Mt. Adams Institute Mt. Adams Institute
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork Environment
      • VetsWork GreenCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Public Lands Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • DEI Commitment
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Interns
      • VetsWork Environment Interns
      • VetsWork GreenCorps Interns
      • Public Lands Stewards Interns
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps
    • Public Lands Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Sense of Place Lecture Series Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer
Close
  • About Us
    • Programs
      • Overview
      • VetsWork Environment
      • VetsWork GreenCorps
      • Education Programs
      • Public Lands Stewards
    • About
      • Our Mission
      • Our Impact
      • Our Staff
      • The Board
      • DEI Commitment
      • Lodging
      • Program Partners
    • Our Interns
      • VetsWork Environment Interns
      • VetsWork GreenCorps Interns
      • Public Lands Stewards Interns
    • Contact Us
      • Reach HQ
      • Live & Social
      • Staff Employment
  • Internships
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps
    • Public Lands Stewards
  • Summer Camps
  • Sense of Place
    • Lecture Series
    • Hear in the Gorge
    • Community Workshops
  • Blog
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Gift A Scholarship
    • Sense of Place Lecture Series Sponsorship
    • Capital Campaign
    • Volunteer

Hello! My name is Emma and I am one of the 2018 Mt. Adams Public Land Stewards. I am based out of the Entiat Ranger district, and my official title is wilderness backcountry ranger.

I am originally from North Carolina, and I drove out to the west coast the week before my program started. I wasn’t entirely sure of what to expect, but after a month in my new position I feel very rooted in my new community and workplace.

All sorts of things have happened in my job so far, from getting chainsaw certified to riding the Forest Service boat on Lake Chelan to experiencing both snow and 90 degree weather. I want to blog more specifically about my favorite experience, though. Last week the Entiat (that’s me!) and Chelan (our neighbors!) ranger districts partnered up to get cross cut certified in a week-long backpacking/trail work trip on the Emerald Park trail. The Emerald Park trail is the only trail that connects the Entiat and Chelan districts, and that is where our hodgepodge crew set up camp. There were five members from Entiat and seven from Chelan. Some of us had years of cross cut experience, and some of us had never touched a cross cut until the trip started. I was firmly in the never-touched-a-cross-cut camp, but I can proudly say that is no longer the case.

The area we worked in was burned in a fire in 2015 and, as a result, had many downed trees in the trail corridor. Before this training I would have thought that cutting trees out of the trail was pretty straightforward and simple. I quickly learned this is not the case. Downed trees contain a lot of tension and compression from the positions they fall in. You have to think a lot about your cuts to make sure that you don’t get your saw pinched, or release the tension in a way that is dangerous to yourself or others. There were trees that we came across that we did not even try to cut due to the possible danger they posed. At the end of the night we would all gather in camp and talk about the way a certain tree cracked as we sawed through it, or the tree that looked very complicated but turned out to be the simplest cut we did all day.

‹ › ×

    There is a special bond that forms between people who work all day together, getting sweaty and dirty, and then camp together. No one can really go their separate way, because everyone has a tent set up less than 25 feet from yours. You gather together for dinner, for entertainment, for the simple pleasure of being with your crewmates. The evenings on a trail work hitch are some of my all-time favorite memories. The closeness that can develop in such a short time is wonderful. Everyone has a story and everyone is listening. Of course, I am romanticizing just a little bit. Don’t forget that everyone has been rolling in the dirt all day and touching their faces with sooty gloves to scratch an itch, that no one has used deodorant in days and it is more obvious depending on who you are standing next to. Your shirt had sweat stains on the first day, and by the fifth its crustiness is helping it retain the shape of your body after you take it off. Even with all the sweat and grime, though, everyone shines. One of best tools I think someone working in the backcountry can have is being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Our Chelan-Entiat crew was comfortable, they were fun, they worked hard, and I have another week’s worth of good trail work memories.

    Share

    FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest

    Leave a Reply / Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Join Our Mailing List

    Be sure to add your name to the roster, so we can send you latest news, jobs, events and resources.

    Make a Donation

    Make a Donation

    Recent Posts

    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Taylor Payton
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Samuel Kauffman
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Robert Alwood
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Lupe Zavala
    • 2022 VetsWork Environment: Donald Hollingsworth

    Categories

    • Bulletin
    • Cascade Mountain School
    • Fun & Miscellaneous
    • Mountain Talk
    • Public Lands Stewards
    • VetsWork Environment
    • VetsWork Greencorps

    Check Out Instagram

    View

    Aug 9

    Open
    We visited many places in the trout lake valley area to gather fresh ingredients for our outdoor cooking, here the Mt. Chef campers picked fresh vegetables and seasonings for our dumplings! 
#outdoored #outdoorcooking #cooking #troutlakeabbey #fresh #picking #cascademountainschool #mtadamsinstitute
    18 0

    View

    Jul 23

    Open
    Mask making with Primitive Skills Camp!  #primitiveskills #cascademountainschool #summer #mtadamsinstitute
    21 2

    View

    Jul 22

    Open
    Our Secret Life of Water camp had a great first day exploring BZ falls, they all had a chance to test the water quality using equipment that scientists use! 
#cascademountainschool #outdoored #hike #pnw #bzfalls #water #quality #summercamp #mtadamsinstitute
    26 4

    View

    Jun 1

    Open
    #throwbackthursday to Cascade Mountain School's 2016 Nature Art Camp! This year, CMS is offering a similar camp called Recycled Art where students will work with recycled and repurposed material to make beautiful works of art! This camp will inspire artistic spirit while gaining an appreciation for the things we throw away. Students will get the opportunity to feel like real artists in a local Trout Lake art studio as they create their magical masterpieces. Registration is open at cascademountainschool.org! #mtadamsinstitute #cascademountainschool #recycledart #summercamp #registernow #tbt
    29 2

    View

    Mar 29

    Open
    #tbt to the Community Contra Dance we hosted earlier this month in support of our Cascade Mountain School program! #mtadamsinstitute #cascademountainschool #contradance #community
    26 0
    Load More
    • Back to Blog
    • Prev
    • Next



    © Copyright 2021 Mt. Adams Institute. All rights reserved.
    Mt. Adams Institute is an equal opportunity employer.
    contact us | partnership inquiries | site by Greta Rose Agency