Friday, July 06, 2007

Mounds, Mounds, and Even More Mounds

We've been thrown into the thick of the jungle, carrying 40 pounds of pesticide-enlaced spruce monsters in our hip-grinding bags, with only a bottle of water and some squished muffins for comfort. The land is terrifyingly unpredictable; it's as if the earth's epidermis broke into a harrowing bout of acne, creating giant mucky pustules, with cess pools stagnant enough to breed the largest army of mosquitoes that man or bear has ever encountered. Not one square-inch of the land is 180 degrees flat; the block was mounded some 20 years ago, back in the good ol' 1980's, giving plenty of time for fernlike brush and other deadly flora to sporadically grow in every nook and cranny. The clinging limbs of the alders will ensnare you in a serious tangle, the mounds will give way into miniature landslides - throwing your aching body and luggage into the murky pools below - it's almost as if the land is out to get you.

This, for some of the more hardy planters, is when the true fun and adventure starts, in the notorious summer contract. Having returned clean-shaven, hair-cutted, and primp and proper from a deliciously relaxing break, I made the unfortunate mistake of forgetting what I was in for in this unpredictable job.
No more than a day went by, and my nice city appearance quickly vanished, only to be replaced by a haggard, bug bitten, heat-rashed, scary looking tree-man. Yet somehow I have no complaints about this inevitable makeover, for there's something rather comforting about getting the dirt back on my face. It brings me closer to the elements, I suppose.

Our first shift was glorious. Glorious in a way that one would look into the heat of a battle and marvel at it's sheer intensity and vicissitude. Dan, Cody, Katie and I were thrown in this super scary piece - looking at it dead on, it seemed more like just straight forest rather than clear-cut land, and I was confused as to why we were putting more trees in this already abundant rainforest. Our new trees weigh twice as much as they did in spring, ergo - a bagup of 100 of these new trees feel like a bagup of 200 of the old trees. To put this in perspective, in order for us to make any money on this block, we had to lug around anvil-like loads of 100-150 trees - a walk in the park! a park in Jupiter mind you! The worst part of our piece, however, was the 15 minute walk-in after every bag-up. It was uphill, on slippery mounds, and completely unforgivingly straining on the legs. My sister Katie may have a good idea of this feeling, having traversed some difficult leg-crushing terrain herself in the far east. Another fun quirk was the chunks of forest blocking certain areas of the piece. In order for us to hit every mound, we had to coordinate with eachother as to who had to plant around these areas, or walk through them. Some mounds are smack dab in the middle of the woods, or under a fallen tree, or perhaps at the top of a very steep hill - and we've pretty much had to scramble our hardest to plant them.

Or there was the time where I got lost in the middle of my piece, walked around in two complete circles, and kept running in to the same strangely shaped stump both times, in explosive frustration. Even the checkers are getting lost - the Canfor guys even mentioned in the pre-work explanation that the land is very disorienting. We've been using the "Marco! Polo!" method to find our way to the road, and I hear it on many occasion.

But enough about the land. I signed up for this, so I might as well embrace it. Living at camp has been a nice added comfort for me. Finally, we're in a genuine Celtic camp, with four different crews, a cook, and the luxurious dry tent! Ooh-la-la! The meals have been delicious and plentiful, and my tent is situated in a cozy little haven atop a little hill. The view isn't spectacular, but sure to take your breath for a moment or two. I personally enjoy watching the clouds hover in the valleys below the mountains - it reminds me just how high up we are.

I've met a plethora of new faces, and shared some interesting conversations about non-planting-related things. I've also put on a little tent concert for my friends - I jammed with this really cool dude Patrick, I - weilding the guitar, he - the djembe. I also played a wicked game of kick-up with a soccer ball with some very talented athletes. So life is still good :)

I'm now a full-fledged adult - the big two-oh (20), but what the heck - I still feel like a kid deep inside. I only remember patches of the night of my birthday - I know there were some shots of hard liquor and tabasco sauce involved.. which didn't exactly cleanse my palette. It was an awesome night to say the least.

Teddy and Jarret just left the crew (due to extenuating circumstances back at home), and now we're back to a six-pack crew. We're on a 4 day break right now, but I hear through the grapevine we'll be heading up to the Mackenzie area in the near future - which I'm rather excited about, as it is a very beautiful mountainous area.

I would love to ramble on some more about this hectic lifestyle of mine, but I'm rather tired from a night of partying, and I think I might go take a dip in the pool.

Until next time,

- James

1 Comments:

Blogger Kate said...

James-o,
Sounds hella tough and tiring out there but you're a trooper - keep on planting those trees for the sake of your bank account and the world! And happy belated birthday my bro, welcome to the twenties! Your present is waiting for you back home...
lotsa love,
your sis

4:57 AM  

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