March 23- challenge course
That day was pretty fun and it foreshadowed basically the the rest of the workdays, meaning how the people acted and how they worked with each other. One highlight that I will never forget was when we were participating in the spider web challenge course and one person had to use someone else's knee for a stepping stool to get out of the web, this resulted in the first person getting out of the web but my other team mate was thrown backwards into the center of the web, thankfully he was okay. =)
March 30- Seal Rock Campground
On this day we did mostly campground trail maintenance that involves racking and sweeping the many leaves that covered the looping trail, it reminded me of shaving a giant beast. I loved all the jokes a couple teammates and I made while working, and it was the first evidence with our group that we can have fun and talk while "gettin it done".
April6- Elk Habitat
When we went out on that day, it was the wettest saturday that we would ever have this spring. In two big groups we separated and built titanic animal habitats out of big slices of trees and branches. Not only was this job good for the animals but it also cleared the forest for new baby trees to grow with space (those were cute little trees). There was only one point of that day that was annoying was when I stepped in a deep patch of mud and my shoe popped off my foot, although it sucked, every one can agree with me that it was funny. Because of this I had to work with one foot cold and squishy, while the other foot was snuggly and warm. Over all we created a lot of habitats and improved the space where new trees could grow.
April13- Trail work (Gray Wolf Trail)
This is one of the trails, that I said earlier, as one in which I would like to explore more. I'm really afraid of heights and there were cliffs all over, I wasn't much afraid because all the beauty around me, I remember how the morning dew clung to the limbs of the shrubs and the bridge over the waterfall... you had to be there. On this foot path we cleaned and dug fairly long ditches to current rain water off the trail for hikers, this involved being very aware of your surroundings. One girl that I work with ended up falling backside first into the mud, she got rid of this problem by placing herself under a waterfall, it took care of the mud but then she was soaked. This day was also the day that the 4-H van broke down. This happened when the trail work was over and a few team mates had to stay behind as the limited seat, blue van shipped us home.
May25- Ranger Station Clean Up
Sadly, our last work day I discovered that pulling scotch broom was easier than I first thought, then again we had the giant weed pullers. After the main road side work was over the scene was amazing. We pulled about a half-mile of the invasive plant and even though it's almost everywhere in washington, and the overall impact might be small, the right-hand side going to the Quilcene Ranger Station went from scotch broom choking death to the natural plant growth. The public liked what we did so much they honked and waved as they drove by. There was also a couple of people with a pickup truck who began to pull Scotchbroom on the road opposite of us. It was cool that we made an impact on the environment as well as the public.
Like I've previously stated, this spring was so much fun I really enjoyed working and meeting new friends. The scenery on all the workdays was truly beautiful (even if it rained) and I highly recommend this program to others.