Training Continues...

            And so training continues… The last couple of days I’ve been getting certified in Wilderness First Aid. It was a lot of information to process in a short amount of time, but the instructors put on several scenarios to help us practice. It was a humbling experience, as it showed how little I really knew about wilderness first aid. I just hope that I never have to use it out on the trail this summer. Yesterday we had a talk from the Forest Service and then took a short canoe trip to practice some skills. We didn’t go far, maybe four miles in a round trip to the end of Moose Lake and back. We used Alumicraft canoes, which weren’t nearly as bad as I thought they would be. Our brigade leaders had us start by portaging them down to the public landing instead of taking them to our boat landing. Still, not nearly as bad at all. I still need to work on setting them down however. My new boots are also working pretty well. There was a pinch on the top of my left foot (like my ski boots), but since I got them wet it feels like they might have stretched a bit to accommodate my weirdly sized feet.

            Now that they’ve handed out all our complete uniform, it’s a little bit weird to be wearing the same thing as almost everyone else you see, but that should change once crews start arriving. The pants that they gave us are really nice. Very durable but comfortable too.

            Today we plan our swamper trip, learn about food and gear packs, and get ready to leave tomorrow. I’m looking forward to swamper. We have some general plans, but nothing is finalized yet. I think we should be able to handle a good trip though. I think we have a pretty good brigade. It should be a good six days.

            Free time around base has been pretty chill. Every night there are board games, TV, or movies going on in the lounge. Right next door there is a great room with pool, ping pong, and a piano, which is pretty cool. There’s a foosball table too, but it has some issues. Maybe I’ll working on repairing it this summer in my free time.

            Last night I went on down to Blackstone Lake (Fischer Map 10, between Flash and Moose Lake) with a couple of people. We set up a nice fire, despite it being ridiculously windy. One guy brought his fishing rod and caught a Northern Pike, which he showed us how to filet. We cooked it over the fire, and it actually turned out to be OK. It was a cool evening.

            All in all, I’m getting really excited about getting on water again, and even more excited to get crews. Not much longer!