So I'm in Alpine right now, but there's never any time when we're here. Too much to do! I'll do a more detailed post when I can (which might not be until after the project is over), but we just got back yesterday from our first real work week. We hiked up to Emory Peak, the highest peak in the park and camped near Boot Cabin, where the trail crew stays when they go up there. Then we had seven straight days of work on the trail leading to Emory Peak. Some of it was working on the new trail they're building, some of it was making the old trail that's closing disappear. It was pretty awesome. Highlights include the Pionjar (there's an umlaut over the A, and it's pronounced POON-jar), which kind of like a jackhammer. Or maybe it IS a jackhammer. I just realized that I don't actually know what a jackhammer is. The Pionjar is used to break up rocks. It's pretty heavy and awkward but really fun.
I think that's all I have time for right now. It's so hard to get internet around here!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Desert = Hot, Prickly, and Beautiful
And as always, picking back up where I left off. The Saturday before last, we all went to Terlingua to the farmers market we had seen a flyer for. It wasn’t really anything special. There were only like six or seven tables and like half of them were art or crafts, not fruit or vegetables. It was kind of interesting though. Also, Colin had told us that there was an ISP opportunity at a community garden and Erin and Lindsey managed to talk to Zoey, the person in charge of it, to set up some ISP hours for the three of us (no one else wanted to go) the next day. Unfortunately, by the time the farmers market was over everything else in town was closed. I think Terlingua takes a bit of Mexican influence and has a siesta after lunchtime. There was an interesting time when Lindsey, Ryan and I went over to sit next to a school bus because it was the only shady spot and it was HOT that day, and it turned out that there was a campsite near there and the bus was the office for a “camping hostel,” and the area next to it where we wanted to sit was the outdoor kitchen for the hostel. While we were sitting there, a woman came over from the campsite and we talked to her for a while. She’s been living there for a little over a month because she just wanted to live in this area but hasn’t found a permanent place to live yet. It was a pretty nice afternoon.
We went back to the park to eat dinner, but then most of us went back to Terlingua that night. We first went to the Boathouse, the only bar we hadn’t been to yet. It was pretty empty there and we ended up sitting out on the patio playing cards for a bit. Then we went over to the Starlight because we had heard there would be live music there. They wouldn’t give us a table until after the kitchen closed if we weren’t eating dinner but we could still to in to the bar and hang out on the large porch. When we were able to get in, the band ended up being pretty decent. I think we all had a pretty good time that night.
Last Sunday, Erin, Lindsey and I went to Terlingua yet again for our ISP at the community garden. Who would have thought you could do much gardening in the desert? Our main task was just to till a plot of land because a new grower was coming into the garden soon. It was a little difficult because the ground was so packed and dry but not too bad. It was lunchtime by the time we were done and Zoey had made bean burritos for us. When we were done with her lovely lunch, she just kind of showed us around town a little. It was really enjoyable. We all really want to go back. The work was kind of fun, and Zoey was just a fun person to hang out with.
On Monday, all of us but Ryan, Marc, Marie, and Scott went to the hot springs by the Rio Grande. The others had all been there the day before when we were working at the garden. I didn’t actually go in the hot spring because it is usually like around 100 degrees and it was HOT again that day, but it was really nice to just sit by the river. The sand around there is really soft so we all mostly just laid around in the sand. It was another pleasant afternoon. That night, there was a ranger talk we wanted to go to. Every night, there is some sort of informational presentation by a ranger about something related to the park. That night there was one about the full moon. We thought it was going to be like taking a walk while the rangers told us about the moon, but it started before the moon came up. The rangers talked to us about the moon for a while then we just waited for the moon to rise. When it rose, it rose FAST. Have you ever just watched the moon rise? It was really cool. The moon had been so bright lately as it was moving toward being full. You almost don’t even need a headlamp at our campsite at night, the moon is so bright.
Finally on Tuesday, we had to go back to work. We learned how to clean out drains on trails, which usually isn’t too hard. It’s usually just shoveling out rocks. We worked on the Pinnacles Trail which we hadn’t been on yet. It is actually the trail up to Emory Peak, the highest peak in the park. You take Pinnacles up for a while, then veer off to go to Emory. We started at the bottom and worked our way up, which is the opposite of how we worked on our last trail. It makes it a little easier I think, because you only have to go uphill for short amounts at a time.
We were still cleaning drains on Wednesday. This time, we hiked up to the top of Pinnacles to work our way back to where we ended on Tuesday. Let me tell you, that is a tough hike. I think we went up about three and a half miles and it was pretty steep pretty much the whole time. There are also a lot of really high stairs you have to climb up. The work was the same, just cleaning out drains. Amy was my partner that day (we’ve been working in pairs everyday) and we had a pretty good time.
Thursday was different and it was really awesome. Colin taught us how to put logs in trails for steps or to prevent erosion. When he showed us, he just put one in for a step, but he wanted us to do the kind that hold the dirt in place. You have to use a pick axe to dig a fairly deep trench across the trail then put the log in. Then you find a huge rock (a pinner stone) to put at one end of the log to shove against it and pin it in place. Then you find a bunch of other rocks that are maybe a little bigger than your fist and shove them in around the edges of the log. Then you take a stone hammer (kind of like a miniature hand-held sledge hammer) and just beat on those rocks to shove them in place even more. The rocks will probably break, and that’s ok. The object is just to make it so the log can’t move at all. Then you cover the whole thing with dirt so the log and rocks are buried and you can’t tell that anything had ever been done. Colin kept apologizing for making us do such inglorious work but we all enjoyed it. Marc, my partner for the day, and I were pretty proud of our work. Our log didn’t move at all and it looked like nothing had ever happened there when we were done. It took each pair about two or three hours just to finish one log. It was tough swinging the pick axe all day, but I think this was everyone’s favorite work day so far. It finally felt like we were doing something productive even if no one will ever know about it.
On Thursday night, several of us went out in Terlingua. There was the 20th annual “Alter Ego Party” at La Kiva. What is it? You guessed it – you just dress up as your favorite “other personality.” We didn’t dress up because we didn’t know in time and even if we did, no one had any crazy clothes to dress up in, but it was ok. It was really fun to see like most of the town there all dressed up. There was a band there and most people were hanging out in the outside area of the bar, which was closed the only other time we had been to La Kiva. It was very enjoyable.
Friday was the beginning of spring break! Amy was going to Austin to meet her boyfriend, and Lindsey, Davis, and I wanted to go to Austin as well. Also, Scott was meeting people in San Antonio, so the five of us rented a car and drove over. It was a tiny tiny car which made the ride not so comfortable, but it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. TK and Tomm from my old team were coming to Austin for the break as well. Their current projects are both in New Orleans again. They drove up with Dylan and Matt, two other guys from the Sun Unit. It’s been a pretty nice weekend. Austin is really cool. There’s just like a good vibe here. Plus it was really nice to sleep in a bed and use a shower with decent water pressure. It was really weird when we got here. Three weeks in the desert made us forget what it's like to be somewhere with lots of people, cars, and buildings everywhere. There are even plants and grass that aren't prickly (yes, even the grass in Big Bend is really prickly, not to mention the numerous plants with spikes or thorns). It's also way more humid than we're used to, but it was fun to explore a new city. It is currently Sunday night, and we’re driving back to the park tomorrow. Then we have three more days of work starting Tuesday, then four days off, then our first nine-day work week up on Emory Peak. And now I’m all caught up again! Whew!
We went back to the park to eat dinner, but then most of us went back to Terlingua that night. We first went to the Boathouse, the only bar we hadn’t been to yet. It was pretty empty there and we ended up sitting out on the patio playing cards for a bit. Then we went over to the Starlight because we had heard there would be live music there. They wouldn’t give us a table until after the kitchen closed if we weren’t eating dinner but we could still to in to the bar and hang out on the large porch. When we were able to get in, the band ended up being pretty decent. I think we all had a pretty good time that night.
Last Sunday, Erin, Lindsey and I went to Terlingua yet again for our ISP at the community garden. Who would have thought you could do much gardening in the desert? Our main task was just to till a plot of land because a new grower was coming into the garden soon. It was a little difficult because the ground was so packed and dry but not too bad. It was lunchtime by the time we were done and Zoey had made bean burritos for us. When we were done with her lovely lunch, she just kind of showed us around town a little. It was really enjoyable. We all really want to go back. The work was kind of fun, and Zoey was just a fun person to hang out with.
On Monday, all of us but Ryan, Marc, Marie, and Scott went to the hot springs by the Rio Grande. The others had all been there the day before when we were working at the garden. I didn’t actually go in the hot spring because it is usually like around 100 degrees and it was HOT again that day, but it was really nice to just sit by the river. The sand around there is really soft so we all mostly just laid around in the sand. It was another pleasant afternoon. That night, there was a ranger talk we wanted to go to. Every night, there is some sort of informational presentation by a ranger about something related to the park. That night there was one about the full moon. We thought it was going to be like taking a walk while the rangers told us about the moon, but it started before the moon came up. The rangers talked to us about the moon for a while then we just waited for the moon to rise. When it rose, it rose FAST. Have you ever just watched the moon rise? It was really cool. The moon had been so bright lately as it was moving toward being full. You almost don’t even need a headlamp at our campsite at night, the moon is so bright.
Finally on Tuesday, we had to go back to work. We learned how to clean out drains on trails, which usually isn’t too hard. It’s usually just shoveling out rocks. We worked on the Pinnacles Trail which we hadn’t been on yet. It is actually the trail up to Emory Peak, the highest peak in the park. You take Pinnacles up for a while, then veer off to go to Emory. We started at the bottom and worked our way up, which is the opposite of how we worked on our last trail. It makes it a little easier I think, because you only have to go uphill for short amounts at a time.
We were still cleaning drains on Wednesday. This time, we hiked up to the top of Pinnacles to work our way back to where we ended on Tuesday. Let me tell you, that is a tough hike. I think we went up about three and a half miles and it was pretty steep pretty much the whole time. There are also a lot of really high stairs you have to climb up. The work was the same, just cleaning out drains. Amy was my partner that day (we’ve been working in pairs everyday) and we had a pretty good time.
Thursday was different and it was really awesome. Colin taught us how to put logs in trails for steps or to prevent erosion. When he showed us, he just put one in for a step, but he wanted us to do the kind that hold the dirt in place. You have to use a pick axe to dig a fairly deep trench across the trail then put the log in. Then you find a huge rock (a pinner stone) to put at one end of the log to shove against it and pin it in place. Then you find a bunch of other rocks that are maybe a little bigger than your fist and shove them in around the edges of the log. Then you take a stone hammer (kind of like a miniature hand-held sledge hammer) and just beat on those rocks to shove them in place even more. The rocks will probably break, and that’s ok. The object is just to make it so the log can’t move at all. Then you cover the whole thing with dirt so the log and rocks are buried and you can’t tell that anything had ever been done. Colin kept apologizing for making us do such inglorious work but we all enjoyed it. Marc, my partner for the day, and I were pretty proud of our work. Our log didn’t move at all and it looked like nothing had ever happened there when we were done. It took each pair about two or three hours just to finish one log. It was tough swinging the pick axe all day, but I think this was everyone’s favorite work day so far. It finally felt like we were doing something productive even if no one will ever know about it.
On Thursday night, several of us went out in Terlingua. There was the 20th annual “Alter Ego Party” at La Kiva. What is it? You guessed it – you just dress up as your favorite “other personality.” We didn’t dress up because we didn’t know in time and even if we did, no one had any crazy clothes to dress up in, but it was ok. It was really fun to see like most of the town there all dressed up. There was a band there and most people were hanging out in the outside area of the bar, which was closed the only other time we had been to La Kiva. It was very enjoyable.
Friday was the beginning of spring break! Amy was going to Austin to meet her boyfriend, and Lindsey, Davis, and I wanted to go to Austin as well. Also, Scott was meeting people in San Antonio, so the five of us rented a car and drove over. It was a tiny tiny car which made the ride not so comfortable, but it didn’t take as long as I thought it would. TK and Tomm from my old team were coming to Austin for the break as well. Their current projects are both in New Orleans again. They drove up with Dylan and Matt, two other guys from the Sun Unit. It’s been a pretty nice weekend. Austin is really cool. There’s just like a good vibe here. Plus it was really nice to sleep in a bed and use a shower with decent water pressure. It was really weird when we got here. Three weeks in the desert made us forget what it's like to be somewhere with lots of people, cars, and buildings everywhere. There are even plants and grass that aren't prickly (yes, even the grass in Big Bend is really prickly, not to mention the numerous plants with spikes or thorns). It's also way more humid than we're used to, but it was fun to explore a new city. It is currently Sunday night, and we’re driving back to the park tomorrow. Then we have three more days of work starting Tuesday, then four days off, then our first nine-day work week up on Emory Peak. And now I’m all caught up again! Whew!
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