My “alternative” education begins

Monday, June 8th
Ok, so first day of training down. It wasn't too eventful, but the information and socializing I did has made me so excited for the coming months.
Of course, with working with the government there was a ton of paper work to do that filled up part of the morning. Luckily, we got most of the stuff done before we arrived (I was actually doing them frantically the day before I flew out because the government fills the forms out in March and then sends them to me two days before I leave). Anyways, that stuff was done quickly enough and we were given our uniforms.
We talked in the morning with my “Wilderness Crew”. I have to say, I am really looking forward to working with these people. Some of them have done things I’ve been hoping to do in the coming year and they have so much experience, I will cherish what they have to tell and teach me. They’re a real laid back group of people who joke and don't have their noses stuck in the law book. Oh, and they're all hardcore. Ok, to go over who is in my group:
--   Tara, our coordinator, is this amazing young woman, who climbs, surfs, eats organically, and is extremely active (she was training for a half ironman last year).

- -Jim Dougan-our supervisor-a nice older man who is quite fit for his age. Easily banged out a 28-mile day with 8000 ft elevation gain in the Rockies just couple of years ago. I thought doing the presidential traverse was tough. He can kick my butt hiking any day.

- -Ryan- it’s his 2nd year here, don’t know too much about him yet, though he’s from Kansas, and I think he’s done some backcountry ski patrolling.

- -Matt-from Texas, but still cool-definitely not the stereotypical Texan. He’s a returnee who grew up hiking, getting his first backpack when he was 9. Very sarcastic humor, but nice.

- -Luke- returnee, a guy who I think really understands how important wilderness/nature is. It has done so much for him to get through life, and he’s devoting his life to helping it in anyway he can.

- -Christina- like me, grew up in a boring state (in her case, Michigan), and upon graduating high school, she worked on a college degree, hiking, rock climbing, and working at National Parks (in fact just did one last summer in Alaska). She also just spent about 6 weeks with a girlfriend in Peru, rock climbing. New role model for me?

- -Kevin-just graduated college, grew up in Boulder, and he enjoys mountain biking. That's about all I know about him, other than that he’s pretty shy and isn't quite ready yet to talk to us all. He’s slowly warming up though. I did manage to find out he majored in Journaling and political science, and they are not what he wants to do with the rest of his life. When I told him I’m taking next year off, he said he wishes he did the same.

So that’s basically my crew and some basic facts on them. We hung out tonight at a restaurant for a few hours just talking and joking.

After the intros in the morning, we got our schedule for the next 7 weeks. I won't give it all away at once, but I’ll give you the exciting expectations for this week.

Monday: besides the stuff already mentioned: building a llama fence and getting the llamas
Wednesday: training with ethics and whistle blowing, and we’ll be able to spend the afternoon hiking and checking out the campsite status, taking inventory
Thursday and Friday: we’ll have SAR training-or search and rescue.

You know, I think I’m really strongly considering a life of working at different national parks-it pays well, has great benefits, and oh man-besides the paper work, it does sound so exciting. I am looking forward to being in the best shape of my life, being outside doing what I love, all week long, and all summer long.

Oh, and first mishap-I lost my house key somehow (I think it fell out of my pocket or wallet) and so I was locked out of my house for about 40 minutes until my room mate got back. I really need to get a key chain. ASAP