Lady Bird: September 2012

The Virginia crew. We had a great group of people.

Note: This was written several days ago. I am currently in Philadelphia, PA for the next two months. Details on that in a later post.
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Once again, the Corps is back in Maryland after being scattered all over the place for the past month and a half. I’m lying in the field under a tree across from our housing, watching different groups of friends enjoy the day. There’s a group of my friends playing soccer, others chatting on a nearby blanket, two girls practicing handstands. It is always fun coming “home” to Perry Point and see friends from other teams. There is really nothing to do here, it is a funny little bubble of a world but there is ALWAYS someone to talk to or hang out with; what I imagine a tiny college campus to feel like.

With third round over and having some time to think of the whirlwind that was the past few weeks, I am here to post about it.

Sooooo, fire! I can now say with confidence that I am a wildland firefighter who has some experience under my belt. Getting thrown into the world of fire is really the only way I would have wanted it. Where to even begin?

Our crew was assigned to go to the Trinity Ridge Fire in Boise National Forest, which was around 35,000 acres when we started our trek out West. We shipped out about a day and a half after lounging and living the high life at the Hilton. Our charter flight held four other fire crews and it was definitely the most interesting flight I’ve ever taken… the plane was 95% rowdy men, need I say more. And since most things in fire are subject to change, my crew had been reassigned to the Springs Fire upon arriving to NIFC- the National Interagency Fire Center. A was smaller, more contained fire. After hours of traveling, loading buses, filing into another hotel room, and traveling through the mountains of Idaho, we arrived at our first fire camp in Garden Valley, Idaho. And so started the longest 14 days of my life, ha! I won’t go into too many details about the days we worked at the Springs because that would take absolutely forever. Our main focus was to do mop-up or final attack on the areas of the fire that were not declared contained. It sounds more exciting than it actually is. Basically you hike all day with an extremely heavy, awkward pack, clunky boots, full Nomex (our green pants and yellow shirts) and your hardhat looking for little smokes or spot fires and feeling burned areas for any heat that may still be present. The days were long and hot, but somehow we managed.

After about four days at the Springs Fire, our crew boss told us we were getting transferred to Trinity Ridge, which had grown to about 80,000 acres since we had been in Idaho. So we packed up and shipped out once again. Trinity Ridge is where we spent the majority of our time. The pictures really speak for themselves. We were as dirty and hairy as I hope to ever be. My nails were stained with dirt, even after scrubbing them. If choosing between extra sleep and a shower, hygiene never won. Absolutely everything smelled like campfire. My hair couldn’t decide if it was greasy or dry, due to the smoke. All social norms went out the window. I avoided looking into the ONE mirror at the fire camp (no good ever came from it!) Eventually, us AmeriCorps kids got so loopy from the 15 plus hour days, it was as if we had just been to a happy hour.

Overall, the whole two weeks was such an experience! I’m starting to forget all the moments of weakness we had and really just remembering the hilarious memories we created for ourselves. I have such a fondness for my teammates on Phoenix 3 that the thought of leaving them for 4^th round is hard to accept. We meshed perfectly and I know that I wouldn't have been able to get through sanely if it wasn't for them. Enjoy the photos! These are only a fraction of what I have. If you have questions about our adventure West feel free to comment or email me!
- Liz