in October. The presentation of an engraved stone bench in Greg's honor to his parents and wife touched us all; but he was there in spirit with us and we will always remember him. On the other side of the family, they had their own sorrow - my dad and stepmom's dog was dying on X-mas day. So Christmas was a little sad but it's always good to be with those you love.

Saw lots of friends here as well, Amadeo's birthday party and sushi with the Gole sisters, one on one with many of my BFFs like Beth and Donna, the Mount Family, Jeff's party... I can't even remember everything I did! But one of the highlights was going to the Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche hockey game on New Years Eve with my sisters and brother! Despite the Wings taking a dive in success this season, they still beat the Avs - nice coincidence that, considering the 2 teams play only a few times a year, I was in Detroit at the same time as the Avs. GO WINGS! I think my brother was a little embarassed by his hootin' and hollerin' sisters, but he takes it in good stride. ;)

Skipping lots of stuff because I have ADHD and bore myself easily. Ha ha!

After the New Year, hit the road right away to drive in the completely opposite direction, back to Estes. I put all my stuff in storage and had to swing back up to get the essentials to take with me to Cali. The rest of it, well.... we will see when I have the time and money to get a uhaul. I want my motorcycle BAD though! These sweet twisty roads and warm temperatures are taunting me! Anyway, I digress. Blew through Estes after a quick bite at the Rock and from then on, it was Cali or Bust!

Uneventful drive west, took about 18 hours from Estes to Greenfield, where I sit now. Tim moved from right outside Pinnacles National Monument to this mobile home - it was cheap compared to everywhere else, allows dogs, and is owned by his boss. Unfortunately, he now has an hour commute...but at least it's a nice drive!

We still don't really have furniture - 2 camp chairs, storage containers used as tables, and a bed. ;)  It would be nice to have a futon or couch, but hey we are making it work. Our mobile home isn't pretty but we are on a plot of land with a nice empty home that belongs to our landlord's aunt. Other than that, as I told my mom, our only neighbors are carrots! Surrounded on all sides by agricultural fields. Which I just found out isn't very good for our well water quality, don't worry we bought a filter (which doesn't do much for the nitrates but I try not to think about it). It is actually quite windy in Greenfield, which is part of the large valley extending north and south, bordered on both the east and west by mountains. Weather has been 60-70 degrees almost every day, with incredible amounts of rain at times. Amazingly, there is snow in the mountains to our West, which probably aren't more than 3-4,000 ft tall. Apparently that is NOT normal and locals have told me I must have brought it with me from Colorado. ;)

I was in culture shock for a couple days until I began nesting in the weird way that I do - I leave home and explore the towns nearby. Tim takes care of the home stuff... I explore the "new frontier". :)  I hit the visitor welcome centers and find the coffee shops. I try to find the best, most eco-friendly, charismatic locally owned cafe... I'm still not impressed with my options compared to Kind Coffee! Unfortunately, up until this week we didn't have internet at home so I had to drive 1 hr roundtrip just to get to a cafe with internet (which is important because I am in online courses to finish my masters degree). After AT&T providing the worst customer service EVER for a month, canceling orders or getting them wrong, putting me on hold for 2 hours and disconnecting me... They tell me they don't offer DSL at our house. My head almost exploded when they told me that, after a month of telling me they DO have it. Our ONLY option was satellite (which has a 2 YEAR contract and is expensive and not that fast) or this wireless broadband which is working out pretty well. Life is so much easier now that I can look up stores and businesses and get directions at home, as well as doing homework whenever I want without interruption!

Salinas is actually a pretty decent city with a nice old downtown and I've found the places I need in my life - the gym (still working on those physical fitness requirements for work...3 pull ups down, 2 more to go minimum!), the pet shop, and internet cafes. I LOVE going to the ocean in Monterey or Carmel, but finding parking for the cafes in Monterey is a nightmare!

Our weekly treat is taking Logan to the dog-friendly beach in Carmel. Hundreds of dogs running free along the coast! He was scared at first, running from the surf as it washed in and out. Now, he finds the biggest driftwood he can carry and retrieves it from the crashing waves until he is exhausted! He is usually one of the biggest dogs on the beach and has been THE largest German Shepherd (and there are SO MANY shepherds out here!).

In a few weeks I will start work 4 hours away, up in the mountains near Arnold. I have free housing in the bunkhouse, but am checking out a sweet 900 sq ft A-frame cabin with wood stove up in Dorrington next weekend. It would be great to have my own place so people can actually visit me (not allowed in dorms) and I can have Logan. I'm kindof over the whole "living in a small room with bunkbeds and sleeping/working with coworkers 24-7" thing, like my space and my privacy as well as my visitors and pets!

My official date for the academy is April 4th, which means I will be stuck in Sacramento/McClellan for my birthday. Required to live there but if I get this cabin, Tim can bring Logan up and we can stay in the cabin on weekends.

I left tons out but I'm long winded and this is long enough. NEXT ENTRY: CHICKENS! And... Tim's new puppy?! WTF?! PUPPY?! 

Oh yes. And we just might name her another X-Men name. BWA HA HA.

As my mom would say, "Welcome to the funny farm!" (Though I know she's excited to have grand-chicks and grand-puppies on her grand-farm... since there won't be any grand BABIES any time soon!)